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HISTORY 



8^1^ 



OF 



DAVIDSON COUNTY, 



TENNESSEE, 



WITH 



Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 



OF ITS 



PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS. 



BY 



*/ 



Prof. y^. -W. OL^YTOIST. 






:^^W ^/vASHW^E^^' 



PHILADELPHIA: 
J. W. LEWIS & CO. 

18 8 0. 



PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., PHILADELPHIA. 



~n a 



u 



PREFACE. 

The History of Davidson County comprised in the present volume has been compiled 
under the supervision of the Tennessee Historical Society. All the care and labor com- 
patible with the limited time allowed for its preparation have been bestowed upon the 
work, and we trust it may be found as full and accurate as could reasonably be expected 
under the circumstances. 

The interest and thoroughness of the history have been enhanced by the labors of 
several members of the Historical Society, who have materially aided the compiler both in 
the collection of matter and in the preparation of portions of the manuscrij)t. The services 
of Anson Nelson, Esq., Secretary of the Society, and of Dr. E. L. Drake, of Nashville, 
should be especially acknowledged in this connection. The latter furnished the Military 
History of the County, embracing several chapters of the pioneer wars, the Creek and Semi- 
nole campaigns, the war of 1812-14, the Mexican war, and the great Civil war of 1861-05. 

The plan of the work will be readily perceived by the intelligent reader. It consists 
of four departments, — firet, a General History, or that which is common to the county at 
large; second, the History of the City of Nashville, including its press, its commercial and 
manufacturing interests, and its institutions ; third, the history of the Civil Districts ; and 
fourth, the Biographical Department. The whole is carefully indexed to facilitate reference. 

It should be said in this connection that many biographies of persons especially 
historic are scattered through the text of the general history, or interwoven with it in their 
appropriate places. The same is true of the history of some institutions with which the men 
whose lives are given were intimately identified. With this exception the biographies are 
placed in the de^Dartment devoted to that subject. The arrangement, upon the whole, has 
apjDeai'ed the best that could be devised, and we trust it will be satisfactory to all concerned. 

The Civil Districts, as they appear in a department by themselves, occupy compara- 
tively small space. This is owing to the fact that much matter relating to them has been 
necessarily placed in the General History. For example, the early history of the districts 
is given in the chapter on the organization of the county ; in the chapter on Courts will 
be found a list of the justices of the peace and judges of the county court appointed or 
elected in each district from the organization of the county to 1880 ; also in the Eccle- 
siastical History and in the chapter on Public Schools are given the history and statistics 
of the churches and schools throughout the county. In addition to this, much of the 
matter belonging to the districts, being of a personal nature, has been placed in the 
Biographical Department. 

It is hoped that, the work will be acceptable to its patrons and prove a valuable con- 
tribution to the local history of a very important section of the country. 

w. w. c. 

PiiiLAUELPHiA, September, 1880. 



, 4 APPiCOVAL BY THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

5 -_ ' 

APPROVAL BY THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

At a meeting of the Tennessee Historical Society, held in Nashville, June 15, 1880, 
the Secretary, Anson Nelson, Esq., introduced the following declaration of approval of the 
manuscript of this history, which, after- discussion, was adopted, and a copy of the declara- 
tion ordered sent to the publishers : 

" Some weeks ago the publishers of the History of Davidson County announced to the Society that the manuscript 
was complete and ready for the inspection of the committees heretofore appointed, or for the inspection of any member 
who might be interested in looking over the manuscript. The chairman of the Committee on Military History expressed 
at a former meeting his satisfaction with that part of the work. The Committee on Civil History make a =imilar report 
to-day on the department assigned to it for inspection. Individual members of the Society have looked over different 
portions of the manuscript, and though the entire history has, of course, been read by no one person, the general con- 
currence of sentiment authorizes a just inference as to the character of the work. This volume is intended to embrace 
besides a history in the general sense of the term, local statistics, facts connected with our public institutions, colleges, 
'"■•adGiaies, names of all persons who have held official positions, etc., forming a body of matter of great interest to the 
people ; and from the industry which was exhibited by the publishers in getting this information it is our opinion the 
compilation will be well and carefully made. 

" The literary editor, Prof Clayton, labored earnestly and zealously to gather facts for the general history, and we 
think that he has faithfully performed his work, and that under his supervision a work of much merit and interest will be 
furnished, coming up to the standard which was promised by the publishers. Perfection in matter and manner, accuracy 
to a point beyond all criticism, cannot be predicated of any work which ever has been or will be printed ; but we take 
pleasure in stating that we believe the history will be as free from errors as it could be made, the subjects being so various 
and dev'ous, and that the publishers have succeeded in accomplishing what they undertook and promised to their 
subscribers. 

" With the biographical department the Society has nothing to do. These parts of the volume are to be printed in 
a different type, are not to be paged with the other leaves, may be passed over in the reading, and are easily distinguished 
from and constitute no part of the context of the public history. 

" The secretary is authorized to send a copy of this declaration of approval to said publishers." 



CONTENTS. 



KZISTOE^IO^L- 



HISTOEY OF DAVIDSOIT COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER 

I. 

II, 

III, 

IV. 

V. 

VI 

VII. 

VIII 

IX, 

X.- 

XI. 

xir. 

XIII. 

XIV.. 
XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII.- 

XIX. 
XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII 

XXIV 

XXV 

XXVI 

XXVII. 

xxvin. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 
XXXIII. 



PAGE 

— Progress of Discovery and Settlements ... 9 

— Henderson's Treaty ....... 14 

,The Indians Ifi- 

, — Permanent Settlement 19 

— Perils and Hardships of the Pioneers ... 24 

, — Pioneer Life and Customs 27 

, — Movements against the Indians .... 29 

, — Government of the Notables ..... .S2 

— Period of the Revolution . . . . .39 

—Organization of the County 44 

— Physical Features 46 

— Indian AVars " . 52 

Treaty of Hopewell 56 

—The Coldwater Expedition, June, 1787 ... 56 

, — Uenewed Hostilities, 1792 ..... 65 

Trouble of 1794 68 

Recollections of Col. Willoughby Williams . . 72 

—The War of 1812-14 77 

. — Seminole Wars 83 

—Courts . . .87 

— Bench and Bar 96 

, — Bench and Bar (continued) 112 

— Gen. James Robertson 126 

, — Col. John Donelson 1.S4 

, — Gen. Andrew Jackson 137 

— Public Life and Character of Jackson . . . 150 

—James K. Polk 159 - 

—Gen. Sam Houston . . ' 162 

,— Mexican War, 1846-47 164 

—The Great Civil AVar 168 

— Companies in the First Tennessee and other Regi- 
ments and Batteries . . . . . .170 

— Military Operations in 1861-66 .... 177 

— Military Rosters 180 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. ^^^^ 

Topography 193 

Original Occupation 194 

First American Settlers . . . . . . . .195 

Erection of the Town of Nashville 195 

Mercantile Firms . . 197 

Recollections of Nashville 199 

Men of Nashville at an Early Day 2112 

Progress of the City . . . X . . . . . ?M 

Railroads . . . 213 

Commerce and Manufactures . 217 

Banks 228 

Press of Nashville . . .229 

War Publications 241' 

Educational Institutions 246 

Public Schools of Nashville 249 ' 

University of Nashville 263 

State Normal College 257 

Vanderbilt University 259 

Fisk University 260 

Nashville Normal and Theological Institnte .... 263 

Central Tennessee College 263 

Tennessee School for the Blind 266 

Nashville Female Academy 266 

Medical Profession ......... 271 

Brief Memoirs of Medical Men 280 

Dental Association . . ' 2S6 

Medical Colleges 287 

Nashville Board of Health 294 

Tennessee Historical Society 300 

Tennessee Hospital for the Insane 304 

United States Custom-House 307 

Ecclesiastical History . . . . . . . .312 

TouDg Men's Christian Association 343 

Cemeteries of Nashville 344 

Nashville Centennial 348 

Masons and Odd-Fellows 364 

Civil Districts of Davidson Countv 367 



Bioa-i?.j^:pi3:ioj^L. 



PAGE 

Anderson, William E. Ill 

Ament, Samuel P facing 3,32 

Adams, A. G 415 

Adams, Nathan 417 

Benton, Thomas H 100 

Bell, Hon. John .112 

Brown, Hon. Aaron V. ....... . 118 

Brown, William L 120 

Bass, John M 120 

Brown, William T 120 

Brown, Morgan W 120 

Brown, Hon. Neill S 125 

Bell, James T facing 244 



Bowen, Jeremiah 
BurnSj M. . 
Baxter, Hon. Nath.aniel 
Briggs, Willi,am T. • 
Burch, Col. John C. . 
Bowling, William .K., M.D 
Berry, W. W. . 
Branaford, Col. Thomas L. 
Bransford, Maj. John S. 
Bennett, H. S. . 
Brown, John Lucian . 
Burr, Andrew E. 
Byrne, P. . 



PAGE 

30,3 
381 
394 
401 
407 
410 
412 
429 
430 
440 
444 
455 
4C7 



CONTENTS. 



Bioa-i^.i^:PH:io^Xj. 



Braden, John *''" 

Brown, Aris ^''2 

Banks, Dr. David F *80 

Bondurant, Maj. Jacob M ^82 

Butterworth, John . . . . . . between 484, 435 

Bowers, John C " ^84, 485 

Catron, Hon. John 108 

Crabb, Hon. Henry 1"9 

Claiborne, Hon. Thomas HO 

Craighead, David H" 

— Campbell, George W HI 

■ Campbell, David . . 120 

Cooper, Hon. W. F. . . .122 

Clark, W. M * facing 245 

Campbell, Michael "267 

Cole, Edmund W 379 

Carter, Dr. W. J 432 

Cravath, Erastus M 439 

Chase, Frederick A 444 

Compton Fiunily, The 443 

Compton, Felix facing 443 

^Cheatham, Archer 453 

: Cobb, Dr. S. J 469 

, Cobler, Capt. Calvin G 469 

Combs, M.S 476 

■ Cbilton, James .\ 478- 

i^ Dickinson, John 107 

, Darby, Patrick H 109 

' Dismukes, William M facing 314 

Donelson, Daniel .S. . ." 396 

,Dake,.T!ibez P., A.M., M.D 435 

Donelson, Hon. .\. J, ........ 479 

DodsoD, Timothy -^82 

EwiDg,^Hon. Andrew ......... 120 

Ewiug, Hon. Edwin H., LL.D 121 

Enloo, T. E., M.D facing 297 

Eastman, E. G .385 

East, Hon. Edward H 305 

Edmiston, Maj. William 475 

Earthman, Felix G between 484, 485 

Fletcher, Thomas H 109 

Foster, Hon. Ephraim H 113 

' Fogg, Hon. Francis Brinley 115 

' Fite, L. B 432 

Fisk, Gen. Clinton B. . 438 

Fanning, Tolbert . . 452 

^ Frazier, Thomas N 459 

" Grundy, Hon. Felix 100 

, Gibbs, Gen. George W 108 

^ Gowdey, Thomas facing 364 

1 Greer, Col. James L between 372, 373 

. /Green, Alexander L. P., D.D -385 

•iGuild, Judge J. C 392 

; Gaut, John C. 448 

Gillem, Gen. Alvan C 460 

Grinetead, Dr. A. P 471 

Gannaway, John E 477 

HortOD, Joseph W facing 224 

I Haywood, Hon. John 102 

. Houston, Gen. Samuel 110 

~^ayes, Andrew C Ill" 

Hollingsworlh, Henry . 119 

Howington, J. W between 484, 485 

Hooten, W. R facing 479 

Hows, John between 428, 429 

Herrin, Thomas facing 371 

Hudson, W. B between 4S0, 481 

TSutton, William C. ' " 48'!, 485 



PAGE 

Harris, J. George 377 

Heiss, Maj. Henry 409 

Harding, John 412 

Harding, Gen. W. G 419 

Harding, John 429 

Hill, John M 450 

Hayes, Oliver B. . 451 

Iladley, John L. ......... 461 

Hooper, H. V. . . : 466 

Uarwood, James A 467 

Hurley, A. H., Sr 468 

Hamilton, William A 472 

Hughes, Capt. David 474 

•Johnson, James . . . . . . . between 372, 373 

.Jackson, W. H. . . ' 416 

Johnson, Col. A. W ^. _ . 427 

Jones, T. H '*'. ' . 473 

.Jackson, A 477 

Jordan, Dr. J. H between 484, 485 

King, Thomas S 383 

Lea, John M 302 

Lovell, William H between 484, 485 

Lindsley, Philip . 388 

Lindsley, Van S 403 

Lindsley, John B., 404 

Linton, Silas 483 

Meigs, Return J 120 

Mcintosh, Frank M between 484, 485 

Maxey, V.W facing 325 

McFerrin, Rev. John B. . 386 

Menees, Dr. Thomas . _397 

Maddin, Dr. Thomas L. . . "399 

Morgan, Dr. W. H 409 

McGavock, David 425 

McGavock, Francis . 426 

McGavock, David H 431 

Morgan, Helen C 442 

McMurray, William J 457 

Mayo, Jacob M between 484, 485 

Nichol, W facing 199 

Nelson, Anson 303 

Nance, Hon, C. W facing 346 

Nelson, George A. between 374, 375 

Nelson, George T . 481 

Overton, Hon. John 98 

O'Neil, Henry W 477 

Peyton, Bailey .119 

PatterFon, Dr. Everand Meade facing 181 

Phillips, Daniel W " 263 

, P'Pool, E. F., M.D "318 

Philips, William D .413 

Phillips, Capt. W . .418 

Paul, Isaac 456 

Piunket, Dr. James Dace 464 

Pennington, J. W. . . . . . . between 484, 485 

Rucks, Hon. James 110 

Russell, R facing 308 

Rains, F. R 462 

Stuart, Thomas 99 

Shaw, Henry B 120 

Smiley, Gen. Thomas T 125 

Seay, Samuel facing 208 

Shankland, A. B "317 

Smith, J. M between 4§2, 483 

Stockell, William 405 

Sheffield, Henry, M.D 436 

Sharp, J. M. ; . 437 

Spencc, Adam K 440 



CONTENTS. 



BIOGK/^I^HIIO^L. 

















PAGE 


Scruggs, Theophilus 


483 


Thompson, John 












facing 


69 


Trimble, Hon. James . 












. 


106 


Trimble, Hon. John . 














124 


Tucker, N. G. . 












facing 


265 


Truett, E. . 












" 


322 


Tumble, Peter 












t( 


444 


Vaughan, Johnson 












ii 


371 


Vaughn. Hiram . 












. 


463 


WooJall, F.,M. . 












facing 


446 


Whyto, Robert . 














99 


Whiteside, Jenkin 














99 


"Washington, Hon. Thomas 














110 


Weakley, Robert 












facing 


206 


Williams, Will . 












it 


248 


Williamson, George R. 












" 


338 


Woodward, fi. F. 












tt 


347 



PAGE 

Waggoner, B. P between 482, 483 

Williams, Turner facing 370 

Weaver, D. 384 

Wiitkins, Samuel ......... 395 

Williams, Col. Willoughby 414 

Whitworth, James 428 

Wheless, Gen. John F 433 

While, George L 442 

Washington, W. H 453 

Wilson, John Robertson 466 

Wood, E. G 467 

Woodruff, William H 482 

Yerger, George S. . . . 107 

Yerger, J. S 107 

Young, Robert A facing 324 

Yarbrough, James between 374, 375 



IIjIjTJSTI?.^TI03SrS. 



PORTRAITS. 

PAGE 

Adams, A. G 'between 218, 219 

Adams, Nathan ........ facing 417 

Ament, Samuel P "332 

Baxter, Nathaniel ....... " 91 

Brown, Hon. Neill S. ...-.,. . " 124 

Burns, M. . "216 

Bur'ch, John C "240 

Bell, James T "244 

Bennett, H. S "2.62 

Braden, James "204 

Bowling, W. K., M.D "288 

Briggs, W. T., M.D "292 

Brown, John Lucian ....... " 362 

Boweu, Jeremiah, and Wife " 368 

Berry, W. W between 218, 219 • 

Bransford, Thomas L. facing 430 

Burr, A. E "455 

Byrne, P between 466, 467 

Brown, Aris facing 472 

Banks, Dr. David F 480 

Boudurant, J. M between 482, 483 

Butterworth, John, and Wife .... " 484, 485 

Bowers, John C, and Wife .... " 484, 485 

Campbell, W. B facing 166 

Cheatham, Archer " 204 

Cole, E. W "217 

Clark, William M "245 

Cravath, E. M "262 

Chase, F. A . "262 

Campbell, Michael "267 

Cobb, S.J "285' 

Cockrill, Mark R "424 

Carter, W. J " 432 

Compton, Capt. Henry ..... between 442, 443 

Compton, William " 442, 443 

Compton, Henry W " 442, 443 

Compton, Felix facing 443 

Cabler, C. G "469 

Combs, M. S " 47B 

Chelton, James A 478 

Donelson, A. J. facing 134 

Donelson, D. S "136 

Dake, Dr. J. P " 287 



PAGE 

Dismukes, William M facing 314 

Dodson, Timothy "482 

East, Hon. E. H " 95 

Eve, Paul F "280 

Enloe, T. B., M.D "297 

Eastman, E. G "310 

Edmiston, William " 475 

Earthman, Felix G between 484, 485 

Foster, Hon. Ephraim H "113 

Fogg, Hon. Francis Briuley " 115 

Fanning, T. . - ' "340 

Fisk, Clinton B "260 

Fite, L. B "431 

Prazier, Thomas N., and Wife "459 

Grundy, Hon. Feli,T "100 

Guild, Judge Josephus C. ..... . " 125 

Gillem, A. C "178 

Green, A. L. P " 329 

Gowdey, Thomas "364 

Greer, Col. James L between 372, 373 

Gaut, John C facing 448 

Grinstoad, Dr. A. P " 471 

Gannaway, Ed " 477 

Horton, Joseph W "224 

Harris, J. George "239 

Heiss, Henry "241 

Howington, J. W., and Wife .... between 484, 485 

Huoten, W. R. . . ' .- facing 479 

Hows, John between 428, 429 

Harwood, James A., and Wife facing 372 

Herrin, Thomas "371 

Hudson, W. B., and Wife between 480, 481 

Button, W. C, and Wife « 484, 485 

Harding, John facing 412 

Harding, W. G "419 

Harding, John "429 

Hill, John M "450 

Hayes, 0. B "451 

Hadley, John L "461 

Hooper, H. V "466 

Hurley, Sr., A. H "468 

Hamilton, W. A between 472, 473 

Hughes, David facing 474 

Jackson, Gen. Andrew " 138 



CONTENTS. 



IXjLTJSTE.J^TI03SrS. 



PAQE 

Johnson, James between 372, 373 

Jackson, W.H filing 416 

Johnson, A. W "427 

Jones, T.H " *^^ 

Jackson, A. ...■••• • " *'° 

Jordan, Dr. J. H., and Wife .... between 484, 4So 

Linton, Silas, and Wife facing 483 

Linton, W. J., and Wife "483 

Lindsley, Philip " 255 

Lindsley, J. Berrien, M.D "289 

Lindsley, Van S., M.D "294 

Lea, Hon. John M " 302 

Lovell, W. H., and Wife between 484, 485 

Mayo, Jacob M., and Wife " 484,435 

MoGavock, D facing 197 

McGavoek, F ■ "200 

McGavock, D. H • between 202, 203 

McFerrin, John B facing 242 

Morgan, Helen C "262 

Morgan, Dr. William H " 286 

Menees, Thomas, M.D "291 

Mfiddin, Thomas L "293 

Mcintosh, Frank M • . between 484, 485 

Maxey, P. W. facing 325 

MoMurray, W. J " 457 

Nichol, William "199 

Nelson, Anson " 303 

Nance, Hon. Clement W " 346 

Nelson, George A between 374, 375 

Nelson, George T 481 

O'Neil, By. W 477 

Overton, Hon. John facing 98 

Polk, James K. "160 

Patterson, Dr. Everand Meade " 181 

Phillips, William between 218, 219 

Phillips, Daniel W facing 263 

Plunket, J. D "279 

P'Pool, E. F., M.D "318 

Pennington, J. W between 484, 485 

Philips, William D facing 413 

Paul, Isaac 456 

Robertson, Gen. James facing 126 

Russell, R. "308 

Rains, F. K "402 

Seay, Samuel " 208 

Stockell, William "212 

Smith, J. M between 482, 483 

Spencc, A. K facing 202 

Sheffield, Henry, M.D " 4.-.6 

Shankland, A. B " 317 

Sharp, X M " 4S7 

Thompson, John • " (.9 

Tucker, N. G " 2H5 

Tmett, E "322 

Tamble, Peter, and Wife " 444 

Vaughan, Johnson " 371 

Vaughn, Hiram "463 

Williams, Co). Willoughby "72 

Woodall, F. M - . . " 446 

Weakley, Robert "206 

WilUams, Will "2*8 



PAGE 

White, George L. facing 261 

Williamson, George R. ..... . " 338 

Wood, B. G between 466, 467 

Woodruff, William H ,482 

Woodward, B. F., and Wife facing 347 

Waggoner, B. F., and Wife N . . . . between 482, 483 
Williams, Turner . . . . . . . facing 370 

Weaver, D between 228, 229 

Watkins, Samuel facing 220 

Whitworth, James "428 

Whelcss, Gen. John F "433 

Washington, W. H " 453 

Young, Robert A "324 

Yarbrough, James between 374, 37,5 



VIEWS. 



Bransford, Maj. John S., Residence . 
Capitol of Tennessee .... 

Cheatham, Mrs. Archer, Residence . 
College, Central Tennessee 
Church of the Holy Trinity 
Centennial Exposition Building 
Coropton, Henry W., Residence 
Compton, Henry, Residence 
Davidson County, Geographical Map of 
Davidson County, Pioneer Map of 
Green, Capt. Frank, Residence 
Hermitage ...... 

Hows, John, Residence 
Harwood, James A., Residence . 
Harding, W. G., Views at Belle Meade 
Hudson, W. B., Residence 
/' Hudson, Mrs. N. B., Residence . 
Institute, Nashville .... 

Jackson, Fac-Simile Letter 

Jackson, Gen. Andrew, Equestrian Statue 

McGavock's Map .... 

MoGavock, D. H., Residence 
Manufactory, — Prewitt, Spurr & Co. . 

" Southern Pump Company 

Nashville, Map of Battle-field . 

" in 1804 .... 

" Female Academy 
O'Neil, Henry W., Residence 
Overton, Mrs. M. H., Residence 
Phillips, Capt. William, Residence . 
Philips, William D., Residence . 
Rains, F. R., Residence 
St. Cecilia Academy .... 
Smith, J. M., Residence 
Tennessee, Topographical Map of 

" School for the Blind . 

" Hospital for the Insane . 

Tamble, Peter, Residence . 
University, Vanderbilt 

"■ Fisk Jubilee Hall . 
Vaughn, Hiram, Residence 
Weaver, D., Residence 
Watkins, Samuel, Residence 
Waggoner, B. F., Residence 



of 



facing 
frontisp, 
between 202, 
" 264, 
facing 



between 442, 
" 442, 
facing 



between 428, 
facing 

between 422, 
" 480, 
" 480, 
" 262, 



facing 
between 202, 

facing 
between 222, 

facing 



between 476, 
" 480, 
" 218, 
facing 



between 270, 
" 482, 



facing 



between 258, 
" 260, 
. facing 
between 228, 
facing 
between 482, 



426 
iece 
203 
265 
337 
361 
443 
443 
9 

32 
330 
158 
429 
372 
423 
481 
481 
263 
156 
359 
196 
203 
222 
223 
180 
198. 
268 
477 
481 
219 
414 
460 
271 
483 

47 
266 
304 
444 
259 
261 
404 
229 
394 
483 



^^. ^ 



& 



:^ 







Scale of Miles 

/ ,? ^ -,• 

1 ^ 1 I i -I I J 












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BENT) 

\ -1 



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15 



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A 



HISTOEY 



OF 



DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER I. 

PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENTS. 

Formative Period — Primitive Condition of the Country — First Ex- 
plorers — Discovery of Cumberland River and Gap — First Forts in 
Tennessee — Absence of Indian Settlements — First Permanent Set- 
tlement at Watauga — Spirit and Character of the First Settlers — 
Wake County, North Carolina — The Regulators — Meolclenburgh 
Resolves — Capt. James Robertson — Government established at 
Watauga. 

The first period of the history of Davidson County is 
that which may be termed its formative period, beginning 
with the first distinctive shaping of those events which led 
to its settlement, and closing with its organization as a civil 
division of North Carolina in the year 1783. It will be 
seen that this division of our subject will carry us through 
the first stages of discovery and settlement west of the Al- 
leghany Mountains, and through the period of the Revolu- 
tion, down to the treaty of peace between the thirteen origi- 
nal States and Great Britain, which was ratified the same 
year that Davidson County was organized. 

In order to see the earliest, and to some extent the most 
interesting, phase of the country about which we propose to 
write we must fall in with the current of population ad- 
vancing westward and trace its gradual swell and progress 
until at length its first wave breaks over the crest of the \ 
Appalachian Range and falls into the valleys below. All that 
magnificent country lying to the westward of this great 
mountain-chain, embracing Tennessee and Kentucky, was a 
vast hunting-ground for various Indian tribes, within which 
a few Anglo-American hunters, clad in buckskin "breeches, 
leggins, and moccasins, with their rifles and powder-horns 
slung upon their shoulders, had begun to dispute with the 
aborigines the exclusive monopoly of the finest game-park 
on the continent. We cannot well conceive at the present 
day the interest which this fine country, abounding with 
magnificent forests and streams and stocked to repletion 
with herds of the noblest wild animals, must have awakened 
in the minds of the primitive explorers who first penetrated 
beyond the great mountain-range which for more than a 
century had shut in the view of the dwellers upon the more 
barren and sterile Atlantic slope. It was like the vision of 
a new world, greater far in extent and more beautiful than 
anything of which they had ever conceived; but of the 



country itself little was positively known. A wandering 
Indian would imperfectly delineate upon the sand a feeble 
outline of its more prominent physical features. A voyage 
in a canoe from the sources of the Hogohegee* to the Wa- 
bash| required for its performance, in their figurative lan- 
guage, " two paddles, two warriors, three moons." The 
Ohio itself was but the tributary of a still larger river, of 
whose source, size, and direction no intelligible account 
could be communicated. The Mussel Shoals and the ob- 
structions in the river above them were magnified into 
mighty cataracts and fearful whirlpools, and the Suck was 
represented as an awful vortex. The wild beasts with 
which the illimitable forests abounded were numbered by 
pointing to the leaves upon the trees or the stars in a 
cloudless sky. 

These vague and uncertain intimations were soon supple- 
mented by more definite information coming through 
traders who penetrated to the Indian countries of the 
Southwest. The first of these was Cornelius Dogherty, a 
trader from Virginia, who established himself at the Mid- 
dle Settlement of the Cherokees, on the Little Tennessee, 
as early as 1690. He sent furs and peltry by Indian pack- 
men to Charleston, who returned packed with merchandise, 
which the natives received in exchange. Other traders 
followed, and in 1 740 a regular route of communication for 
pack-horses and agents was opened along the Great Path 
from Virginia to the centre of the Cherokee Nation. The 
last hunter's cabin at that time was on the Otter River, 
now in Bedford Co., Va. The traders and packmen gen- 
erally confined themselves to the Great Path till it crossed 
the Little Tennessee ; then spreading themselves out among 
the several Cherokee villages, they continued their trafiBic as 
far^ down the Great Tennessee as the Indian settlement 
upon Bear Creek. The commerce with the natives was 
profitable, and not only attracted many traders but others, 
who pursued trapping and liunting independently of the 
Indians. 

Among these early adventurers were some men of con- 
siderable note. Dr. Thomas Walker, of Virginia, in com- 
pany with Cols. Wood, Patton, and Buchanan, Capt. 
Charles Campbell, and a number of hunters, passed Pow- 

* Holston. 

f The Ohio was known many years by that name. 



10 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ell's Valley in 1748, and gave the name of Cumberland to 
the lofty range of mountains on the west. Tracing this 
range in a southwestern direction. Dr. Walker and his 
party came to the remarkable depression in the chain to 
which they gave the name of Cumberland Gap. Through 
that gap flowed the tide of emigration from the East to the 
West ibr more than half a century. On the western side 
they discovered the beautiful mountain-stream which they 
called the Cumberland River.* 

Two forts were built in what is now Tennessee during 
the French war, viz.. Fort Loudon, on the Tennessee, in 
1756, and the Long Island fort, on the Holston, in 1758. 
The former was destroyed in 1760. When it was erected it 
was one hundred and fifty miles in advance of any settlement, 
the most western settlement at that time being composed of 
sis families on the western side of New River. During 
the French war the Indians attacked these settlers, murder- 
ing Burke and his Aimily, and compelling the others to fly 
for safety to the eastern side of the river. No attempt was 
made to carry the white settlements farther west till the 
close of the war. 

In 1760 the Cherokees were at peace with the whites, 
and hunters began to renew their explorations. In this 
year Dr. Walker made a tour of inspection in what is now 
Kentucky, and Daniel Boone left his famous inscription on 
a beech-tree in the valley of Boone's Creek, a tributary of 
the Watauga, commemorating his deed of prowess in having 
tliere " cilled a bar" that year. In 1761 he came at the 
head of one of the companies from Virginia and North 
Carolina who settled in Carter's Valley, in what is now 
Hawkins Co., Tenn. Boone himself was from the Yadkin, 
in North Carolina, and, according to Haywood, traveled 
with the company he was guiding as far down as where 
Abingdon now stands, and there left them. This famous 
pioneer of civilization continued in his work of guiding 
settlers into new counties still farther westward till he 
reached the St. Charles district in Missouri, where he died 
in 1820. In 1762, Wallen and his company passed down 
the south fork of the Holston, having crossed the Blue 
Ridge at Flower Gap, New River at Jones' Ford, and 
the Iron Mountain at the Blue Spring. They fixed their 
•station camp near the Tennessee line, and on the present 
road from Jonesborough to Rogersville. Some of the com- 
pany descended to Greasy Rock Creek, and fixed their 
camp near the present line between Hawkins and Clai- 
bourne Counties. The next year Wallen and his party 
passed through Cumberland Gap, and hunted during the 
wliole season on the Cumberland River. 

In 1764, Dan' '. Boone, still living on the Yadkin, set 
out, in the employ of the Transylvania Companj^, to exploi'e 
portions of the -^reat country now included in Kentucky 
and Tennessee. With him came Samuel Callaway, his 
• kinsman and the ancestor of the respectable family of that 
name who were pioneers of Kentucky, Tennessee, and 
Missouri. Callaway was at the side of Boone when, ap- 
proaching the spurs of the Cumberland Mountain and in 
view of the vast herds of buffalo grazing in the valleys be- 
tween them, he exclaimed, " I am richer than the man 

*■ These nnincs were given in honor of the DuUe of CumberlanJ. 



mentioned in Scripture, who owned the cattle on a thou- 
sand hills ; I own the wild beasts of more than a thousand 
valleys." During the following year Henry Scaggins, who 
was also employed by Col. Richard Henderson, of the Tran- 
sylvania Company, extended his explorations to the lower 
Cumberland, and fixed his station at Mansker's Lick. 

" About the last of June, 1766, Col. James Smith setoff 
to explore the great body of rich lands which, by convers- 
ing with the Indians, he understood to be between the Ohio 
and Cherokee Rivers, and lately ceded by a treaty made with 
Sir William Johnson to the king of Great Britain. He 
went, in the first place, to Holston River, and thence trav- 
eled westwardly in company with Joshua Horton, Uriah 
Stone, and William Baker, who came from Carlisle, Pa. — 
four in all — and a slave, aged eighteen, belonging to Hor- 
ton. They explored the country •south of Kentucky, and 
no vestige of a white man was to be found there, more 
than there is now at the head of the Missouri. They also 
explored Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers from Stone's 
River down to the Ohio. Stone's River is a branch of 
Cumberland, and empties into it eight or ten miles above 
Nashville. It was so named in the journal, of these ex- 
plorers after Mr. Stone, one of their number, and has ever 
since retained the name. Wlien they came to the mouth 
of Tennessee Col. Smith concluded to return home, and the 
others to proceed to the Illinois. They gave to Col. Smith 
the greater part of their powder and lead, amounting only to 
half a pound of the former and a proportionate quantity of 
lead. Mr. Horton also left with him his slave, and Smith 
set off with him through the wilderness to Carolina. Near 
a buffalo-path they made them a shelter ; but fearing the 
Indians might pass that way and discover his fireplace he 
removed to a greater distance from it. After remaining 
there six weeks he proceeded on his journey, and arrived 
in Carolina in October. He thence traveled to Fort Ciiis- 
sel, and from there returned home to Coneco-Cheague, in 
the fnll of 1767."t 

This exploration of Col. Smith was, with the exception 
of Scaggins', the first that had been made of the country 
west of Cumberland Mountain in Tennessee by any of 
the Anglo-American race. The extraordinary fertility of 
the soil upon the Lower Cumberland, the luxuriant cane- 
brakes upon the table-lands of its tributaries, its dark and 
variegated forest, its rich flora, its exuberant pasturage, 
in a word, the exact adaptation of the country to all the 
wants and purposes of a great and flourishing community, 
impressed the explorer with the importance of his discovery, 
and of its great value to such of his countrymen as should 
afterwards come in and possess it. Not strange was it that 
the recital of what he had seen during his long and perilous 
absence should excite in Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and 
Pennsylvania, as he passed homeward, an urgent and irre- 
pressible desire to emigrate to and settle this El Dorado 
of the West.J 

During the year 1767, John Findley, a fearless Indian 
trader from North Carolina, accompanied by several asso- 
ciates, made an excursion into the new country now ex- 
citing so much interest in the Eastern settlements. They 



f Ila^-woocl. 



f Anniils of Tennessee, p. 70. 



PROGRESS OP DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENTS. 



11 



passed tlirough upper East Tennessee to Cumberland Gap, 
and thence continued their explorations to the Kentucky 
River. The spirit of adventure had now become almost a 
mania, numbering among its subjects nearly every bold and 
fearless backwoodsman. Companies of these varying in 
numbers from two to forty accumulated in rapid succession 
upon the border settlements from the Monongahela to the 
Savannah, and excited in the minds of the more discreet 
and sagacious settlers apprehensions of renewed hostilities 
from the now friendly Indians. These apprehensions were 
not without foundation. By the opening of the spring of 
1768 the savages along the whole line of the western 
frontier, from the sources of the Savannah to those of the 
Tennessee, had become exasperated and united in their de- 
termination to check further encroachments upon their ter- 
ritory. None of these Indians were residing at tliis time 
in the territory of Kentucky or Tennessee, nor had any of 
tliem a rightful claim to a foot of it, save as a common 
hunting-ground. The exploring and hunting parties dis- 
covered no signs of Indian occupation. 

" But in their frequent peregrinations and trading expedi- 
tions through the vast territories between the Ohio and the 
Tennessee Rivers the first traders, hunters, and explorers 
never found, within that extent of country, a single wig- 
wam or modern Indian village. The Indian settlements 
nearest to the frontier borders of the Carolinas, and of 
Southwestern Virginia, were on the Scioto and Miami in 
the North, and on the waters of the Little Tennessee in the 
South. From these points the various war or hunting 
parties issued to engage in the one or the other pursuit as 
the passions or the opportunities of their expeditions might 
lead. Here the Choctaws, Chickasaws, or Cherokees of 
the South used to engage with the various tribes of the 
Miami Confederacy of the North ; here they indulged their 
passion for hunting in the profusion of game afforded by 
Tennessee and Kentucky. That part of these two States 
embraced within tlie boundaries mentioned was one great 
park, where the skill of the uncivilized hunter was practiced, 
and a central theatre, upon which the desperate conflicts of 
savage warriors and bloody rivals were perpetrated. By 
common agreement of all the surrounding tribes this whole 
section of country seems to have been reserved for these 
purposes from permanent occupancy ; and so much was it 
exempted from settlement, that south of the Ohio and 
north and east of the Tennessee it is not known that a 
single village was settled by the Indians ; yet no situations 
have generally delighted savage tribes so much as the mar- 
gins of water-courses, — the opportunities of navigation and 
of fishing unite to attract them to such spots. Some 
known and acknowledged inhibition must have, therefore, 
prevented the settlement and possession of this great Mes- 
opotamia. What was it ? On this subject tradition and 
history are alike indistinct and unsatisfactory."* 

We think, on the contrary, that quite a clear and satis- 
factory explanation is furnished. It is well known to the 
careful student of history that at the period of which we 
are speaking the whole territory of this neutral hunting- 
ground as far south as the Tennes.see River (called in 

^^ MoucLte. 



ancient treaties the river of the Cherokees) was admitted 
by all other tribes to belong to the confederacy of the Six 
Nations by right of conquest, and that the Six Nations 
inhibited the occupancy of it by any of the surrounding 
tribes except for the purpose of a common hunting-ground. 
This will appear in our Indian history in another chapter. 

After the return of Col. Smith, Isaac Lindsay and four 
others from South Carolina vi.sited the Lower Cumberland. 
Nothing of importance is mentioned in connection with this 
expedition, except that the explorers mot at the mouth of 
Stone's River two other hunters — Stoner and Harrod — who 
were from the Illinois, having descended the Ohio River 
from Pittsburgh. They were informed that the French had 
a station at the bluff where Nashville now stands, and 
another ten or twelve miles above the mouth of the Ten- 
nessee. 

We come now to the period when the first permanent 
settlement was effected in Tennessee. The progress of 
events thus far has shown us only the avant courier of the 
mighty host soon to cross the border and begin the conquest 
of the wilderness, — -a conquest to be carried forward across 
the Western continent till the banner of civilization should 
be planted upon the shores of the Pacific. At this point 
in our progress we can well appreciate the spirit and beauty 
of that passage in Ramsey's "Annals of Tennessee" where 
he sees crowds of immigrants concentrating at the leading 
avenues from the Atlantic to the Western waters, standing 
for a moment impatient of longer restraint and casting a 
wishful look upon the inviting country before them. We 
quote : 

" Tennessee was yet without a single civilized inhabitant. 
We have traced the approaches of the Anglo-American 
population to her eastern boundary. The genius of civil- 
ization, in her progress from the East, had passed the ba.se of 
the great Appalachian Range. She stood upon its summit, 
proud of past success, and, ambitious of further and greater 
achievement, surveyed from that height the wide field be- 
fore and around her. On her right are the rich valleys and 
luxuriant plains of Kentucky and Ohio, as yet imperfectly 
known from the obscure report of the returning explorer 
or the Shawnee prisoner. On the left her senses are re- 
galed by the luxuriant groves, the delightful savannas, and 
the enchanting beauties of the sunny South. Far in the 
distance and immediately before her she contemplates the 
Great West. Its vastness at first overwhelms and astounds 
her, but at the extreme limit of her vision American adven- 
ture and Western enterprise are seen beckoning her to move 
forward and to occupy the goodly land. She descends to the 
plains below, and on the prolific soil of the quiet Watauga, 
in the lonely seclusion of one of its ancient forests, is de- 
posited the germ of the future State of Tennessee. In 
that germ were contained all the elements of prospective 
greatness and achievement. What these elements were 
succeeding pages will but feebly develop and illustrate. 
Toil, enterprise, perseverance, and courage had planted 
that germ in a distant wilderness. The circumstances that 
surrounded it required for its growth, culture, and protec- 
tion wisdom, virtue, patriotism, valor, and self-reliance. 
American was to become Western character, and here was 
the place and this the time of its first germination." 



12 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



The great impulse given to immigratioD at tliis time was 
caused in a great measure by the result of the treaty of 
Fort Stanwix, in which the Six Nations of New York had 
ceded to the English their acknowledged claim to the coun- 
try between the Ohio and the Tennessee Rivers. This 
treaty was concluded in November, 1768. Dr. Walker, 
the commissioner from Virginia, had returned from Fort 
Stanwix, and brought with him an account of the cession. 
At Hard Labor, also, in October of the same year, the 
Cherokees has given their assent to the further expan- 
sion of the settlements on the Holston ; and in January, 
1769, was formed the nucleus of the first permanent 
settlement of the white race in Tennessee. " It was 
merely an enlargement of the Virginia settlement near it, 
and at the time was believed to be upon the territory of 
that province, the line dividing Virginia from North Ca- 
rolina not having been yet run west of Steep Rock. . . . 
Of those who ventured farthest into the wilderness with 
their families was Capt. William Bean. He came from 
Pittsylvania Co., Va., and settled early in 1769 on Boone's 
Creek, a tributary of Watauga, in advance of Carter and 
others, who soon after settled upon the stream. His son, 
Russell Bean, was the first white child born in what is now 
Tennessee. Capt. Bean had hunted with Boone, knew 
his camp, and selected this as the place of his settlement on 
account of its abundant game. His cabin was not far from 
Watauga. He was an intrepid man, and will be mentioned 
hereafter. Bean's Station was afterwards settled by him." 

As the settlers at Watauga were chiefly from Wake Co., 
N. C, and some of them subsequently bore a conspicuous 
part in the settlements on the Cumberland and in founding 
the city of Nashville, it will be proper to glance briefly at 
their antecedents, to see the character of the social and 
political life out of which they sprang, and the spirit 
which they brought with them to their new homes beyond 
the mountains. In a strictly philosophical history it would 
be necessary to consider the race and blood of a people. 
The first great force in any local or social development is 
character. The question is, What kind of people were the 
movers in it ? From what race did they spring ? Were 
they Turks, Jews, Germans, or Anglo-Saxon? What 
blood flowed in their veins, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, or 
Huguenot ? Were they English Royalists or Puritan Dis- 
senters, Cavaliers or Roundheads? The typical develop- 
ment in all political, ecclesiastical, social, industrial, and 
educational matters is so distinctly marked in each separate 
race that it is an easy matter for the skilled ethnologist to 
trace all these, a posteriori, to the particular nationality 
whence they spring, and to determine, a priori, precisely 
what kind of civilization might naturally be expected from 
the peculiar genius of each people. The tendency in our 
composite state of society is towards the obliteration of all 
these primitive ethnical peculiarities in one homogenous 
American type of character. Still, these distinctions were 
marked during the colonial period of our history, and each 
branch or family of original settlers has left its own peculiar 
impress upon the social organizations and institutions which 
it founded, so that it is more or less visible to the present 
day. 

This would be an interesting theme for the philosophical 



historian to discuss, but we lay no claim to such qualifi- 
cations, nor is a history which must deal chiefly with.mere 
local annals the place for it. It is due, however, to the 
noble race of Scotch-Irish patriots, and to the old North 
State whence they came to Eastern and Middle Tennessee, 
that due credit should be given them in a history which 
they contributed so largely to form. 

At the date of our allusion to affairs in North Carolina 
the storm of the Revolution was gathering. Wake and 
Mecklenburg Counties had been settled by Scotch-Irish from 
Pennsylvania and Virginia, who at an early period of the 
colonies had emigrated from the north of Ireland, — a people 
noted throughout all their history for their love of liberty 
and for their readiness and energy in resisting oppression 
in all its forms. From the Covenanters to Carrickfergus, 
the home of the ancestors of Gen. Jackson, and in the' 
whisky riots of Virginia, these people had shown their 
valor and patriotism ; and now another occasion was ofiered 
under the odious administration of Governor Tryon, whose 
rapacity and greed to devour the substance of the people 
were significantly epitomized in the appellation " The Great 
He- Wolf," applied to him in the vigorous parlance of that 
day. The oppressive measures of this Governor, in ex- 
orbitant and unjust taxes and fees imposed without their 
consent and against their oft-repeated remonstrances, led to 
the famous organization of the Regulators, at the head of 
whom was that remarkable man Herman Husbands. 

Husbands published in 1770 his " Impartial Relation," 
the most remarkable book of the period, full of sound 
maxims of political wisdom, and of the most scathing in- 
vectives against tyrants. It made a most profound im- 
pression. The spirit of resistance, which had now been 
thoroughly aroused, widened and increased, until the result 
was the battle of Alamance, in which was shed the first 
blood of the Revolution. This battle was fought on the 
16th of May, 1771, — four years before Lexington and 
Bunker Hill, — between about eleven hundred well-armed 
troops, under Governor Tryon, and about two thousand cit- 
izens, hastily assembled and poorly equipped, commanded 
by Husbands, who had no experience in military tactics. 
The battle terminated in the defeat of the citizens, with a 
loss of two hundred on their part and of sixty-odd of the 
regular army. 

The historian Bancroft, who examined the British state 
papers" touching all matters pertaining to the Regulation, 
wrote D. L. Swain, Esq., of North Carolina : " Their com- 
plaints were well founded, and were so acknowledged, 
though their oppressors were only nominally punished. 
They form the connecting link between the Stamp Act and 
the events of 1775, and they also played a glorious part in 
taking possession of the Mississippi Valley, towards which 
they were carried irresistibly by their love of independence. 
It is a mistake if any have supposed that the Regulators 
were cowed down by their defeat at the Alamance. Like 
the mammoth, they shook the bolt from their brow and 
crossed the mountains." 

Putnam, in his " Life and Times of General Robertson," 
remarks, " The battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill came 
in after-years ; but the ball was set in motion as early and 
by as pure hearts and resolute hands in North Carolina as 



PROGEESS OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENTS. 



13 



in Massachusetts. And here, as well as there, was a people 
religiously educated in the great truths of the Bible, the 
right of conscience, and the rights of property." 

We place by the side of this first conflict of the Revolu- 
tion the famous " Mecklenburg Resolves," adopted by a 
convention of Mecklenburg Co., N. C, at Charlotte, May 
20, 1775, one year, one month, and sixteen days before the 
general declaration of independence. Abraham Alexander 
was chosen chairman and John BIcKuitt Alexander secre- 
tary. After a free and full discussion of the various objects 
of the meeting, which continued in session till two o'clock 
A.M. on the 20th, it was unanimously 

"I. Resolved^ That whosoever, directly or indirectly, 
abetted, or in any way, form, or manner countenanced the 
unchartered and dangerous invasion of our rights, as claimed 
by Great Britain, is an enemy to this country, to America, 
and to the inherent and inalienable rights of man. 

" II. Resolved, That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg 
County, do hereby dissolve the political bands which hove 
connected us to the mother-country, and hereby absolve 
ourselves from all allegiance to the British crown, and ab- 
jure all political connection, contract, or association with 
that nation, who have wantonly trampled on our rights and 
liberties and inhumanly shed the blood of American patriots 
at Lexington. 

" III. Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a 
free and independent people, are, and of right ought to be, 
a sovereign and self-governing association, under the control 
of no power other than that of our God and the general 
government of the Congress ; to the maintenance of which 
independence we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual 
co-operation, our lives, our fortunes, and our most sacred 
honor. 

" IV. Resolved, That as we now acknowledge the exist- 
ence and control of no law or legal officer, civil or military, 
within this county, we do hereby ordain and adopt, as a rule 
of life, all, each, and every of our former laws, wherein, 
nevertheless, the crown of Great Britain never can be con- 
sidered as holding rights, privileges, immunities, or authority 
therein." 

Other resolutions were adopted making provision for the 
new condition of things. A copy of the proceedings of the 
convention was sent by express to the North Carolina mem- 
bers of Congress, then in session in Philadelphia. These 
delegates, approving of the spirit of their fellow-citizens and 
the elevated tone of the resolutions, thought them, never- 
theless, premature, as the Continental Congress had not yet 
abandoned all hopes of reconciliation, upon honorable terms, 
with the mother-country. 

Out of the bosom of such society came those noble pio- 
neers who at a later day established independent govern- 
ments in the wilderness beyond the mountains, first at 
Watauga and then upon the Cumberland. The same blood 
flowed in their veins, the same spirit animated them, and 
the same love of law and order was the germinal principle 
of the institutions which now flourish in Tennessee. 

Robertson had crossed the mountains to Watauga before 
the battle of Alamance, in 1770, made preparation for the 
removal of his family, and returned to Wake County. lie 
was there at the time of the battle of Alamance, and is 



thought by some to have participated in it. We take the 
following account of his first visit to Watauga from Hay- 
wood's " History of Tennessee" : 

" He visited the delightful country on the waters of 
Holston, to view the new settlements which then began to 
be formed on the Watauga. Here he found one Honeycut 
living in a hut, who furnished him with food. He made a 
crop there the first year. On recrossing the mountains he 
got lost for some time, and coming to a precipice, over 
which his horse could not be led, he left him there and 
traveled on foot. His powder was wetted b)» repeated 
showers, and could not be used in the procurement of game 
for food. Fourteen days he wandered without eating, till 
he was so much reduced and weakened that he began seri- 
ously to despair of reaching his home again. But there is a 
Providence which rules over over the destinies of men, and 
preserves them to run the race appointed for them. Un- 
promising as were the prospects of James Robertson at 
that time, having neither learning, experience, property, 
nor friends to give him countenance, and with spirits 
drooping under the pressure of penury and a low estate, 
yet the God of nature had given him an elevated soul and 
planted in it the seeds of virtue, which made him in the 
midst of discouraging circum.stances look forward to better 
times. He was accidentally met by two hunters, on whom 
he could not, without much and pressing solicitation, pre- 
vail so far as to be permitted to ride on one of their horses. 
They gave him food, of which he ate sparingly for some 
days till his strength and spirits returned to him. This is 
the man who will figure in the future so deservedly as the 
greatest benefactor of the first settlers of the country. He 
reached home in safety, and soon afterwards returned to 
Watauga with a few others and there settled." 

The place became an asylum from tyranny in the old 
portion of the colony, and many who saw no immediate 
prospect of a redress of their grievances resorted thither for 
peaceful and quiet homes. The settlement increased rap- 
idly, and soon the people organized a form of government 
for themselves. Meeting at Robertson's in May, 1772, they 
adopted articles of association. The commissioners elected 
were John Carter, James Robertson, Charles Robertson, 
Zachariah Isbell, John Sevier, James Smith, Jacob Brown, 
William Bean, John Jon'es, George Russell, Jacob Wo- 
mack, Robert Lucas, and William Tatham. Those selected 
as judges of the court were John Carter, James and Charles 
Robertson, Zachariah Isbell, and John Sevier. William 
Tatham was chosen clerk. The reader will become familiar 
with some of these names farther on in our history. 

The simple form of government thus established was 
sufficient for all practical purposes for several years. The 
articles of this association, which, it is believed, formed the 
first written compact of government west of the Alleghany 
Mountains, have unfortunately been lo.st. They were 
adopted three years prior to the association formed for 
Kentucky under the great elm-tree outside of the fort at 
Boonesboro', on the thick sward of the fragrant clover so 
graphically spoken of by Bancroft. 



14 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER II. 

HENDEKSON'S TKEATY. 

Col. Richard Henderson — Treaty at Sycamore Shoals — Transylvania 
Land Company — Thomas Sharpe Spencer — Kasper Mansker and 
Others of 1769-70— The Long Hunters— First Water Expedition 
on the Cumberland — Site of Nashville — Origin of the Licks — 
Boundary I^ine hetwecn Virginia and North Carolina, 

Before entering upon an account of the actual settle- 
ment of this portion of Middle Tennessee, it will be neces- 
sary to sgpak of the operations of Col. Richard Henderson 
and his treaty with the Cherokee Indians. In 1774, Col. 
Henderson and his associates of the " Transylvania Land 
Company" — a large corporation which had been formed 
for the purpose of speculating in lands between the Ohio 
and Tennessee Rivers — sent agents among the Cherokees 
to ascertain tlieir views with reference to a cession of their 
claim to lands in " the Kentucky country." The chiefs 
■were invited to the Sycamore Shoals, on the Watauga 
River, to enter into a treaty. Accordingly they assem- 
bled at the appointed time. Gen. Robertson was present to 
assist in the negotiations. " On this occasion," says Judge 
Haywood, " and before the Indians had concluded to make 
tlie cession, Oconnostata,* a Cherokee orator, called also 
Chief Warrior and First Representative, as well as Head 
Prince of the Clierokee Nation, delivered a very animated 
and pathetic speech" in opposition to the sale of the lands. 

In spite of his eloquence and predictions, however, the 
treaty was concluded on the 17th of March, 1775. It con- 
veyed to Henderaon and his associates all the lands lying 
between the Cumberland and Kentucky Rivers, in consid- 
eration of ten thousand pounds sterling, payable in mer- 
chandise. Twelve hundred Indians are said to have been 
assembled on the treaty-ground. f A young brave at the 
treaty was overheard by the interpreter to urge in support 
of the Transylvania cession this argument : That the set- 
tlement and occupancy of the ceded territory would inter- 
pose an impregnable barrier between the Northern and 
Southern Indians, and that the latter would in future have 
quiet and undisturbed possession of the choice hunting- 
grounds south of the Cumberland. His argument pre- 
vailed against the prophetic warning and eloquent remon- 
strance of Oconnostata. That aged chieftain signed the 
treaty reluctantly, and taking Daniel Boone by the hand, 
said, with most significant earnestness, " Brother, we have 
given you a fine land, but I believe you will have much 
trouble in settling it," — words which subsequent events but 
too mournfully verified. 

The associates of Henderson were Thomas Hart, John 
Williams, James Hogg, Nathaniel Hart, David Hart, Leon- 
ard H. Bulloch, John Luttrell, and William Johnson. 
They proposed to establish a new colony by the name of 
Transylvania, and sent a petition to Continental Congress 
to be admitted as one of the united colonies, declaring 
themselves in hearty sympathy with the struggle for inde- 
pendence. 

* This is the same chief whoso elegant Indian treaty-pitcher was 
presented to the Tennessee Historical Society by Mrs. President Polk, 
of which more hereafter. 

f Mouettc. 



This treaty being made by a corporation of private in- 
dividuals was pronounced invalid by proclamations of Lord 
Densmore, Governor of Virginia, and Governor Martin, of 
North Carolina. However, before this decision was had 
it had created an immense furor along the frontier, and mul- 
titudes were eagerly pressing to cross the boundary and take 
possession of the " goodly land." 

A portion of Henderson's purchase on the Lower Cum- 
berland was within the supposed bounds of North Carolina. 
It was at first reached through the old. route by the way of 
Cumberland Gap, and explorers continued to pass through 
it on their way to Middle Tennessee. Among others Kas- 
per Mansker renewed his visit in 1775, and came to the 
Cumberland in company with the Bryants. They en- 
camped at Mansker's Lick. Most of them became dissat- 
isfied with the country and returned home. Mansker and 
three others remained and pursued trapping on Sulphur 
Fork and Red River. 

Thomas Sharp Spencer and others, allured by the flatter- 
ing accounts they had received of the country, the fertility 
of soil and abundance of game, visited it in 1776. They 
came to the Cumberland River and erected a number of 
cabins. Most of them returned, but Spencer and Halli- 
day determined to remain. In 1778 they were joined by 
Richard Hogan, and in the spring of that year the party 
planted a small field of corn at Bledsoe's Lick, which was 
the first plantation cultivated by Americans in Middle Ten- 
nessee. Spencer was pleased with the country and with 
the prospect of rapid settlement, and determined to remain. 
He selected for his house a large hollow sycamore near the 
Lick, in which he resided for some time. Halliday, how- 
ever, decided to leave the wilderness, and in vain attempted 
to persuade Spencer to go with him. Having lost his knife, 
Halliday was unwilling to attempt the long journey through 
the wilderness without one with which to skin his venison 
and cut his meat. With true backwoods generosity Spen- 
cer accompanied his comrade to the barrens of Kentucky, 
put him on the right path, broke his knife and gave him 
half of it, and then returned to his hollow tree at the Lick, 
where he passed the winter. 

"Spencer was a man of gigantic stature, £fhd passing one 
morning the temporary cabin erected at a place since called 
Eaton's Station, and occupied by one of Capt. De Mum- 
brune's hunters, his huge tracks vpcre left plainly impressed 
in the rich alluvial. These were seen by the hunter on his 
return to the camp, who, alarmed at their size, immediately 
swam across the river and wandered through the woods until 
he reached the French settlements on the Wabash. "J 

That he was stronger than any two men of his day the 
following incident vpill show : With the help of two stout 
men he was building a house on " Spencer's choice." One 
day he lay before his fire sick and disinclined to exertion. 
The others continued the work, but finally had to stop on 
account of their inability to raise the heavy end of a log to 
its place, though they had succeeded with the lighter end. 
Spencer tried to stimulate them by saying that he could 
put it up by himself, when one of them, who had fre- 
quently expressed the belief that he was a match for Spen- 

I Ramsey, p. 194. 



HENDERSON'S TREATY. 



15 



cer, dared him insultingly to the trial. Spencer arose and 
lifted the log to its place with the greatest ease, and re- 
turned to his pallet. His opponent after this ceased to put 
in any claims of rivalrj'. 

His peaceful disposition is illustrated in the following 
instance : Two young men were vigorously pummeling each 
other on some public occasion when Spencer stepped up 
and separated them at arms' length, mildly remonstrating 
with them on their conduct. Bob Shaw, a very stout man 
himself, wanted to see the fight, and dealt Spencer a sting- 
ing blow in the face for interfering. Spencer instantly 
turned on Shaw, and seizing him by the nape of the neck 
and the waistband of his trowsers, carried him bodily to a 
high fence not far off and tossed him over. This ended all 
fighting while he was present. 

While on the scout or march he always preferred to go 
some distance in advance or rear, for safety as he thought, 
trusting to his own watchfulness to avoid danger. This 
peculiarity finally cost him his life. He had been to North 
Carolina to get a legacy of two thousand dollars in specie, 
and was returning with a train of wagons through the South 
Pass of Cumberland Mountains, now known as Spencer's 
Hill. As usual, he was far in advance, though it was one 
of the most dangerous localities on the route. A number 
of the whites had been killed or wounded here at different 
times, among the former Armistead Morgan, the best fid- 
dler in the Cumberland settlement, and withal an excellent 
Indian-fighter. On this occasion Spencer was fired upon at 
short range and fell dead ; his horse turned quickly, throw- 
ing oif his saddle-bags containing his money, and made his 
way back to the train. 

"THE LONG HUNTERS." 

The following account of tlie " Long Hunters," with a 
few slight changes, is quoted from Ramsey's " Annals of 
Tennessee" : 

" On the 2d of June, 17C9, a large company of adven- 
turers was formed for the jjurpose of hunting and exploring 
in what is now Middle Tennessee. As the country was dis- 
covered and settled by the enterprise and defended by the 
valor of these first explorers, we choose to give their names, 
the places from which they came, and such details of their 
hazardous journeyings as have been preserved. 

" May the time never come when the self-sacrificing toil 
and the daring hardihood of the pioneers of Tennessee will 
be forgotten or undervalued by their posterity. The com- 
pany consisted of more than twenty men, some of them 
from North Carolina, others from the neighborhood of the 
Natural Bridge, and others from the infant settlement near 
Inglis' Ferry, in Virginia. The names of some of them 
follow : John Rains, Kasper Mansker, Abraham Bledsoe, 
John Baker, Joseph Drake, Obadiah Terrill, Uriah Stone, 
Henry Smith, Ned Cowan, Robert Crockett. The place 
of rendezvous was eight miles below Fort Chissel, on New 
River. They came by the head of Holston, and crossing 
the north fork. Clinch and Powell's Rivers, and passing 
through Cumberland Gap, discovered the southern part of 
Kentucky, and fixed a station-eamp at a place since called 
Price's Meadow, in Wayne County, where they agreed to 
deposit their game and skins. The hunters here dispensed in 



different directions, the whole company still traveling to the 
southwest. They came to Roaring River and the Cany 
Fork at a point far above the mouth and somewhere near the 
foot of the mountain. Robert Crockett was killed near the 
head-waters of Roaring River when returning to the camp, 
provided for two or three days' traveling ; the Indians were 
there in ambush and fired upon and killed him. The In- 
dians were traveling to the north, seven or eight in com- 
pany. Crockett's body was found on the war-track lead- 
ing from the Cherokee Nation towards the Shawnee tribe. 
All the country through which these hunters passed was 
covered with high grass; no traces of- any human settle- 
ment could be seen, and the primeval state of things reigned 
in unrivaled glory, though under dry caves, on the side of 
creeks, they found many places where stones were set up that 
covered large quantities of human bones; these were also 
found in the caves, with which the country abounds. They 
continued to hunt eight or nine months, when part of them 
returned in April, 1770.* 

" The return of Findley and Boone to the banks of the 
Yadkin, and of the explorers whose journal has just been 
given to their several homes, produced a remarkable sensa- 
tion. Their friends and neighbors were enraptured with 
the glowing descriptions of the delightful country they had 
discovered, and their imaginations were inflamed with the 
account of the wonderful products which were yielded in 
such bountiful profusion. The sterile hills and rocky up- 
lands of the Atlantic country began to lose their interest 
when compared with the fertile valleys beyond the moun- 
tains. A spirit of further exploration was thus excited in 
the settlements on New River, Holston, and Clinch, which 
originated an association of about forty stout hunters, for 
the purpose of hunting and trapping west of Cumberland 
Mountains. Equipped with their rifles, traps, dogs, blank- 
ets, and dressed in the hunting-shirt, leggins, and mocca- 
sins, they commenced their arduous enterprise in the real 
spirit of hazardous adventure, through the rough forest and 
rugged hills. The names of these adventurers are now not 
known. The expedition was led by Col. James Knox. The 
leader and nine others of the company penetrated to the 
Lower Cumberland, and making there an extensive and 
irregular circuit, adding much to their knowledge of the 
country, after a long absence returned home. They are 
known as the 'Long Hunters.' " 

Following the long hunters in 1770 was the first water 
expedition down the Cumberland River. It was made by 
Kasper Mansker, Uriah Stone, John Baker, Thomas Gor- 
don, Humphrey Hogan, Cash Brook, and others, ten in all, 
who built two boats and two trapping canoes, loaded them 
with the proceeds of their hunting, and descended the 
beautiful Cumberland, before unnavigated except by the 
French pirogue or the gliding canoe of the Indian. Where 
Nashville now stands they discovered the French Lick, and 
found around it immense numbers of buffalo and other 
wild game. The country was crowded with them, and 
their bellowing sounded upon the hills and the forest. On 
the mound near the French Lick the voyagers discovered 
a stockade fort, built, as they supposed, by the Cherokees 

■■■■■ Hjiywooil, 



16 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



on their retreat from the battle at the Chickasaw Old 
Fields. The voyagers proceeded down the river to the 
mouth of the Cumberland. Here they met a company of 
plumed and painted warriors on their way up the Ohio, 
about twenty-five in number, under John Brown, the old 
mountain leader; they replenished their guns and ammuni- 
tion from the store of the hunters, and, without offering 
them any personal violence, proceeded on the war-path 
against the Senecas. They were kindly treated by French 
traders to the Illinois, whom they met at the mouth of the 
Ohio, and continued their voyage as far down as Natchez, 
where some of them remained ; but Mansker and Baker 
returned by way of the Keowee towns to New River. 

In the fall of 1771, Kasper Blansker, John Montgomery, 
Isaac Bledsoe, Joseph Drake, Henry Suggs, James Knox, 
William and David Linch, Christopher Stoph, William 
Allen, and others made further explorations on the Lower 
Cumberland. Among them was an old hunter named 
Russell, who was so dim-sighted that he was obliged to tie 
a white piece of paper at the muzzle of his gun to direct 
his sight at the game ; and yet he was quite successful in 
killing deer. The winter being inclement the hunters built 
a house of skins, leaving five men in charge of it, while 
the others returned home for ammunition. During their 
absence, a company of Northern Indians attacked the camp 
and took Stoph and Allen prisoners. Hughes made his 
escape, and meeting the company i-eturning they proceeded 
together to the camp, which they found undisturbed. This 
party, in extending their hunting excursions, built a camp 
upon a creek which still bears the name of Camp Creek. 
The camps of the hunters at this time were the only habi- 
tations in Middle Tennessee, there being no Indian lodges 
anywhere in the country visited by the explorers. There 
had probably been no permanent Indian occupation after 
the expulsion of the Shawnees. Whenever a hunter in 
ranging through the country discovered a " lick" it usually 
took his name. Hence Drake's Lick, Bledsoe's Lick, 
Blansker's Lick, etc., given by the party of hunters of 
1771. The many " licks'" which still bear the names of 
daring hunters in Kentucky and Tennessee give evidence 
of the abundance of moose, deer, and elk which resorted 
to them ; and the buffalo trails between these primitive 
" watering-places" served as the only roads to guide the 
traveler through the uninhabited wilderness. 

In 1749 the boundary-line between Virginia and North 
Carolina was extended by commissioners of the respective 
colonies to the Holston River at a place directly opposite 
Steep Rock. Had it been then extended to the Mississippi, 
or even made to keep pace with the advance of settlements 
westward, it would have saved a great deal of trouble, dis- 
puting, and litigation. For many years the boundary be- 
tween Kentucky and Tennessee was in a state of uncer- 
tainty. In 1779 commissioners were appointed by both 
the parent States to extend the line to the Mississippi. 
They met in September of that year, and after due observa- 
tion agreed upon the point from which the line should be 
continued. After running to Carter's Valley, some forty 
miles, they disagreed. The commissioners from North 
Carolina insisted upon running the line two miles farther 
north than was approved by those from Virginia, therefore 



they ran two parallel lines at that distance apart. The 
southern line was run by a surveyor by the name of Walker, 
and has ever since been known as " the Walker Line ;" the 
northern one was run by Col. Richard Henderson, the great 
land-speculator, of whom more will be said hereafter. The 
disputed boundary was not adjusted till 1820, when the 
Walker Line was fully recognized. It is true that Col. 
Anthony Bledsoe, afterwards most favorably known and 
usefully identified with the settlements and perils on the 
Cumberland, had as early as 1771 examined the question 
of boundary, and being a practical surveyor, in whom much 
confidence was placed, he had extended the Walker Line 
some distance west, and thereby enabled many of the set- 
tlers to decide for themselves whether they owed allegiance 
to Virginia or North Carolina. 



CHAPTER II L 

THE IBTDIABTS. 

Aborigines — Prehistoric Races — Mounds and Relics in Middle Ten- 
nessee — Original Occupation by the Shawnees — Cherokees and 
Chiekasaws — Conquest and Expulsion of the Shawnees — Conquest 
and Cession by the Iroquois Confederacy — Poaver and Dooainion of 
the Six Nations — They make a Neutral Hunting-Ground of Ten- 
nessee and Kentucky. 

Although the hunters when they came into Middle 
Tennessee found the country unoccupied except by wild 
beasts and covered by dense forests and cane-brakes, yet 
centuries before it had been inhabited by a race of people 
far more numerous than the Indian tribes who occupied 
the soil at a later date. The hunters and pioneers trod 
over vast cemeteries of an extinct race, immense numbers 
of whose remains are buried in all the caves and mounds, 
and at every living spring on both sides of the Cumberland 
River from its source to its mouth and generally throughout 
Middle and Western Tennessee. No doubt can exist in 
the mind of the archseologist as to the identity of these 
people with the ancient mound-builders, who at a remote 
period spread themselves over a large portion of the con- 
tinent. The skeletons of these people appear in such num- 
bers as to warrant the conclusion that their population at 
one time must have exceeded the present inhabitants of the 
United States. Their most populous centres appear to 
have been in the great valley of the Mississippi and its 
tributary valleys, along which they spread from the Alle- 
ghany Mountains and from the lake region of the North- 
west to the Gulf of Mexico. It has been ascertained by 
careful observation that there are at least a hundred thou- 
sand skeletons of this ancient people within the limits of a 
single county in Iowa.* 

Aroha3ologists, by comparative anatomy and by the study 
of the mounds and relics, have collected and classified a 
vast array of facts respecting the mound-builders and other 
prehistoric races. They arc easily distinguished from the 
Indians by their skeletons, especially by the size and shape 
of the skull and by their structures and relics of art, which 

-• Lecture by Hon. Samuel Murdock, Garnavillo, Iowa. 



THE INDIANS. 



17 



indicate a higher civilization than has boon found among 
the Indians. The great antiquity of their works is proved 
by the large trees found growing above their mounds and 
fortifications, — trees as large as any to be found in the 
forest, and indicating the growth of centuries. The oldest 
Indians had no traditions reaching back to the origin of 
these works, llespectiug the mounds of Tennessee and 
the Southwest, the Shawnees and Cherokees informed Gen. 
llobertson and Judge Haywood that they were in the 
country when their ancestors came to it, and that no tradi- 
tion existed among them as to the origin and fate of the 
people who built them. 

We cannot, of course, in a work of this sort, enter into a 
discussion of the prehistoric races, a subject which belongs 
to archaeology rather than to history.* 

The first Indians who occupied the Cumberland Valley 
within the historic period were the Shawnees. On the 
map accompanying Marquette's journal, published in 16S1, 
many of their town-sites on the Lower Cumberland are in- 
dicated, and the river itself is called the river of the Shaw- 
nees. At an early time this tribe was scattered over a 
wide extent of country, a portion of them living in Eastern 
Virginia, and another branch on the head-waters of the Sa- 
vannah. In 1772, Little Cornplanter, an intelligent Cher- 
okee chief, related that the Shawnees, a hundred years be- 
fore, by the permission of his nation, removed from the 
Savannah Kiver to the Cumberland. Many years after- 
wards, he said, the two nations became unfriendly, and 
the Cherokees marched in a large body against the Shaw- 
nees, many of whom they slew. The survivors fortified 
themselves and maintained a protracted war until the Cher- 
okees were joined by the Chickasaws, and the Shawnees 
were gradually expelled from the Cumberland Valley. This 
was about the year 1710. Charleville, the French trader, 
came to the Cumberland a few years after, and occupied for 
his house the fort which the Shawnees had built, near the 
French Lick, on the Nashville side of the river. Charle- 
ville learned from a Frenchman who preceded him that 
the Chickasaws, hearing of the intended removal of the 
Shawnees, resolved to strike them upon the eve of their de- 
parture, and take possession of their stores. For tliis pur- 
pose a large party of Chickasaw warriors posted themselves 
on both sides of the Cumberland, above the mouth of the 
Harpeth River, provided with cauoes to prevent their es- 
cape by water. The attack was successful. All the Shaw- 
nees were killed and their property captured by the Chick- 
asaws. This, however, was only a small remnant of them, 
the main part of the tribe having previously removed to 
the vicinity of the Wabash, where, in 1764, they were 
joined by another portion of the tribe from Green River, 
in Kentucky. Of this tribe Tecumseh was subsequently 
the great chief and warrior, and also his brother, the 
famous Shawnee prophet. They were united with the 
Miamis and other Northwestern tribes in the wars with 
Harmar, St. Clair, and Gen. Anthony Wayne. Roving 
bands of them occasionally visited their old hunting- 



■•" Those desirous of studying the subject will find valuable aids in 
Haywood's History of Tennessee, vol. i. j Foster's Prehistoric Races, 
and Short's Americans of Antiquity. 

3 



grounds on the Cumberland and the Tennessee, and in- 
flicted great injury on the early settlers. They were a part 
of the banditti who committed enormous outrages on the 
emigrants and navigators while descending the famous 
passes of the Tennessee. 

The Cherokees occupied only a portion of East Tennes- 
see, — that part south of the Tennessee River, from the 
point where it crosses the North Carolina boundary to 
where it enters the State of Alabama. Their settlements 
extended thence southward into Georgia, Alabama, and 
South Carolina; but they claimed the right to lands on the 
Cumberland, and not only expelled the Shawnees, but at- 
tempted for many years to destroy the settlements of the 
whites in this region. The Cherokees, before 1G23, dwelt 
upon the Appomattox, in the neighborhood of Monticello, 
but in that year were driven out by the Virginians, who 
killed all they could find, cut up and destroyed their crops, 
and caused vast numbers of them to perish by famine. 
They removed to New River and made a temporary settle- 
ment, and also on the head of the Holston, whence, in a 
few years, on account of the hostility of the Northern In- 
dians, they removed and formed the middle settlements on 
Little Tennessee. Cornelius Dogherty, who became a tra- 
der among the Cherokees in 1690, taught them to steal 
horses from the Virginians, which were the first horses the 
Cherokees ever had. Another tribe of Indians came from 
the neighborhood of Charleston, S. C, and settled them- 
selves lower down the Tennessee. The Carolina tribe called 
themselves Kefawaugas, and came last into the county. 

" The Cherokees found white people near the head of the 
Little Tennessee, who had forts from thence down the Ten- 
nessee River to the mouth of Chickamauga. They had a 
fort at Fumpkintown, one at Fox Taylor's reserve, near 
Hamilton Court-House, and one on Big Chickamauga, about 
twenty miles above its mouth. The Cherokees waged war 
against them, and drove them to the mouth of Big Chicka- 
mauga, where they entered into a treaty by which they 
agreed to depart the country if the Cherokees would per- 
mit them to do so in peace ; which they did."f This tem- 
porary settlement — the first attempted by English people 
in all the Southwest — is confirmed by Brown, a Scotchman, 
who came among the Cherokees in 1761. He saw on the 
Hiwassee and Tennessee remains of old forts, about which 
were boxes, axes, guns, and other metallic utensils. 

The great war between the Cherokees and Creeks, which 
resulted in the settlement of a division-line between them, 
ended about the year 1710. The farthest extent of the 
Cherokee settlements was about the town of Seneca, in the 
Pendleton district of South Carolina. The Cherokees have 
in their language names for whales and sea-serpents, from 
which it appears that they migrated from the shores of an 
ocean in the northern part of America. 

Adair says of the Cherokees, " Their national name is 
derived from C/tee-ra, — fire, — which is their reputed lower 
heaven, and hence they call their magi Cheera-tahge, men 
possessed of the divine fire. The natives make two divi- 
sions of their country, which they term Ayrate and Ottare, 
signifying loiu and mountainous. The former is on the 

f Haywood, vol. i. p. 234. 



18 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



lioad-branches of the beautiful Savannah, and the latter on 
those of the easternmost river of the great Mississippi." 

The same writer says that forty years before the time he 
wrote (1775) the Cherokees had sixty-four populous towns, 
and that the old traders estimated their fighting-men at 
above six thousand. The frequent wars between the Over- 
hill towns and the northern Indians, and between the mid- 
dle and lower towns and the Muskogee or Creek Indians, 
had greatly diminished the number of the warriors, and 
contracted the extent of their settlements. 

The frontier of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia all 
suflFered from their vigor and their enterprise ; and these 
pages will hereafter abound with instances of their revenge, 
their perfidy, and their courage. They were the mountain- 
eers of aboriginal America, and, like all other mountaineers, 
adored their country, and held on to and defended it with 
a heroic devotion, a patriotic constancy, and an unyielding 
tenacity which cannot be too much admired or eulogized. 

The native land of the Cherokee was the most inviting 
and beautiful section of the United States, lying upon the 
sources of the Catawba and the Yadkin, — upon Keowee, 
Tugaloo, Flint, Etowah, and Coosa, on the east and south, 
and several of the tributaries of the Tennessee on the west 
and north. 

This tribe, inhabiting the country from which the southern 
confluents of the Tennessee spring, gave their name at first 
to that noble stream. In the earlier maps the Tennessee 
is called the Cherokee River. In like manner the name of 
this tribe also designated the mountains near them. Cur- 
rahee is only a corruption of Cherokee, and in the maps 
and treaties where it is thus called it means the mountains 
of the Cherokees. 

Of the martial spirit of this tribe abundant evidence 
will be hereafter given. In the hazardous enterprises of 
war they were animated by a restless spirit which goaded 
them into new exploits and to the acquisition of a fresh 
stock of martial renown. The white people for some years 
previous to 1730 interposed their good offices to bring 
about a pacification between them and the Tuscaroras, with 
whom they had long waged incessant war. The reply of 
the Cherokees was, " We cannot live without war^ Should 
we make peace with the Tuscaroras, we must immediately 
look out for some other with whom we can be engaged in 
our beloved occupation." 

The Chickasaws were another tribe of Indians Intimately 
identified with our local history, though not residing within 
the limits of Middle Tennessee. 

This nation inhabited the country east of the Mississippi 
and north of the Choctaw boundary ; their villages and 
settlements were generally south of the thirty-fifth degree 
of north latitude, but they claimed all the territory within 
the present States of Tennessee and Kentucky which lies 
between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers, and a con- 
siderable portion north of the former. These they claimed 
as hunting-grounds, though they had few or no permanent 
settlements within them. Tradition assigns to this tribe 
when they first emigrated to this country a very consider- 
able population, but when Adair first visited them (1735) 
the Chickasaw warriors were estimated below five hundred. 
Though thus inconsiderable in numbers, the Chickasaws 



were warlike and valiant. They exercised an unwonted 
influence over the Natchez, Choctaws, and other tribes. 

Whatever claim these several Indian nations may have 
set up to the country north of the Tennessee, and between 
that and the Ohio, they had evidently no right to it. It 
belonged by right of conquest to the Six Nations, or the 
Iroquois Confederacy. 

At a celebrated treaty held at Lancaster the statement 
made by the delegates in attendance from the Six Nations 
to Dr. Franklin was, " that all the world knows that we 
conquered all the nations back of the great mountains ; we 
conquered the nations residing there ; and that land, if the 
Virginians ever get a good right to it, it must be by us." 
These Indian claims are solemnly appealed to in a diplo- 
matic memorial addressed by the British ministry to the 
Duke Mirepoix, on the part of France, June 7, 1755. "It 
is a certain truth," states the memorial, "that these lands 
have belonged to the confederacy, and as they have not 
been given up or made over to the English, belong still to 
the same Indian nations." The court of Great Brilian 
maintained in this negotiation that the confederates were, 
by origin or by right of conquest, the lawful propi'ietors of 
the river Ohio and the territory in question. In support 
of this ancient aboriginal title, Butler adds the further tes- 
timony of Dr. Mitchell's map of North America, made 
with the documents of the Colonial Office before him. In 
this map, the same as the one by which the boundaries in 
the treaty of Paris in 1783 were adjusted, the doctor ob- 
serves " that the Six Nations have extended their terri- 
tories ever since the year 1672, when they subdued and 
were incorporated with the ancient Shawaneese, the native 
proprietors of these countries." This, he adds, is con- 
firmed by their own claims and possessions in 1742, which 
include all the bounds as laid down in the map, and none 
have even thought fit to dispute them.* 

On the 6th of May, 1768, a deputation of the Six Na- 
tions presented to the superintendent of Indian aff'airs a 
formal remonstrance against the continued encroachments 
of the whites upon their lands. The subject was immedi- 
ately considered by the royal government, and near the 
close of summer orders were issued to Sir William John- 
son, Superintendent of Northern Indian Affairs, instruct- 
ing him to convene the chiefs, warriors, and sachems of the 
tribes most interested. Agreeably to these orders Sir Wil- 
liam Johnson convened the delegates of the Six Nations, 
and their confederates and dependents, at Fort Stanwix 
(now Rome, N. Y.), October 24th. Three thousand two 
hundred Indians, of seventeen different tribes, tributaries 
to the confederacy, or occupying territories coterminous 
with theirs, attended. On the 5tli of November a treaty 
of limits and a deed of cession to the King of England 
were agreed upon and signed, ceding all the lands south of 
the Ohio River as far as the Tennessee River. An inci- 
dent which occurred at the treaty afibrds conclusive evi- 
dence of the understanding of the Cherokees of the claim 
which the confederates were about to surrender. Some 
of the visiting Cherokees on their route to Fort Stanwix 
had killed game for their support, and on their arrival at 

■■'■■ Franklin's works, as quoted by Butter. 



PERMANENT SETTLEMENT. 



19 



the treaty-ground tendered the skins to the Six Nations, 
saying, " They are yours, we liilled them after passing tlie 
big river," the name by which they always designated the 
Tennessee. By the treaty of Fort Stanwix the Six Na- 
tions ceded all their right southeast of the Ohio down to 
the Cherokee River, which they stated to be their just 
right, and vested the soil and sovereignty thereof in the 
King of Great Britain. By the treaty of 1783 Great 
Britain surrendered the sovereignty of these lauds to the 
States within whose limits they were situated. 

In 1781, Colonel Crogan, who had lived thirty years 
among the Indians as deputy superintendent, deposed that 
the Six Nations claim by right of conquest all the lands on 
the southeast side of the river Ohio down to the Cherokee 
River, and on the west side down to the Big Miami, other- 
wise called Stony River ; but that the lands on the west 
side of the Ohio below Stony River were always supposed 
to belong to the Western Confederacy. But evidences 
need not be multiplied. The settlement of the Cherokees 
on the south side of the Holston and Great Tennessee is 
an admission of the correctness of the claim of the Iro- 
quois set up at the treaty of Fort Stanwix. 

The Six Nations, who ceded the territory including Da- 
vidson County to the English in 1768, were the most 
powerful Indian confederacy on the continent. They occu- 
pied as the centre of their dominion what they metaphor- 
ically termed the " Long House," — that is, the territory of 
New York, extending from the Hudson River to Lake 
Erie. The Mohawks kept the eastern door, the Senecas 
the western ; the southern door, through the Susquehanna 
to Chesapeake Bay, was guarded by a Cayuga viceroy, 
stationed at Old Tioga, now Athens, Pennsylvania ; in the 
centre the Onondagas, or Men of the Mountain, kept the 
sacred council-fires of the confederacy at the capital, where 
all the great councils of the union were convened and the 
questions of peace and of war were decided. No people 
were ever so favorably situated for broad and sweeping con- 
quests over large areas of country, having access to Lower 
Canada by the Hudson and Lake Champlain. The same 
great river carried them southward to Long Island, whence 
they subdued the tribes along the sound and on the Dela- 
ware. By the Oswego River northward, and by Lake 
Erie, they had access to the whole chain of upper lakes, 
by which they carried their conquest into the heart of Illi- 
nois. The great avenue of the Susquehanna on the south 
enabled them to subdue the Andastes and Delawares of 
that rich valley, and to carry their victorious arms into 
Virginia and North Carolina. On the west the great river 
Ohio and its tributaries opened an avenue for them to the 
borders of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creek 
Nations, along which they carried their conquests to the 
Tennessee River, and held the territory by treaty with the 
conquered tribes, to whom they dictated terms of submis- 
sion. There is no historic fact better established than that 
this great league or confederacy of the Iroquois dominated 
over all the surrounding tribes, from New England to Ala- 
bama, and from the Alleghany Mountains to the Missis- 
sippi. They had great men, great orators, and great states- 
men among them. 

The Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas 



probably crossed the St. Lawrence into the rich hunting- 
grounds of New York about the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century. On the banks of the beautiful Lake Gan- 
entaha, the site of the Jesuit mission of 1654, in the 
environs of what is now Syracuse, N. Y., their confederacy 
was formed, about 1620. 

In 1712, when the Tuscaroras, a people occupying their 
tributary territory in North Carolina, were conquered by 
the whites, the Five Nations received them in New York, 
making a place for them in the bosom of the confederacy, 
where they were established as the sixth nation. This 
great confederacy was never in alliance with the French, 
although the ecclesiastical authorities at Quebec as early as 
1641 began to make strenuous efforts to win their friend- 
ship by sending Fathers Jogues, Le Moyne, Lallamand, and 
other Jesuit missionaries among tliem: They became the 
strong and powerful allies of the English, and under the 
wise policy of Sir William Johnson, who lived among tjiem 
on the Mohawk River, they maintained faithfully their 
allegiance through the French war and down to the strug- 
gle of the colonies for independence. 

By their dictation the rich lands on the Cumberland 
and in Middle Tennessee were kept from Indian occupa- 
tion till they ceded them to Great Britain in the treaty of 
Nov. 5, 1768. For this reason, and on account of the 
mildness of the climate and the rich pasturage furnished 
by its varied ranges of plain and mountain, Tennessee, in 
common with Kentucky, had become an extensive park, of 
which the finest game in the world held undisputed posses- 
sion. Into these wild recesses savage daring did not often 
venture to penetrate. Equidistant from the settled terri- 
tories of the Southern and Northern tribes, it remained by 
common consent uninhabited by either, and little explored. 
The approach of civilization from several directions began 
to abridge the territories of surrounding Indian nations, 
and the margin of this great terra incognita was occasionally 
visited by parties of savages in pursuit of game. Such was 
the state of things when the hunters and pioneers came to 
the Cumberland. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PERMANENT SETTLEMENT. 

Preparations for .Settlement at French S.-ilt Lick— Robertson and hia 
Party Plant Corn on the Cumberland— First Immigranis to the 
Present Site of Nashville — The Overland Company — The Expedi- 
tion by Water down the Tennessee — Col. John Donelson's Journal 
—Arrival and Settlement at the Bluff- Fort built at Nashborough. 

Early in the spring of 1779 preparations were making 
at Watauga to plant a permanent settlement on the Cum- 
berland. The place selected was the bluff near the French 
Lick (now Nashville). It was deemed advisable that a 
company should go in advance and plant corn, so that the 
maturity of the crop in autumn would supply bread for the 
immigrants upon their arrival. Those who undertook this 
preparatory work were Capt. James Robertson, George 
Freeland, William Neely, Edward Swanson, James Hanly, 
Mark Robertson, Zaohariah Wells, and William Overhall. 
Mounting their equipments and provisions on pack-horses. 



20 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



tliey filed through Cumberland Gap and turned into tlie 
■wilderness of Kentucky, to follow the trail which had been 
before trodden by Boone, Mansker, and other daring hunt- 
ers. They continued their wanderings and explorations, 
often following buffalo-paths which led through dense for- 
ests and cane-brakes from one water-course to another, and 
more distinctly trodden between the salt or sulphur springs, 
until they arrived at their destination. They were soon 
joined by another party under the leadership of Kaspcr 
Mansker, and all united in planting corn near the Sulphur 
Spring. After the planting was over, and other prepara- 
tions made, the company returned to Watauga, except 
Wells. Swanson, and Overhall, who remained to take care 
of the crop, and Capt. Robertson, who made a journey to 
the Illinois to purchase cabin-rights of Gen. George Rogers 
Clarke. Having effected this object and procured some 
additional stock which he saw would be valuable in the 
new settlement, Capt. Robertson returned to Watauga, and 
was soon ready to conduct his portion of the immigrants to 
the French Lick. iMansker during the same season led 
several families to Mansker's and Bledsoe's Licks. There 
was much excitement in the Watauga and adjoining settle- 
ments respecting emigration to the Cumberland, and a large 
number enrolled themselves among the adventurers. It 
was decided that the women and children, who could not 
perform the tedious land journey, should be sent to the 
same destination by water down the Holston and the Ten- 
nessee, and up the Ohio and the Cumberland to where 
Nashville now stands. It was a bold and untried experi- 
ment, — a thousand miles of navigation through an uniri- 
Labited wilderness, over dangerous watei-s, and with a help- 
less freight, so far as assistance was concerned, in case of 
attacks from the Indians, who might be lurking at every 
unsuspected point along their course. No craft except the 
Indian's canoe had hitherto explored these waters for a 
considerable portion of their perilous voyage. But stout 
hearts and wise heads were at the helm. This expedition 
was under the charge of Col. John Donelson, who had 
command of the "Adventure," the flag-ship of the squad- 
ron. For some time before the fleet was in readiness boat- 
building had been active on the Watauga. In the con- . 
struction of many of the craft to be used in the expedition 
a single tree — generally a poplar or whitewood — was se- 
lected, and by means of the axe and adze a canoe or pirogue 
was fashioned. A few scows or flat-boats were made of 
sawed plank boarded up at the sides, with a roof covering 
more or less of the length of the boat. The " Adventure" 
was of sufiicient size and so arranged as to accommodate a 
dozen or twenty families. Like the " arks" used at an 
early day for descending the Susquehanna from Arkport to 
Baltimore, these vessels were constructed with reference to 
going down the river with the current, and were not at all 
adapted to ascending the streams, a fact which gave our 
adventurers great toil and delay when they turned their 
prows up against the current of the Ohio and the Cumber- 
land. 

Before giving an account of this wonderful voyage it will 
be necessary for us to follow the company of immigrants 
under Capt. Robertson to their destination at the French 
Lick. They were quite a numerous party, — amounting to 



several hundred, — among whom were many young men with- 
out families. On their way they were overtaken by a com- 
pany of immigrants under Mr. John Rains, who had started 
from New River in October, and were bound to Harrod's 
Station, in Kentucky. They were persuaded to join Capt. 
Robertson's party and change their destination to the Salt 
Lick.* The route over which they passed was a diflicult 
and circuitous one, by the way of Cumberland Gap and the 
Kentucky trace to Whitley's Station, on Dick's River ; 
thence to Carpenter's Station, on Green River; thence to 
Robertson's Fork, on the south side of that stream ; thence 
down the river to Pittman's Station, crossing and descend- 
ing that river to Little Barren River, crossing Barren at 
the Elk Lick, passing the Blue Spring and Dripping Spring 
to Big Barren River ; thence up Drake's Creek to a bitu- 
minous spring (yet known) ; thence to the Maple Swamp ; 
thence to Red River, at Kilgore's Station ; thence to Mans- 
ker's Lick ; and from there to the French Lick, or bluff 
where Nashville now stands. 

These places, with the exception of the first and two 
last mentioned, are all in Kentucky. 

The season was remarkably inclement, so much so that 
the winter of 1779-80 has been noted throughout the 
northern and middle latitudes as " the cold winter." The 
immigrants began to experience the severity of the weather 
early. They bad much difficulty in tlieir route, yet they 
arrived at the appointed rendezvous in safety, no death 
having occurred among them and without any attack by 
the Indians. They reached the Cumberland on Christmas- 
day, 1779. The ice in the river was sufiiciently solid to 
allow them to cross with their horses and cattle. They 
crossed over to the bluff about the 1st of January, 1780, 
and immediately went to work to erect for themselves 
cabins and shanties. 

Here we shall leave the Robertson party for the present, 
and follow the fortunes of those under Col. Donelson, iu 
their long and eventful voyage by the water-route. We 
give below the narrative of Col. Donelson, as kept by him- 
self during the voyage : 

"Journal op a voyage, intended by God's permission, 
in the good boat ' Adventure,' from Fort Patrick Henry, 
on Holston River, to the French Salt Springs, on Cum- 
berland River, kept by John Donelson. 

" Deceiiiber 22, 1779. — Took our departure from the 
fort and fell down the river to the mouth of Reedy Creek, 
where we were stopped by the fall of water, and most ex- 
cessive hard frost ; and after much delay and many difiicul- 
ties we arrived at the mouth of Cloud's Creek, on Sunday 
evening, the 20th February, 1780, where we lay by until 
Sunday, 27th, when we took our departure with sundry 
other vessels bound for the same voyage, and on the same 
day struck the Poor Valley Shoal, together with Mr. Boyd 
and Mr. Rounsifer, on which shoal we lay that afternoon 
and succeeding night in much distress. 

" Monday, February 2Sth, 1780. — In the morning, the 

» " Rains had examined both sections of the country, and declared 
he 'felt like the man who wanted a wife, and linew of two beautiful 
women, cither of whom would suit, and he wanted them both.' " — 
rutnam, p. 66. 



PERMANENT SETTLEMENT. 



21 



water rising, we got off' the shoal, after landing thirty per- 
sons to lighten our boat. In attempting to land on an 
island received some damage and lost sundry articles, and 
came to camp on the south shore, where we joined sundry 
other vessels also bound down. 

" Tuesday, 29tJi. — Proceeded down the river and camped 
on the north shore, the afternoon and following day proving 
rainy. 

" Wednesday, March \st. — Proceeded on and camped on 
the south shore, nothing happening that day remarkable. 

" March 2d. — Rain about half the day ; passed the 
mouth of French Broad River, and about twelve o'clock 
Mr. Henry's boat being driven on the point of an island* 
by the force of the current was sunk, the whole cargo much 
damaged, and the crew's lives much endangered, which 
occasioned the whole fleet to put on shore and go to their 
assistance; but with much difficulty bailed lier, in order to 
take in her cargo again. The same afternoon Reuben 
Harrison went out a hunting and did not return that night, 
though many guns were fired to fetch him in. 

'^Friday, 3d. — Early in the morning fired a four-pounder 
for the lost man, sent out sundry persons to search the 
woods for him, firing many guns that day and the succeed- 
ing night ; but all without success, to the great grief of his 
parents and fellow-travelers. 

" Saturday, 4lh. — Proceeded on our voyage, leaving old 
Mr. Harrison, with some other vessels, to make further 
search for his lost son ; about ten o'clock the same day 
found him a considerable distance down the river, where 
Mr. Ben. Belew took bim on board his boat. At three 
o'clock P.M. passed the mouth of Tennessee River, and 
camped on the south shore about ten miles below the mouth 
of Tennessee. 

" Sunday, 5fh. — Cast off' and got under way before sun- 
rise ; twelve o'clock passed the mouth of Clinch ; at twelve 
o'clock M. came up with the Clinch River Company, 
whom we joined and camped, the evening proving rainy. 

" Monday, 6lh. — Got under way before sunrise ; the 
morning proving very foggy, many of the fleet were much 
bogged ; about ten o'clock lay by for them ; when collected, 
proceeded down. Camped on the north shore, where Capt. 
Hutching's negro man died, being much frosted in his feet 
and legs, of which he died. 

" Tuesday, 1th.- — Got under way very early, the day 
proving very windy, a S.S.W., and the river being wide 
occasioned a high sea, insomuch that some of the smaller 
crafts were in danger ; therefore came to at the uppermost 
Chiccamauga Town, which was then evacuated, whei'e we 
lay by that afternoon and camped that night. The wife of 
Ephraim Peyton was here delivered of a child. Mr. Pey- 
ton has gone through by land with Capt. Robertson. 

" Wednesday, Sth. — Cast off at ten o'clock and proceed 
down to an Indian village, which was inhabited, on the 
south side of the river ; they insisted on us to ' come 
ashore,' called us brothers, and showed other signs of friend- 
ship, insomuch that Mr. John Caff'rey and my son, then 
on board, took a canoe which I had in tow, and were cross- 
ing over to them, the rest of the fleet having landed on the 

•" Probably William's Island, two miles above Knoxville. 



opposite shore. After they had gone some distance, a half- 
breed, who called himself Archy Coody, with several other 
Indians, jumped into a canoe, met tliem, and advised them 
to return to the boat, which they did, together with Coody 
and several canoes which loft the shore and followed directly 
after him. They appeared to be I'riendly. After distrib- 
uting some presents among them, with which they seemed 
much pleased, we observed a number of Indians on the 
other side embarking in their canoes, armed and painted 
with red and black. Coody immediately made signs to his 
companions, ordering them to quit the boat, which they 
did, himself and another Indian remaining with us and 
telling us to move off instantly. We had not gone far 
before we discovered a number of Indians, armed and 
painted, proceeding down the river, as it were, to intercept 
us. Coody, the half-breed, and his companion sailed with 
us for some time, and, telling us that we had passed all the 
towns and were out of danger, left us. But we had not 
gone far until we had come in sight of another town, situ- 
ated likewise on the south side of the river, nearly opposite 
a small island. Here they again invited us to come on 
shore, called us brothers, and observing the boats standing 
oflF for the opposite channel, told us that ' their side of the 
river was better for boats to pass.' And here we must re- 
gret the unfortunate death of young Mr. Payne, on board 
Capt. Blackemore's boat, who was mortally wounded by 
reason of tlie boat running too near the northern shore op- 
posite the town, where some of the enemy lay concealed, 
and the more tragical misfortune of poor Stuart, his family 
and friends, to the number of twenty-eight persons. This 
man bad embarked with us for the Western country, but 
his family being diseased with the smallpox, it was agreed 
upon between him and the company that he should keep 
at some distance in the rear, for fear of the infection spread- 
ing, and he was warned each night when the encampment 
should take place by the sound of a horn. After we had 
passed the town the Indians, having now collected to a con- 
siderable number, observing his helpless situation, singled 
off from the rest of the fleet, intercepted him, and killed 
and took prisoners the whole crew, to the great grief of 
the whole company, uncertain how soon they might share 
the same fate ; their cries were distinctly heard by those 
boats in the rear. 

" We still perceived them marching down the river in con- 
siderable bodies, keeping pace with us until the Cumberland 
Mountains withdrew them from our sight, when we were 
in hopes we had escaped them. We were now arrived at 
the place called the Whirl, or Suck, where the river is com- 
pressed within less than half its common width above by 
the Cumberland Mountains, which jut in on both sides. 
In passing through the upper part of these narrows, at a 
place described by Coody, which he termed the 'boiling 
pot,' a trivial accident had nearly ruined the expedition. 
One of the company, John Cotton, who was moving down 
in a large canoe, had attached it to Robert Cartwright's 
boat, into which he and his family had gone for safety. 
The canoe was here overturned, and the little cargo lost. 
The company, pitying his distress, concluded to halt and 
assist him in recovering his property. They had lauded on 
the northern shore at a level spot, and were going up to 



22 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



the place when the Indian.?, to our astonishment, appeared 
immediately over us on the opposite cliffs, and commenced 
firing down upon us, which occasioned a precipitate retreat 
to the boats. We immediately moved off, the Indians lining 
the bluffs along continued their fire from tlie heights on 
our boats below, without doing any other injury than 
wounding four slightly. Jennings' boat is missing. 

" We have now passed through the Whirl. The river 
widens with a placid and gentle current, and all the com- 
pany appear to be in safety except the family of Jonathan 
Jennings, whose boat ran on a large rock projecting out 
from the northern shore, and partly immersed in water im- 
mediately at the Whirl, where we were compelled to leave 
them, perhaps to be slaughtered by their merciless enemies. 
Continued to sail on that day and floated throughout the 
following night. 

" Thursday, Qth. — Proceeded on our journey, nothing 
happening worthy attention to-day ; floated till about mid- 
night, and encamped on the northern shore. 

"Friday, 10th. — This morning about four o'clock we 
were surprised by the cries of 'help poor Jennings,' at some 
distance in the rear. He had discovered us by our fires, 
and came up in the most wretched condition. He states 
that as soon as the Indians discovered his situation they 
turned their whole attention to him, and kept up a most 
galling fire at his boat. He ordered his wife, a son nearly 
grown, a young man who accompanied them, and his negro 
man and woman to throw all his goods into the river to 
lighten their boat, for the purpose of getting her off, him- 
self returning their tire as well as he could, being a good 
soldier and an excellent marksman. But before they had 
accomplished their object, his son, the young man, and the 
negro jumped out of the boat and left them. He thinks 
the young man and the negro were wounded before they 
left the boat.* Mrs. Jennings, however, and the negro 
woman succeeded in unloading the boat, but chiefly by the 
exertions of Mrs. Jennings, who got out of the boat and 
shoved her off, but was near falling a victim to her own 
intrepidity on account of the boat starting so suddenly as 
soon as loo.sened from the rock. Upon examination, he 
appears to have made a wondeiful escape, for his boat is 
pierced in numberless places with bullets. It is to be re- 
marked that Mrs. Peyton, who was the night before delivered 
of an infant, which was unfortunately killed upon the hurry 
and confusion consequent upon such a disaster, assisted 
them, being frequently exposed to wet and cold then and 
alterwards, and that her health appears to be good at this 
time, and I think and hope she will do well. Their clothes 
were very much cut with bullets, especially Mrs. Jennings'. 

" Saturday, 11th. — Got under way after having distrib- 
uted the family of Mrs. Jennings in the other boats. 

* The negro was drowheJ. The son and the young man swam to 
the north side of the river, whore they found and embarlied in a 
canoe and floated down the river. The next day they were met by 
five canoes full of Indians, who took them prisoners and carried them 
to Chickamauga, where they killed and burned the young man. 
They knocked Jennings down and were about to kill him, but were 
prevented by the friendly mediation of Rogers, an Indian trader, who 
ransomed him with goods. Rogers had been taken prisoner by 
Sevier a short time before, and had been released ; and that good 
office he requited by the ransom of Jennings. 



Rowed on quietly that day, and encamped for the night 
on the north shore. 

" Sunday, lith. — Set out, and after a few hours' sailing 
we heard the crowing of cocks, and soon came within view 
of the town ; here they fired on us again without doing 
any injury. 

" After running until about ten o'clock, came in sight of 
the Muscle Shoal. Halted on the northern shore at the 
appearance of the shoals, in order to search for the signs 
Capt. James Robertson was to make for us at that place. 
He set out from Holston early in the fail of 1779, was to 
proceed by the way of Kentucky to the Big Salt Lick on 
Cumberland River, with several others in company, was to 
come across from the Big Salt Lick to the upper end of the 
shoals, there to make such signs that we might know he 
had been there, and that it was practicable for us to go 
across by land. But to our great mortification we can find 
none, — from which we conclude that it would not be prudent 
to make the attempt, and are determined, knowing ourselves 
to be in such imminent danger, to pursue our journey down 
the river. After trimming our boats in the best manner 
possible, we ran through the shoals before night. When 
we approached them they had a dreadful appearance to 
those who had never seen them before. The water being 
high made a terrible roaring, which could be heard at some 
distance among the drift-wood heaped frightfully upon the 
points of the islands, the current running in every possible 
direction. Here we did not know how soon we should be 
dashed to pieces, and all our troubles ended at once. Our 
boats frequently dragged on the bottom, and appeared con- 
stantly in danger of striking. They warped as much as in 
a rough sea. But by the hand of Providence we are now 
preserved from this danger also. I know not the length 
of this wonderful shoal ; it had been represented to me to 
be twenty-five or thirty miles. If so, we must have de- 
scended very rapidly, as indeed we did, for we passed it in 
about three hours. Came to, and camped on the northern 
shore, not far below the shoals, for the night. 

" Monday, 13//t. — Got under way early in the morning, 
and made a good run that day. 

" Tuesday, 1-lth. — Set out early. On this day two boats 
approaching too near the shore were fired upon by the 
Indians. Five of the crews were wounded, but not dan- 
gerously. Came to camp at night near the mouth of a 
creek. After kindling fires and preparing for rest the 
company were alarmed, on account of the incessant barking 
our dogs kept up ; taking it for granted that the Indians 
were attempting to surprise us, we retreated precipitately to 
the boats ; fell down the river about a mile and encamped 
on the other shore. In the morning I prevailed on Mr. 
Caffrey and my son to cross below in a canoe and return 
to the place, which they did, and found an African negro 
we had left in the hurry asleep by one of the fires. The 
voyagers returned and collected their utensils which had 
been left. 

" Wednesday, Ibth.- — Got under way and moved on 
peaceably the five following days, when we arrived at the 
mouth of the Tennessee on Monday, the 20th, and landed 
on the lower point immediately on the bank of the Ohio. 
Our situation here is truly disagreeable. The river is very 



PERMANENT SETTLEMENT. 



23 



high and the current rapid, our boats not constructed for 
the purpose of stemming a rapid stream, our provisions ex- 
hausted, the crews almost worn down with hunger and fii- 
tigue, and know not what distance we have to go, or what 
time it will take us to our place of destination. The scene 
is rendered still more melancholy, as several boats will not 
attempt to ascend the rapid current. Some intend to de- 
scend the Jlississippi to Natchez ; others are bound for 
Illinois, among the rest my son-in-law and daughter. We 
now part, perhaps, to meet no more, for I am determined to 
pursue my course, happen what will. 

" Tuesday, 21st — Set out, and on this day labored very 
liard and got but a little way ; camped on the south bank 
of the Ohio. Passed the two following.days as the former, 
suffering much from hunger and fatigue. 

" Friday, 'Zith. — About three o'clock came to the mouth 
of a river which I thought was the Cumberland. Some 
of the company declared it could not be, — it was so much 
smaller than was expected. But I never heard of any 
river running in between the Cumberland and Tennessee. 
It appeared to flow with a gentle current. We determined, 
however, to make the trial, pushed up some distance and 
encamped for the night. 

" Saturday, 2oth. — To-day we are much encouraged ; 
the river grows wider ; the current is very gentle, and we 
are now convinced it is the Cumberland. I have derived 
great assistance from a small square sail which was fixed up 
on the day we left the mouth of the river, and to prevent 
any ill effects from sudden flaws of wind a man was sta- 
tioned at each of the lower corners of the sheet with di- 
rections to give way whenever it was necessary. 

" Sunday, 26th. — Got under way early ; procured some 
buffalo meat ; though poor, it was palatable. 

" Monday, 27th. — Set out again ; killed a swan, which 
was very delicious. 

" Tuesday, 28?A.-T-Set out very early in the morning ; 
killed some buffalo. 

" Wednesday, 29th. — Proceeded up the river ; gathered 
some herbs on the bottoms of Cumberland, which some of 
the company called Shawnee salad. 

" Thursday, 30th. — Proceeded on our voyage. This day 
we killed some more buffalo. 

Friday, 31st. — Set out this day, and after running some 
distance met with Col. Kichard Henderson, who was run- 
ning the line between Virginia and North Carolina. At 
this meeting we were much rejoiced. He g'ave us every 
information we wished, and further informed us that he had 
purchased a quantity of corn in Kentucky, to be shipped 
at the Falls of Ohio, for the use of the Cumberland set- 
tlement. We are now without bread, and are compelled 
to hunt the buffalo to preserve life. Worn out with fa- 
tigue, our progress at present is slow. Camped at night 
near the mouth of a little river, at which place and below 
there is a handsome bottom of rich land. Here we found 
a pair of hand-mill stones set up for grinding, but appeared 
not to have been used for a great length of time. 

" Proceeded on quietly until the 12th of April, at which 
time we came to the mouth of a little river running in on 
the north side, by Moses Renfoe and his company called 
Red River, up which they intended to settle. Here they 



took leave of us. We proceeded up Cumberland, nothing 
happening material until the 23d, when we reached the 
first settlement on the north side of the river, one mile and 
a half below the Big Salt Lick, and called EatonV Station, 
after a man of that name, who, with several other families, 
came through Kentucky and settled there. 

" Monday, April 2-ilh. — This day we arrived at our 
journey's end, at the Big Salt Lick, where we have the 
pleasure of finding Capt. Robertson and his company. 
It is a source of satisfaction to us to be enabled to restore 
to him and others their families and friends who were en- 
trusted to our care, and who, some time since, perhaps, de- 
spaired of ever meeting again. Though our prospects at 
present are dreary, we have found a few log cabins which 
have been built on a cedar bluff above the Lick by Capt. 
Robertson and his company." 

The names of the persons who came in this company are 
given by Col. Donelson as follows : 



John Donelson, Sr. 
Thomas Hutchings. 
John Caffrey. 
John Donelson, Jr. 
James Robertson's lady and 

children. 
Mrs. Purnell. 
M. Rounsifer. 
James Cain. 
Isaac Neely. 
John Montgomery. 
Jonathan Jennings 
Benjamin Belew. 
■"^'eter Looney. 
Capt. John Blackemore. 
Sloses Renfroe. 
William Crutohfield. 

5Ir. Johns. 

Hugh Henry, Sr. 



Benjamin Porter. 
Mrs. Henry (widow). 
John Cotton. 
Thomas Henry. 
Mr. Cookrell. 
Frank Armstrong. 
Hugh Rogan. 
Daniel Chambers. 
Robert Cartwright. ■^ 

Stewart. 

David Gwinn. . 
John Boyd. 
Reuben Harrison. — 
Frank Haney. 

Maxwell. 

John White. 
Solomon White. 
Payne (killed). 



"There were other names not put down, women, children, 
and servants. Mrs. Peyton, whose infiint was killed in the 
confusion of unloading the boat of Jonathan Jennings 
during the attack upon it by the Indians, was the daughter 
of Jennings and mother of Hon. Bailie Peyton. Iler 
husband, Ephraim Peyton, had accompanied Capt. Robert- 
son with the stock by land. The two young men who 
with the negro man jumped out of the boat to swim ashore, 
seized a canoe, pushed down the river, leaving the women 
(Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. Peyton, and a negro woman) to their 
fate. The negro man lost his life in the water. The young 
men were intercepted in their canoe by the Indians, were 
captured and taken to Chickaraauga, where the Indians 
killed the young man and burned him. Young Jennings 
was about to share the same fate when he was ransomed 
by a trader named Rogers." 

The account they gave of the appearance of the Blufl, 
or Salt Lick, where the companies arrived in the winter 
and spring of 1780, is that although there were " open 
grounds," there is no evidence that it had ever been under 
cultivation. The open space around and near the sulphur 



24 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSOX COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



or salt springs instead of being an " old field," as had been 
supposed by Mansker at his visit here in 1769, was thus 
freed from trees and underbrush by the innumerable herds 
of bufl'aloes, deer, and elk that came to these waters. The 
place was the resort of these wild animals, among which 
also came bears, panthers, wolves, and foxes. Trails or 
buffalo-paths were deeply worn in the earth from this to 
other springs. Bluoh of the country was covered with a 
thick growth of cane from ten to twenty feet high. 

The pioneers were huddled in a few rude huts which 
had been hastily thrown together, as men throw brush in 
a clearing or pitch up a pen to keep the calf from the cow. 
Wood was plenty, but it was cold work chopping it. Wild 
game was abundant, but very poor on account of the " hard 
winter." Many deer were found to have died of hunger 
and cold. Many hunters and explorers in Kentucky have 
recorded the same fact, attributing it to the long and in- 
tense cold of the season. 

" Bears' oil was the only substitute we had for butter, 
lard, or gravy," said one of the pioneers, " and we learned 
to prefer it to either." Hunters have often said that bears' 
oil when fresh made them feel warm and strong. They 
became very fond of it. 

When the settlers arrived upon the Cumberland they saw 
no Indians, and they knew of no tribe that was settled 
between its waters and those of the Tennessee, nor of any 
Indian towns north of them and south of the Ohio. Here 
seemed to be a vast extent of woodland, barrens, and 
prairies, inviting human settlement and the improvements 
of civilization. The Delawares, who had appeared on the 
head-waters of Mill Creek and professed to have come only 
to hunt, had traveled a long distance. The Creeks and 
Cherokees claimed no lands within the limits of these new 
settlements ; therefore it is not surprising that some of the 
people were reluctant to give much of their time and labor 
to the erection of forts and stations when all wanted homes ; 
and some had made haste to select the choicest places, thus 
creating discontent on the part of others. But the tempta- 
tion to " mark and blaze claims'' and scatter abroad was 
repressed by the more wise and experienced among them, 
who induced the others to contribute a certain portion of 
their time to " the erection of a few strongholds and de- 
fenses,'' and places " for the deposit of provisions, arms, 
and ammunition." 

It was agreed that the fort at the Blufi^, or Nashborough, 
should be the principal one and the headquarters. Others 
were commenced about the same time at the spring in 
North Nashville, called Freelands ; one on the east side of 
the river upon the highland, called Eaton's ; others at or 
near the sulphur spring ten miles north, called Kasper's, 
where the town of Goodtellsville is now situated ; one on 
Station Camp Creek, about three miles from Gallatin, on 
the bluff by the turnpike, called Asher's ; one at the low- 
lands on Stone's River, called Stone's River, or Donelson's, 
now known as Clover Bottom ; and one at the bend of the 
river above the bluffs, about six miles distant, the site of 
" Fort Union," where once was the town of Haysborough. 

The fort at Nashville was erected upon the bluff between 
the southeast corner of the Square and Spring Streets, so as 
to include a fine spring, which then issued from that point. 



the waters of which dashed down the precipice, giving 
great charm and interest to the location. The structure 
was a log building two stories high, with port-holes and a 
lookouf^station. Other log houses were near it, and the 
whole was inclosed with palisades or pickets firmly set in 
the ground, having the upper ends sharpened. There was 
one large entrance or gateway, with a lookout-station for a 
guard or sentinel above it. The top of the fort afforded an 
elevated view of the country around, though at that time 
much obstructed to the west and southwest by a thick 
forest of cedar-trees, beneath which, towards Broad Street 
and Wilson's Spring, there was a dense growth of privet- 
bushes. Upon lands with deeper soil and less rock there 
were forest-trees of large growth and thick cane-brakes. 
The rich bottom-lands were covered with cane measuring 
from ten to twenty feet in height. The ancient forest-trees 
upon the rich lands in this region were of a majestic 
growth, some of which have been spared the woodman's 
axe, which destroyed by thousands these monarchs of the 
forest, to make room for civilized homes and cultivated 
fields. " There are a few, and but a few, of such native 
woods and magnificent trees remaining in the vicinity of 
the capital of Tennessee." 



CHAPTER V. 



PEEILS ANB HARDSHIPS OP THE PIOBTEEES. 

Trouble with the iDdiixns — Deaths during the First Year— Scarcity of 
Food — Valor and Hardihood of the Settlers — The "Clover Bottom 
Defeat," 

The stationers arrived upon the Cumberland just upon 
the eve of an outbreak of Indian hostilities. " The sava- 
ges," says Haywood, " seized the first opportunity after the 
hard winter was over to approach the improvements around 
the Bluff, and carry among the early settlers the work of 
massacre and devastation." During the first year no less 
than thirty-seven at the different stations were killed, being 
picked off" here and there by roving, predatory bands of 
Indians, who scarcely showed themselves openly anywhere. 
The thick cane-brake and wild undergrowth afforded them 
every advantage for concealment. The only one of the 
settlers who died a natural death the first year was Robert 
Gilkie. We give the names of the killed as we gather 
them from Ramsey's and Haywood's histories, as follows : 
two men by the name of Milliken, Joseph Hay, old Mr. 
Bernard, Jonathan Jennings, Ned Carver, James Mayfield, 
Porter, near Eaton's Station ; Jacob Stump, Jesse~Bales- 
tine, John Shockley, two men not named, at Bledsoe's ; 
William Johnston, on Barren River; one at Asher's Station ; 
Isaac Le Fevre, near the fort on the Bluff; Solomon Phil- 
lips and Samuel Murray, at Cross' Old Fields ; Bartlett 
and Joseph Renfoe, old Mr. Johns' and his wife and 
family, John Robertson, son of Capt. James Robertson, 
Abel Gower, Jr., and others. The stations were nearly all 
broken up except Eaton's and the one at the Bluff. All 
who could get to these stations did so, but many never saw 
their comrades in these places. Some were killed while 



PERILS .^ND HARDSHIPS OF THE PIONEERS. 



25 



asleep ; some were awakened only to be apprised that their 
last moment had come ; some were killed at noonday when 
not suspecting danger. Death seemed ready to devour the 
whole colony. On the morning that Mansker's Station 
was broken up two men who had slept a little later than 
their companions were shot bj' Indians pointing their guns 
through the port-holes oP the fort. They were David Groin 
and Patrick Quigley. These Indian alarms caused Mr. 
Rains to remove to the Bluff, where he remained four years 
before he dared to settle upon his plantation. 

Although the crop of corn this year on the lowlands 
and islands was seriously damaged by a freshet in July, 
and there was a great scarcity of bread, yet the hunters 
procured a full supply of meat for the inhabitants by kill- 
ing bears, buffaloes, and deer. A company of twenty men 
went up the Cany Fork as far as Flynn's Creek, and re- 
turned with their canoes laden with meat in the winter. 
They are reported to have killed one hundred and fifty 
bears, seventy-five buffaloes, and more than ninety deer 
upon this excursion. This source of supply furnished the 
families at the Bluff with meat ; but the scarcity of bread 
and the multiplied disasters and dangers which threatened 
the settlements induced a considerable portion of the set- 
tlers to remove to Kentucky and IlUnuis. All the remain- 
ing inhabitants collected al the three stations, — the Bluff, 
Eaton's, and Freeland's. 

These desultory attacks of the Indians, kept up at in- 
tervals through a period of nearly fifteen years, swelled the 
number of victims to a fearful list, among whom were in- 
cluded some of the bravest and best of the settlers. This 
told at times with desolating and disheartening effect upon 
the hopes and spirits of the survivors, but was not carried 
to the extent of paralyzing their energies, or of inducing 
them to yield with resignation to the merciless stroke of 
the tomahawk. " The instances of cowardice were remark- 
ably few. There was a chivalrous stickling for the back- 
woods ethics which required every man to turn out gun in 
hand at tlie first cry of alarm and fly to the aid of the dis- 
tressed and the unfortunate. The records of the ages 
furnish no brighter examples of self sacrificing friendship 
than are found in the history and traditions of these people. 
Even in the most perilous conjunctures there were never 
wanting bold spirits, ready to break through the chain of 
hostile environment for the purpose of carrying the tidings 
of alarm to other places and bringing back succor, or of 
penetrating the forest in search of game for the sustenance 
of the hungry." 

The records of most of the engagements of the settlers 
with the Indians are very brief and fragmentary, — a neces- 
sary consequence with later historians of the dearth of 
written records and the passing away of the actors who 
could have given full and intelligent accounts of the events 
in which they participated. Those were not the days of 
newspapers and ready reporters anxious to glean every 
fact, and thus rob the future antiquarian of his pleasurable 
vocation. 

The most striking fact in connection with the history of 
this period is showp in the readiness r.nd alacrity with 
which the settlers engaged in battle with their enemies 
even at fearful odds. While they were steady and un- 



daunted in their defense, nothing could exceed the spirit 
and precipitation of their attacks. It is further noticeable 
that no case occurred where a house or station was surren- 
dered by parley, and but one or two instances, at most, 
where persons submitted to capture. It was always a death- 
struggie. It might be said of the entire body of Cumber- 
land settlers that as a people tliey were superlatively brave, 
enterprising, and spirited, and in hardihood and endurance 
were never surpassed. The full force of this remark will 
be felt when the fact is stated and properly appreciated 
that in the year 1783 there were not two hundred men 
capable of bearing arms in the Cumberland settlements, 
while at any time there could have been brought into the 
field against them, from a distance of not over two hundred 
miles at the farthest, the full strength of the Cherokee and 
Creek nations, numbering not less than ten thousand war- 
riors in a state of deep hostility, and at liberty to select 
the time and mode of attack. It is confidently believed 
that few people have encountered greater , difficulties in 
founding a new community. Their record of heroic en- 
durance has few parallels ; their tasks were herculean. To 
the vicissitudes of heat and cold, the river's flood, and the 
manifold perils of wilderness life they bared their bodies 
with uncomplaining and unexampled fortitude, — of very 
different stamp from that of the gladiator, who steps into 
the arena and conquers or dies amid the plaudits of assem- 
bled thou.sands. They had no spectators to the thrilling 
drama they were enacting. 

"THE CLOVEE-BOTTOM DEFEAT." 

The following account of an adventure willi the Indians 
while gathering Col. Donelson's corn at Clover-Bottom in 
the fall of 1780 is taken from Putnam's " History of Mid- 
dle Tennessee" : 

" The company from the Bluffs was under the command 
of Abel Gower. He had with him his son, Abel Gower, 
Jr., John Randolph Robertson, a relative of Col. Robert- 
son, and several others, white and black,, seven or eight in 
all. The party from Mansker's Station was under the di- 
rection of Capt. John Donelson, second son of Col. John 
Donelson. He was a J'oung man of about six and twenty 
years of age. Robert Cartwright, an aged gentleman, was 
also in the company. . . . 

" The parties having ascended Stone's River and fas- 
tened their boats to the bank (between the present turnpike- 
bridge and the small island a few yards below), commenced 
gathering the corn, packing it in baskets and sacks and 
transferring it by means of a ' slide' to the boats. Capt. 
Donelson had brought a horse for the purpose of dragging the 
rudely-constructed ' slide,' as also to use in towing boats up 
the stream. They were encamped for several days and nights 
upon the ground. During each night their dogs kept up 
an almost incessant barking. They had with them more dogs 
than men. Some of the party had suggested that the dogs 
scented or discovered Indians in the surrounding woods and 
cane. But the prevailing opinion was that as there was 
much fresh meat at the camp and offal left in the woods 
where buffalo had been killed, the wolves were attracted 
thereby, and the dogs were barking at these wild beasts. 
During the last night of their continuance at the place the 



2G 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



dogs rushed furiously in every direction around the camp, 
!is if actually mad, making the -woods ring and echo with 
their barking. 

" In the morning they made no examination for Indian 
signs, but hastened the completion of their loads and prepa- 
rations for departure. Very early Capt. Donelson pu.shed 
his boat across the river and began to gather the bolls of 
cotton and deposit them in heaps upon the corn in his boat. 
It was thought this would cause but a short delay. But 
when Capt. Gower's party had finished their breakfast 
they became impatient to start. Donelson had expected 
Gower's boat also to cross the river, and his people to share 
in the crop of cotton. 

" Great was the surprise of Capt. Donelson and Mr. Cart- 
wright to discover Gower's boat passing down the stream 
instead of coming across. Capt. Donelson stepped to the 
bank of the river, hailed them, and asked if they were 
coming over or going to leave them behind. Gower re- 
plied, ' We are not coming over ; it is getting late in the 
day. We wish to reach the BlufiFs before night. I think 
there is no danger.' Capt. Donelson remonstrated, but 
added, ' If you can risk it, so can wo ; we will first gather 
the cotton.' By this time, and while they were yet con- 
versing, Capt. Gower's boat had drifted into the head of the 
narrow island shute, when the Indians, who wore in ambush 
on the south side (supposed to be several hundred in num- 
ber), opened a desperate fire upon the men in Gower's boat. 
Capt. Donelson saw the attack plainly. He immediately 
ran down to his own boat and secured the rifle and shot-bag. 
Upon rising the bank he saw the Indians in pursuit of sev- 
eral men who had jumped from the boat at the first fire. 
The water did not exceed three or four feet in depth. 

" He also discovered a large party of Indians making their 
way up the river-bank to a point opposite his boat. There, 
however, the river was too deep to bo forded. Upon that 
party Capt. Donelson fired, and then endeavored to join his 
own party. They had all fled into the cane upon hearing 
the guns fired and the yells of the savages. It was with 
considerable difliculty he was enabled to rejoin his friends. 
The horse was given to Mr. Cartwright, who otherwise could 
not have escaped, being aged and infirm. Some of the 
party of Capt. Gower were killed at the first fire, others 
were overtaken in the water and tomahawked. . . . One 
white man and a negro escaped into the woods. Another 
negro, a free man, known as Jack Civil, was slightly 
wounded and surrendered. He was taken to the Chicka- 
mauga towns, remained, and moved with that roving, mur- 
derous, thieving sot farther down the Tennessee River, and 
gave name to the town of Nick-a-Jack, or Nigger-Jack's 
town. 

"The white man and negro who jumped from the boat 
and escaped into the woods wandered for twenty hours. 
At length they reached the station towards morning, pushed 
aside some of the pickets and entered the inclosure at the 
blufis undiscovered by any one in the fort, although the 
dogs gave the faithful alarm. Gower's boat floated down 
the river, the corn and some of the dead being on board, 
undisturbed, except by some-of the dogs which continued 
therein. The opinion prevailed for some days that the 
Donelson party had fallen victims to the guns and toma- 



hawks of the savages. It was hazardous to pass between 
stations so distant as Mansker's and the Bluff. James 
Randolph Robertson was among the slain. 

" There was no alternative for the Donelson party ; they 
must abandon the boat and all it contained and flee into the 
woods. They could render no assistance to their friends, 
now overwhelmed ; they could not pass out with their own 
boat; and they might well suppose that the savages, flushed 
with an easy victory over half the harvesters, would speedily 
be in pursuit of themselves. After Capt. Donelson had 
overtaken the fleeing party, they hastily agreed upon the 
direction to be taken, so that they might assemble the next 
day upon the banks of the Cumberland some miles above 
the mouth of Stone's River, where they would attempt to 
cross and escape to Mansker's Station. It was deemed ad- 
visable to separate, not all to go togetlier, lest thereby they 
should make such a trail through the cane and bushes as 
the Indians could easily follow. 

" Having continued their course until sunset, Capt. Don- 
elson discovered a large hickory-tree which had fallen to 
the ground, and as it had a thick top and a large supply 
of leaves, he called in the wanderers, and they huddled 
together there for the night. They did not attempt to 
kindle any fire, though they greatly needed it. The night 
was passed in quiet, but with very little sleep. Capt. Don- 
elson informed the party of the slaughter he had witnessed 
of the Gower party. He believed they were all killed, and 
that the Indian force was sufficient to besiege and capture 
any of the stations. 

" The situation of this little squad was also very critical. 
The savages might be in search of them, and they had the 
river between them and their friends at Mansker's Station, 
and there was no boat to be had. How should they get 
over ? or what should they do ? Having convened upon 
the bank of the river, they endeavored to construct a raft 
upon which to be floated across. They had left the axe in 
the boat, and no light and suitable material could be found 
to answer the purpose. Yet they gathered sticks and fast- 
ened them together with withes and vines, and made sev- 
eral attempts to go over, but the current -inevitably drove 
their rude float back to the side of the river whence they 
had set out. They had to abandon all efforts thus to get 
over, and permit their raft to be carried away by the cur- 
rent. What now shall be done ? At this juncture Col. 
Donelson's faithful servant, Somerset, volunteered to swim 
the river with the aid of the horse, and ride to the sta- 
tion and give information of the situation of the party. 
He succeeded in crossing, ascended the opposite bank, and 
hastened in the direction through cane and woods. Safely 
arriving at the station, he gave the first information of the 
disastrous defeat. It was indeed sad news, disheartening: 
to every one. 

" Immediately a few active men returned with Somerset, 
taking axes wherewith to cut and prepare a float for the 
relief of their friends, who were suffering with cold and 
hunger. It was chill November weather, and the rain had 
fallen during a part of the night and morning. They were 
all passed over and safely arrived at the station."* 

■■'■■ No better subject could be oflcred for a poem thjin the voluntary 
heroism of this old servant, Somerset, lie merited a monument. 



\. 



PIONKEll LTFE AND CUSTOMS. 



27 



CHAPTER Vr. 

PIONEEK LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 

Mode of Reaching the Cumberland Settlements — Primitive Houses — 
Kough Fnre — First WedJing— Public Morals — B:ickwoods Schools — 
Pioneer Ministers — Circuit-Riders — Long Journeys to Meeting — 
The Hunting-Shirt of the Eiirly Days. 

For most of the matter contaiaed in this chapter we are 
indebted to Dr. J. B. McFerrin, himself a pioneer, and 
able from liis personal recollections to describe graphically 
the scenes of that period. 

As salt was very difficult to obtain, the first settlers saved 
their meats by drying them in the sun and open air. This 
was commonly called "jerking." The meat was cut into 
thin slices and strung upon sticks, which were placed upon 
scaifolds in the sun, or over a slow fire, and kept until per- 
fectly dry ; in this condition it remained sound and sweet 
for a long time. 

The immigrants in coming into Middle. Tennessee usually 
followed Indian trails and buffalo paths, or, guided by their 
pocket compass, followed their course till they reached their 
destined point. They usually located near a spring of clear 
water, where they encamped till they could determine on 
some permanent settlement. They generally came in com- 
panies. Each man had his rifle, his shot-pouch, powder- 
horn, and ammunition. p]aoh company had a number of 
pack-horses on which they brought their camp-kettles, pro- 
visions, and blankets, and, when families came through, a 
small amount of bedding, with wearing-apparel, was brought 
along to supply the women and children, and with which 
to make a little start in housekeeping. 

Many of them built " half-faced camps," in which they 
lived till they could clear a patch, plant some corn, and 
erect a cabin. These camps were constructed of forked 
stakes driven into the ground, across which poles were laid, 
and covered with split clapboards. The rear pgrtion of the 
structure reached the ground, the ends were inclosed, while 
the whole front was left open. The bed was made upon 
boughs under the slanting roof, while the fire at the open front 
served them for warmth and for cooking such provisions as 
they could obtain. A skillet with a lid, a small pot, and an 
oven were considered a large supply of cooking-utensils. 
Those who were not so well provided broiled their meat 
upon the coals, or on a spit made of a hickory stick, while 
the bread was baked in the ashes or on a journey, vulgarly 
called a "johnny," cake-board. These journey-cakes were 
delicious. The board was made of a piece of timber or 
plank dressed smooth, about six inches wide and twenty 
long, and the dough, well kneaded, was placed upon the 
board, set before a fire of hot coals, baked, turned, and cooked 
brown. It was choice bread on the tables of the most aris- 
tocratic pioneers. Made rich by lard, cracklings, or bear's 
oil, it was delicious. 

These camps were followed by log cabins made of trees 
cut from the forests. They were usually small and con- 
structed of round logs, roughly notched together at the cor- 
ners. One doorway, and a window made by cutting one 
log in two, were the common modes of admitting the in- 
habitants, light and air. The chimney was made of sticks 
and clay, and the cracks were sometimes daubed with mud. 



The floor was often nothing but the earth beat solid, or 
made of rough puncheons split from soft trees, generally lin, 
which grew in abundance. A hewed log house with a 
shingled roof, stone chimney, plank floor, and glass windows 
was considered a great improvement on the primitive cabin, 
and a mark of wealth and distinction. For a considerable 
time in the early settlement these were the best houses which 
the country afforded, and many of them are still standing. 

The fare in those days might be considered rough ; ven- 
ison, bear meat, elk, and wild turkeys were considered lux- 
uries. As civilization advanced, and the game became sctrrco, 
" hog and hominy" became the standing dishes. After 
a while the farmers began to grow wheat, and as soon as 
mills existed for converting it into flour the youngsters 
were allowed wheat, or English bread, as it was called, on 
Sunday morning. Coffee was a rare article, and only in- 
dulged in on great occasions. The most wealthy could not 
think of its use more than once a week. Sugar and syrup 
were principally procured from the maple-trees, which were 
'■ notched" in the latter part of winter or early spring, the 
sap caught in troughs, and boiled down in kettles or pots 
till it became thick enough to be " stirred off" into sugar, 
as the process was called. These sugar-camps were great 
institutions in their day, and a "stirring off" was a grand 
occasion, when many a gallant youth made love to his blue- 
eyed sweetheart, or to the smiling lass whose raven locks 
floated carelessly on the winds of the wildwood. These 
" stirs off" were fitrmore romantic and enchanting than the 
artificial " candy-pullings" of more modern times. The first 
marriage celebrated in Davidson County, or west of the Cum- 
berland Mountains, was that of Capt. Leiper. This was in 
1780, before there was a clergyman in the settlement. Col. 
James Robertson, as head of the government of the " nota- 
bles, " performed the ceremony. An early historian says, 
" There was pretty much of a feast at this wedding, and a 
most cheerful company. They had no wine or ardent 
spirits; they had no wheat or corn-bread, no cakes, no con- 
fectioneries ; but they had any quantity of fresh and dried 
meat — buffalo tongue, bear meat, venison saddle and veni- 
son ham — broiled, stewed, fried and jerked, and, as a great 
delicacy for the ladies, some roasting ears, or ears of green 
corn roasted, or boiled, or made into succotash." 

The people of those days were plain and full of hospital- 
ity. There was no extravagance, but all seemed deter- 
mined to make their adopted country a delightful land. 
The women spun and wove and made bed-quilts, nursed 
their own children, and thought a houseful of rosy boys and 
airls a great treasure. The men lived on wholesome, strong 
food and wore homespun. Public men in those days were 
expected to be men of integrity, and when a man was found 
competent and fttithful in oflice he was kept at his post. 
One of the acts passed by the first court was in these 
words : 

" Whereas, In all well-regulated governments effectual 
care is always taken that the day set apart for public wor- 
ship be observed and kept holy, all persons are enjoined 
carefully to apply themselves to the duties of religion and 
piety, to abstain from labor in ordinary callings. All viola- 
tions to be punished by fine of ten shillings proclamation 
monei/." 



28 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Profane swearing, intemperance, lewdness, and other like 
vices and improprieties were also to be punished. Another 
act provided : 

'' Whereas, Wicked men, too lazy to get their living by 
honest labor, noake it their business to ride in the woods 
and steal cattle and hogs, and alter and deface marks and 
biands, when convicted shall be 

'TiDed and confined, 
And scorched with a brand 
In the left hand, 
As you m.iy see, 
With a big letter T." 

Dr. McFerrin thus describes the first schools and school- 
houses : 

" At the appointed day the whole community met to- 
gether, with axes, frow, wagons, and teams. A site was 
selected, trees felled, the logs hauled, the house raised, the 
roof put on, the benches made, the writing-desk fixed at 
one side, a log being cut out to admit the light, and procla- 
mation was made that John Smith would open a three 
months' school nest Monday morning. Mr. Smith was 
represented as a fit model to take care of his institution. 
He could read, write a fair hand, set a good copy, and ci- 
pher to the double rule of three. And besides, his terms 
were reasonable. He could teach five days in the week, 
and twelve hours each day, or at least the children must 
leave home by sunrise in tlie morning, and would be let out 
just time enough to return before dark. Those who lived 
a great distance ofi' might be let out a little sooner, so as 
not to be out in the night. And then he would charge at 
the rate of eight dollars a year ; he would make up all the 
time he missed, and deduct from the price of tuition every 
day the child was absent by the will of the parent. He 
would ' board round' among the scholars, and take his pay 
one-half in money and the remainder in trade, corn and 
pork especially, they being the staple commodities of the 
country. 

" Monday morning bright and early you might see the 
boys and girls, from twenty-one years old down to five, 
pouring in from every quarter. Mr. Smith was there in 
time. He had secured a chair with a raw hide seat, which 
was very comfortable. He had no other fixtures, save a 
large flat ruler, with a half-dozen long switches hung upon 
a peg in the wall immediately on his right hand. These 
were the signs of his authority, and naturally made the 
backs of the boys cringe and the hands of the girls feel 
blue. Each pupil was examined not as to his progress in 
knowledge, but in reference to the books he brought. All 
went to work, and then, each vying with the other as to the 
noise he could produce, the whole school went into an up- 
roar, and could be heard for half a mile, like so many frogs 
in a pond, some sounding a low, heavy bass, while others, 
keyed to the highest pitch, would carry the treble, tenor, 
or counter. The music of those noisy schools can only be 
appreciated by those who have heard them in their highest 
state of excitement." 

The Presbyterians, Baptists, and Blethodists were the 
principal sects represented in the earliest religious meetings. 
The Presbyterian ministers were men of most learning, and 
usually taught schools of a higher grade, as they could be 



introduced and supported in the more populous centres, 
such as Nashville. The Baptists were generally very plain 
men, who made no pretensions to learning, but were full of 
zeal. In the early times they were nearly all " old-side 
Baptists," and held to the doctrine of particular election. 
Many of their preachers were men of natural gifts, but they 
nearly all had a sing-song mode of preaching which was very 
solemn and affecting. The Blethodist preachers were gen- 
erally termed " circuit-riders." They were usually single 
men, and devoted all their time to traveling and preaching 
on circuits which were hundreds of miles around, and in 
school-houses, private dwellings, in the woods, under brush 
arbors, or in the shade of the forest-trees. The Methodist 
" circuit-rider" might generally be known from his dress 
and equipage. He usually rode a good horse, kept in fine 
condition. His saddle was covered with a dressed bear- 
skin or buffiilo-robe. His saddle-bags were large and well 
filled. He carried his clothing and books along. The idea 
of a boarding-house was not conceived of in those days. 
He kept house in his saddle-bags. He wore a broad- 
brimmed white hat, made of beaver; his coat was round- 
breasted, iind usually made of jeans ; his vest was full and 
long, and forked at the corners, and had broad pocketflaps. 
They had loud voices and sang well. They were a terror 
to sinners, — persecuted, and yet beloved. A grander race 
of men never blessed any country. 

As the country grew older the people began to build 
meetinghouses. Some of the earliest of these were rude 
in the extreme, being built of hewed or round logs, and 
seated with plain benches. " A heavy piece of plank or 
puncheon had holes bored through it with a large auger, 
and four pegs or legs inserted, and these were placed in 
front of the pulpit and occupied by men and women, who 
all sat apart. No backs, no cushions, no kneeling-stools, no 
carpets, — the naked floor and hard seats ! and here the con- 
gregation wpuld often remain patiently while two long ser- 
mons were delivered. Long journeys were taken in those 
days to attend religious services, and the people always 
attended dressed in their best Sunday-clothes. Mothers 
would carry their children for miles to enjoy a gospel feast. 
Many of the poorer classes of young ladies went on foot 
and carried their shoes and stockings in their hands, rolled 
up in cotton handkerchiefs, till they came near the meeting- 
house, when they would turn aside, array their feet, and 
appear in the congregation as neat as a new pin." 

The pioneer preachers never saw an organ or heard a 
church choir. The Presbyterians generally had a leader 
whom they called a clerk, whose business it was to line the 
hymn and lead the music. He was always a layman and a 
person of great consequence. The Baptists usually lined 
the hymn, reading only one line at a time, and this was 
done in a very solemn, sing-song manner. The Methodists 
were noted for their fine singing. The preachers always 
read their own hymns, two lines at a time, and the congre- 
gations joined in singing. " Singing-masters," or teachers 
of vocal music, were early in the country. 

A very common costume in Tennessee among the hunters 
and pioneers and the later volunteer soldiery was the hunt- 
ing-shirt and its appendages, which have now gone entirely 
out of use. It was a picturesque and convenient costume. 



MOVEMENTS AGAINST THE INDIANS. 



29 



admirably adapted to the comeliness and comfort of the 
farmer, hunter, and pedestrian. The mountain-men in the 
Kevolution, the volunteer soldiery in all the campaigns of 
the West and in the war of 1812, uniformly wore it. Many 
of them did so in the war with Mexico- and in Texas, but 
the volunteer's hunting-shirt is evidently gone out of use. 
Speaking of this costume, Mr. Custis says, — 

"The hunting-shirt, the emblem of the Revolution, is 
now banished from the national military, but still lingers 
among the hunters and pioneers of the far West. This 
national costume wa.s adopted in the outset of the Revolu- 
tion, and was recommended by Washington to the army in 
the most eventful period of the war of independence. It 
was a favorite garb with many of the officers of the line. 
The British beheld these sons of the mountain and tjie for- 
est, thus attired, with wonder and admiration. Their hardy 
looks, their tall, athletic forms, their marching in Indian 
file with the light and noiseless step peculiar to their pur- 
suit of woodland game, but above all, to European eyes, 
their singular and picturesque costume, — the hunting-shirt, 
with its fringes, wampum-belts, leggins and moccasins, the 
tomahawk and knife, — these, with the well-known death- 
dealing aim of these matchless marksmen, created in the 
European military a degree of awe and respect for the 
hunting-shirt which lasted with the war of the Revolution. 
And should not Americans feel proud of the garb, and hail 
it as national, in which their fathers endured such toil and 
privation in the mighty struggle for independence, — the 
march across the wilderness, the triumphs of Saratoga and 
King's Mountain ? But a little while, and, of a truth, the 
hunting-shirt, the venerable emblem of the Revolution, will 
have disappeared from among the Americans, and will be 
found only in museums, like ancient armor, exposed to the 
gaze of the curious." 



CHAPTER VII. 

MOVEMENTS AGAINST THE INDIANS. 

First Milit:ii-y Companies formed — Attock of IndiaDS on Freeland's 
Station — Battle at the Bluff — Heroic Conduct of Mrs. James Rob- 
ertson — The Enemy Discomfited — The Killed and Wounded. 

The first determined pursuit of the Indians was in the 
summer of 1780. The details of this affair arc very mea- 
gre, but it is worthy of mention as the first instance of an 
offensive policy on the part of the settlers, the vigorous 
practice of which later on led to the most beneficial results, 
especially when directed against the enemy in his own home. 
At this time the depredations of the Indians had become 
particularly grievous. Aside from the murders committed, 
the loss of live-stock was very heavy, and hard to be borne 
on account of the greiit difiiculties in replacing it, the 
source of supply being several hundred miles distant^ 
Putnam remarks that the death of a milk-cow was a sore 
affliction to the women, next to that of a member of the 
family. The capture of a horse was equally so to the men. 
After a raid by a large party of Cherokees in the vicinity of 
Freeland's Station, in which a number of cattle were killed 



and gashed with knives and.some horses carried ofi", prompt 
pur.suit and punishment of the marauders were determined 
on. For this purpose Col. James Robertson, Alexander 
Buchanan, and eighteen others quickly embodied and gave 
chase. The Indians were overtaken at some point on Duck 
River not now known, but about forty miles south of the 
settlement, where Robertson's party charged and fired upon 
tliem. Several of the Indians were killed and wounded, 
when the rest fled, abandoning the stolen property to the 
possession of the whites, who returned in safety without 
the loss of a man. The result was very creditable, and 
thereafter Col. Robertson had frequently to restrain tlie 
ardor of the settlers in their eagerness to pursue large 
parties of the enemy with an inadequate force. However, 
it was an established rule to pursue on the instant when an 
outrage was committed. In this it was frequently possible 
to inflict some punishment on the depredators, who some- 
times dallied too long to secure the scalp and arms of their 
victims. As a rule, when the Indians fired upon the whites 
in the vicinity of the forts they ran off at once and easily 
made their escape in the thickets of cane which covered 
over the face of the country. It may be stated in this 
connection that the Indians exercised the greatest economy 
in the use of powder, putting in a very small charge, other- 
wise their warfare would have been much more destructive. 
They rarely trusted themselves to fire beyond fifty yards, 
while the average backwoodsman could use his rifle with 
deadly precision at twice or thrice that distance. They 
frequently lost their lives, or were placed at disadvantage, 
by attempting to use the tomahawk as a substitute for a few 
grains of powder. 

THE ATTACK ON FREELAND'S STATION. 

During the first year of occupation a number of settle- 
ments had been made or projected, extending along the 
Cumberland River for the distance of quite forty miles. 
Many of these stations were small in extent, poorly con- 
structed, and insufficiently manned, as the result soon proved. 
The occupants were more engrossed with the selection of 
good locations, preferably near a salt-spring, than the thought 
that such an intrusion on the favorite hunting-ground of 
the Cherokee and other Indians would provoke serious and 
deadly opposition. Some of them, Col. John Donelson 
among the number, neglected even to erect houses, but 
passed most of the season in the half-faced structures known 
as hunters' camps. The consequences of this policy of 
neglect and division of strength were fearfully apparent 
before the close of the year. The beginning of the year 
1781 found the entire body of settlers confined to three 
forts, — namely, Robertson's or the Blufi", Eaton's, two miles 
below on the north side of the river, and Freeland's, about 
a mile to the northwest of the first, — forced into these 
places for refuge from the rifle and tomahawk of their 
merciless foes. These results, so flattering to their arms, 
emboldened the Cherokees and their allies to attempt the 
extermination of the survivors, now greatly reduced from 
their original number by casualties and the departure of 
many families to the settlements in Kentucky and the 
Illinois. 

But to accomplish this result required a larger force than 



30 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEK. 



had hitherto invaded the settlements, arid the exercise of 
bravery and entei'prise sufficient to overcome fortified posts 
held by resolute men fighting in defense of their families 
and the fertile country they had chosen for habitation. In 
the execution of this plan Freeland's Station was the first 
to receive the blow, on account of its situation and compa- 
rative weakness. That the attack was not successful was 
due to a want of concert and disregard of discipline which 
characterize all barbarous races in enterprises of this char- 
acter. It appears that there were two parties, each num- 
bering between fifty and a hundred warriors, marching to 
the attack of the place ; but the first detachment, on its arri- 
val discovering the weakness of the garrison, determined, 
in its eagerness to win the prize, to strike without awaiting 
the advent of the other. 

This station was erected by George, James, and Jacob 
Freeland on the spot afterwards occupied by the residence 
of Dr. McGavock. It was simply a stockade thrown around 
the houses of the occupants, and probably bastioned, as many 
of them were, in order to render more eifective the fire of a 
small force of defenders. The gate was secured by a chain 
which fastened on the inside. On the night of the attack, 
Jan. 15, 1781, there seems to have been no apprehension 
of danger, as there was evidently no sentinel whose duty it 
was to watch over the safety of the place. The garrison 
consisted of eleven men and some families, including Col. 
James Robertson, whose presence proved a most fortunate 
circumstance, and was occasioned by the fact that on his 
arrival that day at the Blufi' from the Kentucky settle- 
ments he learned that his family was at Freeland's. His 
journey through the wilderness had been full of perils, and 
the narration of this and the detail of home affairs by Mrs. 
Robertson had kept him awake until a late hour. About 
midnight his keen ear, trained to wonderful acuteness by 
long practice on the border, detected a movement of the 
chain at the gate, and on rising to examine into the cause, 
he discovered the gate thrown open and a large body of 
Indians crowding into the inclosure. He instantly raised 
the cry of alarm and awakened the inmates of the houses 
to a sense of their danger. Finding they were discovered, 
the assailants raised their terrible war-whoop to heighten 
the effect of surprise and chill the spirit of resistance. As 
soon as possible the men of the garrison sprang to their 
guns and opened a straggling fire upon the throng. Un- 
fortunately one of the houses occupied by Maj. Lucas and 
several others, including a negro servant of Col. Robertson, 
was poorly fitted for defense, owing to the want of chinking 
and daubing in the cracks between the logs. Maj. Lucas 
realizing this rushed out to obtain better shelter, but was 
almost instantly killed. The moon was shining brightly, 
and the assailants, finding that they could not force an en- 
trance into the houses now without great loss, quickly re- 
treated through the gate, whence they opened a hot fire on 
the house from which Maj. Lucas had so rashly issued, and 
which alone on inspection afterwards was found to have 
received over five hundred bullets. Col. Robertson in a 
loud voice animated and directed the defense, charging the 
men to keep from before the port-holes while loading. He 
was enabled at one time in the conflict to take close aim at 
a fellow's head, and he declared his belief that he had got 



bis man, which was confirmed the next day by the discov- 
ery of the body of an Indian shot througli the brain. He 
had been carried about a mile and covered with leaves. 
The din of conflict soon awakened the inhabitants at the 
Bluff, and a small swivel was fired at that place to convey 
to the besieged a knowledge that their situation was appre- 
ciated. 

The Indians kept up the fire until near daylight, when 
they withdrew out of range. Only about a half-dozen 
rounds to the man had been fired from the houses, but 
evidently to good purpose, from the numerous trails of 
blood left behind in the retreat. The occupants of the 
unfinished house were the only sufferers, several being 
wounded and the negro killed. Soon after daylight Capt. 
John Rains with a small party from the Bluff reached the 
scene, and following the trail of the Indians for some dis- 
tance di.scovored the arrival of a second detachment. No 
further attempt, however, was made on this or the other 
two stations, but the ones that had been deserted were 
visited and burnt, the stock killed, provisions destroyed, 
trails waylaid, and the game driven off for miles in every 
direction in order to make its pursuit more hazardous to 
the hunters who were compelled to rely for food on this 
source of supply. 

THE BATTLE OF THE BLUFF, OR ROBERTSON'S 
STATION, APRIL 2, 1781. 

Robertson's Station, or the Bluff, as it was more usually 
designated, was, from its central position and the number 
of inhabitants congregated in the place, the most important 
of the Cumberland settlements. It was fortified with much 
care on the stockade plan, and so situated that water from 
a spring near by could be conducted in troughs within the 
inclosure. The site was immediately on the bluff of the 
river, and partly covered the present debouchement of 
Church Street, in Nashville. The main building in the 
inclosure, not erected at this time probably, was built of 
stone, two stories high, the northern face being on a line 
with the southern boundary of Church Street. The regula- 
tions for its safety were carried out with much care, watches 
being constantly maintained over the boats in the river 
and from a block-house on the land side. Since the attack 
on Freeland's all who ventured out were compelled to use 
great caution on account of the presence of prowling par- 
ties of Indians in the vicinity. Only a few days before 
the engagement at the Bluff Col. Samuel Barton, who was 
out endeavoring to get some beef cattle into the fort, was 
wounded in the wrist about where Wilson's Branch crosses 
College Street. On the night of April 1st an Indian was 
discovered spying the premises and was shot at by James 
Menifee, the sentinel in the block-house, when he withdrew. 
Between daylight and sunrise the next morning two others 
approached, and firing their guns at the fort ran off out of 
range, where they halted and began leisurely to reload, 
waving their hands in a bantering manner. It had always 
been the practice of the settlers to pursue under such cir- 
cumstances, and although an ambuscade was feared by 
some it was determined to resent the insult at all hazards. 
Thereupon a party of twenty-one quickly mounted their 
horses and dashed through the gate in pursuit. Capt. 



MOVEMEiNTS AGAINST THE INDIANS. 



31 



Leiper led tlie advance and Col. Robertson the main body. 
The names of thirteen only of this daring band of salliers 
have been handed down by tradition, and are as follows : 
Col. James Robertson, Capt. Leiper, Peter Gill, John 
Kesenger, Alexander Buchanan, George Kennedy, I. Ken- 
nedy, Zachariah White, James Menifee, Kasper Blansker 
(usually pronounced Blanscor), Isaac Lucas, Joseph Moon- 
shaw, and Edward Swanson. When the advance reached 
the present locality of Broad Street, about its intersection 
with College, a few of the enemy were seen making a stand 
at the Branch a short distance off. The whites immediately 
dismounted for battle, but before they could secure their 
horses a force of about three hundred warriors rose from 
the thickets along the Branch and poured into them a 
deadly volley. They returned the fire with spirit and to 
good elFect. In the mean time another large body of the 
enemy, which had taken post before daylight in the cedar 
and privet bushes which thickly covered the present site 
of Cherry Street embraced between Church and Broad, 
ran from their concealment after the horsemen had passed 
and extended their line rapidly in the direction of the fort 
and the river. The war-whoop of these savages in their 
rear at once conveyed to the sallying-party and also to their 
fiiends in the fort the desperate nature of their situation, 
and excited in all the gravest fears for their safety. They 
began at once their retreat, resolutely bringing off all of 
their wounded who could be assisted. Fortunately for the 
survivors their horses had broken back in the direction of 
the fort when the fight began, but on reaching the inter- 
posing line they swerved off to its right to escape, when 
large numbers of the Indians, unable to resist the tempta- 
tion, quit their places and hurried in pursuit of them. 
Into the gap thus opportunely left the retreating whites 
now pressed, hotly pursued from the rear and fired upon 
from different directions. 

At this juncture another most fortunate circumstance 
occurred to favor their escape. There were great numbers 
of dogs gathered into the fort, trained to face any danger 
at bidding, and on hearing the well-known reports of their 
masters' rifles in the vale below they were seized with an 
uncontrollable frenzy, and evinced by loud cries their dis- 
position to join in the conflict. Mrs. Robertson, the wife 
of Col. James Robertson, who was watching gun in hand 
with intense interest the varying changes of the battle, on 
discovering the snare into which her friends had fallen, and 
fearing that they would all be lost, now urged the sentinel 
to open the gate and hiss on the dogs. These animals on 
being released flew at once at that part of the Indian line 
still in place, and attacked it with a fury and persistence 
probably never before witnessed. It was an anomaly in- 
deed in warfare, as dogs are usually much afraid of the fire 
of guns. Such an onset, however, could not be despised, 
and forced the enemy to empty their pieces and resort to 
their tomahawks in self-defense. Favored by this unex- 
pected diversion, the little band of whites now hastened on, 
and all reached the fort in safety except Isaac Lucas. He 
had reached a point in rifle-range of the place when he 
fell with a broken thigh. He had just finished loading his 
gun as he ran, and when he fell an Indian rushed upon 
him with the purpose of securing his scalp. Lucas took 



deliberate aim as he lay on the ground and shot his pur- 
suer dead in his tracks. He then dragged himself a short 
distance to shelter from the Indian fire, reloaded his rifle, 
and disposed his tomahawk for a desperate resistance ; seve- 
ral determined efforts were made by the friends of the dead 
man to carry off his body and dispatch Lucas, but were 
frustrated by the vigilance of the garrison, who kept up a 
warm fire in that quarter. Lucas was carried into the fort 
after the enemy withdrew out of range, and soon recovered. 
Edward Swanson, another of the salliers, was overtaken '^ 
within twenty yards of the gate by a large Indian, who 
pressed the muzzle of his gun against his back and at- 
tempted to shoot, but it foiled fire. The Indian then struck 
Swanson heavily on the shoulder with the barrel, making 
him drop bis gun. Swanson now turned, and seizing his 
antagonist's gun by the muzzle, endeavored to wrench it 
from his hands. A desperate struggle ensued for the pos- 
session of the weapon, which ended at length in the Indian's 
favor, when by a heavy blow on the head he felled the 
white man to his all-fours. The combatants had been so 
closely engaged that the friends of Swanson could not fire 
from the fort without danger to both ; but at this instant, 
when the Indian was in the act of disengaging his toma- 
hawk to give the finishing blow, old Mr. John Buchanan 
rushed through the gate and firing quickly, mortally 
wounded him. Thereupon the savage, gritting his teeth 
with rage, retired to a stump near by where he fell. Swan- 
son, assisted by his deliverer, made his way into tiie fort. 
During the night the body of the Indian was dragged off 
by his comrades, and was found several days later buried 
on College Hill, at the place afterwards occuj)ied by the 
residence of the Rev. Mr. Hume.* No attempt was made 
to carry off the one killed by Swanson, as he was probably 
scalped by the whites, and this, according to Indian theology, 
rendered him unfit for burial. The loss of the scalp was 
supposed to be sufficient to debar the victim from the 
" happy hunting-grounds," no matter how bravely he may 
have fought. Hence they always souglit at great risk to 
consign an enemy to the dominions of the bad spirit 'oy 
practicing this mutilation upon him. 

Of the sallying-party seven were killed, according to the 
statement of the Rev. John Carr, who lived in the pioneer 
period. These were Capt. Leiper, Peter Gill, John Kesen- 
ger, Alexander Buchanan, George Kennedy, Zachariah 
White, and J. Kennedy. James Menifee, Kasper Mans- 
ker, Isaac Lucas, Joseph Moonshaw, and others were 
wounded. Putnam's account says that five were killed, but 
no names are given. In an obituary notice of Gen. James 
Robertson, published in the Nashville Clarion in 1813, the 
writer states that only thirteen returned alive to the fort, 
which would put the number of killed at eight. Very few 
of the horses were captured ; most of them, after a hot 
chase across Capitol Hill and about the Sulphur-Bottom, 
broke by their pursuers and reached the gate of the fort, 
into which they were admitted. At ten o'clock a.m. the 
enemy withdrew from the contest, but returned at night 
and fired a great many shots at the walls. It was under- 



•■•' On Market Street, opposite the entranee to the Vanderbllt Medi- 
cal College. 



32 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



stood that tins party was a reinforcement which had arrived 
too late to take part in the morning's battle. At one time 
during the night a knot of several hundred were seen col- 
lecting about the present intersection of Church and College 
Streets, when it was proposed to fire the swivel aftheni. 
Some objected on account of the scarcity of ammunition, 
but a contribution of powder, slugs, and pieces of iron 
having been made up, the piece was brought into position 
and fired. In the stillness of night the report and flash of 
the little swivel proved very creditable, and more than 
answered expectations. The party decamped with such 
haste that they left several articles of value behind. Not 
another shot was fired at the fort after this, nor was it 
again directly attacked during the existence of hostilities. 
Soon after the swivel was fired the one at Eaton's gave an 
answering signal, and in the course of the night a small 
force came from that place to the opposite bank, where, on 
making its presence known, boats were dispatched, and it 
was quickly transferred to assist in the further defense of 
the place if needed. Early next morning scouts went out 
and ascertained that the Indians had gone westerly and 
crossed Richland Creek. The number of their killed was 
never definitely ascertained. The bodies of the whites 
were found stripped and scalped. Thus ended an expedi- 
tion of six or seven hundred Cherokecs, the details of 
which were planned with much judgment and executed 
with remarkable secrecy. The proverbial want of dis- 
cipline with the savages at the critical moment alone saved 
the party which rashly sallied out to attack them from 
total destruction. In the light of subsequent events the 
death of Col. Robertson would have been a public calamity, 
which at this juncture might have operated most unfavor- 
ably on the interests of the Cumberland settlements. In 
any event the loss of so many brave men at one fell swoop 
would have been a most serious blow, and liable to have 
been followed by a train of worse disasters. As Mrs. Rob- 
ertson pertinently remarked, the Indians' fear of dogs and 
love of horses proved the salvation of the whites on this 
occasion. It is due to the memory of the pioneer women 
of Nashville to state that in the midst of the terrible ex- 
citement succeeding the repulse of their husbands, brothers, 
and friends, and the heart-rending prospect of their total 
destruction, they stood gun and axe in hand at the gate of 
the fort, determined to die in its defense if occasion de- 
manded it. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GOVEKWMEBTT OF THE NOTABLES. 

Civil Government among tlie First Needs of the Settlers — A Volun- 
tary Compaet formed — Election of Judges — Copy of Articles of 
Agreement — List of tiie Signers — Additional Articles — Interesting 
Quotations from the Records of the Notables — Treaty with the 
Indians. 

The first civil government upon the Cumberland or in 
Middle Tennessee was a voluntary compact entered into by 
the settlers on the first day of May, 1780, with additional 
articles adopted on the 13th. This was an object of their 



first care as soon as they had arrived in the country and had 
provided themselves with temporary shelter and a few 
necessary articles of subsistence. They had not been with- 
out an example of the benefits of such a voluntary associa- 
tion for mutual protection, and for the restraint and punish- 
ment of lawless itdventurers who might come among them, in 
a similar organization upon the Watauga ; and now that they 
had immigrated still farther into the wilderness, and still 
more remote from any protection which the civil arm of the 
State could immediately throw over them, they were dis- 
posed to organize and administer a local government of their 
own. But they designed that this government should exist 
only till such time as the State government could be effi- 
ciently extended over them. 

The articles entered into provided that the several 
stations should be entitled to representatives as follows : 
"From Nashborough, 3." 

"From Kasper's, 2." (Kasper Mansker's Lick.) 
"From Bledsoe's, 1.'' (Now Castilian Springs.) 
" From Asher's, 1." (Station Camp Creek.) 
" From Freeland's, 1." (Horticultural Garden.) 
" From Eaton's, 2." (East Nashville.) 
"From Fort Union, 1." (Where Haysborougli was.) 
"Which said persons, or a majority of them, after being 
bound by the solemnity of an oath to do equal and impar- 
tial justice between all contending parties," etc., shall be 
empowered and competent to settle all controversies relative 
to location and improvement of lands ; all other matters and 
questions of dispute among the settlers ; protecting the 
reasonable claims of those who may have returned for their 
families ; providing implements of husbandry and food for 
such as might arrive without such necessaries ; making 
especial provisions for widows and orphans whose husbands 
or fathers may die or be killed by the savages ; guarantee- 
ing equal rights, mutual protection, and impartial justice; 
pledging themselves most solemnly and'sacredly to promote 
the peace, happiness, and well-being of the country ; to 
repress vice and punish crime. This is a summary of what 
they resolved and ordained.* 

Certainly no better evidence could be given of the intel- 
ligence, patriotism, and foresight of the pioneers. " One of 
the best elements," says Putnam, "of our free, popular 
government was expressly set forth in the compact of gov- 
ernment at Nashborough, namely : the authority of the 
jieoph ; a power reserved to the people at the various 
stations to remove their judge or judges and other officers 
for unfaithfulness or misconduct, and to elect others to fill 
such vacancies. 

" This tribunal exercised the prerogatives of government 
to their fullest extent, with the single specified exception 
of the infliction of capital punishment. They called out 
the militia of the stations to ' repel or pursue the enemy,' 
impressed horses for such service as public exigency might 
demand, levied fines, paj'able in money or provisions, adju- 
dicated causes, entered up judgments and awarded exe- 
cutions, granted letters of administration upon estates of 
deceased persons, taking bonds payable to ' Col. James Rob- 
ertson, Chairman of the Committee,' etc. 

■-:•- Putnam, p. 90. \ 



GOVERNMENT OF THE NOTABLES. 



33 



Mr. Putnam, by the discovery of the ori2;inal articles of 
association by which this government of the Notables was 
formed, was enabled to add, among other results of his 
careful research, a very valuable and interesting paper to 
this portion of the history of Teimessee. He precedes its 
introduction into his " History of Middle Tennessee" with 
the following remarks : 

'' Much has been written and published respecting that 
' hnper'mm in iinperiu,' the State of Franklin, and its dis- 
tinguished founder and Grovernor; but here wo recover the 
history of a State in every respect and aspect as peculiar as 
that, six years earlier in date, in active existence for several 
years, the president or chairman of which was ever the 
friend of Sevier, — they par nobile/ratrum, — but of which 
the historians of Tennessee have had but a very limited 
knowledge. Judge Haywood alludes to it on page 126, 
and others have only copied what he there says, and thus 
the most interesting incidents in Middle Tennessee history 
have hitherto remained unknown and unpublished. 

" It soon became manifest that there was much need for 
such a government, that it would have much to engage its 
attention both in the civil and military departments. Tiie 
people at the various stations were urged by their sense of 
duty, and some apprehension of mischief from the Indians, 
to elect the number of Notables to which they were en- 
titled that the contemplated government might be put 
promptly into operation, and suitable directions given for 
the election of military officers and the equipment of ' spies 
and sharpshooters.' 

" The alarm was, ' Indians about!' In this very month 
of May they approached the strong defenses of Eaton's 
Station, and within sight and in open day shot down Mr. 
Porter and James Mayfield. Shortly thereafter they killed 
Jennings, opposite the first island above Nashville; and near 
the same time and place they killed Ned. Carver, whose 
wife and two children narrowly escaped and reached the 
Bluif. In a day or two thereafter they killed William 
Neely and captured his daughter." 

ARTICLES OF AGREEMEN^T, OR COMPACT OF 
GOVERNMENT, ENTERED INTO BY THE SET- 
TLERS ON THE CUMBERLAND RIVER, 1st MAY, 
1780.* 

The first page is lost, and the second torn and defaced, 
but we can read distinctly as follows, supplying in brackets 
lost words : 

"... property of right shall be determined as soon [as] 
conveniently may be, in the following manner : The free 
men of this country over the age [of twenty] one years 
shall immediately, or as soon as may [be convenient], pro- 
ceed to elect or choose twelve conscientious and [deserving] 
persons, from or out of the different sections, that is [to] 
say: From Nashborough, ^/u-ee; Gasper's, too; Bledsoe's, 
one; Asher's, one; Stone's River, one; Freeland's, one; 
Eaton's, too; Fort Union, o/ie. Which said persons, or a 
majority of them, after being bound by the solemnity of an 
oath to do equal and impartial justice between all contend- 
ing parties, according to the best of their skill and judgment, 

'•^This paper contaiDS also additional articles adopted May 13th, the 
date at which the signatures were added. 

5 



having due re[gard] to the regulations of the Land Office 
herein established, shall be competent judges of tiie matter, 
and . . . hearing the allegations of both parties and [their] 
witnesses as to the facts alleged, or otherwise ... as to 
the truth of the case, shall have [power] to decide the con- 
troversies, and determine who is of right entitled to an entry 
for such land so in dispute, when said determination or de- 
cision shall be forever bind[ing] and conclusive against the 
future claim of the party against whom such judgment 
[shall be rendered]. And the entry-taker shall make a 
[record thereof] in his book accordingly, and the entry 
. . . tending party so cost shall ... if it had never been 
made, and the land in dispute ... to the person in whose 
favor such judgment shall . . . 

"... in case of the death, removal, or absence of any of 
the judges so to be chosen, or their refusing to act, the station 
or stations to which such person or persons belong, or was 
chosen from, shall proceed to elect another or others in his 
or their stead ; which person or persons so chosen, after 
being sworn, as aforesaid, to do equal and impartial justice, 
shall have full power and authority to proceed to business, 
and act in all disputes respecting the premises, as if they 
had been originally chosen at the first election. 

" That the entry-book shall be kept fair and open by 
. . . person ... to be appointed by said Richard Hen- 
derson . . . chose, and every entry for land numbered and 
dated, and . . . order leaving any blank leaves or spaces 
... to the inspection of the said twelve judges, or . . . 
of them, at all times. . . . 

" That whereas many persons have come to this country 
without implements of husbandry, and from other circum- 
stances are obliged to return without making a crop, and 
[intend] removing out this fall or early next spring, and it 
. . . reason . . . such should have the pre-emp[tion] . . . 
of such places as they may have chosen . . . the purpose 
of residence, therefore it is ... to be taken for all such, 
for as much land as they are enlitled to from their head- 
rights, which said lands shall be reserved for the particular 
person in whose name they shall be entered, or their heirs ; 
provided such persons shall remove to this country and 
take possession of the respective place or piece of land so 
chosen or entered, or shall send a laborer or laborers and a 
white person in his or her stead to perform the same, on 
or before the first day of May, in the year one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-one ; and also provided such 
land so chosen and entered for is not entered and claimed 
by some person who is an inhabitant, and shall raise a crop 
of corn the present year at some station or place convenient 
to the general settlement in this country. But it is fully to 
be understood that those who are actually at this time 
inhabitants of this country shall not be debarred of their 
choice or claim on account of the rights of any such absent 
or returning person or persons. It is further proposed and 
agreed that no claim or title to any land whatsoever shall 
be set up by any person in consequence of any mark or 
former improvement, unless the same be entered with the 
entry-taker within twenty days from the date of this asso- 
ciation and agreement; and that when any person here- 
after shall mark or improve land or lands for himself, such 
mark or improvement shall not avail him or be deemed an 



34 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



evidence of prior right unless the same be entered with the 
entry-talker in thirty days . . . from the time of such mark 
or improvement ; but no other person shall be entitled to 
such lands so as aforesaid to be reserved . . . consequence 
of any purchase, gift, or otherwise. 

" That if the entry-taker to be appointed shall neglect 
or refuse to perform his duty, or be found by the said 
judges, or a majority of them, to have acted fraudulently, 
to the prejudice of any person whatsoever, such entry- 
taker shall be immediately removed from his office, and the 
book taken out of his possession by the said judges until 
another shall be appointed to act in his room. 

" That as often as the people in general are dissatisfied 
with the doings of the judges or triers so to be chosen, 
they may call a new election at any of the said stations 
and elect others in their stead, having due respect to the 
number now agreed to be elected at each election, which 
persons so to be chosen shall have the same power with 
those in whose room or place they shall or may be chosen 
to act. 

" That as no consideration money for the lands on Cum- 
berland River, within the claim of the said Richard Hen- 
derson and Company, and which is the subject of the asso- 
ciation, is demanded or expected by the said Company until 
a satisfactory and indisputable title can be made, so we 
think it reasonable and just that the twenty-six pounds 
thirteen shillings and four pence, current money, per hun- 
dred acres, the price proposed by the said Richard Hender- 
son, shall be paid according to the value of money on the 
first day of January last, being the time when the price was 
made public [and] settlement encouraged thereon by said 
Henderson ; and the said Richard Henderson on his part 
does hereby agree that in case of the rise or appreciation of 
money from that . . . an abatement shall be made in the 
sum according to its raised or appreciated value. 

" That where any person shall remove to this country 
with intent to become an inhabitant, and depart this life, 
either by violence or in the natural way, before he shall 
have performed the requisites necessary to obtain lands, the 
child or children of such deceased person shall be entitled, 
in his or her room, to such quantity of land as such person 
would have been entitled to in case he or she had lived to 
obtain a grant in their own name ; and if such death be oc- 
casioned by the Indians, the said Henderson doth promise 
and agree that the child or children shall have as much as 
amounts to their head-rights gratis, surveyor's and other 
incidental fees excepted. 

" And whereas, from our remote situation and want of 
proper officers for the administration of justice, no regular 
proceedings at law can be had for the punishment of of- 
fenses and the attainment of right, it is therefore agreed 
that until we can be relieved by government from the many 
evils and inconveniences arising therefrom, the judges or 
triers to be appointed as before directed, when qualified, 
shall be and are hereby declared a. proper court or jurisdic- 
tion for the recovery of any debt or damage; or where the 
cause of action or complaint has arisen, or hereafter shall 
commence, for anything done or to be done among our- 
selves in this our settlement on Cumberland aforesaid, or in 
our passage hither, where the laws of our country could not 



be executed or damages repaired in any other way ; that is 
to say, in all cases where the debt or damages or demand 
does or shall not exceed one hundred dollars, any three of the 
said judges or triers shall be competent to make a court and 
finally decide the matter in controversy ; but if for a larger 
sum, and either party shall be dissatisfied with the judg- 
ment or decision of such court, they may have an appeal to 
the whole twelve judges or triers, in which case nine mem- 
bers shall be deemed a full court, whose decision, if seven 
agree in one opinion, the matter in dispute shall be final, 
and their judgment carried into execution in such manner 
and by such person or persons as they may appoint ; and the 
said courts, respectively, shall have full power to tax such 
costs as they may think just and reasonable, to be levied 
and collected with the debt or damage so to be awarded. 

" And it is further agreed that a majority of the said 
judges, triers, or general arbitrators shall have power to 
punish in their discretion, having respect to the laws of our 
country, all off'enses against the peace, misdemeanors, and 
those criminals, or of a capital nature, provided such court 
does not proceed with execution so far as to afi"ect life or 
member ; and in ease any should be brought before them 
whose crime is or shall be dangerous to the State, or for 
which the benefit of clergy is taken away by law, and suffi- 
cient evidence or proof of the fact or fiicts can probably be 
made, such court, or a majority of the members, shall and 
may order and direct him, her, or them to be safely bound 
and sent under a strong guard to the place where the offense 
was or shall be committed, or where legal trial of such of- 
fense can be had, which shall accordingly be done, and the 
reasonable expense attending the discharge of this duty as- 
certained by the court, and paid by the inhabitants in such 
proportion as shall hereafter be agreed on for that purpose. 

" That as this settlement is in its infancy, unknown to 
government, and not included within any county within 
North Carolina, the State to which it belongs, so as to de- 
rive the advantages of those wholesome and salutary laws 
for the protection and benefit of its citizens, we find our- 
selves constrained from necessity to adopt this temporary 
method of restraining the licentious, and supplying, by 
unanimous consent, the blessings flowing from a just and 
equitable government, declaring and promising that no ac- 
tion or complaint shall be hereafter instituted or lodged in 
any court of record within this State, or elsewhere, for any- 
thing done or to be done in consequence of the proceedings 
of the said Judges or General Arbitrator so to be choseu 
and established by this our A.ssociation. 

" That the well-being of this country entirely depends, 
under Divine Providence, on unanimity of sentiment and 
concurrence in measures ; and as clashing interests and 
opinions without being under some restraint will most cer- 
tainly produce confusion, discord, and almost certain ruin, 
so we think it our duty to associate, and hereby form our- 
selves into one society for the benefit of present and future 
settlers ; and until the full and proper exercise of the laws 
of our country can be in use, and the powers of government 
exerted among us, loe do most solemnly and sacredly de- 
clare and promise each other that we will faithfully and 
punctually adhere to, perform, and abide by this our Associ- 
ation, and at all times, if need be, compel by our united 



GOVERNMENT OF THE NOTABLES. 



35 



force a due obedience to these our rules and regulations. 
In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our 
names in token of our entire approbation of the measures 
adopted. 



V 



" Richarti Henderson. 

Natbauiel Hart. 

"Williiuu H. Mooro. 

Samuel Phariss. 

John Donclson, C. 

Gasper Mansker. 

John Caffory. 

Juhn Bhickciiiore, Sr, 

John Blai'kem ire, Jr. 

Jaiues Shaw. 

Samnel Deson. 

Samuel Martin. 

James Buchanan. 

Solomon Turpin. 

Isaac Kentfro. 

Robert Cartwright. 

Hugh Rogan. 

Joseph Morton. 

William Woods. 

David Mitchell. 

Bavid Shelton. 

Spill Coleman. 

Samuel McMurray. 

P. Henderson. 
-Edward Bradley. 
_JEdward Bradley, Jr. 
"James Bradley. 

Michael Stoner. 

Joseph Mosely. 

Henry Guthrie. 

Francis Armstrong. 
- Kobert Lucas. 

James Robertson. 

George Freoland. 

John Tucker. 

Peter Catron. 

Francis Catron. 

John Dunham. 

Isaac Johnson. 

Adam Kelar. 

Thomas Burgess. 

William Green. 

Moses Webb. 

Absalom Thompson. 

John McVay. 

James Thomson. 

Charles Thomson. 

Martin Hardini 

Elijah Thomson. 

Andrew Thomson. 

William Seaton. 

Edward Thomelu. -;f> 

Isaac Drake. ■ 

Jonathan Jennings. 

Zachariah Green. 

Andrew Lucas. 
His 

James X Patrick, 
mark 

Richard Gross. 

John Drake. 

John HoUaday. 

Frederic Stump (in 
Dutch). 

William Hood. 

John Boyd. 

Jacob Stump. 

Henry Hardin. 

Richard Stanton. 

Sampson Sawyer. 



William Gowan. 

John Wilfort. 

James Espey. 

Michael Kiraberlin. 

John Cowan. 

Francis Hodge. 

William Fleming. 

Jnmes Leeper. 

Gejrge Leepe:-. 

Daniel Muugie. 

Patrick McCutchen. 

Samuel McCutchen. 

AVilliam Price. 

Henry Kerbey, 

Joseph Jackson. . 

Daniel Ragsdell. 

Michael Shaver. 

Samuel WilUon. 

John Reid. 

Joseph Dougherty. 

Charles Cameron. 

W. Russell, Jr. — 

Hugh Simpson. 

Samuel Moore. 

Joseph Denton. 

Arthur McAdoo. 

Nathaniel Henderson. 

John Evans. 

Wm. Bailey Smith. 
^ — Peter Luney. 

James Cain. 

Daniel Johnson. 

Daniel Jarrot. 

Jesse Maxey. 

Noah Hawthorn. 

Charles McCartney. 

John Anderson. 

William McWhirter. 

Barnet Hainey. 

Richard Sims. 

Titus Murray. 

James Hamilton. 

Henry Dougherty. 

Zach. White. 

Burgess White. 

William Galley. 
- James Ray. 

William Ray. 

Perley Grimes. 

Samuel White. 

Daniel Hogan. 

Thomas Hines. 
"^'^obert Goodloe. 

Thomas W. Alston. 

William Barret. 

Thomas Shannon. 



James Moore. 

Samuel Moore. 
Elijah Moore. 
John Moore. 
Andrew Ewin. \/' 
Ebenezer Titus. 
Mark Robertson. 
John Montgomery. 
Charles Campbell. 
William Overall. 
John Turner. 
Nathaniel Overall. 



John McMurty. 
D'd AVilliams. 
John McAdams. 
Samson Williams. 
Thomas Thompson. 
Martin King. 
AVilliam Logan. ■" 
John Alstead. 
Nicholas Counrod. 
Evin Evins. ^ 
John Thomas. 
Joshua Thomas. 
David Rouasavall. 
Isaac Rounsavall. 
James Crocket. 
Andrew Crocket. 
Russell Gower. 
John Shannon. 
Jonathan Drake. 
Benjamin Drake. 
John Drake. 
Mereday Rains. 
Richard Dodge. 
James Green. 
James Cooke. 
Daniel Johnston. 
George Miner.,-- 
George Green. 
William Moore. 
Jacob Cimberlin. 
Robert Dockerty. 
John Crow. 
William Summers. 
Lesois Frize. (?) 
Amb's Mauldin. 
Morton Mauldin. 
John Dunham. 
Archelaus Allaway. 
Samuel Hayes. 
Isaac Johnson. 
Thomas Edmeston. 
Ezekiel Norris. 
AVilliam Farwell. 
William McMurray. 
John Cordey. 
Nicholas Tramal. J 
Haydon Wells. 
Daniel Ratleft. 
John Callaway. 
John Picake. 
Willis Pope. 
Silas Harlan. 
James Lynn. 
Thomas Cox. 
Hugh Leeper. 
Harmon Consellea. 

Humphrey Hogan. 

James Foster. 
William Morris. 
Nathaniel Bidlack. 
A. Tatom. 
William Hinson. 
Edmund Newton. 
Jonathan Green. 
Edward Lucas. ..^^ 
Philip Alston. 
John Phillips. 
George Flynn, 



John Hobson. 
Ralph Wilson. 
James Givens. 
James Harrod. 
Jatnes Buchanan, Sr 
William Geioch. 
Samuel Shelton. 
John Gibson. 
Robert Espey. 
George Espey. 



Patrick Quiglcy. 
Josias Gamble. 
Samuel Newell. 
Joseph Read. 
David I\IaxwelI. 
Thomas Jofriss. 
Joseph Dunnagin. 
John Phelps. 
Andrew Bushoney. 



Daniel Jarrott. 
John Owens. .-^' 
James Freoland. 
Thomas Molloy. 
Isaac Lindsay. 
Isaac Bledsoe. 
Jacob Castleman. 
George Power. 
James Russell." 



ADDITIONAL ARTICLES. 

The following additional resolutions and further articles 
were entered into at Nashborough on the 13th day of May, 
1780, to wit: 

" That all young men over the age of sixteen years and 
able to perform militia duty shall be considered as having 
a full right to enter for and obtain lands in their own 
Barnes, as if they were of full age ; and in that case not 
be recovered in the family of his father, mother, or master, 
so as to avail them of any land on their account. 

" That where any person shall mark or improve land or 
lands, with intent to set up a claim thereto, such person 
shall write or mark in legible characters the initial letters 
of his name at least, together witli the day of the month 
and year on which he marked or improved the same, at the 
spring or most notorious part of the land, on some conve- 
nient tree or other durable substance, in order to notify the 
intentions to all such as may inquire or examine; and in 
case of dispute with respect to priority of right, proof of 
such transaction shall be made by the oath of some indif- 
ferent witness, or no advantage or benefit shall be derived 
from such mark or improvement; and in all cases where 
priority of mark or occupancy cannot be ascertained, ac- 
cording to the regulations and prescriptions herein proposed 
and agreed to, the oldest or first entry in the oflfice to be 
opened in consequence of this Association shall have the 
preference, and the lands granted accordingly. 

''It is further proposed and agreed that the entry-office 
shall be opened at Nashborough on Friday the 19th of 
May, instant, and kept from thenceforward at the same 
place, unless otherwise directed by any future Convention 
of the people in general or their representatives. 

" That the entry-taker shall and may demand and re- 
ceive twelve dollars for each entry to be made in his book, 
in manner before directed, and shall give a certificate 
thereof if required ; and also may take the same fees for 
every caveat or counter-claim to any lands before entered ; 
and in all cases where a caveat is to be tried, in manner be- 
fore directed, the entry-book shall be laid before the said 
Committee of Judges, Triers, or General Arbitrators for 
their inspection and information, and their judgment upon 
the matter in dispute fairly entered, as before directed; 
which said Court or Committee is also to keep a fair and 
distinct journal or minutes of all their proceedings, as well 
with respect to lands as other matters which may come be- 
fore them in consequence of these our resolutions. 

" It is also firmly agreed and resolved that no person 
shall be permitted to make an entry for any land with the 
said entry-taker, or permitted to hold the same, unless 
such person shall subscribe his name and conform to this 
our Association, Confederacy, and General Governmentj 



36 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



unless it be for persons who have returned home and fire 
permitted to have lands reserved for their use until the 
first day of May next, in which case entries may be made 
for such absent persons, according to the true meaning of 
this writing, without their personal presence, but shall be- 
come utterly void if the particular person or persons for 
whom such entry shall be made should refuse or neglect to 
perform the same as soon as conveniently may be after their 
return, and before the said first day of May in the year 
1781. 

" Whereas the frequent and dangerous incursions of the 
Indians, and almost daily massacre of some of our inhabi- 
tants, renders it absolutely necessary for our safety and 
defense that due obedience be paid to our respective officers 
elected and to be elected at the several stations or settle- 
ments to take command of the men or militia at such fort 
or station, — 

" It is further agreed and resolved that when it shall 
be adjudged necessary and expedient by such commanding 
officers to draw out the militia of any fort or station to 
pursue or repulse the enemy, the said officer shall have 
power to call out such and so many of his men as he may 
judge necessary, and in case of disobedience may inflict 
such fine as he in his discretion shall think just and reason- 
able, and also may impress the horse or horses of any per- 
son or persons whatsoever, which if lost or damaged in 
such service shall be paid for by the inhabitants of such 
fort or station in such manner and such proportions as the 
committee hereby appointed, or a majority of them, shall 
direct and order ; but if any person siiall be aggrieved or 
think himself iiijustly vexed and injured by the fine or fines 
so imposed by the officer or officers, such person may appear 
to the said Judges or Committee of General Arbitrators, 
who, or a majority of them, shall have power to examine 
the matter fully, and make such order therein as they may 
think just and reasonable, which decision shall be conclusive 
on the party complaining, as well as the officer or officers in- 
flicting such fine ; and the money arising from such fines 
shall be carefully applied for the benefit of such fort or 
station, in such manner as the said Arbitrators shall here- 
after direct. 

" It is lastly agreed and firmly resolved that a dutiful and 
humble address or petition be presented by some person or 
persons, to be chosen by the inhabitants to the General 
Assembly, giving the fullest assurance of the fidelity and 
attachment to the interests of our country aud obedience 
to the laws and constitution thereof, setting forth that we 
are confident our settlement is not within the boundaries of 
any nation or tribe of Indians, as some of us know and all 
believe that they have fairly sold and received satisfaction 
for the land or territories whereon we reside, and therefore, 
we hope we may not be considered as acting against the 
laws of our country or the mandates of government ; 

" That we do not desire to be exempt from the ratable 
share of the public expense of the present war,* or other 
contingent charges of government ; that we are, from our 
remote situation, utterly destitute of the benefits of the 
laws of our country, and exposed to the depredations of 

* War for Independence. 



the Indians without any justifiable or effectual means of 
employing our militia or defending ourselves against the 
hostile attempts of our enemy ; praying and imploring the 
immediate aid and protection of our government, by erect- 
ing a county to include our settlements, appointing proper 
officers for the discharge of public duty, taking into con- 
sideration our distressed situation with respect to the 
Indians, and granting such relief and assistance as in 
wisdom, justice, and humanity may be thought reasonable. 
"Nashborough, IStli May, 1780." 

The records of the government of the Arbitrators, had 
they been kept or preserved, would no doubt have revealed 
many curious and interesting facts. " From our researches," 
says Putnam, " we conclude that immediately after the 
adoption of the Articles an election was held at the sta- 
tions, and that then Robertson was chosen Colonel ; Don- 
elson, Lieutenant-Colonel; Lucas, Major; V and George 
Freeland, Mauldin, Bledsoe, and Blackemore, Captains." 
Although the entry-taker and the judges were each required 
to keep separate books in which to keep minutes of their 
proceedings, it does not appear that any of these are extant, 
or that even a fugitive sheet or scrap can be found till the 
7th of January, 1783. The people were so greatly exposed 
and kept in such constant turmoil with the Indians that 
during the intervening period but little had been attended 
to beyond their own immediate protection. In the midst of 
these discouraging circumstances many had left the settle- 
ments, and their numbers were reduced to seventy men. 
The record which recites the revival of the government 
alludes pathetically to these difficulties and trials : 

" North Carolina, Cumberland Rivkr, 
"January 7th, 17S3. 

" The manifold sufferings and distresses that the settlers 
here have from time to time undergone, even almost from 
our first settling, with the desertion of the greater number 
of the first adventurers, being so discouraging to the re- 
maining few that all administration of justice seemed to 
cease from amongst us, — which, however weak, whether in 
Constitution, administration, or execution, yet has been 
construed in our favor, against those whose malice or in- 
terest would insinuate us a people fled to a hiding-place 
from justice, and the revival of them again earnestly 
recommended, — it appears highly necessary that for the 
common weal of the whole, the securing of peace, the 
performance of contracts between man and man, together 
with the suppression of vice, again to revive our former 
manner of proceedings, pursuant to the plan agreed upon 
at our first settling here, and to proceed accordingly until 
such times as it shall please the Legislature to grant us the 
salutary benefits of the law duly administered amongst us 
by their authority. 

" To this end, previous notice having been given to the 
several stationers to elect twelve men of their several stations 
whom they thought most proper for the business, and being 
elected, to meet at Nashborough on the 7th day of January, 
1783. 

" Accordingly there met at the time and place aforesaid 
Colonel James Robertson, Captain George Freeland, Thomas 
Malloy, Isaac Lindsey, David Rounsevall, Hcydon Wells, 



GOVERNMENT OP THE NOTABLES. 



37 



James Mauldin, Ebenezer Titus, Samuel Barton, Andrew 
Ewin, Constituting tlieniselves into a Coniniittee, for pur- 
poses aforesaid, by voluntarily taking the following oath, 
viz. : 

" 'I, A. B., do solemnly swear that, as a member of the 
Committee, I will do equal right and justice, according to 
the best of my skill and judgment, in the decisions of all 
causes that sliall be laid before mo, without fear, favor, or 
partiality. So help me God !' 

" The Committee so constituted proceeded to elect; An- 
drew Ewin to be their Clerk, John Montgomery to be 
Sheriff of the district, and Colonel James Robertson to be 
their Chairman. And to fix the Clerk's fees." 

We make a few extracts from the records, which con- 
tinue without interruption to the organization of Davidson 
County : 

"Jan. 18, 1783. 

" At a Committee called by the desire of the inhabi- 
tants for the offering of an address to the State's Commis- 
sioners, in behalf of some minors and heads of families, 
the first of which was deprived by their minority, the 
others by not arriving here by the time prescribed by the 
act of Assembly for obtaining lands ; and that they would 
represent their case to the Assembly, in hopes of tiieir in- 
dulgence toward them ; and that the Commissioners would, 
in the mean time, be pleased to receive their locations for 
their improvements ; to the intent that they might be 
generally known, in hopes that others would not interfere 
therewith. To which the Commissioners were pleased to 
return them an answer, that, to the first, they would do 
everything in their power for them ; but to receiving their 
locations, it did not come within the line of their duty, 
etc. 

" The members present were Col. James Robertson, 
Capt. George Freeland, Thomas Malloy, Isaac Liusey, 
Heydon Wells, David Rounsevall, Ebenezer Titus, and 
Samuel Barton. Likewise, Capt. Isaac Bledsoe and Capt. J. 
J. Blackemore appeared and qualified for members of the 
Committee, and after discussing the above business, the 
same Committee, on motion of James McCain, proceeded 
to take up the deposition of Isaac Neely, viz. : that he, the 
said Isaac Neely, was witness to a bill of sale, the contents 
of which, he believes, was a bed purchased of Jourdan 
Gibson by the said McCain, and further the deponent saith 
not. 

" The Committee proceeded uo further to business, but 
referred to their former adjournment, and so dismissed." 

" Feb. 5, 178.3. 

" Committee met according to adjournment. Members 
present — Capt. George Freeland, Isaac Linsey, Heydon 
Wells, David Rounsevall, Ebenezer Titus, and James Shaw, 
elected for Nashborough, appeared and qualified for member 
of the Committee. 

" The Committee then proceeded and swore in John 
Montgomery to be Sherifi" of the district, and Andrew 
Ewin, for Clerk to the Committee. 

" On motion made, the Committee granted administration 
of the estate of John Turner, deceased, to Mr. John 
Blarney, said Marney entering into bonds with Heydon 



Wells and John Dunham, securities for the sum of one 
thousand pounds, proclamation money, payable to Col. 
James Robertson and his successors as Chairman of the 
Committee, or their assignees, and also qualified as by law 
required. And there not being a majority of members 
present, they proceeded no further, but adjourned until the 
first Tuesday in March, 1783." 

"March 4, 1781). 

" Committee met according to adjournment. Members 
present — Col. James Robertson, George Freeland, Thomas 
Mulloy, Isaac Lindsey, David Rounsevall, Ebenezer Titus, 
Samuel Barton, and James Shaw, The Committee then 
proceeded to take into consideration an address offered to 
them relative to the inhabitants of the Cumberland, giving 
their assurance of fidelity to the government of the State 
in which they reside, which unanimously was approved by 
the Committee, and agreed that it should be done as soon as 
opportunity would serve. 

" Letters of administration on several estates granted, 
and sundry suits continued ; one against John Dunham 
' for detaining a bed.' Daniel Hogan and wife vs. James 
Todd ; parties appeared, and the Committee recommended 
to the parties to adjust matters themselves." 

"March 1.5, 1783. 

" On motion made, the Committee agree that an address 
to be sent to the Assembly, acknowledging our grateful 
sense of their late favor in granting us lands, praying them 
to grant us the salutary benefit of government in all its 
branches, and that a land-ofBce may be opened on such a 
plan as may encourage the settling of the country, that the 
protection of it may be less burdensome. 

" And that Col. Jam^s Robertson present the same, being 
elected thereto by the people. 

" On motion, agreed that six spies be kept out to discover 
the motions of the enemy so long as we shall be able to pay 
them, each to receive seventy-five bushels of Indian corn per 
month (to be under the direction of Col. Robertson and 
Capt. Bledsoe). The subscription of Nashborough, Free- 
land's, and Mansker's Stations filed with the Clerk of the 
Committee. 

" The Deputation of Thomas Fletcher to the Sheriffalty 
of the District by John Montgomery disannulled ; and the 
Committee elect the .said Fletcher, who was sworn Sheriff 
of the District of Cumberland. 

" It being thought necessary to our better defense in 
these times of danger that officers be chosen in each re- 
spective station to embody the inhabitants for their greater 
safety. Accordingly there was made choice of, at Nash- 
borough, William Pruit for Captain ; Samuel Martin and 
John Buchanan, 1st and 2d Lieutenants; and William Over- 
all, Ensign. 

" At Freeland's Station, Joshua Howard, Captain ; James 
Donelson, Lieutenant; and John Dunham, Ensign. 

" At Heatonsburg, Joshua Ramsey, Captain ; James 
Hollis, Lieutenant ; and Joshua Thomas, Ensign. 

" At Mansker's, Isaac Bledsoe, Captajn ; Gasper Mans- 
ker. Lieutenant; James Lynn, Ensign. 

" At Maulding's, Francis Prince, Captain ; Ambrose 
Maulding, Lieutenant." 



38 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



"AN ADDRESS TO TtIB COMMITTEE. 

"April 1, 17S5. 

" Gentlemen : Whereas the purchasing of Liquors brought 
from foreign parts and sold to the inhabitants here at exor- 
bitant rates, and carrying away the money out of the coun- 
try, will greatly tend to the impoverishing of. this infant 
settlement : 

" For the remedying of this evil Let it be resolved and 
asrreed on by this Committee that from and after the first 
day of April any person bringing liquors here from foreign 
parts shall, before they expose the same or any part thereof 
to sale, enter into bonds before some member of the Com- 
mittee, with two suflScient securities, in the penal sum of 
two hundred pounds specie, payable to the Chairman of the 
Committee and his successors as such, that they will not 
ask, take, or receive, directly or indirectly, any more than 
one silver dollar, or the value thereof in produce, for one 
quart of good, sound, merchantable liquor, and so in pro- 
portion for a greater or less quantity. And any member of 
the Committee before whom such bond is given shall grant 
certificate thereof to the giver. 

" And any person selling or exposing to sale any liquor 
brought from foreign parts, not having entered into such 
bond as aforesaid, the same shall be liable to bo seized by 
warrant granted by any member of the Committee, which 
they are hereby empowered and required to issue ; and so 
seized, to secure and deliver the same until they shall enter 
into such a bond as aforesaid, or otherwise oblige them- 
selves to transport their liquor again out of this settlement. 
Provided always that if neither shall be done within twenty 
days after such seizure the same shall be deemed and held 
forfeited, and shall be sold, and the money arising thereby 
shall be applied to the use of the public at the discretion of 
the Committee. 

" And if any person upon giving bond in either of the 
premises aforesaid shall afterwards make default therein, and 
on information and prosecution be convicted thereof by suf- 
ficient witness before our Committee, their bond shall be 
deemed and held forfeited, and judgment be awarded against 
them accordingly. And on refusal or delay to satisfy such 
judgment, the same shall be levied on their goods and chat- 
tels by distress, and the money arising thereby applied as 
aforesaid under direction of the Committee. Provided al- 
ways that such prosecution shall commence within six 
months after default made. 

" Approved, resolved, and agreed by the Committee. 
"Andrew Ewin, Clerk." 

" On motion ordered that a road be opened from Nash- 
borough to Mansker's Station . . . and another from Hea- 
tonsburg to Mansker's. Overseers appointed and directed 
to call out hands to work on them. The Committee then 
proceeded to the causes on the Docket." 

It would be interesting to report these suits did space 
permit. We add the regulation concerning commerce and 
the vote of the stationers upon the subject of the Indian 

treaty at Nashborough : 

" May 6th, 1783. 
" Committee met according to adjournment. Members 
present : Col. Robertson, Malloy, Freeland, Barton, Rounse- 
vall, Linsey, Titus, Shaw, and Capt. Isaac Bledsoe. Wheu 



Thomas Malloy informed the Committee that he had since 
the last meeting, at the request of some of the members, 
sent letters to the agent of the State of Virginia, residing 
at the Illinois, and likewise to the Spanish Governor, in- 
forming them that some of our people had gone down the 
river this spring upon pretense of trading with the Chicka- 
saw Indians ; but by the report of some lately come from 
the Illinois, who met with them on their way here, we are 
afraid that their design was to assist in plundering some of 
the trading-boats; and that if any such thing should be 
committed or effected by or with the assistance of any be- 
longing to us, that it was contrary to the principles and 
intentions of the generality of the people here, as we detest 
and abhor such practices ; and that we would endeavor for 
the future to prevent any such proceedings. 

" Which information and conduct of Mr. Malloy was 
unanimously approved and accepted by the Committee. 

'' On motion made, Resolved and agreed on by the Com- 
mittee, That from and after the 6th day of May, 1783, no 
person or inhabitant of this settlement shall trade, traffic, or 
barter with any Indian, nor resort unto them on the other 
side of the Ohio or of the dividing ridge between Tennessee 
and Cumberland waters, nor go down these Western waters, 
upon pretense of trading to the Illinois or elsewhere, with- 
out permission first had and obtained of the Committee, and 
likewise giving bond, with approved security, in any sum at 
the discretion of the Committee, payable to the Chairman 
thereof and his successors as such, conditioning that their 
conduct shall not directly nor indirectly in any way preju- 
dice the interests of this settlement. 

" On motion made, such of the members of the Commit- 
tee as had not heretofore taken the oath of abjuration and 
fidelity in this State proceeded to take it, which was first 
administered to the Clerk by Col. James Robertson, and 
afterwards by the Clerk in Committee to the members as 
aforesaid ; and the rest of the members made oath of hav- 
ing taken it heretofore in this State, and had at no time 
since been engaged in the interests of the enemies of the 
United States. 

" Andrew Ewin, Clerk." 

"June Z, 1783. 

" When on motion made by Maj. John Reid relative to 
the assembling of the Southern tribes of Indians at the 
French Lick, on Cumberland River, for holding a Treaty 
with the Commissioners appointed by the State of Virginia, 
the Committee considering how difficult it will be for a 
handful of people reduced to poverty and distress by a con- 
tinued scene of Indian barbarity to furnish any large body 
of Indians with provisions, and how prejudicial it may be 
to our infant settlement should they not be furnished with 
provisions, or otherwise dissatisfied or disaflfected with the 
terms of the Treaty ; on which consideration the Committee 
refer it to the unanimous suffrages of the people of this set- 
tlement whether the Treaty shall be held here with their 
consent or no. And that the suifrages of the several stations 
be delivered to the Clerk of Committee by Thursday even- 
ing, the 5th inst., at which time the suifrages of Freeland's 
Station, Heatonsburg, and Nashborough were given in as 
follows : 

" Freeland's Station, no Treaty here, 32 votes. 



PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 



39 



" Nasliborough, no Treaty here, 26 votes. 

" Ileatonsburg, no Treaty here, 1 vote = 59. 

" Heatonsburg, Treaty here, 54 votes. 

" Nashborough, Treaty here, 30 votes = 84. 

"The other stations of Kasper Mansker's and Blauld- 
ing's failing to return their votes." 

The last act of the committee appears to have been the 
reassertion of the restriction on the sale of foreign liquors : 

"August 5th, 17S3. 

" Resolved on by this present Committee that from and 
after the raising hereof no foreigner bringing any liquors 
from foreign parts shall ask, take, or receive for the same, 
directly or indirectly, any more than one silver dollar per 
gallon, or the value thereof in produce, giving bond and se- 
curity, or be liable to the same forfeiture as by the resolve 
of the 1st of April, 1783. 

"Test: Andrew Ewin, Clerh. 

" Conclusion of the Committee." 

These proceedings cannot be read without interest, nor 
without forming a very worthy opinion of the pioneers who 
first settled Davidson County. The majority, like those 
who formed the earliest settlements in Ohio and Kentucky, 
were men of energy, sound judgment, and moral worth. 
The wisdom, the intellectual discipline, the familiarity with 
principles of business, both public and private, the knowl- 
edge even of forms of law, exhibited in their records and 
documents, their good sense and use of the English lan- 
guage, all strike the student of their history as being re- 
markable for that period and for a class of pioneers settling 
in a new country. " They possessed neither proud extrav- 
agance nor mean selfishness, and would have been ashamed 
of the transmission of such vices to their posterity." The 
manner in which they looked after the welfare of the ab- 
sent and considered the interests of widows and orphans is 
one of the brightest examples in the history of any people. 

The treaty with the Indians referred to iu the foregoing 
records deserves further mention. Tliese fragmentary re- 
cords and other papers deposited with the Tennessee 
Historical Society are the only documents which settle 
definitely the date and other important facts respecting this 
treaty, about which there has been much contradiction 
among historians.* The questions respecting this treaty 
were warmly debated at the stations during several weeks 
in which the commissioners were waiting for the assembling 
of the Indians. It was deemed of doubtful propriety to 
hold it here, in a settlement which had been plundered and 
robbed by the very savages invited, and whose citizens had 
been murdered and reduced to poverty, and could ill afford 
to provide such an assemblage with provisions. Besides, 
what right had the State of Virginia to assemble the In- 
dians upon territory belonging to North Carolina? The 
question, however, had been submitted to a vote of the 
people, and had been decided in the afiirmative. It ap- 
pears that of the people on the Nashborough side of the 
river, where it was proposed to hold the treaty, two to one 
were opposed ; but they were outvoted by those at Eaton's, 
on the east side of the river. Col. Robertson, who resided 

■'■■' See Monettc, Ha^'wood, Ramsey, and otbers, quoted by Putnam, 
p. 134. 



at Freeland's Station, voted " No Treaty here," as did every 
other man there. At Nasliborough the vote was twenty-six 
to thirty, the majority voting for the treaty. But the con- 
trolling vote was at Eaton's, being fifty-four to one. The 
people at the latter station, feeling their responsibility for 
the treaty, 'promptly and nobly resolved to sustain their 
action with both " person and property," and to be present 
to assist on the day of the treaty. Tliis resolution was 
signed by fifty-four voters. 

The treaty began and was concluded in the month of 
June, 1783, Cols. Donelson and Martin being the commis- 
sioners on the part of Virginia. It was made with the 
" Southern tribes of Indians" generally, not alone with 
the Chickasaws. " The Indians were invited to assemble 
at the large Sulphur Spring, about four miles northwest of 
Nashville, on the east side, and a few hundred yards from 
the Charlotte Pike. The beautiful location had been se- 
lected by Col. Robertson for his own station and home. 
There he afterwards erected his brick dwelling-house. 

The place was formerly for many years the " Nashville 
Camp-Ground." 

The Indians were treated hospitably, and were dismissed 
with as many presents as could then be bestowed. No 
outbreak or disturbance of any kind occurred. The sta- 
tioners exerted themselves to the utmost, not only to supply 
the wants of all present, but to make a good impression on 
their generally unwelcome guests, and succeeded, so that 
the Indians expressed themselves well pleased. 

" This treaty being made under the authority of one of 
the States, and not of the Confederated States, was exposed 
to an objection similar to that which Virginia and North 
Carolina had made to the treaty of Colonel Henderson, and 
is not to be seen in the published volumes of Indian Treat- 
ies. Its provisions and boundaries were, however, subse- 
quently confirmed, or renewed and settled, by the Treaty 
of Hopewell, in 1785." 

It is mentioned by Putnam that the acquaintance formed 
with some of the Indians at this time was serviceable to 
the Cumberland settlers, for it enabled Col. Robertson to 
obtain information relative to the Spanish efi"orts to excite 
these Indians to enmity and warfare against the whites. 
" Colonel Robertson deemed it proper during this year to 
address a letter to the Baron de Carondelet, to contradict 
reports which the Spaniards had heard, or pretended to 
have heard, of designs entertained by the people of Cum- 
berland to make a descent upon the Spanish possessions on 
the Mississippi." We shall advert to this Spanish question 
hereafter. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PERIOD OF THE EEVOLUTIOKT. 

Patriotism and Valor of the Watauga and Cumberland Pioneers — 
Tlie First to honor Washington by naming a District after him 
— James Robertson and Valentine Sevier in the Battle of Kanawha 
— The Battle of King's Mountain — Additions to the Cumberland 
Settlement from Natchez— Close of the War — Rejoicing over the 
Peace — Immigration of Revolutionary Heroes. 

Although few of the earliest settlers of Davidson 
County took part in any of the actual engagements of the 



40 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Revolution, yet all of them suffered what may justly be 
regarded as its most direful consequences, — the hostility of 
savages incited to murder and plunder by the enemies of 
the country during a time of war. To this they were pe- 
culiarly exposed, and, on account of their isolated situation, 
and the necessity for employing all the available forces of 
the older settlements in other fields, had to carry on the 
conflict alone and unassisted. The heroism, the wisdom, 
the soldierly qualities, the undaunted courage and self sacri- 
fice displayed by most of these men render them the peers 
of those who fought on more renowned fields, and fostered 
a spirit of valor which in their descendants made the name 
of Tennessee famous in the later wars of the Republic, — 
at New Orleans, among the Seminoles of Florida, in the 
Creek campaign, the war for Texan independence, the war 
with Mexico, and in the late Civil War, both in the Union 
and Confederate armies. A record of these achievements, 
together with the names of many of the heroes of Davidson 
County, will be found in the chapters on military history 
in another part of this work. 

The pioneers of Watauga were the first in America to 
honor Washington by giving his name to the new district 
they had carved out and reclaimed from savage dominion 
among the mountains. It was peculiarly appropriate. 
Washington stood for liberty and popular sovereignty, for 
freedom regulated by law, and so did Washington District. 
The mountaineers fled from their former homes for liberty, 
but it was their first care that liberty with them should not 
degenerate into license. Hence they convened and organ- 
ized a government for the conservation of justice aniono- 
themselves, and for the punishment of outlaws who sought 
among them immunity for crimes committed in an older 
state of society. This name was also prophetic; for Wash- 
ington had only then begun to give promise of that trans- 
cendent place which he was destined to hold among Ameri- 
cans as the father of his country, and the light of the 
oppressed and down-trodden of all nations. There was 
something prophetic in that instinct of the first settlers of 
Tennessee which recognized in him, almost in advance of 
his coming greatness, the future liberator of the colonies 
and father of the great republic of the Western World. 
It reveals the confidence they had in Washington thus early 
in the struggle for independence. 

" The name of Washington District," says Ramsey, 
" being in the petition* itself, must have been assumed by 
the people petitioning, and was probably suggested by John 
Sevier, who during his residence at Williamsburg had 
doubtless known Col. George Washington, now the com- 
mander-in-chief of the American army. It is not known 
to this writer that the authorities or people of any other 
province had previously honored Washington by giving his 
name to one of its towns or districts, — a district, too, of 
such magnificent dimensions, extending from the Alleghany 
Mountains to the Mississippi." 

A few hunters being on the spot where Lexington, 
Ky., now stands, and marking it as the site of a future 
city, heard there in the wilderness the report of the battle 
of old Lexington, Mass., and forthwith gave the name of 

'■" Petition to the Provincial Council of North Carolina. 



Lexington to the place. This was the first Lexington in 
all the country whose name symbolized that glorious stand 
for liberty taken by the people of the East. 

Gen. Robertson, who was not second to Sevier in the 
founding and defense of the Watauga government and, up 
to a certain time, in the afikirs of Washington District, had 
also known Washington in his youth, and he carried with 
him through life a great veneration for his character and 
services. The name of Washington was the watchword no 
less of the patriot exiles in the wilderness of the Cumber- 
land than of the mountaineers along the Appalachian chain 
and the colonists of the eastern Atlantic shores. It was a 
sovereign talisman and a rallying-point of union and heroic 
endeavor from the north to the south and from the east to 
the west. Reverence for this great name held the people 
together and gave them victory. 

The name of James Robertson stands before that of John 
Sevier on the committee which drew up the famous petition 
to the Assembly of North Carolina, asking for the annexa- 
tion of Washington District to that colony. He and Valen- 
tine Sevier, with the Watauga regiment of mountain men, 
had taken a glorious part in Lord Dunmore's war, under Gen. 
Lewis, at the battle of Kanawha in 1774. Not only have 
the writers of the " Annals of Tennessee" and the biogra- 
phers of her sons given great praise to those who marched 
from East Tennessee and participated in this important 
battle, but all American historians applaud their conduct. 
All the provincial oflncers acknowledged their indebtedness to 
the two Tonnesseeans, Robertson and Sevier, who so provi- 
dentially discovered the plans of the lurking foe and fought 
so bravely throughout the day. It was by many admitted 
that but for this timely discovery and alarm, the whole 
American force would in all probability have been routed 
and destroyed. The plan, the advance, and the attack 
throughout evinced much judgment and bravery, but in 
the absence of the discovery of the foe at the most critical 
and opportune moment, this well-managed battle would 
have been thwarted by that sudden surprise which the 
Indians intended and had nearly eff'octed. 

It is certainly worthy of note that when this battle was 
fought the first Provincial Congress was in session at Phila- 
delphia, and that then in the " backwoods of America" a 
thousand men could be promptly called into service, 
equipped, and marched under brave and skillful officers, 
through forests and over mountains and valleys, with 
strength and ability sufficient to so discomfit the combined 
forces of the most warlike Indian tribes that they did not 
dare to renew the attack upon the white settlers until they 
were at war among themselves, after the Declaration of 
Independence. 

So in the battle of King's Mountain, these same hardy 
Tennesseeans decided the fate of the Revolution in the 
Southern Colonies. At that place Ferguson, having in- 
trenched himself, received intelligence of an avalanche of 
indignant patriotism accumulating along the mountain, and 
ready to precipitate itself upon and overwhelm his army. 
On Wednesday, the 4th day of October, 1780, the rifle- 
men advanced to Gilbert town. Following Ferguson's 
retreat to his mountain stronghold, from which he dis- 
patched Cornwallis that " all the rebels out of h — 11" could 



PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 



41 



not dislodge liim, tho mountaineers concerted their plan of 
battle. It was decided tliat the troops commanded by Win- 
ston, McDowell, Sovicr, Shelby, and Campbell, being more 
than half of the whole number of assailants, after tying 
their horses, should file to the right and pass the mountain 
nearly out of reach of the enemy's guns, and continue 
around it until they should meet the rest of the troops cir- 
cling the mountain on its opposite side, and led by Hum- 
bright and Chronicle, and followed by Cleveland and Wil- 
liams, after which each command was to face to the front, 
raise the Indian war-whoop, and advance upon the enemy. 
This plan was successfully carried out, the mountaineers 
alternately fighting in front and rear of the Tories and 
regulars, driving them higher and higher up the mountain, 
and in closer quarters upon its summit, until at length flags 
of truce were presented for a surrender. Ferguson refused 
to recognize the flags. Dashing about in every part of the 
fight, he cut them dowu with his sword, I'esorting repeat- 
edly to bayonet charges as his only hope of resisting the 
invincible riflemen, who so depleted his ranks that the ex- 
pedient of sharpening handles of butcher-knives and insert- 
ing them in the muzzles of the Tories' guns was resorted 
to. About this time the front of the two American col- 
umns had met, and the army of Ferguson was surrounded 
by the riflemen. Their fii'ing became incessant and general 
in all quarters, but especially at the two ends of the enemy's 
line. Sevier pressed against its centre, and was charged 
upon by the regulars. The conflict here became stubborn, 
and drew to it much of the enemy's force. This enabled 
Shelby and Campbell to reach and hold the crest of the 
mountain. 

'• On all sides now the fire was brisk and deadly, and the 
charges with the bayonet, though less vigorous, were fre- 
quent. In all cases where the enemy charged the Ameri- 
cans on one side of the hill, those on the other thought he 
was retreating, and advanced near to the summit. But in 
all these movements the left of Ferguson's line was gradu- 
ally receding, and the Americans were plying their rifles 
with terrible efi'ect. Ferguson was still in the heat of the 
battle. With characteristic coolness and daring ho ordered 
Capt. Dupoister to reinforce a position about one hundred 
yards distant with his regulars, but before they reached it 
they were thinned too much by the American rifles to 
render any efi'ectual support. He then ordered his cavalry 
to mount, with a view of making a desperate onset at their 
head. But these only presented a better mark for the rifles, 
and fell as fast as they could mount their horses^ He rode 
from one end of the line to the other, encouraging his men 
to prolong the conflict. With desperate courage he passed 
from one exposed point to another of equal danger. He 
carried in his wounded hand a shrill-sounding silver whistle, 
whose signal was universally known through the ranks, was 
of immense service throughout the battle, and gave a kind 
of ubiquity to his movements. 

" He was frequently admonished by Dupoister to sur- 
render, but his proud spirit could not deign to give up to 
raw and undisciplined militia. . . . He fell soon after, and 
immediately expired. 

" The forward movement of all the American columns 
brought therm to the level of the enemy's guns, which here- 
6 



tofore, in most instances, had overshot their heads. The 
horizontal fire of the regulars was now considerably fatal ; 
but the rapid advances of the riflemen soon surrounded 
both them and the Tories, who being crowded close together 
and cooped up in a narrow space by the surrounding pres- 
sure of the American troops, and fatally galled by their in- 
cessant fire, lost all hope from further resistance. Dupoister, 
who succeeded Ferguson in command, perceiving that 
further struggle was in vain, raised the white flag and ex- 
claimed for quarters. A general cessation of the American 
fire followed ; but this cessation was not complete. Some 
of the young men did not understand the meaning of a 
while flag; others, who did, knew that other flags had 
been raised before, and were quickly taken down. Shelby 
hallooed out to them to throw down their guns, as all would 
understand thai as a surrender. This was immediately 
done. The arms were now lying in front of the prisoners, 
without any orders how to dispose of them. Col. Shelby, 
seeing the facility with which the enemy could resume their 
guns, exclaimed, ' Good God I what can we do in this confu- 
sion ?' ' We can order the prisoners from their guns,' said 
Sawyer. ' Yes,' said Shelby, ' that can be done.' The 
prisoners were accordingly marched to another place, and 
there surrounded by a double guard. 

" The battle of King's Mountain lasted about an hour. 
T-lie loss of the enemy was two hundred and twenty-five 
killed, one hundred and eighty wounded, seven hundred 
prisoners, fifteen hundred stand of arms and a great many 
horses and wagons loaded with supplies, and booty of every 
kind taken by the plundering Tories from the wealthy 
Whigs." The loss of the Americans was thirty killed and 
about twice that number wounded. Col. Williams, of South 
Carolina, was among the former. 

Gen. Bernard, an ofiicer under Napoleon, and afterwards 
in the United States Engineer service, on examining the 
battle ground of King's Mountain, said, " The Americans 
by their victory in that engagement, erected a monument to 
perpetuate the memory of the brave men who had fallen 
there, and the shape of the hill itself would be an eternal 
monument to the military genius and skill of Col. Ferguson, 
in selecting a position so well adapted for defense ; and that 
no other plan of assault but that pursued by the mountain- 
men could have succeeded against him." 

Of the regiment from Washington County, commanded 
by Col. Sevier, the captains were his two brothers, Valentine 
and Robert Sevier, Joel Callahan, George Doherty, and 
George Russell ; Lieutenant, Isaac Lane. Capt. Robert Se- 
vier was wounded, from which he died the third day after, 
and was buried at Bright's. 

The victory of King's Mountain was to the South what 
Saratoga was to the East, — the decisive one of the Revolu- 
tion. It turned the tide in the struggle for independence, 
and sent a thrill of joy to every patriotic heart from the 
Western wilds to the shores of the Atlantic. It was also a 
very important local victory. " A number of Tories, horse- 
thieves, and highwaymen had been captured and hung, 
but the leader and others escaped till the glorious victory 
of King's Mountain, when this notorious captain of ban- 
ditti. Grimes, was caught and hung, and some others with 
him." 



42 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



It should be mentioned here that accessions came to the 
Cumberland settlements about this time from the lower 
Mississippi. They were refugees from the revolt against 
the Spaniards under Gen. Lyman, who, with Gens. Putnam 
and Schuyler, had located twenty thousand acres of land 
each between the mouths of the Yazoo and Bayou Pierre, 
as grants received for their services in the French war. 
Lyman was the only one of these generals who resided upon 
the Blississippi, and during the Revolution he was an in- 
tense loyalist. When the British forces laid siege to Pen- 
sacola in the spring of 1781, there was strong confidence 
among the English subjects that the Spaniards would be 
overwhelmed, and the Floridas restored to Great Britain. 
Lyman found at Natchez, and in the surrounding new set- 
tlements, British subjects who were willing to unite with 
him in an attempt to overthrow the Spanish authorities in 
that quarter. They concerted measures and laid siege to 
Fort Panmure, on the bluff at Natchez, captured it, and 
deemed themselves good and loyal subjects of King George. 

Engaged in tliis little rebellion and successful uprising 
against Spain were a few persons who had .sympathized 
with the Regulators in North Carolina, and had fled thence 
to avoid British petty tyranny; and were now found, 
strangely, fighting for British rule, when many of their 
most dear and intimate friends were contending to throw off 
that same power, and to establish the independence of the 
United colonies. With such they no doubt sympathized at 
heart ; but as between the English and the Spaniards, they 
infinitely preferred the authority of the former. The 
Spaniards, however, gained the victory at Pensacola, and in 
a few days after the successful rebellion at Natchez news 
came that they were ascending the Mississippi with an 
overwhelming force ; that the rebels would be taken and all 
their property confiscated. They resolved to save their 
lives by a timely flight, and to take with them such of their 
property as could be removed. Lyman, the royalist, and 
some others of like sentiments, fled to the British at 
Charleston and Savannah by a toilsome march across the 
country. Others, who were " akin to the Regulators," 
and had friends on the Cumberland, resolved to remove 
thither. We give the names of the more prominent of 
those who arrived here in 1783. They were Philip Alston, 
John Turnbull, James Drungald, James Cole, John Turner, 
^Thomas James, Philip Mulkley, and Thomas Hines. A 
few of the number who set out upon this journey were 
attacked by the Cherokees and lost their lives. Of the 
others, several of their names may be seen among the two 
hundred and fifty-sis signatures to the articles of govern- 
ment, near the close of the list. The wilderness through 
which they came was an extent of forest and prairie country 
of more than three hundred miles, their route being from 
" forty miles above Natchez, through the Choctaw nation 
crossing the Tombigbee, Tennessee, and other rivers, to the 
settlements on the Cumberland." 

They remained at the Cumberland settlements several 
years, aided in the defenses against the Indians, rejoiced 
with their friends in the acknowledged independence of 
their country, had their patriotic sentiments greatly 
strengthened, received much insight into Spanish hypoc- 
risy and intrigue with the Indians, and returned to their 



homes fully imbued with that loyal spirit towards the United 
States which made them a bulwark of strength in resisting 
the later schemes in that portion of the country for the dis- 
memberment of the Union. Many of tiicm filled ofiBces of 
trust and profit in the Territory and the State. Gen. Hines 
distinguished himself in the battle of New Orleans, in 
command of the light horse. He had known Gen. 
Jackson on the Cumberland, cherished with him a hatred 
of the English and the Spanish, aided in his victories over 
both and the Indians, in the final glorious triumph of the 
Sth of January, 1815, and lived to hail his friend and 
chieftain " President of the United States." 

When the " refugees" returned there went with them 
other "good men and true," the Turpins, Freolauds, 
Greens, Shaws, forming the nucleus of an excellent neigh- 
borhood, known as such to the present day. 

On the 19th of April, Gen. Washington issued his 
proclamation for the cessation of hostilities, and recom- 
mended the offering of thanks to Almighty God for the 
many blessings conferred upon the American people. 
Whether the settlers on the Cumberland received this 
intelligence before the fall of the year we know not, but 
in December they were assured that the Revolutionary war 
was actually ended on the 30th of November. " When 
they heard this they rejoiced." We need not doubt it. 
" Andrew Ewin raised himself up to his full height, when- 
ever, in after-days, the reception of this news was men- 
tioned, and he said, ' Robertson and all the rest of us felt a 
foot taller, and straightened from the bend of a dog's liind 
leg to an erect figure.' " 

" For a time this event seems to have influenced the 
conduct of the Indians. If they came near the settlements 
they were in pursuit of game. Indirect messages wore 
sent and received expressive of a friendly disposition, and 
suggestions were made to them by Col. Robertson that if 
some of their chiefs would make known such a wish, the 
States might appoint some persons to hold talks and con- 
ferences with them." This was brought about the next 
year on the part of Virginia and North Carolina, and the 
Donelson and Martin treaty was made at Nashville, in 
June, 1783. The year had been ushered in by general 
rejoicing and congratulations throughout the States. Peace 
had been proclaimed, independence acknowledged, and the 
hearts of the people were indeed glad. This joy spread all 
over the land ; its waves were not delayed upon the mount- 
ains ; the tidings were hastened to the settlements on the 
Cumberland ; and, having a little powder left, they could 
not refrain from appropriating a portion for a. feu de joie, 
to which they added Jmrralis aJ libitum. " It was hurrah 
for Washington, hurrah for Congress, hurrah for Carolina, 
hurrah for vs ! Great as was the joy elsewhere, there 
was no small amount of it here. A common exclamation 
of the mothers and grandmothers was, ' Bless the Lord 1 
Bless the Lord !' " 

After the peace the tide of immigration set into the 
Cumberland Valley and Middle Tennessee. The old North 
State saw many excellent citizens depart from their birth- 
place, strike out into the wilderness across the mountains, 
and to this iar-off border. They brought with them a large 
supply of horses, cattle, oxen, ftirming-imprements, me- 



PERIOD 01? THE REVOLUTION. 



43 



chanics" tools, guns, and much powder and load. They 
carao to stay and they were heartily welcomed. Many 
came also from Virginia and made selections of valuable 
lands. To trace this general influx of population forward 
for many years would be impossible in a work like this. 

" It is quite probable that the soil of Tennessee contains 
the bones of as many Revolutionary soldiers as any of the 
mother States in the South. After the war was over, thou- 
sands of them flocked to this State, to locate lands on war- 
rants issued for military services. Most of these remained, 
some to die from Indian bullets and tomahawks, and the 
rest as peaceful tillers of the soil, which in course of time 
received into its bosom a new accession of sacred dust. 
Some of these bones, mayhap, the plowshare has already 
upturned, while of many neither stone nor Inscription 
marks the site of their last resting-place. 

" Geu. Rutherford, for whom one of our fine counties 
was named, is buried in Sumner Co., Tenn., but the par- 
ticular place is unknown to the writer. He was a man of 
splendid traits of character, but very plain and unassuming 
in dress and manner. On public occasions he appeared in 
the simplest homespun, and the J'oung wondered what old 
fellow that was to whom the elders paid such marked re- 
spect and greeted with such warmth and cordiality. At 
the battle of Camden he was taken prisoner, while desper- 
ately fighting to retrieve the fortunes of the day. On this 
occasion his life was saved by a thick, tight-fitting wool 
hat, which broke the force of Tarleton's sabres. His head 
bled freely from a number of wounds, while his weather- 
beaten tile was ruined forever by the showers of savage 
cuts it had received. 

" The writer can trace up the names of over twenty of 
these old soldiers who are buried in Lincoln Co., Tenn. 
One of these, Capt. John Morgan,- commanded a company 
from North Carolina, and is buried at Mulberry. His 
widow survived him until 1851, and persistenlly refused 
a pension from the Government, saying ' that it was noth- 
ing but a patriotic duty for men to fight the British and 
the Indians, and they shouldn't be paid a cent for it.' She 
was an ai'dent Whig in polities, and to the day of her 
death persisted in calling Democrats 'Tories.' She was 
a sister of Governor Hall, of Tennessee, and five of her 
family — a father, two brothers, a sister, and a niece — went 
down in the storm of savage fury which swept over the 
infant settlements on the Cumberland. Her hate of In- 
dians was so strong that when the Cherokees passed her 
home, on their way west of the Blississippi, she shut her- 
self in the room and refused to appear as long as there was 
one in the vicinity. 

" Capt. Andrew Caruthers, the maternal, and Capt. Wil- 
liam Robinson, the paternal grandfather of Col. William 
B. Robinson, of this county, are buried on the farm of the 
latter, at Coldwater. Capt. Caruthers commanded a com- 
pany in Sevier's regiment at King's Mountain, and during 
the fight lost one of his low-quartered shoos, which gents 
of that day wore, even in the backwoods settlements on the 
Watauga. The writer has been honored, by his grand- 
son, with the gift of the sword he wielded on this eventful 
day, which, according to Jefi'erson, was the turning-point 
in the Revolution. It is needless to say that he values, as 



a priceless treasure, tliis old blade, which idealizes to him 
the grandest and most important epoch in the world's polit- 
ical history. A great empire, already playing a prominent 
part in the aifairs of this globe, and destined to continue 
to do so for ages to come, was firmly established by the 
events of this day ; and King's Mountain will be an eternal 
monument to the men who conquered on its summit, — • 
victors over kings' crowns and prerogatives, and stern vin- 
dicators of the God-given right of self-government. 

"In the troubles between Sevier and Tipton, Capt. Ca- 
ruthers sided with the latter against his old commander, 
and was in the battle which took place between the two fac- 
tions at Tipton's house. He died at his grandson's in 1828. 

" Capt. William Robinson began his rebellious career as 
a Regulator, and was in the defeat at Alamance, which 
necessitated his exile from the backwoods of Carolina, and 
his final settlement with many other compatriots at the in- 
fant colony on the Watauga. He commanded a company 
in Sevier's regiment at King's Blountain, and on this occa- 
sion probably tasted the sweetest revenge of his life. The 
bitter memories of Alamance were effaced in the presence 
of the most important victory ever won by the American 
armies. The Regulator of Alamance haA ^ exchanged the 
odium of llie outlaw for the glory of the 'patriot! 

" The ancestors of Capt. Robinson were Scottish Cove- 
nanters, and his grandson still has a Bible printed in 1632 
which has been in the family for more than two hundred 
and forty years. It is still in a good state of preservation, 
in spite of the wars through which it has passed. In Soot- 
land its hiding-place was under the bottom of a chair or 
stool, which was turned upside down when the fi\mily were 
engaged in reading and quickly reversed on the slightest 
alarm. It crossed the Atlantic with the family, and passed 
through the trying scenes of the Regulation, the Revolu- 
tion, the Indian wars in Tennessee, and finally through the 
late great struggle between the States. Its existence as a 
book bridges over and connects some of the grandest events 
in modern times, and its historic associations furnish abund- 
ant scope for the musings of the moralist and the philoso- 
pher. It recalls the Charles', Cromwell, and the Stuarts. 
In the most particular manner it brings to mind its ])crse- 
cutor, Claverhoiise, — a name despised by Scotchmen all 
over the globe, even to this generation, — and its defender, 
Argyle. One hundred years older than George Washing- 
ton it came to America, and has now survived wars and 
changes and many generations of its keepers. 

" Tills family has ' The Articles of Confession of the 
Church of Scotland,' published by Benjamin Franklin, at 
Philadelphia, in 1745 ; also a chest of obsolete manufacture, 
which has been in its possession for many generations. It, 
too, has a story. During the Revolution a British officer 
entered the house of Sirs. Robinson, and observing a num- 
ber of fresh corn-cobs in the fireplace, demanded some corn. 
On being refused he started towards the chest, where she 
had hid the corn a few minutes before his arrival, and 
threatened to break it open. Quick as thought she seized 
a heavy iron fire-shovel, and brandishing it over his head, 
dared him to make the attempt. He saw fight in her eye 
if he persisted, and ruffian as he was, he concluded it was 
safest to let her alone, which he did and left the house." 



4t 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER X. 

OEGAKTIZATIOBT OF THE COUNTS. 

Original Bounilarics — Division of llio County — Name — Civil Districts 
— Bounty Lands — State of Franlilin — Anomalous Position of David- 
son County. 

Davidson County was erected into a civil municipality 
by an act of the Legislature of North Carolina, approved 
Oct. G, 1783. This act defines the original boundaries of 
the county in the words following, to wit : 

" Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted hy the author'ilij of 
the same, That all that part of the State lying west of the Cum- 
berland Mountain where the Virginia line crosses, extend- 
ing westward along the said line to Tennessee River, thence 
up said river to the mouth of Duck River, thence up Duck 
River to where the line of marked trees run by the Com- 
missioners for laying off land granted the Continental Line 
of this State intersects said river (which said line is sup- 
posed to be in thirty-five degrees fifty minutes north lati- 
tude), thence east along said line to the top of Cumberland 
Mountain, thence northwardly along said mountain to the 
beginning, shall after the passage of this act be, and is 
hereby declared to be a distinct County by the name of 
Davidson." 

The area included in these boundaries embraced between 
eleven and twelve thousand square miles, lying alon" the 
northern line of the State from Cumberland Gap to the 
Tennessee River, and southward about fifty-six miles to the 
old military line run by the Commissioners of North Caro- 
lina. It embraced more than three-fourths of Middle 
Tennessee. 

The first division of this great county was made in 1786, 
when Sumner was erected from the northeastern portion of 
its territory. Tennessee County was formed in 1788, 
and remained a county until 1796, when the State, upon 
its admission, took its name, and its territory was divided 
into two counties named Robertson and Montgomery. Wil- 
son County on the east, and Williamson on the south, were 
taken ofi" in 1799.' Stewart County was formed in 1803, 
embracing the present counties of Houston, Humphreys, 
Perry, Wayne, and parts of Hardin and Lewis. Ruther- 
ford County was taken off from Davidson in 1804. Cheat- 
ham County was set ofi" from Davidson, Robertson, and 
Montgomery by act of Legislature, Feb. 28, 1856, which 
is the date at which Davidson County was reduced to its 
present limits. 

This county, like the other three west of the Appalachian 
Mountains, received its name from an officer of the army 
of the Revolution, Gen. William Davidson, of Mecklen- 
burg Co., N. C. He was a native of that part of the State 
which had early exhibited an enthusiastic devotion to inde- 
pendence. He sought and obtained a command, though of 
an inferior grade, in the Continental army. In that service 
he was considered a gallant officer, and acquired distinction. 

When the enemy overran South Carolina he left the 
regular service and was immediately commissioned a "-enoral 
in the North Carolina militia. In this new sphere of duty 
he manifested great zeal and public spirit. It was he whom 
Gen. McDowell sought to invite to take the chief command 



at King's Mountain. lie was constantly on the alert to 
disperse the Tories and annoy Lord Cornwallis, while his 
headquarters were at Charlotte. 

After the battle of Cowpens, Blorgan, in removing the 
prisoners for safe-keeping to Virginia, was pursued by the 
British army. Gen. Davidson, having under his command 
some active militiamen hastily collected in his neighborhood, 
endeavored to retard the pursuers, and at every river and 
creek caused them some delay ; and thus contributed essen- 
tially to the escape of the American army and the prisoners 
which encumbered its march. In this service Gen. David- 
son lost his life. On the 1st of February, 1781, the British 
army, accompanied by loyalists who knew the roads and 
crossing-places, came to the Catawba River, at Cowan's 
Ford, and began to cross. Davidson rode to the river to 
reconnoitre with the hope of devising some plan to keep 
them back, at least for a time. A Tory, who knew him, 
and who was in advance piloting the enemy, was near the 
bank, and shot liim. Knowing he was mortally wounded 
he rode back hastily to his men, gave some orders, and soon 
expired. An intrepid soldier, a true patriot, never did man 
love his country with more ardent affisction. His name 
should be ever dear to the people of North Carolina and 
Tennessee. 

CIVIL DISTRICTS. 

The county of Davidson is divided into twenty-six civil 
or magisterial districts, of which the city of Nashville is 
the first district. Each of these (except Nashville) elects 
two magistrates or justices of the county. Nashville or 
district No. 1 elects two from each ward. The history of 
the formation of these districts is as follows : 

The act for organizing the " Inferior Court of Pleas and 
Quarter Sessions," or the first court of the county, was 
passed by the Legislature of North Carolina, Oct. 6, 1783. 
The place fixed upon for the court was " Nashborough," 
changed to " Nashville" in July, 178-4. At first the 
justices were appointed by the commissioners who were 
authorized by law to organize the court, and were chosen 
without respect to any definite divisional lines or districts. 
Subsequently the county was divided into military districts 
and justices were elected, two in each of these, till the 
change effected by the new constitution of 1834. 

On the 3d of December, 1835, an act was pas.sed " to 
provide for the laying off the several counties of the State 
into districts of convenient size in which justices of the 
peace and constables shall be elected, and for other pur- 
poses." The other purposes were convenience of designa- 
tion, elections, and school purposes. The act provided tjiat 
by a joint resolution of both branches of the As.sembly, 
commissioners should be appointed to lay out the districts. 
Section 6 says: " i?e it enacted, that it shall be the duty 
o"" the said commissioners in each acd every county in this 
State to number each and every district, and to make out 
a complete record of the boundaries of each when laid off 
under their hands, and also a copy of the same, one of 
which shall be filed in the office of the county court clerk 
in which it is situated, and the other shall be forthwith 
transmitted to the office of the Secretary of State, directed 
to that officer, and it shall be his duty carefully to preserve 
the same in his office." 



ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. 



45 



We fear very luueli that those officers, or the districting 
commissioners, failed to discharge their duty respecting the 
hitter requirements of tlis act, for we have searched both 
offices and have failed to find the returns and descriptions 
required to be deposited there. The couimissioners, tliere- 
foi'e, Tvhocver they ■were, have lost their place in this his- 
tory which we intended to give them. 

A law was passed in 1S56 for the redistricting, but was 

not carried into effect till 1859, at which date the districts 

as they now exist were formed by the commissioners, C. W. 

Nance and William H. Hogans, Esqs. The fourth section 

, of the act erecting the county provides as follows : 

" That the County Court of Davidson County shall ap- 
point an entry-taker, for the purpose of receiving entries of 
lands from those who are allowed pre-emptions by the law 
for laying oiF lands granted to the Continental Line of this 
State ; and as it has been suggested that the inhabitants of 
said County have no specie certificates, they shall be at 
liberty to pay at the rate of ten pounds* specie or specie 
certificates per hundred acres for the aforesaid pre-emp- 
tions, and shall be allowed tlie term of eighteen months to 
pay the same ; and that the heirs of all such persons who 
have died, leaving rights of pre-emption as aforesaid, shall 
be allowed the term of one year after coming of lawful age 
to secure their pre-emptions. Provided, That no grants shall 
be made for said lands until the purchase money shall be 
paid into the proper office."f 

The original act respecting these bounty-lands was passed 
in the form of a resolution by the Assembly of North Caro- 
lina in Blay, 1780. The State engaged to give to the offi- 
cers and soldiers in its line of the Continental army a bounty 
in lands in proportion to their respective grades. These 
lands were to be laid off upon the Cumberland, or in Mid- 
dle Tennessee, to all such as were then in the military 
service, and should continue till the end of the war, or such 
as from wounds or bodily infirmities had been, or should 
be, rendered unfit for the service, and to the heirs of such 
as had fallen or should fall in the defense of their country. 
" There never was a bounty more richly deserved or more 
ungrudgingly promised. It furnished to the war-worn sol- 
dier, or to his children, a home in the new and fertile lands 
of the West, where a competency at least, perhaps wealth, 
or even affluence, might follow after the storm of war was 
past, and where tlie serene evening of life might be spent 
in the contemplation of the eventful scenes of his earlier 
years, devoted to the service of his country and to the 
cause of freedom and independence." In pursuance of this 
provision of North Carolina, a land-office was established at 
Nashville ; the military lands were surveyed, and crowds of 
Ilevolutionary .soldiers came from the mother State and set- 
tled in Middle Tennessee, so that nine tenths of the early 
population were North Carolinians. 

Eights of pre-emption were first granted on the Cumber- 



»' At the time our government was formed the old Spanish milled 
dollar was in use, and $4.44 was fixed as the rate at which the pound 
sterling must be computed at our custom-houses. It is fair to take 
this as the rate at the period referred to in the above act; hence the 
price of the original bounty-lands in Davidson County ^vns/ort)/ /our 
cet'ts and /our mi'lh per acre. 

t Chap, lii., Acts of 17S3. 



land by the act of 1792. Sis hundred and forty acres 
were allowed to each family or head of a family. A simi- 
lar provision was made for each single man of the age of 
twenty-one years or upwards who had settled the lands be- 
fore the 1st of June, 1780. Such tracts were to include 
the improvements each settler had made. No right of pre- 
emption, however, was extended so as to include any salt- 
lick or salt-spring : these were reserved by the same act as 
public property, with six hundred and forty acres of adjoin- 
ing lands. The rest of the country was all declared open 
to pre-emption. 

To a brigadier-general the State gave twelve thousand 
acres, and to all the intermediate ranks in that proportion. 
To Gen. Nathaniel Greene twenty-five thousand acres were 
given " as a mark of the high sensi this State entertains 
of the extraordinary services of that brave and gallant 
officer." Absalom Tatum, Isaac Shelby, and Anthony 
Bledsoe were the appointed commissioners to lay off the 
lands thus allotted. The commissioners were accompanied 
by a guard of one hundred men. They came to the Cum- 
berland at the commencement of the year 1783. The 
Indians offered them no molestation while they were ex- 
ecuting the duties of their appointment. Proceeding to 
" Latitude Hill," on the Elk Eiver, to ascertain the thirty- 
fifth degree of north latitude, at which they were to start, 
they made their observation, and laid off at this point the 
twenty-five thoiisand acres donated to Gen. Greene. It was 
a princely and a well-deserved estate, embracing the best 
lands on Duck River, and perhaps the best in Tennessee. 
The commissioners then, fifty-five miles from the southern 
boundary and parallel thereto, ran the Continental or old 
Military Line, which was the southern base-linj of this 
county at the time it was formed. But the Assembly, at 
the request of the officers, during their session of 1783 
directed it to be laid off from the northern boundary fifty- 
five miles to the south. The commissioners also issued the 
necessary pre-emption rights to those who had settled on 
the Cumberland previous to June 1, 1780. 

Davidson County remained a part of North Carolina till 
the year 1790, when the territory now included in Ten- 
nessee having been ceded to Congress, was organized as 
the Territory of the United States southwest of the Ohio 
River. It was then included in Mero district under the 
Territorial government till that Was superseded by the State 
of Tennessee in 1796, 

STATE OF FEANKLIN. 

This is the proper place to enter a brief record of tliis 
anomalous organization, inasmuch as an effort was made to 
draw Davidson County into it. In 1785 the three counties 
of P]astern Tennessee — Washington, Sullivan, and Greene 
— dismembered the State of North Carolina by forming 
within it a new State called the "State of Franklin." 
The Legislative Assembly of this new State convened for 
the first time in Jonesboro' on the 14th of November, 
1785. The records of it have unfortunately perished, so 
that the representatives from each of the counties cannot 
be ascertained. 

It is known that Landon Carter was speaker and Thomas 
Talbot clerk of the Senate, and William Cage speaker and 



46 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Thomas Chapman clerk of the House. Thus organized the 
Assembly proceeded to the election of a Governor, when the 
choice fell upon John Sevier, afterwards the first Governor 
of Tennessee. A judiciary system was also established at 
this first session : David Campbell was elected judge of the 
Supreme Court, and Joshua Gist and John Anderson as- 
sociate judges. 

The original plan included Davidson County in this new 
State, but no representative from this county appeared, 
either at any of the conventions at which its preliminaries 
were arranged, or in its list of civil or military appoint- 
ments. The great distance of Davidson from the other 
counties and the feeling of loyalty to the old mother State 
probably prevented it. It is likely also that there were 
heads wise enough on the Cumberland at that time to fore- 
see and wish to avoid the conflict which such a State, within 
the jurisdiction of another, must inevitably result in sooner 
or later. That conflict soon came ; the counties held to- 
gether and made a desperate struggle to maintain their in- 
dependence for about a year ; Governor Sevier maintained 
his cause in a dauntless and heroic spirit, such as he had 
often displayed in the service of the old State and in the 
new settlement. Washington County seceded and sent lier 
representatives to the Assembly of North Carolina in 1786 ; 
Governor Sevier was arrested for high treason, and hurried 
away to Morgantown, N. C., for trial; his friends gathered 
a force and rescued him from the hands of the authorities ; 
the anomalous State was broken up, and all returned to 
their allegiance to North Carolina. Governor Sevier, al- 
though he rendered himself obnoxious to the authorities of 
North Carolina, never lost his hold upon the aifections of the 
people of Tennessee. They only waited an opportunity to 
vindicate him fully, and when the State was admitted into 
the Union he was chosen by their suff'rages to be its first 
honored chief magistrate. 

This portion of history, it is true, belongs more partic- 
ularly to East Tennessee, but we have introduced it here to 
show the anomalous position of Davidson County during 
the period of the existence of Franklin. It was the remote 
part of a dismembered State, lying in the heart of a wilder- 
ness, more than six hundred miles from the capital, and 
separated by an intervening government which sustained 
towards it no political relation. 



CHAPTER XL 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



Geographical rosition of DaviJson County — Topography — Geology. 
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. 

The county of Davidson is situated in Middle Tennes- 
see, nearly equidistant from Che east and west lines of the 
State, and considerably north of the centre between the 
northern and southern boundaries. The centre of the 
county — or the United States signal station in the capitol 
grounds at Nashville — is in latitude 3(3° 10' 01. G" north, 
and in longitude 9° 44' 03'' west of Washington. 

The county is bounded on the north by Robertson and 



Sumner Counties ; on the east by Sumner, Wilson, and 
Rutherford; on the south by Williamson; and on the 
west by Cheatham. Its boundary-lines on all sides are 
more or less irregular, owing in part to the water-courses 
which form the divisional lines between it and adjoining 
counties, and partly to the arbitrary variations of course 
necessary to intersect points on these streams. The super- 
ficial area of the county is about five hundred and fifty 
square miles, or three hundred and fifty-two thousand acres. 

TOPOGEAPHY. 

The general topographical features of the different sec- , 
tions of the State are well shown by the cut accompanying 
this article, furnished by Dr. J. M. Saffbrd. 

In order to form a correct understanding of the topog- 
raphy of Davidson County it will be necessary, in the first 
place, to take a brief general view of Middle Tennessee. 

This portion of the State has been classified under two 
divisions : first, the Highlands or Rim-lands (called also 
sometimes the Terrace-lands), which encircle a basin of rich 
lowlands in the centre of the State ; and second, the Central 
Basin, inclosed by the Highlands. The first of these di- 
visions, extending from the Cumberland table-land to the 
Tennessee River, has an average elevation of one thousand 
feet above the sea, and is diversified in places by rolling 
hills and wide valleys. For the most part, however, it is a 
flat plain, furrowed by numerous ravines and traversed by 
frequent .streams. The soil of this division is of varying 
fertility, but includes a number of sections of great agri- 
cultural importance. Its area is about nine thousand three 
hundred square miles. 

Within the compass of these Highlands, and surrounded 
by them, is " the great Central Basin, elliptical in shape, 
and resembling the bed of a drained lake. It may be com- 
pared to the bottom of an oval dish, of which the High- 
lands form the broad, flat brim. The soil of this basin is 
highly productive of all the crops suited to the latitude, 
and it has been well named the garden of Tennessee. It is 
of the first importance as an agricultural region. Its area 
is five thousand four hundred and fifty square miles, and it 
has an average depression of three hundred feet below the 
Hi2;hlands. This whole basin, with the surroundinsr Hi";h- 
lands, is slightly tilted towards the northwest, and has a 
less elevation on that side than on the other."* 

The situation of Davidson County, mostly within this 
basin, with its extreme western portion resting upon the 
Rim or Highlands, determines in a great measure its topog- 
raphy. For this reason much of the western part of the 
county, along its western boundary, is at a higher elevation 
and much more hilly than the central and eastern part. 
Along the western and northwestern borders arc many 
ridges or spurs which extend like fingers from the Rim or 
Highlands into the Basin. The western and northwestern 
lines of the county cross these ridges and their alternating 
deep valleys in many places, the latter being often rich and 
fertile and filled with well-cultivated farms. The broken 
character of this portion is due in good part to the fact 
that the Cumberland River, with its tributary the Harpeth, 



'■=■" Dr. Safford'ti Geology of Tennessee. 



PIIISICAL FEATURES. 



47 



here begins to cut its valley through the western High- 
lands. 

The central and eastern portions of the county are gently 
rolling, in places swelling into considerable heights, often 
forming lines of rounded hills, and occasionally rising into 
prominent ridges. Besides the Paradise Ridge, which is 
really the edge of the western Highlands, already referred 
to, there are two principal ridges, viz., Harpeth Ridge 
(which itself may be regarded as a spur of the Highlands 
running far into the Basin and dividing the waters of the 
Cumberland from those of the Harpeth) and the ridge 
dividing the Harpeth from Little Harpeth. In addition 
to these are a number of low dividing ridges between the 
streams, making the sections in which they occur more or 
less rolling and hilly. 

To enter more minutely into the surface features of the 
county, we shall assume Nashville as the starting-point, and 
confine ourselves for the present to the south side of the 



land is for the most part high, rolling, and thin, though 
there are some excellent bottoms on the river. 

Taking the section east of Mill Creek and south of the 
Cumberland, we find the best soils for cotton, wheat, and 
clover in the county. The color of the soil, except in the 
alluvial bottoms, is mulatto, and the timber consists of 
poplar and white-oak, with a very small intermixture of 
maple and walnut. This section is drained by Mill Creek 
and Stone's River, with the exception of the fourth dis- 
trict, which is drained by Stoner's Creek mainly and Stone's 
River, and a considerable of it known as Jones' Bend is 
drained by tlie Cumberland. 

Turning our attention to the lands on the north side of 
the Cumberland, and beginning on the western side of the 
county, we meet with the B'larrowbone Hills, high, poor, 
gravelly, siliceous spurs jutting out from the Highlands, 
with minor spurs as numerous as the branches of a tree, 
and between these numerous streams with a hundred 




GEORGIA 



TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OP TENNESSEE. 



N. CAROLINA 



\ S.CAROLINA 
\ 



Cumberland River. South and southwest of the city is a 
series of rounded hills sweeping in almost a semicircle 
about the city. These hills are symmetrical in form, and 
rise very gently to the height of one hundred and fifty or 
two hundred feet. Between them and the city the soil, 
considerably mixed with rocky fragment, rests upon a bed 
of limestone that comes very near the surface in many 
places ; but the soil is generally quite fertile. 

With a radius of nine miles, if the segment of a circle 
were described from the Cumberland River opposite Bell's 
Bend to Mill Creek, it would inclose a body of as fertile 
land as can be found in the State. With a slightly^rolling 
surface, just suEBcient for drainage, it grows in large quan- 
tities all the crops cultivated in the Central Basin. This 
area is drained by Richland Creek, Little Harpeth, Brown's 
Creek, and Mill Creek. It embraces the seventh, eighth, 
ninth, and eleventh districts and parts of the tenth, twelfth, 
and fourteenth. This section embraces the best blue-grass 
lands in the county. The native growth is poplar, walnut, 
maple, and several varieties of oak. Beyond this segment, 
on the west, is a dividing ridge, heretofore spoken of as 
Harpeth Ridge, running east and west. South of Harpeth 
River, and including most of the fourteenth district, the 



branches ramify the whole country. A bold ridge runs 
north and south for a few miles and culminates in Paradise 
Hill, from which the waters flow in every direction. Almost 
the whole country embraced between White's Creek and 
the Cheatham County line is rugged and poor, with the 
exception of the river and creek bottoms and some of the 
uplands near the Cumberland. The lowlands on the upper 
part of White's Creek are very narrow. Nearer the mouth 
the bottoms become wider and the uplands more fertile. 
The soils on this creek are well adapted to the cereals, and 
grow blue-grass luxuriantly. East of White's Creek and 
embraced between that and the Cumberland River on the 
east and south, and" comprising the eighteenth, nineteenth, 
twentieth, twenty-first, and part of the twenty-second dis- 
tricts, the country is considerably diversified, though not 
so broken as the last section just described. In the por- 
tion of the county under consideration there are some good, 
warm valley lands, with occasional ridges or spurs too steep 
for cultivation. The soil is a mulatto, with a good many 
surface rocks, and, with the exception of a portion of 
Neeley's Bend, is well suited to the growth of wheat, corn, 
potatoes, and clover. The soil in a portion of Neeley's 
Bend is dark and well adapted to the grasses. This section 



I 



48 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



is well drained by White's Creek and its tributaries on the 
west, and by Blansker's Creek on the east, and Dry Creek 
through the centre. The northern part of this section 
abuts against the Highlands, and many finger-like projec- 
tions shoot out from these into the lowlands, between which 
nestle many beautiful coves, whose southern exposures 
shorten the number of the frost days and woo spring to 
their embrace some weeks earlier than the bleak level 
plateau overlooking them from the north. The soil and 
situation here are suitable for the growth of early vege- 
tables. The only serious objection to this area is the 
nearness of the underlying rocks to the surface, rendering 
it unable to resist drought. The corn crops are often 
materially injured with a few days of dry, hot weather in 
summer. In seasons of great humidity, however, the crops 
are unusually large, and many of the fields in this portion 
of the county will with suitable seasons yield from fifty to 
sixty bushels of corn per acre.* 

THE CUMBERLAND KIVER. 

The Cumberland River, in a course remarkable for its 
sinuosity, passes through the county from east to west, di- 
viding it into two nearly equal parts. This river takes its 
rise in the Cumberland table-land, very near its eastern 
margin, its branches spreading out like the fibrous roots of 
a tree, many of the head-springs of which are within a 
mile or two of some of the tributaries of the Tennessee 
River. These various small streams, which have their 
sources upon the eastern margin of the table-land, unite 
and reunite, forming the main Cumberland. IMore than 
half of these take their rise in Kentucky and the remain- 
der in Tennessee, the latter making the Big South Fork, 
down which flat-boats occasionally descend. This stream 
unites with the Cumberland in Pulaski Co., Ky., just after 
leaving the limits of the table-land. A short distance from 
the point of union the river turns and flows to the south- 
west, entering the State of Tennessee in Clay County, 
passing through Jackson and Smith. In Smith it assumes 
a westerly direction, flowing through the rich lands of 
Trousdale, forms the boundary-line between Wilson and 
Sumner, turns again to the southwest, passes on through 
Davidson County, and at Nashville again resumes its north- 
westerly direction through Cheatham, Blonlgomery, and 
Stewart Counties, approaching within a few miles of the 
Tennessee River at the State line, and finally debouches 
into the Ohio River on nearly the same parallel of latitude 
in which some of its main branches take their rise. Its 
entire length is about six hundred and fifty miles, five hun- 
dred and ninety-five of which can be made navigable. 
Three hundred and four miles of this river are in the State 
of Tennessee. 

At the Falls, in Whitley Co., Ky., the river is precipi- 
tated over conglomerate with a vertical fall of sixty-three 
feet. The range between high and low water at Point 
Burnside is 65.5 feet. At Nashville the high water of 
February, 1847, was 52.9 ; of March, 1867, 50.3 feet. An 
ordinary rise of 33.8 feet at Nashville is equivalent to 15 

* Resources of Tennessee. 



feet at the foot of Smith's Shoals and 5 feet at the head, 
which is called a coal-boat tide, the stage of water at which 
the coal-barges are just able to pass the rapids. At Gower'a 
Island the range is 41.6 feet; at Harpeth Shoals, forty i 
miles below Nashville, it is 39.3 feet ; below Davis' Rip- 
ple it is 55.8 ; at Clarksville, sixty-five miles below Nash- 
ville, it is 56.3 ; at the Tennessee RoUing-BIills, one hun- 
dred and forty-five miles from Nashville, the liigh water of 
Blarch 14, 1863, was 53.8 ; of March 14, 1867, 55.2. At 
the mouth of the river, one hundred and ninety-two miles ; 
from Nashville, and five hundred and fifty-two miles from 
Point Burnside, the range is 51 feet. As the great floods 
occur in February and March, before the crops are planted, 
the destruction from high water is not as great as takes 
place upon the Arkansas, the Red River, and the Missis- 
sippi, where the bottoms are less elevated, and where the 
greatest floods often occur in June and July.f | 

From the Falls to Point Burnside the river flows in a ] 
narrow gorge which it has excavated out of the sub-carbon- ! 
iferous sandstone, conglomerate, and cavernous limestone ! 
at a depth of three hundred to four hundred feet below the 
highland plateau. The river in this distance varies from 
one hundred to six hundred and fifty feet in width, but the 
gorge is more uniforrii, increasing gradually from five hun- 
dred to seven hundred feet. In this part of its course the 
river is approachable by roads, which are exceedingly 
rough, resembling irregular flights of stone steps, hardly 
practicable on horseback, but exhibiting at every turn, as 
they descend the sides of the bluffs, wild and picturesque 
clefts of rock. At Point Burnside the gorge widens, and 
bottoms appear of suflBcient extent to be cultivated. The 
river continues to flow through a rocky bed with bluffs of 
limestone, and with a valley varying from one-half to one 
mile wide, as far as Carthage, where the valley extends 
upon the south side into the Central Basin. The river 
follows the northern edge of the Highland Rim until it 
leaves the Basin and re-enters the Highlands, about fourteen 
miles below Nashville. It continues to flow through the 
intersecting ridges and valleys of the Highland Rim, with 
bottoms about a mile wide and gradually increasing in 
length and encroaching on the bluffs of siliceous limestone, 
until it enters the upheaved sandstone and coal of Living- 
ston County at its mouth. In the latter part of its course 
its width varies from six hundred to seven hundred feet, 
and its banks, where composed of alluvium, begin to exhibit 
evidences of change, which shows itself in the bars. 

GEOLOGY. 

In this chapter on geology we have thought it best, at 
the outset, to introduce an outline of the general American 
geological system, in connection with a column showing the 
local formations in the State of Tennessee. This will en- 
able the reader to understand better the relation of the local 
geology of Tennes.see to the general system, of which it is 
an interesting part. The table has been carefully com- 
piled from Dr. J. JI. S.ifford's latest researches, and is 
presumed to be accurate. 

"I" Col. S. T. Abert in Kesources of Tennessee. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



49 



CLASSIFICATION OP FORMATIONS. 



i 


Aor,s. 


AjiEElciN Periods. 


Tennissf.e Division. 


H 


^ <U <D 

5 -g M 
&°« 


Recent. 

Chauiplain. 

Glacial. 


(c) Alluvium. 
(6) Bluff Loam, 
(o) Orange Sand. 


O 

o 

N 
O 
|25 

O 


« o ri 


Pliocene. 
Miocene. 
Alabama. 
Lignitic. 


{b) La Grange Sand. 

(a) Flatwoods Sand, 
etc. 




o 

u 
o 

ol 
tJl-3 

<; o, 

P5 


Cretaceous. 


(e) Ripley. 

(t) Rotten Limestone. 

(a) Coffee Sand. 




Jurassic. 








Triassio, 




H 




O 


Cm 

o 
o 

to 

<J 

O j^ 

■ <s 

■ r 

"3 

o 

^- 
o 


15 Permian. 




o 




14 Carboniferous, or 
Coal Measures. 


(c) Upper Coal Measure. 

(&) Conglomeraie. 

(a) Lower Coal Measure. 




13 Subcarboniferous. 


(c) Mount. Limestone. 
(6) Coral or St. Louis 

Limestone. 
(f() Barren Group. 




>J 
o 

o , 

B 

.2 

'c 
o 
>• 
o 
Q 


12 CatsUill. 










11 Chemung. 










10 Hamilton. 


Black Sbale. 


9 Corniferous. 


? 


1— 1 




O 


t~- 
XI 

S 

> 

a 

M 

Cm 

o 

o 

oT 
to 
< 

a 

C3 

M 




8 risk any. 




w 
J 






7 Helderberg. 


Linden. 




6 Salina. 










5 Niagara. 


(c) Clifton. 

(/)) Dyestone Group. 

(a) Clinch Sandstone. 




ID 

o 

1-3 


4 Trenton. 


(6) Nashville, 
(a) Lebanon. 




.S Canadian. 


(6) Lenoir. 

(a) Knox Group. 




■ 2 Primordial. 


(6) Chilhowee S. 
(a) Ocoee Group. 




1 Archoean. 


? 











It will be seen by the preceding table, and also by the 
map accompanying Dr. Safford's Geology, that the State 
of Tennes.see is far from exhibiting a complete geolog- 
ical series, such as is shown in New York and Pennsylvania. 
The completeness of the formations in these latter States 
has been referred to as a standard by American geologists; 
but several of the number, though very thick in New York 
and Pennsylvania, grow thinner when traced southward 
and disappear before reaching Tennessee. " Others, ex- 
tending farther south or southwest, have their feather 
edges in Tennessee, as, for instance, the Lower Ilelder- 
herg and, to a certain extent, the Black Shale, as well as 
the sub-group of the Niagara, — tiie Clinch Mountain Sand- 
stone. The Tennessee series is therefore less complete than 
the northern. Not only are some of the formations wholly 
absent, but others are reduced to very thin beds." The 
same is true of the sub-groups of the Cretaceous ferther 
south, which are heavy in the States of Alabama and Slis- 
sissippi, but in Tennessee thin out and disappear. 

The surface distribution of the various formations of the 
State may be seen perfectly by consulting Dr. Safford's ex- 
cellent map, as also their full description and lithological 
characters will be found detailed in the text of his work. 
We can only give in the space at our command a brief out- 
line of the location or distribution of these formations. 

The lowest or metamorphic rocks are wholly confined 
to East Tennessee, and in that division they only occur as 
detached areas or sections immediately along the North 
Carolina line. Next west of this, along the Unaka Chain, 
and forming its bold and isolated spurs, appears the Chil- 
howee, or Potsdam sandstone. The beautiful and fluted 
valley of East Tennessee is made up of the Knoxville 
group and the Trenton formation, the former not appear- 
ing in any other part of the State. The Trenton extends 
westward, and with the Nashville forms the Great Basin 
of Middle Tennessee. This Great Basin is geologically, as 
well as agriculturally, one of the most interesting portions 
of the State, and as it contains the major part of the county 
of Davidson, situated in its west side and lying partly upon 
its Highland Rim, it will be proper to bestow upon it more 
than a passing notice. 

The Central Basin of Middle Tennessee, embracing an 
area of five thousand four hundred and fifty square miles, 
has been denuded of the whole series of the Upper Silu- 
rian and Devonian formations, extending from the Trenton 
and Nashville limestone of the Lower Silurian to the sub- 
carboniferous epoch. " Originally, when continuous," says 
Dr. Safford, " the strata rose up in a slightly-elevated dome, 
the summit of which was over the central part of Ruther- 
ford County. Taking the formation of the flat Highlands 
around the Basin as the topmost of the dome, the amount 
of matter removed at this point could not have been less in 
vertical thickness than 1300 feet." 

It would be easy to account for the removal of this vast 
mass of matter on the supposition of a disturbance of the 
strata. Going back to the period when the formations were 
continuous, we should see that they lay buried beneath the 
sub-carboniferous ocean which then covered a large portion 
of the continent. Eventually there came a time when the 
strata were broken- and upheaved by internal force, and the 



50 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



currents of the ocean rushing into its fissures and caves, 
perhaps undermining the whole elevated and partially- 
broken mass, and wearing it on all sides, began the process 
of disintegration and excavation by which the Basin was 
finally scooped out. This process, no doubt, accounts for 
many of the remarkable denudations which have taken 
place in diiFerent parts of the country. But the Central 
Basin of Middle Tennessee presents no evidence of a general 
upheaval, although local disturbances niaj' have occurred in 
diflferent parts of the basin, and probably caused the slight 
elevation at the centre referred to as the dome- over 5Iur- 
freesboro'. A general upheaval is entirely incompatible 
with the fact stated by Dr. SaflFord, that " throughout the 
Basin remnants of the strata have been left in the hills and 
ridges; these remnants always occurring in a certain order, 
building up the hills and giving to them a like geological 
structure. All sides of the Basin present the outcropping 
edges of the same strata in the same order. That the hills 
have a like structure results necessarily from the nature of 
the case, the Basin having been scooped out from horizontal 
strata, and the hills and ridges being simply portions left 
by the denuding agencies. 

" What tliese agencies were is a question of interest. 
The simplest theory is that the work has been done by run- 
ning water, aided more or less by frost. The waters of the 
Cumberland, Duck, and Elk Rivers are 7wiv at work 
washing down the hill-sides and deepening the lower areas ; 
and it is not improbable that the same waters commenced 
the excavation of the Basin, each branch creek and rill 
doing its part of the work. This, of course, has required 
long ages of time, during which the streams have been 
constantly changing and deepening their ciiannels and 
their immediate local valleys. The Basin is the aggregate 
result of the work of all the streams, small and great." 

The Cumberland, Duck, and Elk Rivers furnished the 
first axes of depression when, starting down from the table- 
land, ages ago, they cut the first valleys through what is 
now the Basin, and made an opportunity for other streams 
to flow into it. A perfect type of this may be seen any 
day in the action of the surface-water after a heavy rain. 
However small the channel made at first, other innumer- 
able little rills begin to run into it, and to wear and carry 
away the soil. It only needs the constant supply of water 
for a sufiScient length of time to excavate great valleys and 
wear the hard, rocky formation to a depth and extent 
hardly conceived of when considering the apparently slow 
process by which the work is carried on by many of our 
streams and rivers. Such is no doubt the manner in which 
the great Central Basin has been excavated. 

At the bottom of this great Central Basin occur the rocks 
of the Trenton or Lebanon formation, occupying nearly 
half of its area. The strata and the bottom of the Basin 
are slightly tilted to the west, the rooks outcropping at a 
higher elevation on the east side, and sinking below the 
rivers at or near Nashville, Franklin, and Columbia, re- 
spectively. " Nearly all of Wilson, Rutherford, Bedford, 
and Marshall Counties are within the outcrop of the 
Trenton formation. . . . This formation is one of great 
interest, especially in an agricultural point of view. The 
soils it yields are among the best. To the paleontologist 



it is an inviting field, its strata presenting a rich fossil 
flora." 

We give below from Dr. Safford's report a section show- 
ing the beds of this formation in their natural order, as 
follows : 

(5.) Carter s Creek Limestone. — ( Topmost?) A heavy- 
bedded, light-blue, or dove-colored limestone, the upper 
part often gray ; contains Stromalapora ragosa, Column- 
aria ahocoldta, Tetradiiim columnare, Petraia profunda, 
Stroplwmena filistexta, Rhynchonella reciirvirostra, Ortlio- 
ceras Bigshiji, 0. Huronense, Pleurotomaria lapicida, etc. 
The thickness of the stratum is from fifty to one hundred 
feet. 

(4.) The Glade Limestone. — A stratum of light-blue, 
thin-bedded, or flaggy limestone. Pre-eminently the bed 
of tlie great " Cedar Glades' of the Central Basin. Con- 
tains Strophomena, S. Jilistexta, Orthis dejlecta, 0. per- 
verta, 0. triceniiria, Rhynchonella orientalis, Cyrtodonta 
ohtusa, Trochonema umhilicata, Orthoceras rapax, Illse.- 
nus Americanus, Lcperditia fabuliles, etc. Maximum 
thickness, one hundred and twenty feet. 

(3.) The Ridley Limestone. — Next below is this stratum, 
a group of heavy-bedded, light-blue, or dove-colored lime- 
stone. Some of its fossils are as follows : Orthoceras 
anceps, Stromalapora rugosa, Columnaria alveolata, Or- 
this hellarugosa, Camerella varians, Rhynchonella Ridley- 
ana, etc. The maximum thickness observed is ninety-five 
feet. 

(2.) Pierce Limestone. — A group of thin-bedded, flaggy 
limestones, with generally a heavy-bedded layer near the 
base. These reeks are highly fossiliferous, and abound in 
Bryozoa. Among the fossils are Orthis Stonensis, Rhyn- 
chonella Ridleyana, Dahnaniles Troosti, etc. The group 
has a maximum thickness of twenty-seven feet. 

(1.) Central Limestone. — An important group of thick- 
bedded, cherty limestones, of a light-blue or dove color. 
Contains Salterella Billingsi and Leperditia fahulites in 
abundance ; also Cyrloccras Stonense, Trochonema umhili- 
cata, Helicotoma Tennesseensis, H. declivis, Rhynchonella 
altilis, etc. 

This* bed is the bottom-rock of the Central Basin, and 
presents in the heaviest exposures a thickness of about one 
hundred feet. 

The lands of the basin fall naturally into two divisions, 
the two being underlaid respectively by the Trenton and 
Nashville formations. To one group of lands we may 
give the name of Trenton, to the other Nashville. The 
soils derived from the Trenton rocks are, as a general rule, 
more clayey than those from the Nashville beds, the latter 
containing more sandy or siliceous matter. Stone for build- 
ing purposes is obtained from all the heavy-bedded divisions 
of the Trenton, the upper part of the Carter's Creek divi- 
sion supplying a very superior article. This whitish-gray 
and beautiful limestone is quarried extensively in Maury 
County, and is conveniently located along the line of the 
railroad. 

In Davidson County the Nashville, or Hudson River 
group, is the prevailing formation. The passage from the 
Trenton to this formation is well marked and abrupt. This 
is well seen at Columbia and at all other points in the Cen- 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



51 



tval Basin, where tliis rock -horizon is accessible. The 
Trenton ends with h'ght-colored, heavy-bedded limestones 
(immediately at the top, often thin-bedded, with clayey 
seams), and the Nashville begins with a siliceous, blue, 
calcareous rock, weathering often into earthy, buff, sandy 
masses, and sometimes into shales. The impurities consist 
of clay and fine sand. A detailed section of the rocks as 
they occur in Nashville, and which may be taken as a type 
of the whole county, was made out by Dr. Safford. This 
section, given below, commences under the Wire Bridge 
and ascends to the top of Capitol Hill. The section is num- 
bered from the bottom up, but the highest is described first : 

SECTION OF THE NASHVILLE FOllMATION. 

(6.) College Hill Liini'stone. — When freshly quarried 
a dark-blue, highly fossiliferous, coarsely crystalline, and 
roughly-stratified limestone, with more or less of its 
laminae shaly. The mass weathers, generally, into rough, 
flaggy limestones and shaly matter, interstratified, often 
liberating multitudes of fossils, especially small corals. 
Some of the layers of this limestone are wholly made up 
of corals and shells. Stenoporse., Constelaria antliehidea, 
Tetradium Jibratuni, Colnmnariii slellata, Stromatrqyora 
pvslnlosa, Stropliomena altcrnata, Ortliis lynx, 0. occi- 
dentalis, and others are abundantly represented by indi- 
viduals. Belleropihon Troosti, species of Q/rtodonta, Am- 
honycliia radlata, occur, and, in fact, nearly all the forms 
given in column M of Dr. Safford's catalogue. The divi- 
sion is well seen on College Hill, and in the upper part of 
the bluff at the Reservoir. There is also a fine presenta- 
tion of it on Capitol Hill, around the eapitol. Its lowest 
layers are at the top of the bluff at the Wire Bridge. 
These rocks pertain to the highest stratum in the vicinity 
of Nashville. This division at Capitol Hill measures one 
hundred and twenty feet. 

(5.) Cyrtodonta Bed. — -Iraraediately below the College 
Hill limestone is a remarkable bed of coarsely crystalline, 
ashen-gray, or light yellowish-gray limestone, in great part 
made up of valves of species of Cyrtodonta, individuals of 
BelleropJwn Lindsleyi, and B. Troosti. This bed is best 
developed in the bluff at the Wire Bridge. It is here ten 
or eleven feet thick, and forms one solid layer. The shells 
are silicified, and pretty generally have their edges rounded 
and worn, as if they had been rolled in currents of water, 
or by waves. The bed is seen again at the engine-house 
of the Water- Works, where it is six feet thick. In tracing 
it beyond the engine-house it very soon runs out, and is 
replaced by a compact, dove-colored limestone, like No. 3 
below. . . . This rock has been used for building purposes 
to some extent, and for making corner-posts. Maximum 
thickness, eleven feet. 

(4.) Bed of limestone of the common type ; much like 
the College Hill limestone, coarsely crystalline, fossil- 
iferous, etc. It occurs below No. 5, on the west side of the 
eapitol. In the bluff at the Wire Bridge it is twenty- 
three feet thick. In the bluff above the engine-house of 
the Water- Works it me.isures twenty-eight feet. 

(3.) Dove Limestone. — This is a group of thin layers for 
the most part. The upper layer is a light dove-colored, 
compact limestone, four feet thick, breaking conchoidal 



fracture, containing strings (mostly vertical) of cry.stallino 
matter, which show points on a horizontal surface (Birds- 
eyes). The middle layer is mainly the common, dark-blue, 
crystalline limestone (two feet). The lowest layer (four 
feet) is mostly like the upper, but more or less mixed with 
blue layers. Such is the group to be seen at the foot of 
Gray Street, in a quarry on the river-bank. This group 
presents itself at many points in and around the city. . . . 
It appears at many points in Davidson County outside of 
Nashville. The layers are generally of desirable thickness, 
and are quarried at numerous points in and about the city 
for building and other purposes. 

The group contains a number of .species. Detached 
siphuncles of Orlhoceras Bigshyi and of an allied species 
are numerous at some points, especially in the middle layer. 
Tetradium, Belleroplion, Murchisonia, Plnrotomaria , and 
other genera are represented. It is in this group Leperditia 
ilorgani is found. Thickness, eleven feet. 

(2.) Capitol Limestone. — This bed supplied the rock to 
build the eapitol, and was formerly well exposed in the old 
State quarry west and in sight of the building. It is lime- 
stone, but has the appearance of a laminated sandstone. It 
is, in fact, a consolidated bed of calcareous sand, the sand 
being the comminuted fragments of shells and corals. 
Originally the mass was drifted in running water, and 
arranged in laminfe. As we find the rock now it is, when 
quarried, a massive, bluish-gray, granular limestone, with a 
well-marked lamillar structure. When cut and ground 
smooth a block of it presented edgewise shows well the 
laminar character. Such a surface is bluish-gray, plenti- 
fully banded with darker lines. The eapitol is a splendid 
presentation of this rook as a building material. The rock 
often contains rolled fragments of the beaded siphuncles of 
species of Orthoceras. Some specimens of these are seen in 
the faces of the blocks in the walls of the eapitol. It exhibits 
also examples of cross-stratification, another evidence of the 
current action to which it was originally subjected. The 
mass contains some little siliceous matter, mostly in grains 
and in small fragments of silicified shells, so that they do 
not interfere materially with the working of the rock. It 
is easily quarried, and can be obtained in blocks of any de- 
sirable size. In its natural exposure it exfoliates in laminae 
by long weathering. 

The bed pretty generally underlies the city, has been 
quarried at the foot of Gray Street, on the river, is near the 
water under the Wire Bridge, and appears beyond the 
Water-Works, where it has also been quarried, and is 
twenty feet thick. The lamellar structure of this bed runs 
into the one just below to some extent, and it is not always 
easy to draw a line of separation. Below the Wire Bridge 
my measurements make the thickness of the bed twenty- 
five feet. 

(1.) The Orthis Bed underlies the last, and is the lowest 
member of the Nashville formation. It is in the water 
below the Wire Bridge, but rises in going down the river, 
and may be studied in the bluff below the railroad bridge. 
It may be seen, too, and its orthis gathered at the first mile- 
stone on the Murfreosboro' turnpike. It rises at the end of 
the bluff beyond the Water-Works, and still farther east, as 
at Slount Olivet, it may be" seen resting on the Carter's 



52 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Creek Limestone, — the upper member of the Trenton for- 
mation. It lias, however, been described, and its thickness 
given. 

One of these strata takes the name of the Bosley stone, 
and is quarried in the tenth and eleventii districts, near the 
Hillsboro' turnpike. It is a light-gray, fine-grained, and 
easily-worked limestone, and makes a handsome, durable 
front. Quite a number of the fronts of the best buildings 
in Nashville are made of this stone ; among'others may be 
mentioned that of the Methodist Book Concern and En- 
sley's Block adjoining, also the elegant front of Burns' 
Block. This rock is also quarried in Bell's Bend, below 
Nashville. 

There is a large number of minerals found in the county^ 
but in such small quantities as to be undeserving of notice. 

The sulphur-springs are numerous, the most famous of 
which is situated within the corporate limits of Nashville, 
which was bored to a great depth in search of salt. The 
water is much used during the summer months, and large 
quantities are sold' on the streets by boys. In the early his- 
tory of the country this spring was known as the Big 
French Lick, called so because a Frenchman, BI. Charle- 
ville, from New Orleans, built his cabin on the mound on 
the north side of Spring Branch as early as 1714. 



CHAPTER XI L 

INDIAN \\rARS. 

17S.3, Pruitt's Engagement — Jlilitiiiy Orgiinizations at tlie Sf.alions — ■' 
17S8, Diplomacy of Col. James Robert:<oii — Death of Col. Anthony 
Bledsoe — Attack on MaylielJ's Station — 1789, Robertson adopts an 
Aggressive Policy — Pursuit of the Enemy — Bold nnd Successful 
Charge of Capt. Williams— 1790, Treaty with the Creeks— 1791, 
Treaty at Knoxville with the Cherokees — Defense of Davidson 
County. 

Early in the year commissioners appointed by the State 
of North Carolina to lay off lands for Revolutionary soldiers, 
and examine claims to pre-emption rights by the Cumber- 
land settlers, arrived at Nashborough accompanied by a 
guard of one hundred soldiers. The advent of this large 
force gave hopes of better security from Indian depreda- 
tions, but in this the people were disappointed. These sol- 
diers limited their services to the duty of guarding the com- 
missioners while engaged in their surveys. This work done 
they returned whence they came, leaving the distressed 
settlers again to their own resources. Many murders and 
outrages were committed even during the presence of the 
soldiers in the country. These at length grew so frequent 
that on an incursion being made, in which many horses 
were taken from the vicinity of the Bluff, Capt. William 
Pruitt, who had been recently elected to embody the citi- 
zens of that place for their better defense, raised twenty 
men for the pursuit at once, and took the trail. The officers 
of his company were as follows : Samuel Martin and John 
Buchanan, first and second lieutenants, and William Over- 
all, ensign. There is no record of how many of these were 
in the pursuit; if any of them were present, their names 



are sufficient guarantee of duty well performed. The trail 
led south to a point on Richland Creek, probably in Giles 
County, where he overtook the marauders, when by a rapid 
charge he dispersed them, although in greatly superior 
numbers, and recaptured the horses without losing a man. 
On his return he encamped for the night at a creek falling 
into Duck River on the north side. The Indians having 
discovered in the mean time the disparity of the whites, 
and smarting under defeat and the loss of the horses, re- 
turned on his trail and attacked his rear as he was in the 
act of leaving his camp about daylight. Moses Brown, in 
the rear, fell at the first fire. The whites being encum- 
bered by the horses in the thick cane, retreated about a 
mile and a half, when, on reaching the open woods, they 
halted and formed a line. The enemy soon came on and 
made regular dispositions for battle by forming lines for 
front and flank attacks. They then advanced steadily 
under fire of the whites, who stood bravely to their 
posts until it was evident that further resistance at this 
place would endanger the safety of the entire party. They 
thereupon retreated, Daniel Johnson and Daniel Pruitt 
being killed and Morris Shaw and others wounded. To 
make their retreat sure, they were compelled to abandon the 
horses for which they had struggled so hard. This species 
of property was esteemed the most valuable of the pioneers' 
possessions; it was indispensable in the cultivation of the 
soil, upon which was based the occupation and settlement 
of the country. With the losses stated the company made 
its way back to the Bluff without further molestation. The 
Indians exulted greatly in their victory, and the whites were 
correspondingly depressed from the loss of so much valu- 
able property. The Pruitts, being recent arrivals in the, 
settlement, sought to palliate the disaster by condemning 
the tree-to-tree manner of fighting practiced on the fron- 
tier, claiming that dash and boldness were the proper 
methods of contending with Indians, which observation 
was very true when there was anything like a party of 
numbers, or the situation different from that in which he 
was placed on this occasion. If he had been free-handed 
or unencumbered with horses it is quite probable he could 
have made a different showing for himself and his brave 
little band. It further deserves the notice given it from the 
hardihood and resolution displayed by the actors in follow- 
ing and attacking successfully a greatly superior force at 
such a distance (over sixty miles) from their base. 

It was in this year, 1783, that something like a military 
establishment was formed by the committee which met at 
Nashborough March 15th, and was constituted as to the 
officers as follows, as appears from this extract from its 
records : " It being thought necessary for our better defense 
in these times of danger that ofiicers be chosen in each 
respective station to embody the inhabitants for their 
greater security. Accordingly there was made choice of at 
Nashborough William Pruitt for captain, Samuel Martin 
and John Buchanan for first and second lieutenants, and 
William Overall ensign. ^ '\ 

" At Heatonsburg [Eaton's], Josiah Ramsey, captain ; 
James Hollis, lieutenant ; and Joshua Thomas, ensign. 

"At Freeland's Station, Joshua Howard, captain ; James 
Donelson, lieutenant ; and John Dunham, ensign. 



INDIAN WARS. 



53 



" At Mansker's, Isaac Bledsoe, captain ; Jasper Manskev, 
lieutenant; James Linn, ensign. 

" At Maukling's, Francis Prince, captain ; Ambrose 
Maulding, lieutenant." 

By act of the Assembly of October 6, 1783, the State 
extends its authority over the Cumberland settlements 
which were organized into Davidson County. The military 
establishment under this act was as follows: Anthony 
Bledsoe, first colonel; Isaac Bledsoe, first major; Samuel 
Barton, second major ; Casper Manskor, first captain ; 
George Freeland, second captain; John Buchanan, third 
captain ;_ James Ford, fourth captain; William Ramsey, 
Jonathan Drake, Ambrose Maulding, and Peter Sides, 
lieutenants ;. William Collins and Elmore Douglas, ensigns. 
The opening of the year 1788 soon brought its record of 
Indian murder and devastation. Col. Robertson, ever mind- 
ful of the interests of his people, now had recourse to a 
piece of diplomacy which shows him to have been a man 
of much intellectual grasp and breadth of view. He ad- 
dressed a very able communication to Gen. McGillivray, the 
renowned chief and head of the Creek Nation, in which he 
indicated the " manifest destiny" of the Western settle- 
ments to and in their supremacy over the greao valley of 
the Mississippi, and appealed directly to his interest in 
maintaining the most friendly relations with them. An- 
drew Ewing and James Hoggatt were the ambassadors, 
and deserve great credit for the hardihood and courage 
with which they penetrated the wilderness more than two 
hundred miles amid the dangers and privations incident to 
a journey of this kind. McGillivray, who had been edu- 
cated at Charleston, S. C, replied in a manner which gave 
much satisfaction and excited great hopes that hostilities 
from that quarter would in a great measure cease if the 
frontiiJrsmen would only exercise patience and forbearance. 
In consequence of these assurances and the pendency of 
negotiations in furtherance of peace. Gen. Robertson felt 
necessitated to a strictly defensive policy for this year, 
although the warfiire continued as bitter as ever and num- 
bered among its victims not only one of his dearest friends. 
Col. Anthony Bledsoe, but his own son. It is a strong 
tribute to his fortitude and public virtue that under these 
circumstances he restrained his feelings in the hope of an 
adjustment, and refused to allow any retaliatory expeditions 
to be undertaken or even pursuit to be made, judging from 
the barrenness of the record of such measures. 

Although no attempts were made to force a direct en- 
trance into any of the forts, several affairs occurred which 
resulted in serious calamities to the country in the death of 
several of its first citizens. The killing of Col. Anthony 
Bledsoe has been mentioned. This circumstance, though 
taking place outside of the limits of Davidson County, 
deserves more than a pa.ssing notice, on account of the 
prominent relation of the victim and his family to the 
■founding and upbuilding of the Cumberland settlement. 
This event occurred at his fort at Bledsoe's Lick, now Cas- 
tilian Springs, in Sumner County, on the night of July 
2Utli. The houses were surrounded by the usual stockade, 
except that of Col. Bledsoe and his brother Isaac, which 
was double and formed a section of the stockade ; the 
passage between the two rooms was open and not barred 



in any way, being thought secure. The road ran along the 
front, being intersected opposite the passage by a lane. 
About midnight he heard the sound of horses' feet rushing 
along the road in front of the fort, when he hastily arose, 
and calling James Campbell, an Irish servant, to go with 
him, they stepped out into the passage, through which the 
moonlight was falling in full splendor. At this instant a 
heavy volley was poured into the passage from the corners 
of the fences a few jiaces off, when Campbell fell dead and 
Col. Bledsoe was mortally wounded in the abdomen. The 
rtis''. of the enemy in having a party to dash by on horse- 
back was unfortunately but too successful. It so happened 
that soine of the infantry force of Evans' battalion had 
been discharged about that time, and were making prepara- 
tions to I'cturn across the mountain the next day. The 
settlers were apprehensive that they would steal some horses 
upon which to make their journey, and were on the look- 
out to pursue promptly and recover them. It was with 
this view that Col. Bledsoe rushed out of his room, calling 
upon the inmates of the station to follow and recover the 
stolen horses. The fire that was opened upon Campbell 
and himself instantly apprised those within who had not 
appeared of the nature of the case, and prompt measures 
were taken for defense. The fires were instantly put out, 
and William Hall, Hugh Rogan, and others repaired to the 
port-holes and opened their guns upon the eu:!my, wh > 
soon drew off to the vale below and began the destruction 
of the cattle and other property in reach. It was soon dis- 
covered that Col. Bledsoe was in a dying condition, and it 
was suggested to him to make a will, in order to secure his 
daughters (eight in number) the possession of his valuable 
estate. He had no son, and according to the laws of North 
Carolina the title to his property would have vested in his 
brother, leaving his children penniless, if he died without 
making a will. To write the will it was necessary to have 
a light, but on searching the fireplaces not a spark of fire 
could be found. At this Hugh Rogan proposed to go to 
the house of old Katy Shaver, several hundred yards off, 
and get some fire. This old woman, whose husband and 
family had been killed some time before, lived alone, and 
was regarded with superstitious fear by the Indians, who 
knew her history and were fully aware of her defenseless 
condition. During all of the time they remained in the 
vicinity they avoided her with scrupulous care, believing she 
was under the protection of the Great Spirit, who would 
avenge any injury done her. The proposition of this brave 
Irishman met with a universal protest from the little gar- 
rison, as a large body of Indians was known to be in the 
immediate vicinity, and for hitn to attempt to return with a 
blazing fagot in his hand would almost insure his destruc- 
tion. He merely remarked that " a dying man should 
have his last request gratified," and opening the door plunged 
into the horrors of the outer darkness, amid the prayers 
and tears of the garrison, who listened with breathless anx- 
iety for the shots that would announce the death of their 
bravest defender. He reached his destination in safety, 
and in a few moments returned with the fire blazing his 
way through the darkness. Not a shot was fired at him, as, 
providentially, the Indians were busily engaged elsewhere at 
that particular moment. The self sacrificing spirit of this 



54 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



brave Irishman has never been surpassed and rarely equaled. 
The act had in it all the elements of the " heroic" in a 
superlative degree. 

An attack was made in the vicinity of Sutherland May- 
field's Station which deserves to have a place in these pages. 
This station was on the west fork of Blill Creek, and about 
a mile above Brown's. A force of ten or twelve Indians 
made their appearance near this station, but made no direct 
attack, which would no doubt have been successful as the 
men were some distance off building a wolf-pen. May field,- 
his two sons, and Mr. Joslin were busily at work, leaving 
a soldier to guard their guns a little way off and keep a 
lookout. The latter inexcusably left his post, when the 
Indians dashed in between the whites and their guns, and 
opened at the same time a destructive fire upon them. 
Mayfield and one of his sons and the soldier were killed, 
and the other son, George, was captured and taken to the 
Creek Nation, where he remained ten or twelve years. Jos- 
lin, afterwards a colonel in the militia and owner of Jos- 
lin's Station, the farthest one to the southwest of Nashville, 
at the first alarm rushed towards the Indians to get his 
gun, but he was surrounded and beaten off; he then broke 
through their line and daslied off at great speed through the 
woods with the enemy in close pursuit. He soon reached 
the trunk of a very large tree which lay in his way and 
promised to be a formidable obstacle to his escape unless he 
could jump it, as the pursuers were right at his heels. He 
therefore put forth all of his strength and by a tremendous 
leap cleared it, falling on his back on the other side. At 
this the Indians stopped, thinking it useless to pursue far- 
ther a man of such extraordinary agility. He made a cir- 
cuit and reached the station in safety. 

A number of valuable citizens lost their lives during this 
year, and the usual devastation was committed on property, 
but of these our limits forbid particular notice. 

The accumulated outrages of the last year by the Creek 
Indians at length seem to have determined Gen. Robertson 
to put DO further faith in the pacific declarations of Mc- 
Gillivray, and we find that on April 5, 1789, he issued a 
general order to the militia ofiiccrs to be ready with their 
men at a moment's warning to march in pursuit of any 
bands of Indians coming into the country, and to overtake 
and punish them, as their outrages had grown too great 
and frequent to be longer endured. He had not long to 
wait for the opportunity to put this order into execution. 
While engaged with his hands in a field not a half-mile 
from his station, the sentinel posted to give notice of hostile 
approach became suspicious that the Indians were in the 
cane not far off. He communicated his fears to the general, 
and endeavored to put himself between the people at work 
and the threatened danger. Gen. Robertson then turned to 
take a searching look in the direction indicated, when a 
volley was fired from the woods, one of the balls taking 
effect in his foot. The whites then made their way in 
safety to the fort and the Indians ran off. 

Gen. Robertson ordered immediate pursuit. About sixty 
men turned out under Lieut.-Col. Elijah Robertson, but he 
being detained, Capt. Sampson Williams, an excellent In- 
dian-fighter and a man of most stubborn courage, was 
selected in his place. It is worthy of notice that Andrew 



Jackson was one of the pursuers. They hastily convened 
at Gen. Robertson's, and began their march early the next 
morning. The trail of the enemy was soon struck, and 
found to lead up West Harpeth to the highlands of Duck 
River. At this point the pursuers became convinced that 
the Indians were out-traveling them, and it was determined 
to detach twenty men to follow on foot for the sake of 
speed, leaving the horsemen to come on as best they could. 
Capt. Williams headed the detachment, and striking off at 
a trot followed the trail until it reached the river ; it here 
curved up the river a mile and a half and crossed, where it 
turned down again through the heavy corn which covered 
the lowlands. Darkness and the tangled nature of the 
way at length forced the party to halt and lie on their 
arms the rest of the night. As soon as it was light enough 
to see, pursuit was resumed, and at the distance of only 
two "or three hundred yards from their bivouac the encamp- 
ment of the Indians was discovered. Two or three were 
up mending their fires, and the rest still lay on the ground 
in sleep ; the place was calculated to escape observation, being 
in a kind of basin. Capt. Williams was in advance, and 
the first to discover the enemy. Having some distance to 
go under the range of the enemy's guns if they should make 
resistance, he determined to dash forward at full speed and 
drive them from their weapons before they could have time 
to use them. He therefore charged, and at the distance of 
fifty yards opened fire. The Indians, though about thirty 
in number, fled without resistance, leaving one dead on the 
ground, but carrying off seven or eight wounded, and plung- 
ing into the river crossed to the north side. Sixteen guns, 
nineteen shot-pouches, and all of their effects fell into the 
hands of the whites. Pursuit was continued across the 
river, but shortly abandoned. Capt. Williams then struck 
into his old trail, and soon met the party with the horses, 
when all returned to the settlements. 

There appears to have been no other pursuit of Indians 
by bodies from this county during the year, though it closed 
with a record of thirty persons killed on the Cumberland 
and the loss of one-half of the stock of horses. 

The year 1790 passed off with a remarkable diminution 
of the usual death-rate, as far as the accounts go to show. 
The treaty with the Creek Nation at New York, August 
17th, may have had some influence on the result. McGil- 
livray, with about thirty chiefs, had repaired there by 
arrangement with the government, and had been received 
with great hospitality and attention to pomp and ceremony; 
liberal presents were provided, and he himself received a 
douceur of one hundred thousand dollars, ostensibly as in- 
demnity for losses he had sustained in property from the 
people of the United States. 

This treaty proved unsatisfactory to both parties. It was 
now desired by the government to engage the Cherokees in 
similar obligations to preserve peace. William Blount, 
Governor of the Territory south of the Ohio, as the country 
was called which had been ceded by North Carolina to the 
general domain, therefore dispatched Maj. King on a mis- 
sion to this nation. Upon his return he reported that the 
Cherokees expressed great willingness to enter upon a 
treaty. The Governor having issued his proclamation re- 
voking all licenses to trade with the Indians, the possessors 



INDIAN WARS. 



55 



of this privilege, seeing loss to themselves in the prospect, set 
about at once to defeat the assembling of the Indians, and 
they circulated the report that it was the intention of the 
whites to surround them on arrival at the treaty-ground 
and utterly destroy them. These insinuations of perfidy 
seemed about to defeat the proposed treaty, when the Gov- 
ernor desired Gen. Robertson to go among the Indians and 
reassure their minds as to the intentions and good faith of 
the government. He went at once among them, and being 
possessed of their respect and esteem in the highest degree, 
soon accomplished his mission. The chiefs agreed to attend 
the place of meeting, the present site of Kiioxville. There, 
on the 2d of July, 1791, the treaty of Holston was made, 
and being forwarded to the President was confirmed by the 
Senate on the 11th of November. There seemed reason 
now to anticipate peace with the Cherokees, but there was 
evidence of a renewal of hostile spirit on the part of the 
Creeks, but it was confined more to the settlements in 
Western Virginia and Kentucky than those on the Cum- 
berland, where, however, a number of horses were stolen 
and thirteen persons were killed in the limits of Sumner 
and Davidson Counties in the months of June and July. 

By the treaty of Holston extensive hunting-groundc', 
reaching to the very limits of the Cumberland settlements, 
had been restored to the Cherokees with the hope of pur- 
chasing peace and security. Washington earnestly desired 
Governor Blount to inculcate a spirit of the utmost for- 
bearance among the whites towards the Indians, and seek 
by frequent " talks" and presents to hold them to their 
treaty obligations. This became an exceedingly diiEcult 
task, when it soon became evident that hostility was not 
only not abating but continually on the increase. This 
non-fulfiilment of their stipulations found its explanation in 
the machinations of Spanish and British agents among 
them, who were extremely jealous of the growing power 
of the United States, and alarmed at its already manifest 
influence on the destiny of the Mississippi region. The 
policy of Washington, which gathered weight and respect 
more from his great name than from any regard for its 
justice and propriety, together with the personal exertions 
of Gen. Robertson, had the efiect to limit the movements 
of the Cumberland people strictly to defensive measures. 
The year closed in gloomy forebodings. St. Clair had been 
defeated in the Northwest, with the loss of six hundred 
men slain and all of his cannon. This event, so flattering 
to Indian prowess, virtually destroyed with the Southern 
tribes any lingering respect they may have retained for the 
binding force of the late treaties. 

Although Davidson County was erected in 1783, and 
thus become an integral part of the State, it was regarded 
by the latter, in consequence of its remoteness from the seat 
of government and isolation from other settlements, i-ather 
as an outlying province, which must take upon itself those 
measures of protection and defense imposed by its situa- 
tion. Its inhabitants had incurred responsibilities in which 
the rest of the State could not well share, so its rulers 
argued ; the State would give them laws, but could not 
incur any expense in their execution. The grant of powers 
was liberal, the Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarter Ses- 
sions being virtually invested with legislative, judicial, and 



executive authority. These powers had already been exer- 
cised freely but wisely by the government of the Notables. 
Therefore this act was merely formal, and added no real 
strength to the colonists in their situation at that juncture, 
wlien the broad aagis of the State was needed to be thrown 
over them. 

Under the authority of the act of 1786, the Court of 
Quarter Sessions in 1787 adopted measures of defense, as 
appears of record in these words : 

" Whereas, The frequent acts of hostility committed by 
the Indians upon the inhabitants of this county for a con- 
siderable time past render it necessai-y that measures should 
be taken for their protection : 

1. "Be it Resolved, That two hundred and ten men 
shall be enlisted and formed into a military body for the 
protection of said inhabitants, to rendezvous at the lower 
end of Clinch Mountain. 

2. " Every able-bodied man who shall enlist and furnish 
himself with a good rifle or smooth-bore gun, one good 
picker, shot-bag, powder-horn, twelve good flints, with good 
powder and lead bullets or suitable shot, shall be entitled 
to receive each year for his services one blanket, one good 
woolen or fur hat of middle size, one pair of buckskin 
breeches, and waistcoat lined." 

They further " Resolved, That for the better furnishing 
of the troops now coming into the country under command 
of Maj. Evans, with provisions, etc., that one-fourth of the 
tax of this county be paid in corn, one half in beef, pork, 
bear-meat, and venison, one-eighth in salt, and one-eighth 
in money, to defray the expenses of removing the pro- 
visions. The prices were fixed thus: corn, four shillings 
per bushel (equal to fifty cents) ; beef, five dollars per hun- 
dred pounds ; pork, eight dollars per hundred pounds ; good 
bear-meat, without bones, eight dollars per hundred pounds ; 
venison, ten shillings per hundred pounds ; salt, sixteen dol- 
lars per bushel " 

Capt. Evans was appointed to the command of the bat- 
talion thus raised, with the rank of major. The troops ren- 
dezvoused at Clinch Mountain, and were very useful, guard- 
ing immigrants into the country and manning the forts. 
Each soldier was allowed by the State four hundred acres 
of land for six months' service, and the same proportion if 
he sewed twelve months, the land to be located west of the 
Cumberland Mountain. For the raising, supporting, arm- 
ing, and equipping of these troops it was expressly stipu- 
lated that the tax should come from the lands west of the 
Appalachian Mountains, and under no circumstances should 
the expense fall upon the treasury of the State, to be rate- 
ably borne by it. 

While this force was a great addition to the strength of 
the colonists, it was far from being adequate to the needs 
of the case. Every man able to bear arms was held in 
honor bound to turn out on instant notice and defend or 
pursue as the case might be. In the almost weekly alarms 
the volunteers were the main reliance. The State guards 
held the forts, while the inhabitants took the field in many 
cases. From the enumeration of these facts it will be readily 
seen that the burdens of the settlers were heavy enough. 

In April of this year the Indians killed Randle Gentry 
in the vicinity of Nashville (at the place where Mr. Foster 



56 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 






afterwards lived), and Curtis Williams and Thomas Fletclier 
and liis son at the mouth of Harpeth. Capt. Rains was 
ordered by Col. Robertson to pursue. He immediately 
raised sixty men and got on the trail of the marauders, 
whith led across Mill Creek ; thence to Big Harpeth ; 
thence to the fishing-ford of Duck River ; thence down 
Swan Creek to Elk River ; and thence into the barrens, and 
on as far as Flint River, within the present limits of Alabama. 
Not being able to come up with the party he there left their 
trail and turned west until he struck McCutchiu's Trace. 
This trace crossed Elk River in the neighborhood of Lati- 
tude Hill, so named by the commissioners engaged in laying 
off the lands of the Continental line of North Carolina in 
1783, who had gone there to ascertain the thirty-fifth par- 
allel of latitude. The place is within the present limits of 
Giles County. Before reaching Elk River Capt. Rains 
discovered the tracks of a party of Indians who had come 
into the trace and were marching in the direction of the 
settlements. In the neighborliood of Latitude Hill he 
found the camp which they had left in the morning. He 
halted six miles farther on and lay all night, but took the 
precaution to send forward two or three trusty men to see 
that the enemy was not suflScientty near to overhear his 
men while engaged in preparing camp. These returned and 
reported no Indians within hearing. The next morning he 
followed on, and in the afternoon came to the place where 
they had encamped the preceding night. Here they had 
cleared the ground of brush and leaves and indulged in 
their national war-dance, to properly prepare themselves 
for the bloody deeds they had in contemplation, this being 
the last place in which they could safely perform this rite, 
as another day's march would bring them too close to the 
settlements and render them liable to discovery. The In- 
dian war-dance was a strange orgie, in which they indulged 
on going and returning from war, being intended to fire the 
warrior's heart to deeds of valor and whet his appetite for 
the blood of his enemy. It began with a slow, measured 
step, accompanied by a song, which gradually increased in 
quickness until the circling mass had been wrought to the 
highest pitch of excitement, when each brave drew his 
knife and tomahawk, and addressing an imaginary foe, he 
imitated the act of striking him down to the earth and 
completing the triumph by taking his scalp. At this 
stage savage cries and yells filled the air, and the counte- 
nances of the braves, rendered more horrible by paint, ex- 
pressed all the ferocity of a real feelmg, well calculated 
to excite in the beholder sensations of awe and fear. In 
the mad excitement of the moment they often inflicted 
accidental wounds upon each other, but of this no notice 
was taken and the ofiender was not held to account even if 
death was the result. This band took due precautions 
against surprise by setting up forks around the ring, upon 
which they laid poles to rest their guns against, so as to 
have them at hand in case of need^ 

Capt. Rains and his men passed on, and crossing Duck 
River at the mouth of Elk and Fountain Creeks, encamped 
about two miles beyond. The next morning, at the dis- 
tance of six miles, they came on the Indians as they lay 
encamped upon the waters of Rutherford Creek, about 
the place where Solomon Herring afterwards lived. The 



enemy fled at the first fire and dispersed, leaving one of 
their number dead on the ground. The animating influ- 
ence of their recent war-dance vanished in the presence 
of real danger. Capt. Rains made no further pursuit and 
marched into the settlements. 

About a month after the return of this expedition Capt. 
Rains was ordered by Col. Robertson on another equally 
arduous. He was directed to scour the country to the south, 
and strike any Indians found east of the line dividing the 
Chickasaws and Cherokees. His command was composed 
of sixty men. He took and kept the Chickasaw trail, 
which was the divisional line, until he crossed Swan Creek, 
beyond Duck River, when he turned southeast towards and 
up the Tennessee River. On the second day thereafter he 
struck a fresh trail, which on close examination was ascer- 
tained to be made by five men and a boy. He followed it 
but a few miles before he overtook the party, and killed four 
of the men and captured the boy. Seven horses, besides 
blankets, guns, skins, and other property, fell into his hands. 
The scalps of the slain were taken and brought to Nashville. 
The mother of the boy was a Chickasaw and his father a 
Creek. On learning of his capture Piamingo, the Chicka- 
saw chief, interested himself, for the sake of the mother, to 
obtain his release. His son, Butterboo, had recently stolen 
a white captive away from the Creeks. He was a boy by 
the name of Naine, and had been captured by them on 
White's Creek, in this county, some time belbre. Piamingo 
now proposed an exchange, which was readily assented to 
and the transfer eifecled. The Indian boy was well dressed 
in the style of white people when he left, and promised to 
come back and see Capt. Rains, which he did about a year 
after, but he was again clad after the Indian fashion, with 
flap and blanket. 



CHAPTER XII L 

TEEATY OF HOPEWELL. 

Effects of the Treuty — Freneh and Spanish Intrigue — Complicated 
Difficulties of the Seltlers — Attack upon Ephraim and Thomas 
Peyton and Others — Character of the Pioneers for Courage and 
Endurance — Tax-List of Davidson County in 1787. 

In 1785 the progress of settlements was much retarded 
by the limitations of a treaty made with the Indians. This 
treaty, known as the treaty of Hopewell, was concluded 
Nov. 28, 1785, by commissioners on the part of the United 
States and the chiefs and head men of the Cherokee Nation 
at Hopewell, on the Keowee River, in South Carolina. 
Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Joseph Martin, and 
Lachlin Mcintosh were the United States commissioners. 

This treaty was remarkable for its futile attempt to restrict 
and drive back the progress of Anglo-American settlements. 
A land-office had been established under an act of 17.83, ex- 
tensive entries had been made, and upon many of the lands 
settlements had been inaugurated ; yet such were the powers 
and prerogatives granted to the Indians that they had the 
right to dispossess those now declared by the treaty to be 
within the bounds of the Indian Territory, and to punish all 
intruders as they might think proper. This was simply deliv- 



TREAT 5f OP HOPEWELL. 



57 



criug the settlers over to the tender mercies of savages. By 
tliis same treaty tlio Lidians were clotlied with judicial and 
executive powers of a most startling character. They could 
arrest persons whom they might deem guilty of capital 
offenses, and punish them in the presence of the Cherokees 
in the same manner as they would be punished for like 
oiFenses committed against citizens of the United States. 
More than this, one article of tlie treaty gave the Cherokees 
the right to be represented by one of their own savage 
delegates in the Congress of the United States. By this 
treaty the territory of tlie Cumberland settlers was re- 
stricted to the narrow limits east of the dividing ridge be- 
tween the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, and south of 
the Kentucky boundary to about forty miles above Nash- 
ville. The distinguislied chief, Tassel, presented a map to 
the commissioners on which those boundaries were marked, 
and they were recognized and adopted by the treaty. 

At this time the French and the Spaniards were devising 
the ruin of the Western settlements, and it is thought that 
the plan of this restriction of territory was furnished by 
the Spanish Governor. We quote two paragraphs from 
the report of the Commissioners to Congress : 

" Tlie Spaniards and the French are making groat efforts 
to engross the trade of the Indians. Several of them are 
on the north side of the Tennessee River, and well sup- 
plied with goods proper for the trade. The Governor of 
New Orleans has sent orders to the Chiekasaws to remove 
all traders from that country, except such as should take the 
oath of allegiance to the Catholic king. 

" The Cherokees say that the Northern Indians have 
their emi.ssaries among the Southern tribes, endeavoring to 
prevail with them to form an alliance offensive against the 
United States, and to commence hostilities against us in 
the spring, or next fall at the furthest; that not only the 
British emissaries are for this measure, but that the Span- 
iards have extensive claims to the southward, and have been 
endeavoring to poison the minds of the Indians against us, 
and to win their affections by large supplies of arms, mili- 
tary stores, and clothing." 

Against this combination of enemies the settlers in Cum- 
berland had to contend. The treaty had been designed to 
conciliate the Cherokees and to preserve them as a friendly, 
or at least a neutral power between the settlers and the 
Creeks, who soon began a war of extermination upon the 
Georgia colony. The ink had hardly become dry upon the 
treaty wlien depredations within the limits conceded to the 
settlers was begun by the Cherokees them.selves. They 
j killed Peter Barnet below Clarksville, on the waters of 
Blooming Grove ; killed David Steele and wounded William 
Crutcher in the same region. The story of Crutcher is 
quite romantic. The Indians had left him badly wounded, 
as they supposed mortally, with an old hunting-knife stick- 
ing in his body; but he revived, reached one of the stations, 
and lived to a good old age. Crutcher kept the knife many 
years, and probably the Indian did the same with his, which 
he took in exchange. Capt. Prince said to Crutcher one 
day, " I suppose, William, the Indians went upon the prin- 
ciple that a fair exchange is no robbery." " I am glad," 
said Crutcher, " he used his old, dull knife instead of my 
long, sharp one. I would not object to the exchange if 



he would let me stick my knife in him." "Crutcher liad 
received two gunshot wounds also, one in the side, the other 
in his thigh, from which he fell, and the Indians rushed 
upon him." Neither he nor Steele were scalped. For 
many years Crutcher was on the lookout for his " long, sharp 
knife," and for the Indian who left the old, dull one in his 
body, but he never discovered either. 

These events happened in 1786. They were followed by 
an attack upon John Peyton, a surveyor, Ephraim and 
Thomas Peyton, his brothers, Thomas Pugh, John Frazier,:'' 
and Esquire Grant, by a large band of Cherokees, in Feb- 
ruary of the same year. We condense the account from 
several histories of this period. The party of white men 
having killed much game, encamped for the night at a place 
since called " Defeated Creek," near the line between Smith 
and Jackson Counties. The Indians were sixty in number, 
under Hanging-Maw, a Cherokee chief The party of hun- 
ters or surveyors were fatigued, and were lying upon the 
ground around their camp-fire, their horses being fastened 
near by. It was Sunday night ; they had given some part 
of the evening to playing cards ; their dogs and horses gave 
some intimations of danger, but the tired hunters con- 
eluded that wild animals — wolves — were attracted by the 
meat of the camp, and that there could be no other enemy 
near. Therefore they " chunked up their fire," and laid them- 
selves down again, John Peyton " leaning on his elbow near 
the fire hissing on the dogs." Suddenly the Indians fired 
a volley upon them, wounding four of the six men in camp. 
As John Peyton sprang to his feet he had the forethought 
to throw his blanket over the fire, thus to give him and his 
party a better chance of escape in the intense darkness. 
The whole party fled, escaping through the Indian lines. 
They oast their blankets from them and each fled his own 
way through the woods, bareheaded and without shoes. 
They were seventy miles from Bledsoe's Station, the ground 
was covered with snow, and yet each of these men, after 
several days' wandering, arrived at the station and recovered 
from their wounds and exposure. 

John Peyton was shot through the arm and shoulder, 
Thomas Peyton through the thigh, Frazier through the 
leg, and Grant through the knee. Ephraim Peyton and 
Pugh escaped without a wound, but Peyton, in jumping 
down the bank to cross the creek, sprained his ankle very 
badly, and lay for some time in agony. Crawling along on 
the ground, he found a stick which answered the place of 
a staff" to support and aid him in hobbling along. He was 
thus several days suffering and laboring to reach the white 
settlement, and was the last of the party to come in. All 
the others arrived, one at a time, each reporting the rest 
killed. John Peyton sent a message the next year to the 
chief that he might retain the horses, blankets, saddles, guns, 
etc., if he would return the compass and chain, to which 
he received reply : " You, John Peyton, ran away like a 
coward and left all your property ; and as for your Jand- 
stca/er" (the compass), " I have broken that against a tree." 

We clo.se our sketch of the pioneers with the following 
eulogy from the pen of one who knew and understood 
their character, and rightly estimated the value of their 
achievements: 

" Their remote, inland position exempted them from 



58 



HISTOEY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



much of the malign influence of the emissaries of England 
and France, but their exposure to Spanish and Indian 
jealousy and hatred combined was greater than that endured 
by any other portion of the country. Had the three hun- 
dred pioneers who came to the Cumberland in the winter 
and spring of 17S0 crossed the Atlantic and selected their 
liomes in the deuseness of a forest among wild beasts and 
hostile savages, two to four hundred miles from other snndl 
settlements of civilized men, there to endure hardship, there 
to lay the foundations of a great State, the voyage, the 
enterprise, its men, measures, and results would interest 
the historian, the orator, and the poet. It was a great 
■work which these emigrants undertook, — tliey endured more 
than the dangers of the sea; they suffered a thousandfold 
more than they anticipated, — and great and penetrating as 
may have been their gaze into the fafure, and extensive and 
glorious as may have been the hopes of improvement and 
power to result from what they did, they could not have 
conceived of one ten-thousandth part of what even some of 
their children now see and enjoy." 

Names of persons who were in Davidson County in 1787, 
being the first year in which the tax on land and polls was 
taken, being (white) males over twenty-one years three 
hundred and seventy- two, and blacks one hundred and five 
between twelve and sixty years old y^ 



Armstrong, William... 

Audeiaon, Ilunrj' 

Allurd, liarcly 

Armstrong, Kraneis.... 

IJradsliaw, II 

]Jo>Ies,, 11 

Uoyers, 11 

Berry, William.: 

Uaker, Nicholas 

llaker, llcubcn 

Uakor, A 

IJorin, B 

Uorin, John 

Lorin, \\'illiam 

Loyd, James 

Uell, Ilugb 

Ijushnell, 

Uaker, Joshua 

Boyd, Julin 

Busier, James 

Bell, John 

Brown, Thomas 

Butcher, G 

Barrow, John., , 

Brown, \Villiam 

Blair, Thomas 

Buchanan, Samuel 

Byrnes, .]auies 

Buchanan, .John 

BoWiin, Thomas 

Bradford, Henry 

Buchanan, Archibald- 
Burnett, llobcrl 

Blackauiore, John 

Blackamorc, William.. 
Blackamore, Thomas.. 
Blackamore, George... 

Boyd, Andrew , 

Bodey, William 

Boyd, John , 

Cart Wright, J 

Crow, I) 

Coourod, N 

Cooper, James 

Crane, John 

Crawlord, George 

Carr, Robert 

Contcs, C 

Cain, Jesse 

Comstoek, Thomas 

Crutcher, Thomas 

Crutcher, William 

Gastlemau, Jacob 



Casselman, Andrew 

Clai k, Lardner 

Casselm;in, John 

Cassclman, Benjamin 

Cox, Thonia-'^ 

Coekrill, John 

Cox, John 

Cox, Phenix 

Carnahan, A 

Connor, William 

Canyer, AViJliam 

Cartwright, Robert 

Cochran, John 

Craighead, Thomas B 

Donaldson, Jacob.. 

Duncan, M 

Duncan, John 

Dclaney, James 

Dodge, Richard 

Duncan, William 

Duncan, Samuel and John ... 

Donaldson, James 

Duncan, D 

Drake, Benjamin 

D rak C;, Job n 

Drake, Benjamin, Jr 

Donaldson, William 

Donaldson, John 

Dcnnings, Robert 

Exhearf, D 

E wing, Andrew 

Ewing, Alexander 

Euman, E 

Evan, Jesse 

Edmonston, William, John, 
Robert, and Robert (2dj. 

Evanf^, John 

Es|iv, James 

Elliot, Falkner 

Elliott, 

E razor, John 

Flancy, Dauicl 

Eord, Isaac, Lewis, John 

Frceland, Samuel 

Foster, James 

Frazer, Daniel 

French, Thomas 

Gilliland, Hugh 

Guise, Charles and John 

(libson, John 

Gramer, John 

Grant, Squire 

Gallaspy, William 



- The figures indicate the taxable number in each family. 



Gentry, John 1 

Geter, Arijolag 1 

Glares, Michael , 1 

Guify, Alexander and Henry.. 2 

Ilogan, Daniel 1 

llarrod, Barnard. 

'l^Iardin, M 

Hooper, William. 
Hooper, Absalom, 



, David, 1.. 



1 

1 

1 

7 

ITall, James 1 

Handley, S 1 

Huston, Ben 1 

Hardin, B 1 

Hogan, II r" 

Henrv. Hugh and Isaac 2 

Hay,'Davia 3 

Hodge, F 1 

Harmand, Anthony 1 

Hampton, A 3 

Howard, John 1 

Hollis, James, John, .Joshua, 

Samuel 4 

Heaton, Robert and Amosi 5 

Hinds, William, Hamilton, 

James, and Thomas 3 

Harrold, Robert 1 

Hays, Robert -i 

Hope, John 1 

Hannah, Jos 2 

llornberger, Phil 1 

Harris, James 1 

lior, M 1 

Jones, James and John 2 

■James, Daniel and Edward... 2 

James, Tbiima? 7 

Joslin, Ben 1 

Johns, Richard 1 

Johnston, Williaui 1 

Kirkpatrick, John 3 

Kennedy, Robert 1 

Love, Joseph 1 

Loggans, William 1 

Lewis, Thomas and Hugh 2 

Lcnicr, James and Henry 4 

Lucas, Andrew 1 

Lyles, Hugh 1 

Long, William 1 

Lancaster, Jno,, 2 and Wm., I. 3 

Lynn, Adam 1 

Lindsay, James 1 

Lupcr, John 1 

Martin, Joseph 1 

Marshall, William 1 

iMcAllirtcr, James 1 

Mears, AVilliam 1 

McNight, AViUiam 1 

McFarland. John 1 

Motheral, John 1 

Mitchell. William 2 

I\laylield, Isaac 1 

jMaishall, John I 

McGowan, vSamuel 1 

McDowell. John 1 

McNight. Hubert 1 

Moore, William 1 

Marlin, Archibald 1 

McCarty, Jacob I 

McAntosh, Bon 1 

Miller, Isaac 1 

McAntosh, Thos. and Chas.... 2 

jMurdoch, John I 

Martin, Samuel 2 

McCain, Thomas 1 

McFarland, Thomas 1 

Maclin, William 7 

McGough. John 1 

Molloy, Thomas 3 

Miniss, Bvn I 

Moore, Alexander 1 

McWhisler, William 1 

Marlin, Archibald 1 

McCutchen, Patrick, Samuel, 

and James -. 3 



McSpadden 

Murry, Thomas 

jMcLanc, Ephraim 

McLane, Ephraim {2d).. 



HI 
1 



McFadden, Jas., 
McFarlin.^Jamcs, 

McSea, John 

Nobles, Mark 

Neal, Thomas.... 
Nash, William..., 

Kusam, Jonas 2 

Meely, Isaac 2 

Kcvilles, George 4 

Owens, Charles and Arthur 2 

Oglesby, John 1 

O'NcaYl, Jonathan 2 

__0\'erali, Nathaniel and Wm... 2 

Prince, Francis 

Phillips, John..-..,., 

Pennington, Jacob -I 

Pirtle, George 1 

Payne, Matthew, George, and 

Josiah 3 

Peterson. Isaac 1 

Pollock, William B.. ,1 

Pennington, Isaac 3 

Prochman, Phil 1 

Ruland, Lewis I 

Ray, Stephen 1 

llounscvall, David. Isaac, and 

Josiah .' 3 

Robertson, Alex 2 

Robertson, M. and Mark 2 

Ralston, David 1 

Ramsey, AVilliani 1 

Reckner, Coonrod 1 

Roberts, Isaac I 

Reed, Alexander I 

Robertson, Elijah 6 

Robertson, Richard 1 

Robertson, James S 

Ramscj', Josiah 2 

Ross, James I 

Stuart, William 1 

Shaw, Joseph, William, and 

James 3 

Shannon, Samuel, William, 

and David 3 

Shoat, Isaac 1 

Standley, David, Joseph, and 

John 3 

Smothers, A 1 

Sj.iles, W... 1 

Singleton, St. John I 

Smith, Jesse and Ezekiel 2 

Stump, Frederick 4 

Stnui]), Frederick, Jr 1 

Shannon, John 1 

Steel, Andrew 1 

Sutton, M 1 

Stull, Zacbariah 1 

Scott, James 1 

Swanson, Edward t 

Sides, P 2 

Shelby, Evan 4 

Thom[)son, Azariah 4 

Thompson, Thomas, Laurence, 

and Anilrew 3 

Taylor, Thomas 1 

Thomas, John, William, Isaac, 

John 4 

Tillsfortb, Isaac 3 

Thompson, Charles, James, 

Robert 3 

Taitt, William I 

Titus, Ebenezer 1 

Todd, James 1 

Tennin, H. and James , 2 

Walker, Samuel, John, Phil... 3 

Walker, John 2 

Wells, H 1 

Winter.^, C. and M 2 

AVatIa.ee. Samuel 1 

Willis, James 1 

Williamson, James 3 

Williams, Dan and Daniel 2 

Williams, Sampson 1 

Williams, William - 2 

Woolard, Isaac 1 

White, Solomon 1 

AVilcocks, Samuel 6 



Dates when following persons first appear as tax-payers: 



Hard i man 17SS 

Hickman I7SS 

Hardins 17SS 

Charles Gordon 17S9 

Robert Weakley 17S9 



Andrew and John McNairy 17U4 

John Nichols 

Bennet Searev 

William Polk". ]79o> 

William Pillow 1795 



Jas. an-l David McGavock.. 17S9 >,.Gideon Pillow 1797 

John Overton 1794 \ 



THE COLDWATER EXPEDITION, JUNE, 1787. 



59 



C H A P T E II XIV. 

THE COLD'WATEE EXPEDITIOBT, JUKTE, 1787. 

French Trnders at Tudian Towns on the Tennessee — Nieknjack, Run- 
uing Water, and Coldwater, settled by the Indians — Their Design 
to Destroy the White Settlers on the Cumberland — Expedition to 
Coldwater — Suecessful Capture and Destruction of t'lc Indians — 
Noble' Character of Piamiiigo — Incidents of the Return of the Sol- 
diers — History of the Water Expedition — Successful Shooting- 
Parties-^Contest with Rig-Foot. 

In con.sequeneo of a treaty held with the Southern In- 
dians at Nashville in June, 1783, by commissioners on part 
of Virginia, and that of Hopewell, Nov. 28, 1785, there 
was a marked abatement of hostility on the part of the 
Cherokees. The treaty of Nashville stood on the same 
footing with that of Col. Henderson in 1774, known as 
the Transylvania treaty ; that is, the general government 
did not recognize the authority of a State to make a treaty 
with an Indian tribe, as it claimed a paternal and protecting 
relation to these people. The first President took upon 
himself the title that the kings of England had borne 
in their dealings with them, — that of the " Great Father." 
While many of the provisions of the treaty of Nashville were 
confirmed at Hopewell, yet large concessions had been made 
to the Cherokees, and recession of boundaries which had 
been confirmed to North Carolina in the most solemn man- 
ner and for which they had received a stipulated price.. Col. 
Robertson was much opposed to the selection of Nashville as 
the treaty -ground, and a majority of the stationers on the 
south side of the Cumberland joined with him ; but the 
question being submitted to a vote of all the stations, it was 
carried in the aiBrmative by the decisive vote of Eaton's, 
which was fifty-four for and one against the proposition. The 
objection to having the treaty held here was that it would 
admit a large body of Indians to the midst of the settle- 
ment and disclose the weakness of the whites. Eaton's, 
being protected in a measure by the river, felt more se- 
curity, and consequently was not so solicitous. However, 
everything passed off very well, the treaty having been held 
four miles northwest of Nashville, at the place afterwards 
selected by Gen. Robertson as his residence, and well 
known to a later generation as the Nashville Camp-Ground. 
There is no account of the tribes represented. The Chero- 
kees and Chickasaws were present, but probably no Creeks, 
or at least an insignificant representation. Those present 
expressed themselves as well pleased, particularly with Col. 
Robertson, who was a person calculated to strike the Indian 
fancy of a great man and leader in an eminent degree. The 
gathering undoubtedly had a good effect, as it was followed 
by some abatement of the outrages that had marked the 
previous years. Still, murders did occur occasionally and 
horses were stolen, but the settlers breathed freer, and by 
the year 1785 stations had extended as far up the Cumber- 
land on the north side as Bledsoe's Lick, now Castilian 
Springs. Yet a sense of security was never felt, and con- 
stant vigilance and the practice of measures dictated by 
experience doubtless saved many lives. 

Gradually, however, matters became worse. There was 
an impUcatwn in the treaty of Hopewell that the Cumber- 
land settlers were intniders, — a squinting towards disown- 



raont on the part of the government of an interest in their 
welfare and success. This want of firmness had a bad influ- 
ence on the evilly-disposed Indians, and cost both parties to 
the conflict dearly in the end. The chastisements inflicted 
upon the Chickamauga towns by Sevier had driven a number 
of these people to take shelter farther down the river in 
places of greater security. Thus the towns at Nickajack 
and Running Water were formed. Later on a small party 
of Cherokees established themselves at Coldwater, where 
Tuscumbia, Ala., now stands. Here they were discovered 
by the Creeks, who came to their assistance and added 
much to their strength. At this time the French traders 
on the Wabash resorted to the waters of the Tennessee, 
and while a Blonsieur Veiz managed the trade he seems 
to have acted prudently and without any disposition to stir 
up hostilities with the whites; but on the establishment 
of the band of lawless Creeks and Cherokees at Coldwater 
a half-dozen or more French traders resorted to the place, 
and being anxious to increase their trade, oflFered various 
inducements to them to encourage them to acts of war. They 
kept large supplies of ammunition, guns, tomahawks, and 
knives, which they could dispose of readily at exorbitant 
prices to the surrounding Indians, who for the most part 
were indifferently armed. The existence of this town was 
unknown to the settlers for several years, though they had 
often wondered why predatory bands for the most part re- 
treated ip a westerly direction ; and they were disposed for 
this rettson to suspect the fidelity of the Chickasaws. At 
length two 3'oung Chickasaw warriors while on a hunt 
came unexpectedly on this village. They remained all 
night, and were treated in a friendly manner. The vil- 
lagers informed those young men that their object in set- 
tling there was to strike the Cumberland settlers with 
greater facility, as the situation seemed to afi'ord a safer 
retreat with a wide river intervening. 

On the return of the Chickasaws to their nation they 
infiirmed Piamingo, or the mountain leader, the head chief 
and firm ally of the whites, of their discovery, and he sent 
them immediately to Nashville to acquaint Col. Robertson 
with the fact, at the same time expressing the opinion that 
policy required that this band should be broken up at once. 
Their arrival was most opportune, for a short time before, 
in May, Mark Robertson, a brother of the colonel, had been 
killed after a desperate defense near the latter's residence, 
while about the same time a number of persons had been 
butchered at the stations in Sumner County on the north 
side of the i-iver, among them old man Price, his wife, and 
children, at Hendrick's Station ; Capt. Charles Morgan, old 
man Gibson, Maj. William Hall and two sons, James and 
Richard, and young Hickerson, near Bledsoe's : and old man 
Morgan, at Morgan's Station, besides others. The weight 
of grievauce was now too hard to bear, and when it bceanic 
knowi), through the friendly ofiBces of the Chickasaws, who 
were the authors and where they could be found with 
certainty, the settlers clamored with one voice for vengeance, 
and renounced any further obligations to observe treaty 
stipulations which forbade expeditions into the Indian 
country unless duly authorized by the government. They 
thereupon determined to carry the war into the enemy's 
country, and for this purpose one hundred and thirty men 



60 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNIT, TENNESSEE. 



from the different stations collected in the neighborhood of 
Nashville early in June, armed and equipped with supplies 
of powder and bullets and wallets of dried meat and parched 
corn. Col. Robertson took command, assisted by Lieut. - 
Cols. Robert Hays and James Ford. Among the number 
was Capt. John Rains' company of spies or scouts, a body 
■which for efficiency in border warfare was never surpassed. 
The Chickasaws offered their services as guides, which were 
gladly accepted. In fact, their services could not have been 
■well dispensed with. None of the whites had penetrated 
in that direction farther than fifty or sixty miles, and a 
knowledge of the country beyond the Tennessee was essen- 
tial to make the blow effective. A raw-hide boat was pre- 
pared beforehand to carry over the arms when they readied 
the river, but on the representations of the guides it was 
expected that Indian boats could be obtained, as some were 
usually kept tied to the farther bank. To provide, how- 
ever, against any mishap from this source a detachment 
was organized to go by water, consisting of three large 
canoes under the command of David Hay and iMoses Shelby. 
This was to descend the Cumberland to the Ohio, and thence 
up the Tennessee to a crossing since known as Colbert's 
Ferry, where, if necessary, the land force could repair in 
case of necessity and effect a safe passage. The boats also 
Carried some extra supplies, and were considered useful for 
the comfortable conveyance of any persons who might be- 
come disabled by wounds or sickness. All things being in 
readiness the land force marched into Nashville from its 
rendezvous four miles to the northwest, afterwards known 
as the residence of Gen. Robertson, and also as the "Nash- 
ville Camp-Ground." The object was to afford friends who 
had collected from the surrounding stations an opportunity 
to bid the adventurous band good-by. It was a most dan- 
gerous mission, but all felt the importance of its successful 
execution. Indeed, there was a general rejoicing that an 
opportunity had occurred for retaliatory measures, and that 
Col. Robertson, the commandant, had taken the responsi- 
bility of ordering the movement. 

It was calculated that the expedition by water, though 
following a long and circuitous route, could reach its desti- 
nation by the time the land force would be able to penetrate to 
the same point through the cane brakes and thickets which 
would bar its progress continually, and both therefore started 
the same day. The route of the army is thus described by 
Haywood : " They crossed the mouth of South Harpeth ; 
thence they went a direct course to the mouth of Turn- 
bull's Creek ; thence up the same to the head, and thence 
to Lick Creek of Duck River ; thence down the creek seven 
or eight miles, leaving the creek to the right hand ; thence 
to an old lick as large as a corn-field ; thence to Duck River 
where the old Chickasaw crossed it ; thence, leaving the 
trace to the right hand, they went to the head of Swan 
Creek, on the south side of Duck River ; thence to a creek 
running into the Tennessee River, which the troops called 
Blue Water, and which ran into the Tennessee about a 
mile and a half above the lower end of the Muscle Shoals; 
they left this creek on the left baud." The route was very 
devious, and rendered difficult by the avoidance, at the sug- 
gestion of the Chickasaw guides, of the trails upon which 
their advance might be detected by straggling parties of the 



enemy. It seems, however, that these precautions failed of 
their purpose, for one of the prisoners captured at Cold- 
water, a French trader, informed Col. Robertson that the 
Indians had been councilling for three days at the instiga- 
tion of a principal Creek chief, and had unanimously agreed 
to fight the whites if they crossed the river. In fact Col. 
Robertson, in his official report of the expedition, made to 
Governor Caswell, distinctly states that while in the vicinity 
of Muscle Shoals some Indians discovered him and fired 
upon his back picket, which alarmed a small town of Cher- 
okees. This town was on the opposite side of the river at 
the crossing. This clearly indicates that they had informa- 
tion of their purpose. It is cjuite probable that they even 
knew of the expedition by water, for this was met at the 
mouth of Duck River and fired upon, without doubt by a 
party from this village evidently there in observation. 

AVlien the army reached within ten miles of the river 
the roaring of the rapids induced them to believe that it 
was near at hand, and a halt was made. One of the guides 
with two or three active men were ordered forward to 
reconnoitre, but they returned about midnight with the 
information that the river was yet too distant for them to 
reach in time to return that night. In the morning the 
march was resumed, and at twelve o'clock the troops 
struck the river at the lower end of the Muscle Shoals. 
Here they concealed themselves to await the approach of 
night.' Several spies were dispatched to take post in the cave 
at the water's edge and make ob.scrvations. Some cabins 
were seen on the opposite bank, but from the absence of crow- 
ing of cocks and barking of dogs it was justly concluded that 
they were not inhabited at that time. During the afternoon 
two Indians were observed cautiously approaching the river- 
bank on the other side, and from their movements it was evi- 
dent that they were on the lookout for the whites. Not dis- 
covering anything indicating a hostile presence, they waded 
to an island near their side, and unloosing a canoe paddled 
out into the river, as if with the intention of crossing, 
but on reaching the middle of the stream they aban- 
doned the boat to the current, while they plunged in and 
disported themselves for some time in the water. They 
then recovered the canoe, and paddling back to their own 
side disappeared up the bank. From this it was plain that 
their suspicions had not been excited. On report of these 
facts to Col. Robertson he determined to cross the river 
that night by some means, and he therefore dispatched 
a messenger to Capt. Rains, who had been sent up the 
river, to return. That officer had been ordered in the 
morning to take the broad buffalo trail up the river to look 
for canoes, and if possible to capture an Indian alive. On 
his return he reported no indication of an Indian settlement 
in that quarter. At dusk the entire force was congregated 
at the river-bank, with instructions to observe the utmost 
quietude. Col. Robertson now called for volunteers to 
swim the river, which was spread out fully a mile at this 
point, and bring back the canoe. Joshua Thomas offered 
his services if any one would go with him. At that in- 
stant a plunge was heard in the water, and the colonel 
asked "Who is that?" " Edmond Jennings," was the 
reply of a by-stander. lie and Thomas were inseparable 
on the hunt or scout, and when the latter proposed to swim 



THE COLDWATER EXPEDITION, JUNE, 1787. 



61 



tlie river he plunged in without further ceremonj'. Thomas 
followed, and they soon disappeared in the darkness. Jen- 
nings, who, by the way, was one of the most remarkable 
characters of that day, in telling the circumstances years 
afterwards, said that he got bothered in the darkness and 
swam a long time without making much headway ; but, 
said he, " I finerly tuck a stair to course by, and landed on 
the other side." Thomas also made the passage safely. 

After making an exploration of the cabins, which were 
indeed deserted, they entered the canoe to return ; it was 
very old and leaky, and one had to bail the water out con- 
stantly to keep it from sinking. In fact, they made so 
much noise on their return that some of their comrades on 
shore insisted on firing upon them for Indians. Putnam 
and Haywood speak of seven persons being engaged in 
swimming the river for the canoe, but Capt. Rogan, who 
liad the story from the actors and from Jennings himself, 
mentions only the names given. In order to stop the leaks 
some of the men took ofi' articles of clothing, which they 
stuffed in the cracks and endeavored to hold in place with 
their feet. Forty persons got in or clung to the sides of 
the boat, and it was started, but after proceeding a short 
distance the water rushed in so rapidly that a number of 
them had to deposit their guns and ammunition and leap 
overboard in order to lighten the craft enough to got it back 
to land. The woods were searched and some pieces of bark 
secured, with which the cracks were at length stopped. This 
occasioned so much delay that it was daylight before the 
first load got over. These were posted to advantage, and 
the boat started on its return, but the successful landing of 
the first detachment now aroused such a spirit of emulation 
that the remainder, having daylight to guide them, now 
plunged in on their horses, or swimming alongside, and 
passed over without accident. The arms and ammunition 
were pushed over in the raw-hide boat brought from Nash- 
ville for the purpose. Col. Robertson's invading army now 
presented a singular spectacle. When they landed tlie men 
stripped off their wet garments and, hanging them out to 
dry in the sun, wandered about on the beach en disliahUle. 
A shower having come on, the troops resorted to the cabins, 
where they dressed and made preparations to mount as soon 
as the rain was over. From the cabins a plain path led 
through the open woods in a westerly direction. This the 
army took and followed at a brisk pace for five or sis miles, 
when they came to some corn-fields about two miles from 
the village, as the guides informed tlicm. There they 
made a slight change of course to strike directly for the 
town, which was on the opposite side of a creek formed by 
the water from a large limestone spring, and called by the 
Indians Coldwater. On reaching the slope loading down 
to the creek, about three hundred yards, speed was increased 
to a gallop in order to give the enemy no time to prepare 
for resistance. On account of the narrowness of the path 
at the crossing, which would admit only one horseman at 
the farther bank, the onset was hindered somewhat, which 
prevented the troops from arriving in the village in a body 
and doing more execution at this point. As it was, no halt 
was made by those in front for their comrades to come up, 
and the village was entered in this order. The enemy, 
having got notice by the thunder of the horses' feet, made 



no offer of resistance, and fled mostly to their canoes, which 
were moored at the mouth of the creek. The Chiokasaws 
had suggested to Col. Robertson tliat the enemy would in 
all probability endeavor to escape to their canoes, and he 
had detached Capt. Rains, Benjamin Castlenian, William 
Loggins, William Steele, Blorton Duncan, and one of the 
guides to a point on the creek opposite their canoes to in- 
tercept their retreat in this direction. Blany of the fugi- 
tives, in their effort to escape from the main body, crossed 
the creek to where Capt. Rains' men were posted on the' 
bank, and while looking back were fired upon at the dis- 
tance of a hvi paces. Three of them dropped dead, and 
the rest continued their flight to the canoes, which were 
now being rapidly filled and pushed out into the river. 

At this juncture the main body of whites appeared at 
the bank and opened a destructive fire upon the crowded 
boats. Edmond Jennings, who was mounted on a wild 
young mare which ran away with him, was the first to 
reach the place. He leaped to the ground and gettin"- a 
raking shot at a boat with John Buchanan's fowling-piece, 
a famous gun in that day, killed three warriors, when the 
rest plunged into the water and attempted to save them- 
selves by swimming and diving. The pursuit was so hard 
and close from the village, the men having been informed 
beforehand of the probable direction the enemy would take, 
that few of the latter escaped in this quarter, nearly all 
being killed in the water. The number was not ascertained 
at the time, but the Creeks confessed to the Chickasaws 
afterwards that they had lost twenty-six warriors. Three 
of the French traders and a white woman in their company 
were also killed. Among the slain was the principal Creek 
chief and also a Cherokee chief Their force consisted of 
ten Creek and thirty-five Cherokee warriors and nine 
Frenchmen, chiefly from Detroit. The principal trader 
and owner of the goods was wounded and taken prisoner, 
along with five other traders. A large stock of goods was 
captured, consisting of taffia, sugar, coffee, cloths, blankets, 
Indian wares of all kinds, salt, shot, paints, knives, powder, 
tomahawks, tobacco, and other articles of traffic. But one 
or two Indian women were taken, and it was surmised from 
this that the families had been sent off in anticipation of 
the whites crossing. Putnam suggests that men of this 
character would not have fiimilies, or at least not keep them 
in a place like this. The fact that they cultivated the 
ground goes to prove that there were women among them, 
for on these fall work of this kind, being scorned by a 
brave as beneath the dignity of his occupation, which was 
to hunt and go to war. 

After the dispersion of the enemy all of the personal 
property in the cabins was tlirown out for the use of the 
women and children in case they were lurking in the cane 
near by. The huts were then consumed by fire. All of 
the fowls and some hogs in a pen were killed. The boats, 
three excellent ones, were collected in the creek opposite 
the village, where they were loaded with the captured 
goods and placed under guard during the night. The 
troops encamped near the ruins, but on the opposite side 
of the creek. The next morning arrangements were com- 
pleted for the return of the troops. It having been 
decided to send the property and prisoners by water to 



62 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Nashville, Jonathan Denton, Benjamin Drake, and John 
and Moses Eskridge were put in charge of the necessary 
crews. The Eskridges had a small canoe tied on to their 
own. The prisoners consisted of five Frenchmen, a squaw, 
the wife of one of the traders, and a child. The white 
men and the woman killed were buried. A new route, at 
the suggestion of the Chiekasaws, was selected for the 
return home. The boats were ordered to drop slowly down 
the river to a certain crossing indicated by the Chiekasaws, 
and await the arrival of tlie troops for the purpose of 
ferrying them over. The march home from that point 
was ascertained to be more direct and easy of accomplish- 
ment. The route pursued down the river was very cir- 
cuitous and led the army much farther off from the boats 
than was intended, and prevented them reaching their 
destination that day. They then turned a course towards 
the river, and on reaching it discovered some persons on 
an island, who on being reconnoitred proved to be the 
boatmen. They all proceeded over the river to a point 
where the approaches on either side were easy and con- 
Tenient, the place being now known as Colbert's Ferry. 
The two Chiekasaws, who had rendered such invaluable 
services to the expedition, here left for their homes. Each 
of them was presented with a horse, bridle, and saddle, a 
rifle, and as many goods as he could pack, at which they 
were greatly delighted. The Chiekasaws after their treaty 
proved the firm friends and allies of the whites, and they 
boasted with pride that their nation had never shed the 
blood of an American. Their chief, Piamiugo, was a man 
of great intelligence and dignity of character, and managed 
the aflairs of his people with much shrewdness and ability. 
On a visit to the seat of government he was received with 
great respect by President Washington, who entertained a 
high opinion of his character and abilities. 

The troops succeeded in crossing the river without much 
difiiculty, on account of the accessibility of the bunks at 
this point. Here it was deemed advisable to get rid of the 
incumbrance of the prisoners. They were accordingly given 
the light canoe, into which their trunks and clothing were 
packed, with a plentiful supply of provisions, and ordered 
to return up the river. They were greatly elated at such 
an easy deliverance, and set out at once. The stock of 
sugar and coffee that remained was equally divided among 
the troops, and the dry goods and other captured articles 
securely packed in the boats, with directions to be landed 
and stored at Eaton's for sale and division. The land force 
of the expedition now started on its return home, taking a 
due north course until it reached the path leading into the 
Chickasaw old crossing of Duck River. It had been ab- 
sent nineteen days and had not lost a man killed or wounded. 

As the boats were on their return they met five French 
traders ascending the river. When the latter came in sight 
they fired off their guns as a feu, de joie, thinking they 
were meeting friends. The Cumberlanders made ready 
their guns, and laying alongside of the traders' boats took 
them prisoners before they could recover from their aston- 
ishment. Their boats being loaded with articles contraband 
of war, the owners were required to return as prisoners. 
On reaching a point a few miles below Nashville they were 
offered their choice of proceeding on to a trial for the re- 



covery of their goods or being set at liberty without them. 
They chose the latter course, and being furnished with a 
light canoe they departed down the river. France and the 
United States being on terms of amity. Col. Robertson 
thought it necessary to make an explanation to the repre- 
sentative of the former power, then in command of a post 
in the Illinois country. He accordingly wrote to that func- 
tionary a letter, in. which he defined very clearly the prin- 
ciples of international law governing such cases. He recited 
the grievances which his people had suffered from the sav- 
ages, who were instigated to acts of war and supplied with 
munitions by the traders who had resided at Coldwater 
for several years past, of which he had ample proof, and 
upon which he rested his vindication of the treatment they 
had received at his hands in the late expedition. They 
had imprudently put themselves in the battle at that place, 
and some of thom fell. As to the capture of the traders as- 
cending the river, he declared that they had supplies for the 
purpose of trading with the very Indians with whom the 
settlers were then at war, and the seizure of their persons 
and goods, though without his express order, was clearly 
justifiable; that he was endeavoring to collect the goods, 
and if the owners could prove that they were not guilty of 
a breach of the laws, and did not intend to furnish the In- 
dians with powder, lead, and other goods for the destruction 
of the Cumberland settlers, they could recover the same on 
application at Nashville. He closed by declaring that 
any traders who furnished these Indians with arms and 
ammunition at a time when they were in a state of hostility 
with his people would render themselves very insecure. 
Here the matter dropped, and never, as (ar as the writer is 
aware, formed the subject of a diplomatic correspondence 
between the two governments. 

It remains now to notice the history of tlie expedition 
that left Nashville by water to co-operate with the land 
force. It had the same bright prospects, and promised the 
voyagers a modicum only of the hardships in prospect for 
the other, but this did not save it from an unfortunate and 
tragical issue. The boats descended the Cumberland with 
great rapidity, although the waters were low, but on enter- 
ing the Tennessee the weather was so calm that the sails, 
upon which they had based some expectation of increased 
speed, proved of no use. They proceeded, however, with 
oars and poles, and had reached the mouth of Duck River, 
when their attention was drawn to a canoe tied to the bank 
a short distance up that stream. Captain Shelby, who com- 
manded one of the boats, deemed it advisable to investigate 
the matter before proceeding farther. He thereupon turned 
into that stream, and had reached to within a few yards of 
the canoe when a dreadful volley was poured into the crew 
from a body of Indians concealed in the thick cane that 
lined the bank. Josiah Ren froe was shot through the head, 
Hugh Rogau (misprinted Roqueriiig by Haywood and not 
corrected by subsequent historians) and John Topp through 
the body, and Edward Hogan through the arm, fracturing 
the bone ; five others were also slightly wounded by the same 
fire. The surprise and consternation of the crew were so 
great that it was with much difficulty that the boat could 
be got back into the main channel, but this was at length 
accomplished before the enemy could reload and fire again. 



THE COLDWATER EXPEDITION, JUNE, 1787. 



The several boats now collected in the middle of the 
liver and counseled as to their future movements. Their 
presence being now discovered, they would be placed at 
great disadvantage ascending against the current, as the 
enemy could easily outstrip them and fire upon them from 
chosen positions, against which they had no protection. 
They decided therefore to return to Nashville. As to the 
manner of their return there is some confusion in the ac- 
counts of writers. All of these except Carr state that they 
returned by the route they came. Carr, who is very trust- 
worthy on matters of pioneer history, on account of his 
connection with most of the events of which he treats, 
says that Capt. Shelby abandoned his boat, and that the 
crew marched through the wildernesa to Nashville. This 
is undoubtedly the fiict, for the writer has conversed with 
the family of Mr. Eogan, who was one of Shelby's crew 
and who was shot through the lungs, and they confirm the 
statement. The crews of the other boats may have pro- 
ceeded by water, but it is quite probable that they all acted 
in conjunction in a case like this, where it would be im- 
politic to have any division of strength, especially when 
Shelby's crew needed and required assistance to make sure 
of its march home through tlio d.ingcrs of the wilderness. 
The journey by water was, if anything, more diflicult, and 
ihe open boats afforded very little protection against attack, 
as had just been demonstrated. The backwoodsman wanted 
the shelter of a tree when he fought, and freedom of move- 
ment, which he could not obtain in the confined space of a 
Canoe. 

Of the wounded, Renfroe died before he left the boat. 
It was a singular circumstance in his ease that though he 
was shot through the brain he still retained the use of some 
of his faculties. The crew had been spearing fish with 
sharpened canes, and as they proceeded on water for some 
time after the repulse, Renfroe sat upright in the bow of 
the bout and speared at real or imaginary fish until ho died ; 
but it is quite probable the act was a phase of " unconscious 
cerebration," in which he repeated the train of ideas that 
was dominant in his mind up to within a fevf moments of 
the reception of his injury. Rogan was an Irishman of 
superlative courage and strength of will, and though he 
was shot through one lung he not only marched home 
without assistance but carried his gun and accoutrements. 
But the men of that day possessed in an eminent degree 
the hardihood and tenacity of life which distinguish the 
lower animals in their eflbrts at self-preservation. Such 
men as Edmond Jennings and Josh Thomas could swim 
icy rivers in mid-winter without injury or much bodily 
discomfort. 

It should have been stated in proper chronological order 
that Col. Robertson had in the spring of this year, in eon- 
sequence of the depredations committed about that time, 
marched a body of men " near the Chickamaugas," ac- 
cording to his oiEcial report of the Coldwater expedition 
previously mentioned. He imputed these murders to the 
Indians at that place, not having learned at that time of the 
existence of the Coldwater town. After his arrival he 
thought it best to avoid an open war, and returned without 
doing them any mischief, leaving them a letter containing 
every offer of peace that could be made on honorable terms. 



After his return they sent a flag to treat, but he put no 
confidence in their sincerity, as several persons were killed 
during their stay, and one man at his house in their sight. 
They imputed the murders to the Creeks, but were not 
believed at the time, as they gave no hint of the existence 
of the Coldwater town. 

In the month of September of this year, 1787, Capt. 
Rains' company of spies was again ordered out to scour the 
country to the south, being joined at Nashville by Capt. 
Shannon's company of sixty men, the whole under com- 
mand of Capt. Rains. They crossed Duck River at Greene's 
Lick, and passing the Pond Spring, crossed the Tombigbec 
Crjek near its head. In proceeding towards the Elk tlieir 
attention was attracted to a large number of buzzards flying 
around, when Capt. Rains suggested that there must be 
Indians about, these birds being collected to prey on the 
remains of the deer and other game killed by them. They 
encamped near by, and on search his surmise was found 
to be correct. The next morning Capt. Shannon was in 
front, but passed over a trail without noticing it. It was, 
however, detected by Capt. Rains, who proposed to follow 
it. Objection was made that it was too old, but ho insisted 
on following it until he found a freslier one. Before night 
the spies came upon an encampment, and discovering an 
Indian fired upon him without effect. He ran off, and the 
entire party of the whites dashed forward at the report. 
Capt. Rains discovered the Indian running rapidly up a hill, 
and being well mounted, he soon got close on him and ordered 
him to halt. The Indian turned a moment as if to comply 
with the demand, and then set off again. Capt. Rains 
then jumped from his horse and fired, wounding him 
severely in the arm and hands. At this moment Reuben 
Parks and Beverly Ridley came up and joined in the chase. 
They soon overtook the Indian and knocked him down, 
but he made a desperate struggle, which ended in Ridley's 
killing him with his knife. John Rains, Jr., and Robert 
Evans in dashing forward came fiice to face with an Indian 
coming out of a thicket, and on his making signals for 
quarter they took him prisoner. It seems that these two 
men were the only occupants of the camp at the time, or at 
lea.st the only ones discovered. Eight horses were taken, 
and about three hundred deer and other skins, the produce 
of their hunt. The horses were sold at Nashville, and the 
proceeds of the sale and the other property equally divided 
among the captors. The Indian taken was a youth about 
nineteen years old. He became very much attached to 
Capt. Shannon's family, into which he was taken for safe- 
keeping. He was afterwards sent on to Washington (wliere 
a young white girl fell desperately in love witli him), and 
at the end of two years was brought back to Capt. Shannon. 
lie was finally released on exchange, but returned again to 
the whites, saying that the " Indians looked so dirty and 
lousy he couldn't stay witii them." After remaining 
some time he joined the Creeks, and was wounded at the 
battle of Talladega, in 1813, fighting against the whites. 

A number of expeditions of this character were sent out 
during this year, which liad an excellent effect towards 
restraining the extent of savage depredation ; still there 
were thirty-three victims to the rifle and tomahawk in the 
course of the year. Among the mounted rangers of Evans' 



64 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 






battalion were the companies of Capts. "William Martin and 
Samuel Hadley, which also did excellent service, the records 
of which, however, are very meagre. 

About the last of July, after the return of the Coldwater 
expedition a Monsieur Perrautt, a French trader, happeped 
in Nashville on his way to the Indian nation. By him 
Col. Robertson dispatched a letter to the head men and 
chiefs of the Creeks, reciting the grievances which led to 
his late march into their country and the destruction of 
their warriors at Coldwater, and stating that the movement 
was purely for retaliation, but that he was now willing to 
be on terms of peace with them. On his way thither Per- 
rautt met a band of two hundred Creeks, who had crossed 
the Tennessee and were marching on the settlements. He 
expounded to them, as he claimed on his return, the nature 
of the letter he bore, and strongly endeavored to dissuade 
them from their purpose. This they positively refused to 
do. They said that " they wanted horses and there is the 
place to get them. If we cannot get the horses without 
killing some of the people, we shall risk the worst to obtain 
the horses. We will not do much harm this time, but if 
the whites again venture into Indian country with an army 
then they may expect a merciless war. We know their 
strength, their positions, and how and whore best to worry 
and waste them." They claimed that their motive was to 
obtain satisfaction for three Creeks killed by the North 
Carolina people eighteen miles below Chotu. Such was the 
purport of Perrautt's language on his return, and Col. Rob- 
ertson, on this report, hastened measures of defense at once. 
He pushed the work of collecting supplies for Evans' bat- 
talion, and used his authority to call into scouting service 
some of the immigrants who had lately arrived under the 
protection of tliat battalion. By this accession of strength 
he was now enabled to keep out strong scouting-parties in 
various directions, which rendered most efficient service by 
giving timely notice in many cases of the approach of Indi- 
ans, and pursuing promptly when any mischief was done. 
These scouts were kept up after that as long as any neces- 
sity existed. Col. Robertson had from the first employed 
men in this kind of service, but now he was enabled to 
send out larger bodies to greater distances. Their instruc- 
tions were to examine all of the buffalo-trails and crossing- 
places of the streams, and to search for the camps of 
the enemy. The country at that time being abundantly 
stocked with game, the Cherokees resorted here to hunt, 
and brought their women with them to do the drudgery of 
camp. After the hunt was over the women, boys, and 
old men were dispatched homeward with the products of the 
chase, while the warriors approached the settlements to 
steal horses and get scalps. But the activity and bravery 
of the scouts at length made the formation of these station- 
ary camps hazardous within the distance of fifty miles of the 
whites, and they were withdrawn to points of greater secu- 
rity in the neighborhood of the mountains. At that time 
the ground was covered with leaves that had been collecting 
for years, amounting in places to more than a foot in depth. 
They were so thick that small streams were covered over 
with them, and springs concealed that now afford an abund- 
ant supply of water throughout the year. It is quite prob- 
able that the Indians fired the grass only in the barrens 



south of Duck and Elk Rivers, and these streams acted as 
barriers to protect the leaves and cane-thickets from de- 
struction. The whites were also unwilling to fire the woods 
on account of the great destruction of cane-thickets that 
would have ensued, as these afforded the main subsistence to 
their animals. In consequence of this uniform coating of 
the surface, the tracks of men and horses could be followed 
almost as readily and with as much certainty as if in snow. 
The Indians therefore resorted to the hard-beaten tracks of 
the buffaloes when practicable, and frequently retreated for 
escape along the beds of the creeks. 

The duties of these scouts were very arduous and hourly 
attended with peril to their lives. They were particularly 
obnoxious to the Indians, who mangled their bodies in a 
most shocking manner when they fell into their hands. 
They always plucked but their eyes and cut off their ears, 
in order to heap as much indignity as po.ssible on the organs 
which served their owners so well in their peculiar vocation. 
It is a matter of deep regret that so little has been pre- 
served of the exploits of such men as Capts. Rains, Gor- 
don, Shannon, Murray, and Williams. The story of their 
scouting adventures would make a volume of stirring and 
thrilling incident. As it is, we have but little besides their 
names and the contemporary record of duties well done on 
all occasions during the long years of Indian hostility 
which hung over the Cumberland settlers. But with a 
knowledge of the difficulties and dangers which beset their 
paths at every step, the imagination will have but little 
difficulty in constructing the materials of their character. 

Yet all of the vigilance of these active and trusty 
scouts could not save their people from the devastations of 
a savage and revengeful foe. The destruction of the Cold- 
water village and the killing of so many of its warriors 
brought only a temporary respite from acts of hostility. 
Representing as they did a wide circle of relations and 
friends in two of the most powerful nations in the South, 
■such an injury could only be atoned with blood. The war- 
whoop soon rang along the beautiful valley of the Cum- 
berland, and the tomahawk, rifle, and torch were again at 
their deadly and destructive work. Although the spirit of 
vengeance rose to the highest pitch of demoniacal fury, its 
full gratification was checked by a prudential regard for the 
temper and resources of the whites at this time. The 
numbers of the settlers had been much augmented this 
year by the advent of the soldiers raised for the defense of 
the border, and the service they rendered in guarding emi- 
grants safely through the wilderne.ss. In consequence of 
this, a large force of invaders, acting in one body, could be 
struck by the whites with much more certainty on account 
of its greater difficulty of concealment, while the same force 
broken into small bodies could lurk close to the stations 
with litile ri.sk of discovery, and escape with more facility 
after striking a blow. This must have been the governing 
consideration, for we find no record of an attack in force 
on any point in the county until several years later. But 
a number of small bands invaded the settlements continu- 
ally, 'and committed such havoc as they could, and retreated 
well loaded with booty. 

One of these bands was led by As-la-sc-na-la, or Big 
Foot, a chief of gross personal appearance and most de- 



RENEWED HOSTILITIES, 1792. 



65 



tcrniined bravery. They had made a successful raid in 
which thoy had taken some scalps and secured various 
articles of property, when on reaching the Tennessee on their 
return thoy felt so secure from interruption that they halted 
to cook and make some preparation for getting their effects 
across the river. The halt proved fatal. Capt. Shannon, 
with a few followers as brave and determined as himself, 
William Pillow, Luke Anderson, and one of the dare-devil 
Castlemans among them, had struck Big Foot's trail, and 
had been following it from the vicinity of Nashville with 
the persistence of bloodhounds. At the time of Shannon's 
arrival several of the Indians were in camp eating, and the 
rest down at the river-bank. The whites charged imme- 
diately and dispersed those in camp, Castleman and Pillow 
each killing an adversary. Big Foot, who was at the river, 
in hearing the firing, judged correctly from the number of 
shots that the attacking party was small, and he thereupon 
collected his warriors and hastened in the most determined 
manner to recover his loss. The combatants were about 
equally divided, and the victory for some time hung in the 
balance. At length Big Foot, in the ardor of revenge, 
pressed forward among the whites and engaged in a hand- 
to-hand struggle with Luke Anderson for the possession of 
the latter's gun. Being of superior strength he was on 
the point of wresting it away, when William Pillow sprang 
to the rescue and sank his tomahawk deeply into the In- 
dian's brain. At the fall of their leader his followers 
withdrew from the conflict with loud yells of disappointed 
rage, leaving five of their number dead on the field. 



CHAPTER XV. 

RENEWED HOSTILITIES, 1792. 

Outrages on the Cumberland — St.itions Abandoned — Gen. Robertson 
restricted by the Government .at Washington — rnsutficiency of 
Troops — Treachery of the Chiefs — Cherokecs Incited to War by a 
Lying Creek Chief — Assembling of the Militia — Attack on Buchan- 
an's Station — A'ictory of the Stationers — Desultory Attacks by the 
Indians in 1793 — Abe Castleman's Expedition. 

But a little more than a half-month of the new year had 
pa.sscd when throe sons of Col. Valentine Sevier, a brother 
of the general, had been butchered in an open boat while 
ascending the Cumberland from Clarksville. Following 
this the murders came so thick and fast that all outlying 
stations and settlements south of the river were abandoned 
except Robertson's, Raines', and Buchanan's. At John- 
son's Station four children, brothers and sisters, were killed 
and wounded while at the spring, and three of these scalped 
and piled in a heap, the other making his escape with a 
broken arm. At Brown's four others were killed and treated 
similarly. On the 24th of May Gen. Robertson and his 
son Jonathan were severely wounded, and only escaped 
death by a well-directed shot from the latter, which wounded- 
two of the Indians. Col. Kilpatrick, while heading a small 
party in pursuit of some of the murderers, was fired upon 
from an ambuscade near Denham's Station and killed and 
beheaded. Zigler's Station, in Sumner County, containing 
9 



thirty persons, was taken, only three or four escaping death 
or captivity. These and other outrages so wrought upon 
Capt. John Edmeston that he raised a company to avenge 
the repeated injuries, no matter to what lengths he would 
have to go in the execution of his purpose. Gen. Robert- 
son, though his heart bled with a sense of the enormous 
injuries of his people, felt constrained, by his oath as an 
officer to carry out the instructions of the government, to 
forbid the proposed expedition, and it was reluctantly 
abandoned. 

The troops then on regular duty numbered only one hun- 
dred and ninety men, infantry and cavalry, under Maj. 
Sharp and Capt. Lusk,and were distributed in nine stations 
or over a distance of seventy miles. As the term of their 
enlistment was out in October the Governor ordered Gen. 
Robertson to enlist others in their places, but " to avoid a 
heavy expense." In the spring of this year he (Gen. R.) had 
visited the Indian nation, and had been received at Coyatee 
with much barbaric pomp by two thousand warriors drawn 
up in martial array. The chiefs Watts, Hanging Maw, and 
the Breath of Nickajack had renewed, with much seeming 
manifestation of sincerity, professions of friendship, and a 
desire to comply with the stipulations of the late treaties. 
He was so much elated with his reception, and so favorably 
impressed with what he saw and heard, that after his re- 
turn in May he thought proper in a letter to rebuke 
the Cumberland settlers for their despondency and disposi- 
tion to put out reports of danger that alarmed immigrants. 
He bade them to be of good cheer, — that all would now be 
well with them. It may be proper to state that Governor 
Blount was not insensible to the sufferings of his people, 
or careless of their interests ; he merely allowed himself to 
be duped into a belief that the chiefs were true to their 
professions, and that in the course of time they would be 
able to bring their roving bands under proper restraint. 

On the 10th of August, Governor Blount and Gen. 
Pickens met a full deputation of Chickasaw and a small 
representation of Choctaw chiefs at Nashville, and made a 
large distribution of presents. At this treaty a Creek chief 
named Coteatay was present, and on his return home through 
the lower Cherokee towns made a lying report of a " talk" 
which Gen. Robertson had made him, which was to tliis 
effect : " There has been a great deal of blood spilt in our 
settlements, and I will come and sweep it out clean with 
your blood. And now take notice that the first mischief 
that is done I will come." His advice to the Cherokees 
was that they had better prepare for war and strike the first 
blow. All of this was reported to the Governor with much 
naivete by Watts, the Glass, and the Bloody Fellow, accom- 
panied with new declarations of amity, saying that they 
had ordered home all parties that were out and likely to 
do mischief, and that there would be no occasion for Gen. 
Robertson to put his threat in execution. At that very time 
the scalp and eagle-tail dances were being held at the lower 
towns, and men being embodied for an attack on the Cum- 
berland settlements in heavy force. However, the news of 
these warlike preparations reached the Governor througli a 
friendly Indian two days before the peace-talks of the chiefs 
sent from Lookout, and he at once dispatched orders to 
Gen. Robertson to call into service a part of the brigade of 



66 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



the Mero District, by which term the three counties on tlie 
Cumberland were officially designated. Two days later, on 
the 14th, the talk of the chiefs came to hand, and so thor- 
oughly deceived him that he discredited the first report and 
revoked the order for the assembling of the militia, saying, 
" I congratulate you and the people of the Mero District 
upon the happy change of affairs. I had dreadful appre- 
hensions for you." On the 16th he received positive infor- 
mation that the Cherokees had crossed the river and were 
on the march for the Cumberland, and he then issued orders 
not only for the assembling of the brigade of Gen. Robert- 
son, but that of Gen. Sevier, urging them to delay not an 
hour, that the danger was imminent. 

In the mean time tidings of the meditated invasion had 
reached the settlements from another source. Early in Sep- 
tember, Findleston, a half-breed Cherokee, and Duval, a 
French trader, came direct from the nation under pretense 
of spying for the Indians and then returning, and stated in 
the most positive manner that over six hundred Cherokees 
and Creeks had crossed the Tennessee, and would attack 
Nashville on the full of the moon. Findleston offered to 
go to jail as a surety for the truth of his assertion. The 
news quickly spread to all of the stations and roused the 
inhabitants to a sense of the impending danger. So when 
the order came assembling the militia they turned out at 
once, ready and equipped for the conflict, and assembled 
at Rains' big spring, two miles south of Nashville. Their 
numbers are variously stated at from three to seven hun- 
dred. 

Alexander Castleman, one of the trustiest and most daring 
spies among the settlers, was now out to get precise informa- 
tion of the hostile approach. He went as far as the Black 
Fox camp, where Murfreesboro' now stands, and finding it 
deserted by the friendly Indians who had been hunting 
there, his suspicions were aroused, and on proceeding beyond 
he discovered the fresh trail uf a large body of Indians 
coming in the direction of Nashville. He returned at once 
and reported the facts, but the enemy not appearing as soon 
as was expected, Capt. John Rains and Abraham Kennedy 
were sent out. They were gone some days, and on their 
return Capt. Rains said he had seen no " Indian sign, but 
plenty of bear sign." To this he made oath, but Kennedy 
refused to be sworn. On this report, which was made on 
Friday before the attack on Buchanan's Station, the militia, 
who had become impatient to return home, not thinking 
their services would be needed, were disbanded. However, 
on Sunday morning, some of the inhabitants, who were not 
thoroughly satisfied as to the absence of danger, took the 
further precaution to send out two other spies, — Gee and 
Clayton. They never returned, and at midnight of the 
same day Buchanan's was attacked. 

They proceeded on the bufi'alo-path until they reached 
a point on the ridge dividing the waters of Duck River 
and Mill Creek, where a hurricane had blown down the 
timber. Here the path divided, and a disagreement arising 
between them as to which they should take they separated, 
each following his own path. They had not proceeded far 
before they concluded that it would be safer to come 
together again, and began to holloa to each other for this 
purpose. It happened that they were in the vicinity of a 



large body of Indians, then on their way to attack the 
stations, and were overheard by the advance-guard, among j 
whom was George Fields, a half-breed Cherokee, who un- 
derstood and could speak English. Fields decoyed the two 
spies into the woods by calling to them to '• meet half-way." 
This they started to do, when one of them was killed and 
the other fled and was likely to make his escape when he 
was hailed by Fields and informed that the killing was 
done by the accidental discharge of a gun and that they 
were friends. He thereupon halted and was quickly killed 
and scalped. That night at ten o'clock Buchanan's Station 
was attacked by eight or nine hundred Cherokees and 
Creeks, led by John Watts and Chiatohattalla, son of Torn 
Tumbridge, a deserter from the British army, and an Indian 
woman. When the Indians came in hearing of the sound of 
the lowing of the cattle at the fort a dispute arose between 
Watts and Chiatohattalla as to whether Nashville or Bu- 
chanan's should be first attacked. Watts concluded that 
Nashville was the chief object of attack, and " that little 
fort could be taken on their return," pointing to Buchanan's. 
The other chief then called Watts a woman, and said he 
could take the fort himself; that he had burnt one fort, 
referring to Zigler's Station, in Sumner County, and that 
he could burn another. Watts thereupon retorted that he 
might go ahead and take it ; that he would look on. At the 
time of the attack there were only about twenty men in 
the fort, which was known as Maj. John Buchanan's Sta- 
tion. The assault was made about eleven o'clock at night, 
Sept. 30, 1792. Morris Shane, who was on guard at the 
block-house nearest the creek, was the first to discover and 
fire upon a body of Indians congregated at the fort gate. 
Thomas Kennedy then fired into the same group from the 
opposite house. At the first alarm a runner was dispatched 
to Nashville for assistance, and Anthony Fisher of that 
place was the first to enter the fort, closely followed by John 
Rains, just as the enemy were retiring but still in sight. 
The Indians on being fired into retired into an open cellar 
a short distance ofl", and to such other shelter as they could 
get around the ibrt, whence they opened a warm fire on the 
port-holes, yelling at the same time like fiends incarnate. 
The whites were quickly at their posts, and returned the 
fire in the most spirited manner. Mrs. Buchanan and Mrs. 
Shane leaped out of their beds at the first alarm, and 
taking no time to dress began to mould bullets, which they 
carried around to the men, and also a supply of brandy, 
adding words of cheer as they passed along. Jimmy 
O'Connor, an Irishman, took charge of a blunderbuss, and 
in the noise and confusion he charged his piece several 
times before it went off. When it did fire Jimmy was 
landed under a bed on the opposite side of the room badly 
bruised, but he declared he " made a lane through the yel- 
low dogs." In the midst of the assault Chiatohattalla 
made a most daring attempt to fire the fort. He was 
quickly shot down and mortally wounded, but, with the 
ruling passion strong in death, he continued to blow the 
fire as long as life lasted. The assault lasted about an hour 
and a half, when the Indians began to withdraw. Only 
one man in the fort was wounded, and he by a splinter. 
Tiiousands of balls had penetrated the logs, but compara- 
tively few had penetrated to the interior. During the 



RENEWED HOSTILITIES. 



67 



firing there was a constant parley going on between the 
parties, Thomas Kennedy calling out to the Indians that 
they were a " set of damned squaws," and " to put more 
powder into their guns." Chiatehattalla was the only In- 
dian found dead. He was greatly dreaded bj' the whites 
on account of his use of fire to destroy a fort, and was 
known by them as the " Shawnee warrior." This appellation 
was a mistake, caused by the report tliat an old Shawnee 
chief had come from the North among the Southern tribes 
to introduce this practice, which had been put in sucoessful 
operation in the destruction of Zigler's Station some time 
before. Many others of the a.ssailants were supposed to 
have been killed and wounded from the traces of blood left 
on their departure. John Watts, the head chief, received 
a desperate wound in the hip, and was carried down behind 
the spring-house. Supposing himself mortally wounded, 
he begged George Fields, who was wounded in the heel, 
to cut off his head and carry it away to keep the 
whites from getting his scalp. His comrades, however, 
made a litter of blankets and carried him oiF. He recov- 
ered and lived many years afterwards, removing with his 
tribe west of the Mississippi. The whites ventured out 
the morning after the attack in pursuit, but were fired upon 
from a cedar-glade after going a short distance, when they 
returned. The Indians, however, becoming disheartened 
by the failure of their attack and the death of their bravest 
warrior and desperate wounding of Watts, retreated rapidly. 
The little swivel at Nashville had been firing signal-guns, 
and this seemed to add to their alarm. They left on the 
ground a number of guns, swords, tomahawks, blankets, 
and other articles of value. The defeat and failure of such 
a large force was another illustration of the want of har- 
mony and discipline which characterized such attacks. 

For the period of two months after this repulse not a 
hostile Indian appeared in the settlements. It augured 
well for peace, but as a company of cavalry was along a 
trail one day south of Nashville about eight miles, a volley 
was poured into them accompanied by the old familiar yell. 
The whites retreated in disorder, with the loss of John 
Hawkins, who halted to point an empty gun at the pur- 
suers by way of intimidation. He was killed,. scalped, and 
cut to pieces. The cavalry got some addition to their 
numbers and returned to the place of conflict without 
meeting the enemy. Several other persons were killed in 
December, among them John Haggard, a spy, whose wife 
had been killed the previous summer. 

The aggregate of deaths this year was sixty ; many were 

wounded and captured. The loss of live-stock and other 

property was severe. 

1793. 

On the 5th of January Governor Blount wrote to Gen. 
Robertson to discharge Sharpe's brigade, but that he might 
organize a company of infantry and eighteen horsemen in 
its place. The Governor was led to this by the seeming con- 
trite confession of Watts, which the fears of himself and peo- 
ple had induced him to make in most humble terms. On 
the reception of this the Governor, in order to confirm and 
strengthen such good resolutions, distributed a number of 
presents among them and appointed a conference at the 
Southwest Point, the outpost in East Tennessee, for April 



the 17th. But in the months of January and February so 
many murders had boon committed, in connection with in- 
formation he had obtained of an invasion about the full of 
the moon in April, on the 25th, that on the 28tli of March 
he ordered Gen. Robertson to increase his force to eighty 
men, and scour the woods for fifty miles from the settle- 
ments, but not to go beyond those limits unless in a case of 
imminent danger, when he might go to the Tennessee 
River. On April 14th he notified the general that "large 
bodies of Creeks had crossed the Tennessee for war and 
plunder." Maj. Beard's troop was ordered to the assistance 
of Gen. RoberLson. He scoured the woods back and forth, 
and returned to Knoxville early in June. Oapts. Rains 
and Johnston were also out on the same service, but were 
enabled to kill only a fiiw Indians. Still they rendered 
much service in breaking up the station-camps of the enemy 
in proximity to the settlements, and forcing them back to 
the shelter of the mountain-caves. Notwithstanding this, 
small bands came in and committed great havoc to life and 
property. 

ABE CASTLEMAN'S EXPEDITION. 
In July Joseph Castleman was killed and John Castle- 
man badly wounded in a field near Hays' Station, situated 
ton miles from Nashville, on Stoner's Creek. The Castle- 
mans, on account of their contempt of danger, had suffered 
severely. They were among the earliest hunters and set- 
tlers, and had rendered signal service in shielding and guard- 
ing the infant settlements. At this new affliction he raised 
a company of volunteers to go as far as the Tennessee River 
with him on a hunt for Indians, and applied to General 
Robertson for permission to carry out the design. General 
Robertson sympathized with his sufferings and desire for 
revenge, and granted him the permission to seek satisfac- 
tion in his own way. His party consisted of sixteen men, 
some of whom agreed to go only as far as the Tennessee 
River. By the time he arrived at this boundary, although 
he had killed several Indians, his revenge was far from 
being satisfied, and he proposed to cross the river and carry 
the war into the enemy's country. Five of his party agreed 
to go with him, to wit: Frederick StuU, Zaoh Maclin, 
Jack Camp, Eli Hammond, and Zeke Caruthers, the rest 
returning to the settlements. Here they stripped them- 
selves of their clothing, donned flaps, and painted their 
bodies in imitation of Indians to more eff"eotually carry out 
their purpo.se. Thus equipped they swam the river a short 
distance below Nickajack, and struck into a trail which they 
thought led to Wills' Town. They had not proceeded far 
before they came in view of a party of Creek warriors, 
numbering about fifty, seated on the ground in couples and 
engaged in eating. They were painted and unaccompanied 
by squaws, showing that they were on the war-path. Cas- 
tleman's men were so well disguised that the Indians ex- 
hibited no concern at their approach, and continued their 
eating. On arriving within a convenient distance the whites 
made ready on a signal from their leader, and bringing down 
their guns fired into the groups, each man selecting an in- 
dividual target. Castleman, whose gun was doubly charged, 
killed two, and the others one each. The fire was so sud- 
den and destructive that the Indians were thrown into great 



68 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



disorder and confusion, in the midst of which the daring 
little band made their retreat in safety across the river, 
where they resumed their proper clothing, and thence re- 
turned to the settlements after an absence of three weeks, 
well satisfied with their adventure. It was ascertained af- 
terwards that a chief of the Creeks was killed in this aifair, 
which added greatly to their exasperation. During the 
month of August and following a number of savage butch- 
cries of women and children took place in the Men District. 
About the 1st of December James Robertson, a son of 
the general, was killed, making the tliird who had fallen a 
victim to the deadly hate of the enemy. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

TKOUBLE OF 1794. 

Victims at tlio Opening of the Year — Pursuit of the Indians by Capt. 
Murray — Eleven Warriors Killed — Mrs. Gear Killed and Scalped 
on her way to Church — Other Victims — Eventful History of Col. 
Joseph Brown — E.\pedition of Col. Roberts — Capt. Gordon's Suc- 
cess — Frequent Murders — Massacres in a Boat on the Cumberland 
— Forces Raised in Tennessee and Kentucky — Col. Brown's Narra- 
tive — Destruction of the Indian Towns and Death of Seventy 
Warriors — E.xpedition against the Creeks. 

The new year opened with a continuation of the hostil- 
ities that had marked the closing months of the old. On 
the 3d of January Bliss Deliverance Gray, while passing 
between two stations, was fired upon and .slightly wounded, 
and only escaped captivity or death by a remarkable exhi- 
bition of swiftness of foot, in which she distanced her pur- 
suers. On the 7th John Helen, or Healing, was shot 
while at work for Gen. Robertson, not a half-mile from his 
house. He ran about one hundred yards, when he was 
brought to bay, and after a desperate defense killed and 
scalped. Gen. Robertson ordered Capt. Murray to take 
twenty men and pursue. On striking their trail, which 
led southwest towards the Tennessee, Capt. Mun ay discov- 
ered that they had several horses and were accompanied 
by squaws. His pursuit was so cautious that after several 
days the Indians seem to have entertained no suspicion of 
pursuit being made. It is quite probable, from the circum- 
stance of their being accompanied by their squaws, that this 
band had just concluded its fall hunt, and the object of their 
raid was to procure horses before returning home. On 
reaching the Tennessee they stopped to encamp on the 
slope of a ridge which jutted out into the water. Here 
they gathered some cane for their horses and built a large 
fire, evidently to attract the attention of their friends on 
the other side of the river. They also fired signal-guns, 
and imitated the howling of the wolf and the hooting of 
the great owl for the same purpose. Their whole deportment 
was indicative of a sense of security and satisfaction at the 
supposed safe ending of the venture. The point of the ridge 
was bare of cane and brush, and very favorably situated for 
the hemming-in which the pursuers had determined on on 
discovering their situation. Capt. Murray and Jonathan 
Robertson undertook the examination of the ground, and 
were enabled to approach quite closely, on account of the 



noise made by the horses while feeding. The examination 
being satisfactory they returned to their comrades and ar- 
ranged for an attack at daylight, as promising the best 
prospect of complete success. The plan was to form a 
semicircle reaching to the water's edge above and below. 
By daylight all the positions were gained without giving 
alarm and the encampment completely hemmed in. A de- 
tachment then crept forward, and as soon as several of 
the enemy were seen to stir these poured in a volley and 
rushed forward with drawn tomahawks and knives to finish 
the work of death. Only one of the warriors was -killed 
outright. The rest leaped to their feet and rushed towards 
the river, when, finding themselves intercepted by Capt. 
Murray, some of them jumped into the water, where they 
were shot. Moclin sliot one before he got into the water. 
William Pillow, hearing a gun fire at a place he had just 
passed, pushed his horse up the steep second bank of the 
river, where he discovered Capt. John Davis running towards 
him, pursued by four Indians. Pillow dashed forward, and 
the Indians, discontinuing their pureuit of Davis, ran oif 
in the opposite direction. He then dismounted and soon 
overtook and killed one of the Indians. At that moment 
Capt. Murray, Thomas Cox, Robert Evans, Luke Ander- 
son, and William Ewing rode up, when Pillow pointed out 
to them the direction in which one of the fugitives had 
gone. They immediately made pursuit, and saw the Indian 
endeavoring to mount Pillow's horse, which he succeeded in 
doing. Cox ran up and shot him through the shoulder, 
but he nevertheless held on to the horse, which he kept at a 
gallop until the whole company came up with him. He 
now slipped off the horse, and as he came to the ground 
scared Luke Anderson's mule, which ran under a low tree 
the limbs of which jerked his gun out of his hand. The 
brave Indian instantly caught it up and snapped it three or 
four times at them before Evans shot him down. Pursuit 
was then made by Andrew Castleman and others of the 
two other Indians whom Pillow had driven ofi" from Davis. 
They were found hid in the water under a bluff of rocks 
and both shot. Others were found concealing themselves 
under the bank and suiFered the same fate. Eleven warriors 
were killed, — the whole party, as was ascertained from the 
squaws who were taken prisoners. Three of the squaws 
were also killed in firing into the camp, two only being 
taken alive. 

Early in May, Nathaniel Teal, the express-rider from 
Natchez, was killed a short distance from Gen. Robertson's. 
Capts. Rains and Gordon soon got ready their coliipanies 
and pursued. The trail led out to Cuthry's Creek, about 
twenty miles to the west of Columbia, and was that of a 
band which had been hunting in that locality and had come 
in for horses to carry oif the produce of their hunt. They 
were overtaken at the second creek below the mouth of 
Elk, where they had halted to rest. The uplands were 
open, but the bottoms covered with cane. Twenty men 
advanced in the centre. Rains to the right and Gordon to 
the left ; when the centre fired, the wings charged. Capt. 
Gordon was stopped by a high blufi^, but he and Joseph 
Brown dismounted and continued the pursuit. Brown 
was sufiering at the time with a wound in the shoulder, 
which necessitated his carrying a light shot-gun loaded 




i'liotu. uy Aniisiroiig.fiMisiivillc. 




John Thompson, the subject of this sketch, wus of Scotch- 
Irish descent, and was the son of Thomas and Nancy Thomp- 
son, and was born in an old stockade on the farm where he 
always lived, four miles south of Nashville, on the 1st of June, 
1793. His father was a native of Guilford, N. C, and emi- 
grated to Tennessee, and settled on a tract of six hundred and 
forty acres of land, four miles south of Nashville, soon after the 
first settlement of Davidson County. Here he built a log 
cabin and commenced the clearing of his farm. Here was 
the place where his children were born, among whom was his 
son John. Thomas Thompson became greatly embarrassed 
on account of his going security for friends, but the farm was 
redeemed by his son John, who became in time the sole owner 
of the old home. 

Thomas Thompson was a plain, unassuming man, charitable 
towards all, and hospitable to the poor. He had five children, 
of whom John was the second. He died March, 1837, his 
wife having died previously, and both were buried on the 
farm in the old family cemetery. 

John Thompson died April 18, 1876, and from the pen of a 
friend we quote the following, written at the time of his death : 

" It is not often one is called upon to chronicle the events of 
such a life. Nearly eighty-three years ago, in the then sparsely 
settled neighborhood a few miles south of Nashville, in a 
block house, John Thompson first saw the light. Then David- 
son County had some three or four thousand inhabitants, and 
the whole State of Tennessee not over forty thousand. Nash- 
ville was a trading-post, a mere village ; cane-brakes were 
everywhere; a few settlers' cabins and an occasional block- 
house might be found, and the Indians were still occupying 
the country. He lived through nearly three generations ; saw 
Nashville grow from a village to be a city of, saj', thirty thou- 
sand inhabitants, and Davidson County witli sixty-four thou- 
sand people, and the State with more than one and a quarter 
million of inhabitants. These are wonderful changes to take 
place in a single lifetime, — and yet he witnessed them all. The 
cane-brakes have disappeared ; the Indians are gone ; beautiful 
farms and splendid residences dot the country in every direc- 
tion, and all these changes have been wrought in his day. 



" Mr. Thompson commenced life poor, — as the world calls 
poor, — and yet he was rich, endowed by nature with a capa- 
bility of self-reliance. Trusting in his own strong arm, with 
persistent energy he secured a competency, and finally a large 
property. 

" The subject of this sketch was four times married : first to 
JNliss Mary Washington, then to Mrs. Buchanan, Mrs. Kaw- 
lings, and finally to Mrs. Mary H. House, who survives him. 
Only three children survive these marriages, — one daughter 
(Mrs. Jo. Horton) and two sons, all living near the city. 
Mr. Thompson was a man of the strongest native sense, clear 
judgment, the strictest morals, and an integrity unstained and 
unquestioned. Sober, thoughtful, patient, kind in his feelings 
and expressions towards his fellow-men, he was honored and 
esteemed by those who knew him best in a very high degree. 
He was the kindest of husbands, and a loving, faithful father, 
sparing no pains and no expense to make all about him com- 
fortable and happy. 

" His home was the abode of hospitality. The writer knew 
him intimately for many years, and was often at his house, 
and spent many pleasant hours with him and his happy 
family. But he has gone ; he who for more than fourscore 
years walked among men has met the fate of all, and gone 
down to his grave. He leaves behind a large estate, and what 
is far better, that best heritage for his children, a good name. 
" ' Ouly the actions of the just 

Smell sweet and blossom in the dust' " 

His daughter — Ann Elizabeth — by his third marriage mar- 
ried Joseph W. Horton, who is a hardware merchant in Nash- 
ville. His sons, John M. and Joseph H.,are the children of his 
fourth wife, Mrs. Mary H. House, — maiden name, Hamilton, 
— daughter of Joseph D. and Sarah B. Hamilton, of Russell- 
ville, Ky. John M. Thompson married Mary McConnel, 
daughter of John Overton, and has one daughter, Mary. He 
occupies the old house, is a large farmer, and deals largely in 
fine stock. Joseph H. is also a farmer, and resides on a part 
of the old farm, very near where his father was born. He 
married Ella, daughter of Michael Vaughn, and has one 
daughter, Emma. 



TROUBLE OP 1794. 



09 



with buek-sliot. Ho discovered an Indian squat in tlie 
bed of a branch to avoid the observation of Gordon, wlio 
was after another, when he raised liis gun at the distance 
of three rods and, firing, tore his head to fragments. Gor- 
don liilled his man. Capt. Rains' company, on the right, 
killed three and took a boy. 

On June 11th, Mrs. Gear was killed and scalped while 
on her way to church four miles soutji of Nashville. By 
this time the list of victims had become fearful and sicken- 
ing to contemplate. Capt. Gordon, on the death of Blrs. 
Gear, was ordered by Col. Winchester to pursue. Gen. Rob- 
ertson being absent on a visit to the Governor at Knoxville. 
He had private instructions to explore a route by which 
an army could reach the Nickajack and Running Water 
towns. 

On reaching the foot of the Cumberland Mountains to 
the southeast of Nashville, Col. Roberts, who was along 
in some capacity not officially recorded, asked for volun- 
teers to go on a scout with him to the Tennessee River. 
Joshua Thomas, Elihu Green, and Joseph Brown were the 
ones who came forward to accompany him on this danger- 
ous service. Joseph Brown was the first to volunteer, but 
as he was then suffering from a wound in the shoulder 
inflicted some months before. Col. Roberts declined his 
services, saying that he did not want " invalids." Brown, 
however, had peculiar qualifications for this occasion, as 
will appear by the recital below, and was at length accepted. 
He had a singularly eventful history. His father had 
started in a boat to descend the Tennessee and thus reach 
the. Cumberland settlements in 1788, having a large family 
of his own besides five young men and an old lady. On 
reaching the Nickajack town he was boarded by a large body 
of Indians in canoes, under the guise of friendship and 
pretense of a desire to trade. On getting possession, the 
Indians cut ofi' his head with a sword, killed two of his 
sons and the five young men and the old lady mentioned 
above. His mother, the rest of his brothers and sisters, 
and himself were taken prisoners. He was then a lad 
twelve years old. Being claimed by Chiachattalla, the des- 
perate chief who was afterwards killed while endeavoring to 
set fire to Buchanan's Station, he was adopted into the family 
of Tom Tunbridge,* the father of Chiachattalla, which 
proved a fortunate circumstance. He was threatened with 
death several times, and the would-be murderers were only 
restrained by a fear that Chiachattalla, then regarded as the 
most desperate man in the nation, though young in years, 
would exact revenge, as Brown had become by the act of 
adoption his property. The menaces against his life were 
instigated by an old woman who practiced the art of con- 
juring by some kind of manipulation of different colored 
beans in a sifter. Repeated trials of the process resulted 
uniformly against him, and she declared that, " unle.ss he 
was killed, he would pilot an army there when he grew up 
to be a man, and cut them all off," a prophecy that was 
now about to have a literal fulfillment. After a captivity of 

■■■:■ Tom Tunbridge was an Innhman, His wife was a Frenchwoman. 
They had no children. The captor of Brown was her son by au In- 
dian father. This half-breed was known by the name of Job. See 
Brown's narrative, in Ramsey. The Indian who threatened to kill 
him was Cutleatoy. 



eleven months he was rescued by General Sevier, when he 
found his way to the Cumberland settlements, where on 
every occasion he was foremost in seeking satisfaction for 
the injuries he had sustained at the hands of his cruel and 
bloodthirsty enemies. 

These circumstances made him peculiarly qualified for 
the service on which he was now called. The party of 
Col. Roberts started early in the morning, and on reaching 
the top of the mountain discovered a well-beaten path which 
led in the direction of the river, which they followed, and 
reached the foot on the other side, at the mouth of Battle 
Creek, about sunset. There being good moonlight, they 
went up by Lowery's Island, to a point opposite Nickajack, 
when their exploration being satisfactory, they returned up 
the mountain, marching nearly all night; after resting two 
hours, they resumed their march and came into the settle- 
ments. 

Capt. Gordon, after the departure of the scouts, turned 
down Elk River, where he overtook and defeated a party 
of Indians, killing one and losing one of his own men, 
Robert McRory. 

As said before, the murders had now become frequent, 
and of the most exasperating nature. Col. Chew and fifteen 
companions had been massacred in a boat while descending 
to the lower Cumberland ; Maj. George Winchester, a 
brother of Col. James Winchester, and a most valuable 
citizen, and the two young Bledsoes, sons of Cols. Anthony 
and Isaac Bledsoe, had been waylaid and killed in the very 
heart of the settlement in Sumner County. Besides these 
many others had fallen. Forbearance could endure no 
longer. The fiat went forth that this modern Carthage 
should be destroyed. The feelings of the people could no 
longer be restrained, and they determined with one voice 
that the lower towns should not be spared longer than it 
would require an army to march thither and effect their 
utter destruction. Gen. Robertson had been urging upon 
the Governor, and through him (he general government, the 
necessity of such an invasion in the interests of peace. 
The Governor, though he secretly approved of the proposed 
measures, and actually threw means in the way to aid its 
accomplishment, protested that his orders from President 
Washington would not permit his sanction of it, especially 
as Congress at its last session, with a full statement of the 
facts before it, had failed to authorize such an invasion. 
On receipt of this intelligence, active preparations wore at 
once .set on foot for the successful prosecution of the cam- 
paign, and such was the temper of the people, from Gen. 
Robertson down, that nothing short of actual physical force 
on the part of the government could have prevented its 
execution. They had brooded over their wrongs and iu- 
juries until it was a cruel insult to ask of them further 
forbearance. 

To make sure of the success of their enterprise, it was 
decided to ask aid from Kentucky, and Capt. Sampson 
Williams was dispatched thither to ask co-operation. The 
border settlements of that State had long been sufferers 
from the same cruelties and at the same hands. The mi.s- 
siou was successful. Col. Whitley, an active and experi- 
enced leader in Indian warfare, engaged to come at the 
appointed time and bring all the men he could raise. Col. 



70 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Ford raised a force between Nashville and Clarksville, on 
the north side of the river, and Col. John Montgomery 
levied a body at Clarksville, which constituted a company 
under Capt. Miles, while Gen. Robertson collected volun- 
teers south of the river. About the time these troops 
were being concentrated at Brown's Station, Maj. Orr op- 
portunely arrived from Knoxville with a force dispatched 
by order of the Governor for the protection of the Mero 
District. On being solicited, he too joined heartily in the 
enterprise, a pretty fair indication that he had an under- 
standing with the Governor. In order to give the color 
of claim for the pay and equipment of the entire body of 
troops, he was requested to take command, and the expedi- 
tion was known as " Orr's campaign." However, on the 
arrival of Col. Whitley the command was conferred upon 
him by unanimous consent, on account of his long services 
and experience. Col. John Montgomery was elected to 
command the Cumberland volunteers. The erdcr of march 
was made to Maj. Orr by Gen. Robertson for reasons above 
given, and was express as to his passing the river and at- 
tacking the lower towns if he failed to find the enemy be- 
fore reaching that boundary ; this order was dated Septem- 
ber the 6th. On the 7th, which was Sunday, the column 
took up line of march, and encamped that night at the 
Black Fox Spring, having made about thirty miles ; they 
then crossed the Barren Fork of Duck River, near the 
ancient Stone Fort, thence to Fennison's Spring, thence 
crossing Elk River at a point since known as Caldwell's 
Bridge, and thence over the Cumberland Mountain, reach- 
ing the Tennessee about three miles below the mouth of 
the Sequatchie about nightfall. Most of the troops re- 
mained on this bank until daylight, but many swam over 
to make sure of the crossing. George Flynn, a. protcgi of 
old Obed Terrill, who explored and hunted on the Cumber- 
land in 1769, was the first to swim over. The river was 
about throe-fourths of a mile wide at this point, and Flynn 
was so chilled by his long stay in the water that on arriv- 
ing on the other bank he built up a little fire in a sheltered 
place. Lieut. George Blackmore, of the Sumner volun- 
teers, on observing this swore and railed so loudly to put 
out the fire that he committed the worst offense of the 
two. 

Col. Joseph Brown in his narrative says that Findleston, 
the half-breed guide, was the first to swim over, accom- 
panied by his brother, Daniel G. Brown, and William Topp, 
to make sure against treachery. The statement of George 
Flynn's claim to the credit of being the first to cross is 
that advanced and maintained by Edmond Jennings, who 
was present and himself swam the river many times during 
the night, pushing over the rawhide boats containing the 
arms and ammunition. We here give an extract from Col. 
Brown's narrative : 

" We killed four steers, stretched their hides, and thus 
made two hide-boats to carry our arms over tiie Tennessee 
River. On my arrival there I found myself in my old horse 
range whilst with the Indians, and of course capable of serv- 
ing as a guide or pilot. Findleston, a half-breed Indian, in 
whom I had no confidence, was the regular guide, and he 
proposed to swim the river, build a fire on the other bank 
to guide the rest and the two boats, and wait foi\us. My 



brother, Daniel G. Brown, and William Topp swam over 
with him and stayeiby him until the men, about two hun- 
dred and thirty in all, who could swim, got across. Many, 
however, who could swim were afraid of taking the cramp 
from so long an immersion in the water. It certainly ap- 
peared a desperate adventure at first sight to swim a river 
half a mile wide in the night to fight a horde of savages 
who had never been chastised. However, into the river 
we went, and fortunately not one was drowned, as, had any 
been in danger, the two little hide-boats, fragile as they 
were, and laden with arms, would have been of no service 
to aid in saving life. The men swam and pushed over the 
boats. Some pushed over rafts they had made, rather than 
wait for the boats to be shoved backwards and forwards, and 
Col. William Pillow was one of the number who made the 
raft. Maj. Joseph B. Porter, who could not swim a rod, 
got a little bunch of cane, tied them together, and holding 
on to them, kicked himself across, landing in safety. Maj. 
Orr had nominally the command; but Col. Whitley, of Ken- 
tucky, old Col. Mansco, of Sumner, and such other old men 
and officers as Edmonston, Rains, Gordon, Pillow, and John- 
ston, were summoned in council upon the movements of the 
expedition. We kept the hide-boats going back and forth, 
carrying arms and clothes, until it was day ; and we did not 
get off until after sunrise. We went straight onward along 
between Nickajack Town and Long Island Town, and up the 
mountain, coming in opposite Nickajack. I was sent off 
with twenty men to head the Indians at the mouth of the 
creek, supposing they should run that way. 

" There I lay for an hour, hearing the Indians frolicking, 
they not dreaming of danger until the guns fired at the 
upper end of the town, when myself and men dashed for- 
ward, and we had a severe fight of it in the cane-brake. 
We killed a good many of them. I took a squaw prisoner 
and got into the mouth of the creek, where I found the 
main body of our men, with many prisoners (sure enough 
I had made good the fears of the Indians, expressed when 
I was a prisoner among them : I had ' grown up to be a 
man, and had piloted an army there to cut them off!'). I 
found in a canoe across the creek a wounded Indian, and on 
turning him over he attacked, and after a hard struggle, in 
which he tried to throw me overboard, I nearly scalped 
him, and he cried 'enough.' I told him in my wrath it 
was not ' enough,' and throwing him overboard, one of the 
men shot him in the water. I went on with the squaw to 
a cabin and saw a good deal of whispering amongst others 
of them whom I found there, they having recognized their 
old prisoner. They were much gratified when I told them 
in Cherokee that we did not intend to massacre them. One 
of the women told me that she ' had often warned her hus- 
band that such would be the result in return for their cru- 
elties,' and in reply I told them ' we were compelled to fight 
them, because they would not let us remain at peace.' They 
asked ' how we got there at that time of day ;' whether ' we 
came from the clouds, as they knew nothing of our ap- 
proach.' 

" We took twenty-two prisoners, and on the road from 
Nickajack to Running Water we had another fight, and my 
brother-in-law, Joshua Thomas, was shot, the wound being 
mortal. He, however, was carried home, and lived six 



TKOUBLE OF 1794. 



n 



weeks. He was the first man fired at near Eaton's Fort, 
and the only one killed on this expedition." 

Thomas was one of the most active and daring of the 
defenders of the infant settlements. Several of his family 
had already been killed. His death was due to his im- 
prudence in not taking a tree in the fight at the Narrows, as 
he was urged to do by Edmond Jennings, who had been his 
almost constant companion for years. 

We quote from Ramsey : 

" Nickajack was a small town inhabited by two or three 
hundred men and their families. . . . The troops were 
landed a little before day. At daylight they fell into ranks 
and were counted by Capt. John Gordon, and the exact 
number who had crossed over was ascertained to be two 
hundred and sixty-five. At the back of Nickajack field the 
men were formed into line of buttle among the cane. Col. 
Whitley was on the right, and struck above the mouth of 
the creek that rose in the field. Col. Montgomery was on 
the right of the troops from the Territory. Orders were 
given for the two wings to march so as to strike the river 
above and below the towns. On the march two houses 
were found standing out in the field about two hundred 
and fifty yards from the town. Expecting that from these 
houses their approach would be discovered by the Indians, 
the troops were here directed to push with all speed to the 
town. The corn was growing close up to and around the 
houses. Near the house on the left the firing commenced, 
and was returned by the Indians, one of whom was here 
killed. From one of the houses already mentioned a plain 
path was seen leading to the town. William Pillow got into 
it, and ran rapidly along it until he reached the commons. 
Perceiving that he had got in advance of such of the 
troops as had come through the corn-field, Pillow halted 
until others came up. The march or run was then con- 
tinued by the doors of the houses, which were all open. 
The Indians at the report of the first gun had run oflF to the 
bank of the river. The troops pursued the leading way 
to the landing. Here they saw five or six large canoes, 
stored with goods and Indians, and twenty-five or thirty 
warriors standing on the shore near the edge of the water. 
At these Pillow fired, and soon after a whole platoon sent 
a volley of rifle-balls, from the effect of which scarce an 
Indian escaped alive. A few by diving and others by cov- 
ering themselves over in the canoes with goods escaped, 
and got out of reach of the rifles. 

" About the same time the havoc took place at the landing 
below. Col. Whitley attacked the Indians above the mouth of 
the creek. They were not more than a gun-shot apart. Fif- 
teen men had been directed to stop near the two houses in 
the corn-field and waylay there until the firing had taken 
place in the town. When the report of the rifles was heard 
this detachment attacked the houses. A squaw had re- 
mained outside to listen. A fellow came to the door and 
was shot down. Those within drew him inside and closed 
the door, leaving the squaw on the outside. She attempted 
to escape by flight, but after *a hard chase was taken pris- 
oner. The warriors within made holes through the wall, 
and made a desperate defense. The squaw taken prisoner 
was carried up to the town, and placed among the other 
prisoners in canoes. As they were taking them down the 



river to the crossing the squaw loosed her clothes and 
sprang headforemost into the river, disengaging herself 
artfully from her clothes and leaving them floating on the 
water. She swam with great agility, and was rapidly 
making her escape ; some hallooed ' Shoot her, shoot her I' 
But others, admiring her energy, activity, and boldness, 
replied, ' She is too smart to kill !' and allowed the hero- 
ine to escape. 

" After the troop got on the mountain on the other side 
of the town, Joseph Brov?n was sent back with twenty 
men to head and intercept the Indians at the mouth of the 
creek below the town, when the main body of the assailants 
should have driven the enemy to that point. This he 
efiected successfully, though his return was resisted the 
whole way down, about a quarter of a mile, by the constant 
fire of the Indians. When Brown met the main body he 
inquired if they had taken any prisoners, and was immedi- 
ately conducted to a house in which a number of them had 
been fastened up. When he came to the door he was at 
once recognized by the captives, who appeared to be horror- 
stricken, remembering, no doubt, that they had murdered 
his people in the same town five years before. At length 
one of them ventured to speak to him, reminding Brown 
that his life had been spared by them, and importuning him 
now to plead in their behalf He quieted their apprehen- 
sions by remarking that these were white people, who did 
not kill women and children. Her answer was, ' see 
skinney cotanconey' (Oh, that is good news for the 
wretched !)." 

When the Indians in the upper town, Running Water, 
heard the firing, they caught up their guns and repaired to 
the assistance of their friends, whom they soon met in terrified 
retreat. These made a stand at a narrow pass where the 
mountain juts against the river, where, placing themselves 
behind rocks, they made a brief stand, but were soon driven 
back through their town, which was destroyed. The Nicka- 
jack town was also burnt. The loss of the Indians was 
seventy warriors, as they afterwards confessed, a great many 
having been killed in the water of which no estimate could 
be made by the whites at the time. The Breath, a renowned 
Cherokee chief, was among the slain, along with several 
others of lesser n ite. This victory was the counterpart of 
Coldwater, and broke up the operations of the most daring 
and enterprising band of robbers and marauders that ever 
infested the Western waters. It was the point of crossing 
for the Creek invaders, and was the source of innumerable 
woes to the Cumberland settlers. The situation was well 
adapted for security from attack, being protected by three 
mountains and a wide river. 

This battle was fought on the 13th of September, 1794. 
In the afternoon of this day the troops recrossed the river 
and rejoined their comrades, who had been left in charge of 
the horses. The next morning they took up the line of 
march homeward, and reached Nashville on the fifth day, 
where the volunteers were disbanded, having been absent 
twelve days. 

Notwithstanding the destruction of Nickajack and Run- 
niu"- Water, murder and devastation were still carried into 
the very heart of the Cumberland settlements. It was evi- 
dent that these marauders had come principally from the 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Creek nation, as the Cherokees were now too mucli bumbled 
to dare any further hostility, especially as they now learned 
that an invasion of the lower Creek towns was being organ- 
ized in Kentucky and Tennessee. Gen. Logan, of the for- 
mer State, had already advanced for this purpose, and Maj. 
Orr had passed through Knoxville in order to co-operate 
with him, when Governor Blount, having received very 
friendly overtures from Double- Head, a leading Cherokee 
chief, wrote to these officers to postpone operations. This 
they consented to do, and on the 7th of November the con- 
ference was held at Tillico, attended by John Watts, old 
Solacutta, and other chiefs, and about four hundred war- 
riors. In the mean time Gen. Robertson had written Watts, 
after the Nickajack campaign, that another expedition would 
be sent against the Cherokee towns if he did not restrain 
his men from incursions upon his people and restore the 
captive women and children. 

At this conference the chiefs were very contrite, and fully 
admitted that the Nickajack and Running Water towns de- 
served the treatment they had received. At this time the 
tidings of another defeat had reached the ears of the 
Southern Indians, whicli went further towards breaking 
their spirits. Wayne had won a great victory over the 
Indians and Canadian militia, on the 20th of August, on 
the Miami River. 

Governor Blount now recommended to the government, at 
the instance of his council. Gens. Robertson and Sevier, that 
an expedition be sent into the Creek country, suggesting a 
plan and time of invasion. The question was ably argued 
by him in all its bearings, but the secretary, Mr. Pickering, 
returned an answer that all ideas of offensive operations must 
be abandoned. He intimated further that the whites were 
the aggressors, and that the Indians needed more protection 
against tlie whites than they against the Indians. 

In this and the succeeding conferences it was sought to 
engage the Cherokees in war against the Creeks as the 
most effective way of restraining their depredations. At 
the conclusion of a treaty with Spain, whose influence was 
now in .some measure withdrawn from Indian affairs, hostili- 
ties on the part of the Creeks now gradually abated, and 
the succeeding year witnessed the burying of the tomahawk, 
where it rested undisturbed until it was again uplifted and 
bathed in the blood of hundreds of innocent victims at the 
massacre of Fort Mimms, Alabama, in 1813. 

But one other organized force during the pioneer period 
left tlie Cumberland to engage in a hostile expedition. 
Early in the year 1795 a large force of Creeks, numbering 
it is said two thousand warriors, took up their march to 
attack the Chickasaws, on account of their friendship for 
the whites. Piamingo, the Chickasaw leader, now applied 
to his friend. Gen. Robertson, for assistance, claiming the 
reciprocal benefit of the treaties, and reminding him of the 
firm friendship of his nation and the services his warriors 
had rendered as allies of the whites. Gen. Robertson had 
no authority to make a levy for this purpose, but asked 
old Col. Mansker and Capt. David Smith and others to go 
to the assistance of their friends, the Chickasaws. Capt. 
Smith accompanied Gen. Colbert, a Chickasaw chief, with 
fifteen or twenty men, by land to Logtown, in the Chicka- 
saw country. Col. John Mansker, Capt. John Gwynn, and 



Capt. George went down the river in boats, and reached 
their destination early in May. 

On the 28th of May the Creeks appeared before the fort 
and killed and scalped two women who had gone out for 
wood. Capt. Smith proposed to Colbert to take charge of 
the whites, if Colbert would take the Indians and make a 
sortie. Colbert objected, saying that it was what the Creeks 
wanted, to get the men drawn out of the fort. At this stage 
some relatives of the murdered women rushed out and fell 
upon the Creeks, but being overpowered were compelled to 
retreat with the loss of one of their number killed and 
scalped. Capt. Smith's feelings becoming very much ex- 
cited at this, he again renewed his proposition to Colbert 
to make a sortie, who now consented. Seeing these demon- 
strations the Creeks began to retreat, but they were over- 
taken and fired into by Smith's and Colbert's men, leaving 
a number killed and wounded. They thereupon shortly 
returned to their homes without making any further demon- 
stration. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

KECOLLECTIONS OF COL. W^ILLOUGHBY WIL- 
LIAMS. 

Early Settlers of Davidson County — Brief Reminiscences of those 
living on the Different Roads leading out of Nashville as early as 
1809 — Magistrates of the County. 

The following recollections of Col. Willoughby Williams, 
an old resident of Nashville and former sheriff of Davidson 
County, begin with the year 1809. They form a valuable 
contribution to the early history of the county, by preserving 
the names, locations, and many facts of interest respecting 
a large number of citizens who resided, at the period of 
which he writes, on the different roads leading in and out 
of Nashville. 

The most important road leading to and from Nashville 
at that time, and up to the building of the turnpike road, 
was the Murfrcesboro' dirt road, which led from the pub- 
lic square on Market Street, out by the old Cumberland Col- 
lege to where Mr. John Trimble now resides, then on, cross- 
ing Mill Creek at R. C. Foster's mill. The first promi- 
nent citizen on this road was Col. Joel Lewis, who had a 
brother living at Fairfield, — William Terrel Lewis, — which 
was afterwards the home of William B. Lewis. There was 
no road leading by William B. Lewis' house ; a lane, how- 
ever, extended to the Murfrcesboro' road, and this was the 
road to Fairfield, the stopping-place of Gen. Jackson when 
he visited Nashville. 

Col. Joel Lewis was the father of Mrs. Thomas Claiborne, 
who was the widow of James King, a wealthy merchant, 
and brother of William King, the owner of " King's Salt- 
Works" in Virginia. He had other daughters and sons, — 
John H. Lewis, a lawyer, who moved to Huntsville, Ala., 
at an early day ; William Terrel Lewis, who lived at Fair- 
field, had five or six daughters. Dr. Claiborne, a brother of 
Governor Claiborne, of New Orleans, married the eldest 
daughter, who died early in life, leaving two children, Mi- 
cajah G. L. and Mary Claiborne. She afterwards mai-ried 



^ ^^ 



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^m ■■-by AJU-Xl'^i 



rir.Jy- 



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com^ J 



RECOLLECTIONS OP COL. WILLOUGHBY WILLIAMS. 



73 



Abram P. Murry, a very prominoiit man, and once an editor 
of a Nashville paper. Alfred Baleh, John H. Eaton, and 
William B. Lewis married three other daughters, all of 
whom died soon after marriage. The youngest daughter, 
whose name was Charlotte, lived some years before marry- 
ing, but finally married Maj. Baker, of New Orleans, and 
died soon afterwards. 

Maj. William B. Lewis, although of the same name, was 
not related ; he had two children who inherited the home 
of William Terrel Lewis. There is where William B. Lewis 
became the confidential friend of Gen. Jackson. 

A few miles farther on this road forked, one branch 
going to Lebanon by Buchanan's mill. The most promi- 
nent citizen on this road was Col. Michael Campbell, an 
early settler and large land-owner, and the grandfather of Col. 
Campbell Goodlett, a lawyer of Nashville. At the cross- 
ing of Mill Creek, on this road, was where Maj. John Bu- 
chanan built his famous " Fort" which served as a protec- 
tion from the assaults of the Indians. Blaj. Buchanan left 
several sons, from whom much information can be obtained. 
This road continues on by Walter Sims' to Thomas Hard- 
ing's, by Jackson and Coffee's old store-house, crossing- 
Stone's River, passing Timothy Dodson's, to the Hermitage. 
Mr. Dodson was a successful farmer, and left several sous, 
who reside at the old homestead. 

The Hermitage neighborhood was regarded as the best 
section of Davidson County, the soil being better adapted 
for cotton than any other part of the country, and was settled 
by wealthy men and cotton-planters ; among them were Gen. 
Jackson, Col. Edward Ward (who was speaker of the 
Senate in 1817, a man of talent and fine personal appear- 
ance, was a candidate for Governor, and beaten for that 
office by Gen. William Carroll), Maj. William Ward, 
Capt. John Donelson, the brother of Mrs. Jackson and 
the father of Mrs. Gen. Coffee, Mrs. McLemore, Mrs. Wil- 
liam Easton, Mrs. James Martin, and Mrs. Andrew J. 
Donelson. Capt. Donelson was a wealthy man in lands 
and slaves, and a successful planter. Sevan and Severn 
Donelson were also brothers of Mrs. Jackson. Gen. Thomas 
Overton, the friend of Gen. Jackson in the duel with Charles 
Dickinson, Dr. Hadley, Capt. Moseley, the step-father of 
Johr L. Brown, of Nashville, and others, all lived in this 
neighborhood. 

There also lived here John Anthony Winston and brother, 
two very prominent men, who emigrated to Alabama and 
settled near Tuscumbia. They arc the ancestors of the nu- 
merous Winstons in that State, among whom was Governor 
John A. Winston. 

In the same neighborhood lived a large family of Gleaves, 
early settlers and prominent men, some of whom are still 
living. 

On the Murfreesboro' fork of this road the first promi- 
nent citizen was Robert C. Foster, the father of Ephraim 
H. Foster and other sons, who were all prominent men. He 
had no daughters. Mr. Foster was one of the very best 
men of the county, a leading magistrate, and a Christian 
gentleman, a member of the Legislature, and once a candi- 
date for Governor in opposition to Governor McMinn. He 
erected a large mill upon Mill Creek, which was a great 
convenience to the neighborhood. The next man was Mr. 
10 



Kennedy, the father of Mrs. Hettie McEwen and Judge 
Kennedy, who moved to Lincoln County in 1808 or 1809. 
Mr. Murphy came next as an early and respectable settler. 
In this section lived Esquire Samuel Bell, the father of 
Hon. John Boll, a distinguished statesman of Tennessee, 
who was born on Mill Creek. Also, Col. Thomas Wil- 
liamson, one of Jackson's colonels in the Creek war and 
at New Orleans, who was regarded as a brave, gallant, and 
chivalrous gentleman, was a member of the Legislature of 
Tennessee in 1817, representing the lower house with the 
Hon. James Trimble, in session at Knosville ; and Esquire 
E. H. East, the father of Judge East of Nashville, a man 
of positive character, fearless and independent in his ex- 
pression of opinion of men and measures, and one of the 
most ardent Whigs of the county. Then comes John 
Sangster, who kept tavern on the hill ; next Esquire King, 
a clever, wealthy citizen, who lived where Dempey Weaver 
now lives. Then Mrs. Vaulx, living near the present Hos- 
pital for the Insane ; she was the mother of the late Joseph 
Vaulx and James Vaulx, the latter being then a large locator 
of lands in the western district. In this neighborhood lived 
Charles Hays, the grandfather of Thomas Hays and Mrs. 
Samuel Blurphy, a prominent citizen, Christian man, and 
the founder of the Baptist Church at Antioch. Next 
came Buchanan's tavern, a noted house of entertainment 
near Smyrna. 

The next road leading from Nashville commenced on 
College Street, passing the city cemetery, crossing Brown's 
Creek just above the railroad-crossing. The first promi- 
nent man on this road was Mr. John Rains, the grand- 
father of Robertson Rains. Then came Mr. Ridley, an 
early settler, who raised a large family ; two of his sons, 
Moses and Henry Ridley, lived on Stuart's Creek, in 
Rutherford County, and were large cotton-planters, promi- 
nent and influential men. Another son was James Ridley ; 
he was a noted citizen of Davidson County. The next 
man worthy of note was Michael C. Dunn, a very intelli- 
gent man, once sheriff of Davidson County, who married 
the daughter of John Rains. He raised a large family of 
talented sons and daughters, one of whom is William D. 
Dunn, a lawyer and wealthy citizen of Mobile, and also the 
grandfather of Mrs. Joseph W. Horton. William Dick- 
son, once a senator in Congress, lived on this road, and 
Hinchy Petway owned the place afterwards. The next 
man was Jonas Menifee, an old settler, owning a fine body 
of land, which was his " Headright," now owned by Mel- 
ville Williams. The next place was John Topp's, the 
father of four sons, all prominent men in Tennessee and 
Mississippi; Robertson Topp, of Memphis; Mrs. Thomas 
Martin, of Pulaski, the mother of Mrs. Judge Spofford ; 
and Mrs. Claiborne, who lives on Spruce Street. The next 
man was Judge John Haywood, a learned lawyer of North 
Carolina, judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, and 
an ornament to the legal profession, who lived and died 
and was buried on this place. Next was Dr. William 
Moore, a .son-in-law of Judge Haywood, who moved at an 
early day to Huntsville. In this neighborhood lived 
W. H. Nance, a magistrate of the county and a leading 
member of the Baptist Church, full of energy and devotion 
to the public good. Then comes Benajah Gray, an intel- 



74 



HISTOllY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ligent, leading man, and one of the magistrates of the 
county. Mr. Enoch Ensley also lived in thi.s neighbor- 
hood ; he was a constable with great money-making ca- 
pacity, and became one of the wealthy men of Tennessee. 
Esquire Herbert Towns lived in this neighborhood ; he was 
a magistrate and a man of intelligence, from whom much 
information can be obtained, as he is still living. This 
road was known then as the " Fishing Ford" of Duck 
River, passing Hardiman's cross-roads, now known as the 
Nolansville Pike. 

The next road leading from Nashville was called the 
Upper Franklin, now known as the Franklin Turnpike. 
It passes out Spruce Street by the custom-house. The 
first prominent man on the road was Joseph Coleman, who 
was an ofEcer in the United States army. He built the 
first fine house, which still stands behind the undertaking 
establishment of Groomes & Co., on Cherry Street, owned 
afterwards by Josiah Nichul. He also built the house on 
College Hill formerly owned by Maj. Rutledge, now the 
residence of Edward Baxter. 3Ir. Coleman also built the 
house of Mr. Joseph W. Horton, where he lived and died. 

The next man of note was George Michael Deadcrick, 
who lived at the place now owned by the Robert Wood's 
estate. He was the first president of the old Nashville 
Bank, and a wealthy leading citizen of Nashville. 

Then came Thomas Thompson, the father of the late 
John Thompson, both of whom lived and died on this 
place. Also, in this neighborhood lived Jason Tiiompson, 
who married a sister of Judge JIcNairy, also the grand- 
jfiither of Emmett Thompson, of Lebanon. John Overton, 
known throughout the State as a man of great legal ability 
and the wealthiest man in the State. Next man was 
Thomas Edmondson, one of the best citizens of the county, 
and a leading magistrate. He possessed the entire confi- 
dence of Judge Overton, his near neighbor. The next 
early settler was Robert Scales, a very clever gentleman. 

The next road was called the Middle Franklin, now 
known as the Granny White Pike. Tlie first prominent 
men on this road were Dr. James Overton and Robert B. 
Curry, who lived on what is called Curry's Hill. The 
next place was Nathan Ewing's, where Dr. Gale now re- 
sides. Then Tanner Johnson, a clever Christian man and 
an early settler. The heirs of Mr. John Johns now own 
his place. You next came to Judge John Overton's lands, 
now owned by Judge John M. Lea. Then came the 
" Tavern of Granny White," where all travelers from 
Franklin and Nashville were entertained. In this same 
neighborhood lived Edwin Smith, a well-known citizen of 
that section. 

The next road was known as the Richland Creek and 
Wharton road, which forked at Cockrill's Spring. This 
road led from Church Street by the Female Academy, round 
to Cedar Street or Charlotte road, running with that road 
and turning towards Maj. Boyd's residence, now owned by 
Hal. Hays. Maj. Boyd owned the entire land from the 
Charlotte to the Granny White Pike, all being'a corn-field. 
The road by the State Prison was not opened until about 
1830. Cockrill's Spring was a noted place, — the pre- 
emption title or claim of John Cockrill, who married a 
sister of Gen. James Robertson, also one of the first set- 



tlers in the county. One of his sons was the late Mark 
R. Cockrill. 

On the Wharton road the first prominent man was 
Jesse Wharton, who married the daughter of Joseph Phil- 
lips, and was a retired lawyer, once a member of Congress 
from the Nashville district, and candidate for Governor in 
opposition to Governor McMinn ; also a magistrate of 
Davidson County. The next man was Andrew Castleman, 
a brother-in-law of Nathan Ewing, a pure Christian gen- 
tleman, universally beloved, who settled on his pre-emption 
title, and there lived and died, leaving many descendants, 
among whom is Robert B. Castleman, now living in Nash- 
ville. Then came William Compton, a successful trader. 
Next Stockell's Meeting-house, in the neighborhood of 
which a large family of McCutcheons lived, all good citi- 
zens and Christian men. At this " Meeting-house," on 
Little Harpeth River, ten miles from Nashville, the Rev. 
William Hunre preached once a month, from 1817 up to 
the time of his death. In this neighborhood lived Maj. 
William Edmondson, a prominent man in his section, and 
was one of Gen. Jackson's soldiers at the battles of the 
Creek war and New Orleans. This road is known as the 
Hillsboro' Pike, now leading from Nashville. 

I now return to the other fork leading from Cockrill's 
Spring to Richland Creek, which was known as the Hard- 
ing Pike. The first man of note on this road was Capt. 
Joseph Erwin,who settled on this place in 1805. He was 
a very wealthy man, having large sugar- plantations at Plaque- 
mine, La., though he resided in Tennessee. He was the 
father-in-law of Charles Dickinson, who was killed by Gen. 
Jackson in a duel, and was buried on this place, near the 
turnpike. Dickinson also lived in this neighborhood, in 
sight, on the opposite side of the road. Capt. Erwin was 
the uncle of Governor Newton Cannon, and was the friend 
and backer of Cannon in the great Clover-Bottom race be- 
tween Gen. Jackson and Governor Cannon, which resulted 
in the duel between Dickinson and Jackson. The next 
man was Charles Bosley, a brother of John Bosley, who 
married the sister of Gen. Robertson. Mr. Charles Bosley 
was a large trader and operator at Natchez, Miss., and set- 
tled on this place in 1818. I neglected to mention some 
points of interest in regard to Capt. Erwin which are im- 
portant. He raised a large family,, among them three 
daughters, one of whom married Charles Dickinson ; after 
his death she married Mr. John B. Craighead; another 
married Col. Andrew Hynes ; and a third married William 
Blount Robertson, a brother of Dr. Felix Robertson. He 
was a lawyer by profession, owned and lived at the place 
where Mark Cockrill lived and died. The next man was 
Capt. John Nichols, who settled on his place in 1807. He 
was the bosom friend of Capt. Erwin and Mr. Charles 
Dickinson. 

The next man was James Maxwell, a Scotchman, who 
owned and lived on the place of the late Archer Cheatham. 
The next man was Mr. John Harding, one of the most in- 
dustrious and successful men of the county. He settled 
in a populous neighborhood, and finally owned the entire 
section. He was the father of William Giles Harding, of 
Belle-Meade. Next was 5Ir. Giles Harding, a brother of 
John Harding, who lived on the place owned afterwards by 



RECOLLECTIONS OF COL. WILLOUGHBY WILLIAMS. 



75 



Maj. Daniel Graham, wlio was one of the best-infonncd 
men of that ago, who filled the offices of Secretary of State, 
comptroller, and cashier of the Bank of Tennessee with 
tlie liighest honor. 

Crossing Harpeth Ridge you come to the Deraoss settle- 
ment, a fine section of country, settled by four brothers, 
the most prominent and intelligent of whom was Esquire 
Abram Demoss, the fiither of Judge Abrani Denioss, of 
the Nashville bar. Esquire Abram Deraoss built a fine 
grist- and saw-mill over Big Harpeth, which was of vast 
importance to the neighborhood. He married the daughter 
of Mr. William Newsom, a lady of fine executive ability, 
who aided him in the management of his affiiirs and con- 
tributed largely towards his success in life. He was long 
a prominent magistrate of the county. In this neighbor- 
hood lived Esquire John Davis, the county surveyor, a man 
more universally beloved and esteemed than any man in 
the county for his integrity, honesty, and benevolence. He 
was the grandfather of Ed. D. Hick, of the Commercial 
Insurance Company, and one of the earliest settlers of the 
county. Crossing Harpeth you came to " Edney's Meeting- 
house," at Tank, where all the neighborhood gathered to 
liear Rev. Mr. Edney, a Methodist minister, as early as the 
year 1812. The next man was Mr. Thomas Allison, who 
lived on South Harpeth. Mr. Allison was a leading man 
in this part of the country, and one of the first Van Buren 
men in the county. His son, Thomas Allison, now lives 
at the old homestead. Farther down South Harpeth there 
was a large family of Greers, and a very prominent magis- 
trate, William H. Shelton, who was a leading man in his 
section, and one of the few out,spoken Crawford men at that 
day, when Crawford was a candidate for President. He 
was also quite a military man, and was familiarly known as 
" Baron Steuben," from his efforts to instUl those well- 
known tactics in the minds of the soldiers of that day. 

The next road leading from Nashville out by Charlotte, 
now known as the Charlotte Pike, was second in importance 
to the Murfreesboro' road, as it led west, and was greatly 
traveled by emigrants. The first man of note on this road 
was Matthew Barrow, who lived on the opposite side of the 
road from what is known as Barrow's Hill, in a little frame 
house. He moved afterwards to Barrow's Hill, now the 
" Yellow Fever Hospital," where he died. The next man 
was Dr. Peyton Robertson, a son of Gen. James Robertson. 
This was the beginning of Robertson's Bend, owned and 
occupied by the descendants of Gen. James Robertson. 
Near this place lived John Bosley, who married the sister 
of Gen. Robertson, and was one of the first settlers of the 
county. Above the cVossing of Richland Creek lived Rob- 
ert Hewitt, who owned a large tract of land. One of his 
daughters married Edwin H. Childress, who lived at the old 
homestead. Dr. Felix Robertson owned a large tract of 
land on the right of the road, on which be planted a large 
vineyard in 1818. The place was afterwards owned by 
Brent Spence. 

Next, William E. Watkins, who also married a daughter 
of Jlr. Hewitt; he was a thi'ifty citizen of this county. 

Then came William Blount Robertson, a lawyer and a 
son of Gen. James Robertson, who married a daughter of 
Capt. Joseph Erwin. 



Next was B. J. Joslin, one of the most noted men of 
that day, who lived at a place called Ilillsboro'. He held 
the mail contracts leading south to New Orleans, and was 
familiarly known as " Old-B. J." 

Next was Col. " Dick" Boyd, who commanded a regiment 
in the Creek war, a brave soldier, and afterwards a leadin" 
man in all the elections. He married the daughter of Jo- 
siah Ilorton, who was once sheriff of Davidson County, and 
the father of Joseph W. Horton, also sherifi' of Davidson 
County. 

Next was a family of Gowers, early settlers, for whom 
Gower's Island in the Cumberland was called. 

Then we came to the ridge on the top of which lived 
Christopher Robertson, who kept a tavern, which was the 
general stopping-place. Not far from here was a road lead- 
ing to Sam's Creek Springs, a noted place of resort for the 
old families of the county. 

The next place was Dog Creek, on whose waters lived 
Slartin Ussory, an old settler. After crossing Big Har- 
peth, at the mouth of this creek lived Thomas Osborn, a 
clever man and early settler. 

Below tho crOcSsing lived Thomas Scott, the leading mag- 
istrate of the county ; also Jeremiah Baxter, the father of 
Judge Nathaniel Baxter. 

Next came old Mr. Rape, who lived in that neigh- 
borhood. It was here that Montgomery Bell, tho " Iron 
King" of that day, constructed a tunnel, changing the 
course of the river, at the foot of which he erected large 
iron-works. On the waters of Sam's Creek, leading into 
the Cumberland, lived Jesse CuUom, who raised a large 
family of sons. At the mouth of this creek lived William 
Shelton. On the waters of Pond Creek, near this creek, 
lived a large family of Hoopers, among whom is John 
Hooper, ninety years old, and still living. 

On the Cumberland, near the Shoals, lived Enoch Do- 
zler, a wealthy man, good citizen, and a large land-owner. 
Ho has two sons, Dennis and Willoughby Dozier, still Hy- 
ing in the same neighborhood. 

Tlie magistrates of the county at that day were appointed 
by the Governor, and selected from the most intelligent and 
best men of the county. The office was held by them for 
the public good, as there was very little profit attached to 
the office. This is why I have mentioned them so often. 

IJIPOKTANT KOADS LEADING FROM NASHVILLE 
ON THE NORTH SIDE OP THE RIVER. 

There were at that day two ferries on the Cumberland, 
one at the mouth of Wilson Spring Branch, above the 
present wharf; the other was near the Sulphur Spring 
Branch, and was the main cro.ssing going to Gallatin and 
to Springfield. There was a third, called Page's Ferry, 
near the race-track, where the river was fordable in low 
water. On the Gallatin road lived Col. Robert Weakley, a 
very prominent citizen of the county. Ho was afterwards 
a member of the Legislature and once a candidate for Gov- 
ernor ; was also a leading magistrate of the county, a very 
influential citizen, and one of the first settlers of the county. 
Near him lived David Vaughn, a very wealthy man and 
the father of Michael and Hiram Vaughn. 

Then Mr. William Williams, a retired lawyer and a man 



76 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



I 



of fine intelligence, Josiah Williams, and Thomas Martin, 
all sons-in-law of Blr. Joseph Phillips, a leading wealthy 
citizen. 

Mrs. Martin is still living, in her eighty-seventh year, 
at her old home. 

Just beyond Mr. Williams lived Samuel Love, near Hays- 
boro', which place was settled about the time Nashville 
■was, and for some time there was great competition between 
the two places. This place was settled by Col. Robert 
Hays, who married the sister of Mrs. Jackson, and was the 
father of Col. Storkley D. Hays and the father-in-law of 
Dr. William E. Butler and Robert I. Chester, both of 
whom are now living at Jackson, Tenn. 

Near Haysboro' lived the Rev. Thomas B. Craighead, a 
learned Presbyterian preacher and a very patriotic citizen. 
He built a large church near his residence, and the ceme- 
tery near the church contains the remains of most of the 
prominent citizens of that day. 

Mr. Maxey, the fother of Powhatan and Dr. William 
Maxey, lived at this place. 

Dr. William Gwin, the son of Parson Gwin, who was the 
life-long friend of Jackson, lived here. He was a senator 
from California, and is still living. 

The nest man was Blind-JIan Walker. Dr. William 
Maxey, " Gee's Tavern," and Reuben Payne, an enterpris- 
ing merchant at the mouth of Dry Creek. 

The next early settler was Col. William Donelson, a very 
wealthy man and brother of Mrs. Jackson. His grand- 
daughter married Senator McAdoo, of Waverly. 

Then Mr. Paul Dismukes, living on Blansker's Creek, 
who raised a large family of sons and daughters, among 
whom was John T. Dismukes, a very intelligent and promi- 
nent man, who died early in life. There was a road pass- 
ing up Mansker's Creek, by Dr. Dunn's spring near Good- 
letsville, up said creek to E. P. Connell's and John Bowers', 
both prominent men in this county. E. P. Connell was 
once candidate for county clerk, and was an intelligent 
magistrate of the county. 

Between the Gallatin and Springfield roads there were 
two country roads. On one of these roads lived a noted 
turfman, — Duke W. Sumner. He owned many fine race- 
horses. Near him lived Mr. George Wharton, a brother 
of Jesse Wharton, one of whose daughters married Gen. 
William White, who fought a duel with Gen. Samuel Hous- 
ton. Another daughter married Mr. Samuel Seay, long a 
prominent merchant of Nashville, at whose wedding I 
officiated as groomsman nearly sixty years ago. He was 
the father of George W. Seay. 

Claiborne Hooper also lived in this neighborhood, a 
wealthy, prominent man, and the father of the Hooper 
who had the difficulty with Nance. 

There also lived in this neighborhood Thomas Shannon, 
a leading magistrate of the county. Then came Michael 
Gleaves, the father of John E. Gleaves, late clerk of the 
Chancery Court ; Col. Jesse J. Everett, a prominent citi- 
zen and the father of Mr. Everett, the county register. He 
■was colonel of a regiment of militia, which embraced the 
entire county on the north side of the river. 

The road to Springfield and Clarksville passed Page's 
and Hyde's Ferry. 



Mr. Page lived on the first bluff below Nashville, which 
was afterwards owned by Judge William L. Brown, a dis- 
tinguished lawyer of Tennessee and one of the judges of 
the Supreme Court. He died at this place, and his re- 
mains were buried in an excavation in the bluff overlooking 
the Cumberland River. 

Next, Charles Moorman, a magistrate of the county, and 
a good citizen and a wealthy man. 

We now come to White's Creek, which was largely 
owned by the Stumps, wealthy and influential men of that 
day. Col. John Stump was one of the largest operators 
of that day and a prominent merchant of Nashville, under 
the firm of Stump & Cox, who traded in everything raised 
in the county. They possessed (he most unlimited confi- 
dence of that section, the people depositing all moneys 
with them. The firm failed in 1818 and produced wide- 
spread ruin throughout the county. Col. Stumps was 
afterwards a large locator of lands in the mountains of 
Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. 

On this creek lived two noted men, Isaac and Lewis 
Earthman ; Buchanan H. Lanier, the father of the com- 
mission merchant at Nashville ; and two brothers, Laban 
and Freeman Abernathy. 

We next come to Paradise Hill, on the top of which 
Esquire Thomas Shannon erected a large brick house. 
Here the road forks, one going to Clarksville and the other 
to Springfield. 

Maj. Thomas Hickman, an early settler, lived at Hick- 
man's Ferry, on the Cumberland, about twelve miles below 
Nashville. He was an early settler, a justice of the peace, 
and once sheritf of Davidson County. His only daughter 
married George W. L. Man-, a member of Congress from 
the Clarksville district and a very wealthy man. Below 
Hickman's Ferry, on Sycamore Creek, now Cheatham 
County, but at that time Davidson, was a large settlement, 
among whom were Thomas Shearon, a wealthy gentleman ; 
Wilson Crockptt, the magistrate of the county ; William 
Hollis, Mr. Brinkley, Mr. Demombrune ; also BIr. Eaton, 
an old settler and very intelligent man. 

The road leading from Nashville to Hyde's Ferry passed 
between the lands of David McGavock and Beal Bosley, 
two of the first settlers and owners of large bodies of 
land, and very wealthy men. Mr. McGavock lived on 
and owned the place where the cotton -factory now stands. 
In the rear of this farm is where the duel between Jesse 
Benton and Gen. Carroll took place. Crossing the river 
at this point you came to the Hyde settlement, two of 
whom were Richard and Tazewell Hyde, both early settlers 
and clever, rich men. 

This road also led to White's Creek, on whose waters 
also lived Gilbert Mar.shall and his father; and Joseph L. 
Ewing, who married a daughter of David BIcGavock. 
WiLLOUGHBY WiLLIAHS. 
Born in the year 1798; now in my 
eighty-second year ; mind and 
memory unimpaired by age. 



THE WAR OF 1812-14. 



77 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE MTAH OF 1812-14. 

Declnration of War — Exiicdition to Natchez — The Creek War — Jack- 
sou's Message to the Spanish Governor — Capt. Gordon's Perilous 
Mission — British Attack on Fort Bowyer — Invasion of the Lower 
Mississippi — Capture of Peusacola by Gen. Jackson — Movement 
upon New Orleans — Memorable March of Gen. Coffee — Battle of 
New Orleans — Conspicuous and Leading Part taken by Davidson 
County Men. 

Repeated acts of aggression on the part of Great 
Britain had ended in a declaration of war against that 
nation by the Congress of the United States on June 12. 
1812. The news reached Nashville in an unusually short 
time for that period, and on the 25th Gen. Jackson, who 
was then senior major-general in the State, having received 
the appointment on the death of Gen. Conway, made a 
tender through Governor Willie Blount to the government 
of the services of twenty-five liundred volunteers. The 
Secretary of War, appreciating the tremendous responsibility 
of the administration in declaring war against the wishes 
of a powerful party, representing the shipping and fishing 
interests, received the ofi"er with " peculiar satisfaction." 
The people of Tennessee had watched with deep interest 
the course of British aggression, and when the " Leopard" 
fired into the " Chesapeake" and forcibly took away a num- 
ber of American sailors whom she claimed as British sub- 
jects, the indignation broke forth in patriotic meetings and 
resolutions at Nashville. Gen. James Robertson, the now 
aged pioneer, immediately raised a company of old men, 
principally Revolutionary soldiers, styling themselves " Sil- 
ver Grays," and oifered their services to Gen. Jackson. 
The population of this State at that time was composed 
almost wholly of Revolutionary soldiers or their immediate 
descendants, and its soil probably now holds as much of 
this sacred dust as any State in the Union. Even as late 
as the year 1840 there were more than one thousand of 
these pensioners within its limits. These men could not 
believe that the government would hesitate an instant to 
resent such a, wanton outrage on its flag and to exact a swift 
vengeance. Diplomacy smoothed over the great wrong, 
but the insult still burned in the bosoms of the Western 
people. 

So when the declaration of actual hostilities reached 
them it brought no sense of alarm, but was hailed merely 
as the hour of ripened vengeance. Although the tender 
of Gen. Jackson was accepted, no call was made for the 
services of Tennessee troops, and the summer wore away 
in suspense and inaction, notwithstanding the disasters to 
the American arms on the Northern lakes. At length the 
government became apprehensive that the success of the 
enemy would induce an invasion of the Southern coast, 
and on October 21st requested Governor Blount to dispatch 
fifteen hundred men to the aid of Gen. Wilkerson, for the 
defense of New Orleans. On the 1st of November the 
Governor issued orders to Gen. Jackson to prepare for the 
movement. On the 14th Gen. Jackson issued an address 
to his division, which he began by saying that he could 
now greet them with the feelings of a soldier. He called 
upon them to remember that they were sons of Revolu- 



tionary sires ; that the theatre upon which they were to act 
possessed for them a peculiar interest. If the mouth of 
the Blississippi was blocked by a hostile force, the fruits of 
their industry would rot on their hands ; open, and our 
commerce goes to all the nations of the earth. To the 
keeping of the Western people was committed the defense 
of the lower Mississippi. 

The requisition being made at a season when the farmers 
were busy gathering their crops and preparing for winter, 
the 10 th of December was set as the time of rendezvous, 
and the place Nashville. However, this proved to be too 
early for the extent of preparation necessary: supplies of 
clothing and food for a long and arduous journey had to be 
procured, and then boats had to be built to transport the 
army down the river. Still, on the day appointed over 
two thousand volunteers presented themselves. Col. John 
CoiFee came with a regiment of cavalry numbering six 
hundred and seventy. Col. William Hall, of Sumner 
County, the hero of Greenfields and other hard conflicts in 
the pioneer period, brought one of the two regiments of 
infantry, and Thomas H. Benton, of Williamson, the " Old 
Bullion" of history, brought the other, together numbering 
fourteen hundred men. Maj. W. B. Lewis was quarter- 
master, Capt. William Carroll, afterwards Governor of the 
State, in.speotor, and John Reid aide and secretary to Gen. 
Jackson. With all the hurry it was the 7th of January 
before the embarkation of the infantry was accomplished, 
and on the same day Col. Coffee set out overland to Natchez. 
Both detachments arrived at Natchez on the 15th of Feb- 
ruary, where they were halted by Gen. Wilkerson to await 
further orders, which came on March 4th, discharging 
them from service. This order Jackson refused to obey 
until proper provision for the pay and subsistence of the 
men during their return march should be made. Finding 
many obstacles thrown in the way of his purpose, he pro- 
vided the means on his own credit, and marched his troops 
through by land, bringing all of his sick to Nashville. 

THE CEEEK WAR. 

In the month of September, 1813, the tidings burst upon 
the people of Tennessee of the terrible massacre at Fort 
Mimms on the 30th of August preceding. This was a 
stockade fort on the Tensas Bay, in the soutliern limits of 
the present State of Alabama, at that time known as the 
Blississippi Territory. The causes which led to this un- 
expected uprising of a nation in which the agent of the 
government was then quietly residing, and performing the 
functions of his office without any suspicion of an inter- 
ruption of peaceful relations, may be briefly stated : 

The limits of the Muscogee or Creek Nation at that time 
embraced the region between the Chattahoochee on the east, 
the Tombigbee on the west, the Tennessee on the north, 
and Florida on the south. The title of this tribe to this 
region of country was probably the clearest of any on the 
North American continent, — at any rate the clearest of that 
of any of the Southern tribes. Their claim went back to 
" the time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the 
contrary." All other tribes had a tradition of having come 
from the West or North, but to the Creeks they ascribed a 
spontaneous origin, speaking of them as " coming out of 



78 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



I 



the ground." Being brave and numerous, they had never 
been dispossessed by conquest of the more central seats of 
their dominion. The Hickory or " Holy Ground" had 
never been desecrated by the foot of an enemy. But the 
time came when they listened to the voice of a tempter 
and, heedless of the lessons before their eyes, gave them- 
selves up to a delusive dream of conquest which was to end 
in driving the hated white race forever from the American 
continent, and in restoring the land which the Great Spirit 
had given as an inlieritance to his red children. Tecumseh 
came, and ruin followed. This peerless warrior made his 
last visit to the Muscogees on the occasion of the holding 
of the grand council of the tribe in the autumn of ISI'2, 
at which the agent, Col. Hawkins, was assisting as adviser 
and director of their affairs. 

Every day during its session Tecumseh strode into the 
arena with his party from Ohio, naked except as to their 
flaps and ornaments, which latter consisted of buffalo tails 
dependent from their arms and wrists. After a ceremonious 
parade around the circle, he shook each warrior by the 
hand, at the conclusion of which he would announce that 
the sun had gone too far for him to make his talk that 
day, but that he would finish it the nest. However, he 
took care to make no disclosure of his mission until the 
agent, Col. Hawkins, departed to hold a council on the 
Chattahoochee (Flint). 

That night the great round-house was crowded with 
chiefs and warriors eager to hear the purport of Tecumseh's 
" talk," already shadowed forth in a visit during the pre- 
vious year. In a long speech, full of eloquent fiire, he un- 
folded his mission, which was to unite the northern and 
southern tribes, and at a given signal strike a simultaneous 
blow from every available quarter at their old enemies the 
Americans, and drive them into the sea. Their Great 
Father, the English king, had promised him that this 
should be done. Before the night had passed, more than 
half of his audience were ready and burning to begin the 
war. Indeed, to such a height was the spirit of vengeance 
raised that it was with the utmost difficulty that many of 
the warriors could be I'estrained from entering at once on 
the work of destruction, without waiting fur the signal, 
which the prophets declared would be announced by the 
appearance of Tecumseh's hand in the heavens. Tecumseh 
then went from town to town, and before he left the great 
bulk of the Creek nation had entered heart and soul into 
his grand scheme of conquest. The utmost secrecy was 
enjoined, but the proverbial indiscipline of the Indians un- 
masked their hostility to the settlers on the lower Alabama 
in time to put them on their guard, but not to a sufficient 
extent to awaken them to an adequate sense of the real 
danger. In July, 1813, a considerable body of Creek war- 
riors having repaired to Pensacola for promised supplies of 
ammunition from the Spanish and English, a body of set- 
tlers one hundred and eighty in number met them on their 
return at Burnt Corn and attacked them in their bivouac, 
but were defeated, the Indians acting with great bravery. 
The tiger was now thoroughly aroused, and thirsted for the 
blood of his enemy. A force of one thousand warriors 
quickly gathered under William Weatherford, Peter Mc- 
Queen, and the Prophet Francis, and stealthily approached 



the stockade of Samuel Mimnis, on the Tensa Lake, where 
the neighboring settlers had collected under the protection 
of one hundred and seventy volunteers from the Natchez 
country, and seventy militiamen, making in all five hundred 
and fifty-three souls within the enclosure. 

The Indians lay in a ravine four hundred yards from the 
eastern gate until noon of the 30th of August, when, as 
the drum in the fort beat the call to dinner, they dashed 
forward and entered the open gate, which could not be 
closed in time on account of an accumulation of sand in the 
way. The garrison made a brave defense, and were on the 
point of beating off their assailants after a conflict of two 
hours, when Weatherford succeeded in firing the houses, 
which resulted in the total destruction of the fort. An in- 
discriminate and barbarous slaughter of the white women 
and children then took place, not one of whom was left 
alive. A few of the friendly Indians and som(^ of the 
negroes were spared, amounting to less than fifty in all. It 
is to the credit of Weatherford to state that when he saw 
that his victory was assured he exerted himself to stay 
the carnage of the women and children, but his voice and 
influence were unheeded in the raging thirst for blood. 
The cruel victory had a dear atonement, as we shall see. 

The tidings of this terrible outburst of Creek hostility 
reached Governor Blount at Nashville in a dispatch from 
Mr. George S. Gaines. A meeting of citizens was held at 
Nashville on the 18th of September, and was eloquently 
addressed by the Rev. T. B. Craighead, in favor of march- 
ing an army at once into the Indian country for the pro- 
tection of the border settlements and avenging the inhuman 
massacre of defenseless women and children. Fortunately 
the Legislature was on the point of assembling at Nash- 
ville, and when it met an act was passed, on the 25th of 
September, at the recommendation of the Governor, calling 
into the field thirty-five hundred volunteers, in addition to 
the fifteen hundred already in the service, and voting three 
hundred thousand dollars for the immediate wants of the 
troops. Gen. Jackson, though confined to his couch from 
a dreadful wound received a short time before in an affray 
with the Bentons, began the work of organization with 
characteristic energy. The troops were ordered to rendez- 
vous at Fayetteville, Tenn., near the Alabama line, on the 
4th of October, which was only ten days from the passage 
of the act. It was construed by the authorities that the 
volunteers in the Natchez expedition still owed their ser- 
vices to fill out the unexpired term of their twelve months' 
enlistment, which would end on the 10th of December. 
Although they had received a certificate of discharge, they 
collected at the rendezvous, with few exceptions, at the ap- 
pointed time, under the expectation that, as their services 
were called into requisition to meet an extraordinary emer- 
gency, the period of absence would not be long. Few of 
them had time to make arrangements for the gathering of 
their crops, or make provision even for a limited absence 
from home. Many went without a proper supply of winter 
clothing, and all left on the briefest notice, having time 
only to prepare for the most pressing needs of the occasion. 
Jackson, yet unable to mount his horse without assistance, 
started to the rendezvous, but his sufferings were so great 
that he could only reach it on the 7th, but he sent forward 



THE WAR OF 1812-14. 



79 



liis aide, Maj. lleid, to read an order, which began by say- 
ing, "We will commence the campaign by an inviolable 
attention to subordination and discipline." In the mean- 
time Col. CoiFee had been dispatched with his regiment of 
mounted gunmen to Huntsville, Ala., and beyond for the 
protection of the citizens along the Tennessee River. On 
the 11th a dispatch came from that officer to the effect 
that friendly refugee Creeks had come in, and stated that 
one thousand warriors were approaching the river to cross 
and make an attack on Huntsville. Jackson instantly 
issued orders for the march, and at three o'clock p.m. his 
division was on the road, and at eight o'clock p.m. had 
reached Huntsville, at the distance of thirty miles. His 
force consisted of two brigades, one of volunteers, com- 
manded by Gen. William Hall, and the other of militia, 
commanded by Gen. Isaac Roberts, both of whom were 
=-killed in Indian warfare, having been in numerous conflicts 
and expeditions in the pioneer period. 

On arrival at Huntsville the reports of a hostile advance 
were found to be untrue, and the army proceeded more 
leisurely to Ditto's Landing, on the Tennessee River. Here 
Jackson expected supplies by boats from East Tennessee, 
but the low stage of water above had prevented their ar- 
rival, and on the 19th he broke camp and marched up the 
river over a mountainous country, cutting a road as he 
went. He halted at Thompson's Creek, where he erected 
shelter for the reception of the stores when they should 
arrive from above, and named his camp Fort Deposit. His 
supplies were about exhausted before he started for this 
point, and the non-arrival of the expected boats had now 
reduced his army to the greatest straits. Col. Coffee soon 
after came in from a scout with three or four hundred 
bushels of captured corn. At length, having accumulated 
two days' rations of bread and six of beef, he set out for 
the Two Islands of the Coosa on the 25th, whither he had 
been entreated by daily runners to go for the relief of the 
friendly Indians in that vicinity. He arrived in a week 
within a few miles of the place, having to halt frequently 
and scour the country for food. 

Learning on arrival that a considerable body of Creeks 
had assembled at Tullusatches, thirteen miles distant from 
his camp, on tlie south side of the Coosa, Gen. Coffee was 
dispatched with one thousand mounted men to strike them. 
Being piloted by friendly Indians he surrounded the town, 
and after a desperate conflict took it, killing one hundred 
and ninety warriors and captui'ing eighty-four women and 
children ; his own loss was five killed and forty wounded, 
mostly from arrows, which the enemy relied upon after firing 
their guns. 

Maj. -Gen. Cocke was acting in concert with a force from 
East Tennessee, and Gen. White's brigade, of that com- 
mand, having arrived at Turkey Town, twenty-five miles 
distant, the latter was ordered by Gen. Jackson to join him 
for an advance into the Indian country as far as the Talla- 
poosa, where he learned that the enemy were collecting in 
great force. Having strengthened his camp, which he named 
Fort Strother, he set out on the 8th of December for Tal- 
ladega, where a number of friendly Indians had taken ref- 
uge in a fort from a large force of hostile warriors who had 
completely invested the place and cut off every avenue of 



escape. He arrived within six miles of the place at night, 
and sent out scouts to ascertain the numbers and position 
of the enemy. He was here informed that the march of 
Gen. White on Fort Strother had been countermanded by 
Gen. Cocke, which left his sick and wounded at the mercy 
of any hostile party that might discover the weakness of 
the place. He thereupon decided to give battle the next 
morning in order to hasten his return to his defenseless 
camp. At daylight on the 9th the march was resumed, 
and on reaching within a mile of the enemy the army was 
thrown into line of battle, Hull's brigade being on the 
right, and Roberts' on the left. The mounted men were 
divided into three portions, two to occupy the respective 
wings with orders to encircle the enemy, and one posted in 
the rear to act as reserve. The lines then moved forward 
in columns of companies until the advance-guard of four 
companies, among them Capt. Deaderick's company of ar- 
tillery, from Nashville, armed with muskets, reached within 
eighty yards of the concealed enemy, who now rose and, 
opening a hot fire, made a general advance along their lines. 
Several companies of Gen. Roberts' militia, getting alarmed 
at the impetuous rush and yells of the Indians, gave way 
on the first fire, leaving a gap in the lines, which, however, 
was quickly filled by the reserve cavalry under Col. Dyer, 
who advanced with great intrepidity and in turn drove the 
enemy, being assisted by the militia, who now returned to the 
battle. As the enemy began to retreat a general advance 
was made along Jackson's lines, which met the fleeing 
savages at every turn. In a brief time the battle was 
ended. Two hundred and ninety-nine warriors were killed, 
and the destiuction would have been much greater but for 
a gap which was left in the encircling line, through which 
many escaped. Jackson had seventeen killed and eighty- 
three wounded. The joy of the besieged Creeks, who 
knew nothing of Jackson's approach until the battle 
opened, was said to have been indescribable. The army 
started on its return to Camp Strother the next day, and 
on arrival found that the contractors had not only failed 
to bring up provisions, but that the scanty stock left at 
the place for the sick and wounded had been consumed. 
Ten days of starvation at this point brought about such 
a state of discontent that the troops demanded to be 
marched home, or to a point where supplies could bo had. 
The general asked for two days' further delay, and, if 
at the end of that time supplies failed to come, he 
would grant their request. At the appointed time, no 
relief having come, the troops started on their return ; but 
on the second day, a herd of beef cattle having been met, 
the whole body returned to Camp Strother, but not without 
reluctance and an altercation with the general. 

The expiration of the time of enlistment of the volun- 
teers being now close at hand, the general was sounded as 
to whether he would dismiss them honorably from the ser- 
vice and allow them to proceed to their homes. He firmly 
refused their request, and announced his determination to 
hold them five mouths longer, to complete the amount of 
service which under his construction of the law they still 
owed to the government. The announcement of this answer, 
which the men construed in turn to be a direct violation of 
the terms of their enlistment and of their constitutional 



80 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



rights, in wliich opinion they were sustained by most of 
their officers, aroused the feelings of the brigade to such a 
pitch that they announced their intention of marching 
home on the expiration of their time, which was on the 
10th of December. On the night of the 9th, Gen. Jackson, 
having learned through the officers that the men were still 
firmly bent on executing their purpose, had them suddenly 
paraded in front of the fort, with the brigade of militia 
stationed to one side, and the artillery in front with lighted 
matches. A violent altercation now ensued between Gen. 
Jackson and Col. William Martin, who commanded one of 
the ofiending regiments. Col. Martin was an old pioneer 
soldier, a man of great personal worth of character, and one 
of the most faithful and vigilant officers in the service, exact- 
ing at all times of his men a rigid compliance with disciplinary 
regulations. The matter ended at length in a temporary 
relinquishment on the part of tlie men of their design to 
march home, but their discontent was so evident, notwith- 
standing the stirring appeals of their general to their patriot- 
ism, that on the arrival of the new regiments, which had 
been raised by Governor Blount for a service of two months, 
Gen. Jackson gave orders for their return home and dis- 
charge, in which the militia brigade was also included, at 
the expiration of its term, January 4th, it having turned 
out with the volunteers at the same short notice, and being 
equally as badly provided for the rigors of a winter cam- 
paign or for a lengthened absence from home. 

In the mean time Col. Carroll and Gen. Roberts liad by 
great exertions gotten up some recruits for a short time to 
go to Gen. Jackson's relief and enable him to hold the 
advanced post of Fort Strother. These amounted to nine 
hundred two months' volunteers under the command of 
Cols. Higgins and Perkins, and were assembled at Strother 
by the 15th of January. Besides, he had two spy com- 
panies (Capts. Gordon's and Russell's), the company of 
artillery from Nashville with one six- pounder, commanded 
by Lieut. Robert Armstrong, a company of volunteer offi- 
cers raised by Gen. Coffee on the disbandment of the lat- 
ter's brigade, and one company of infantry. With a net 
force of nine hundred men, exclusive of friendly Indians, 
he took up the line of march on the 17th for the purpose 
of striking the enemy a blow if possible, but particularly 
to give the raw recruits employment, a matter of vital im- 
portance in circumstances where discontent could be so 
easily fomented. On the 20th he encamped at Enotachopco, 
twelve miles from the mouth of the Emuckfiw, in a bend 
of the Tallapoosa. The next day he resumed his march, 
and by night found himself in the vicinity of a large force 
of the enemy. He encamped in a hollow square to guard 
against a night attack. A little before day the enemy at- 
tacked in heavy force the left wing, wliich held firm until 
daylight, when, being reinforced by Capt. Ferrill's infantry 
company, a charge was made along the entire line, which 
pushed the enemy back with much slaughter for the dis- 
tance of two miles. The friendly Indians joined in the 
pursuit with much ardor. Gen. Cofi"ee was now detached 
with four hundred men to burn their fortification ; but in 
making a reconnoissance he thought it prudent not to make 
the attempt, but to return to camp. In a half-hour after 
his return a fire on the right and rear of Jackson's little 



army showed that Gen. Coffee had acted with wisdom. 
This officer at his request was now dispatched with two 
hundred men to act against the left flank of this force, but 
by mistake only about one-fourth of the number accom- 
panied him. Two hundred friendly Indians were also sent 
to co-operate. At the moment the firing began in this 
quarter a violent attack was made on Jackson's left, for 
which he had made preparation, correctly judging that the 
first attack was intended as a diversion to engage his atten- 
tion. The general repaired to this point in person with 
his reserve, and after four or five volleys had been fired a 
vigorous charge was ordered, which drove the enemy back 
to the distance of a mile. In this pursuit a hand-to-hand 
conflict took place between Lieut. Demoss, of Capt. Pip- 
kins' company, and a large Creek warrior. Each snapped 
his gun at the other, when, these weapons being discarded, 
they drew their knives and clinched in a desperate strug- 
gle ; but the issue was decided by a comrade of Demoss, 
who hastened to his succor and assisted in killing the war- 
rior. Demoss was badly cut by his antagonist, and had to 
be carried to Fort Strother on a litter. On the first alarm 
in this quarter, the friendly Indians instantly quitted Gen. 
Coffee and hastened to this point, thus leaving him to con- 
tend with a greatly superior force which was posted in a 
reedy creek affording many advantages. Coffee, however, 
made a vigorous fight, and was enabled to hold his ground 
until assistance came after the main battle was over, when 
a gallant charge was made and the Indians driven from that 
part of the field with a loss of forty-three killed. 

In this charge Gen. Coffee was wounded, and his aide, Maj. 
Alexander Donelson, and three others were killed. Maj. 
Donelson was a grandson of Col. John Donelson, one of 
the founders of Davidson County, and the commander of 
the emigrants' boats in their marvelous voyage down the 
Tennessee in 1780. He was a young officer of ardent and 
determined bravery, and his death was greatly lamented. 
This ended the battle. The dead having been collected and 
buried, and the wounded attended to, Jackson began his re- 
turn march on the 23d, and encamped that night near 
Enotachopco Creek. The presence of the enemy was un- 
mistakable during the night, and the general became satis- 
fied that he would be attacked the next morning at a ra- 
vine on the route, which he had noted in his advance sev- 
eral days before, the place being admirably suited for an 
ambuscade. He thereupon turned to the right to effect a 
crossing below, where the woods were open. His conjecture 
was correct; the front column had just crossed the creek, 
and also part of the flanking column, with the piece of the 
artillery just entering the descent, when shots were heard 
in the rear, being fired at Samuel Watkins (still surviving 
at the age of eighty-six), who had lagged behind to let his 
hungry horse pick on the cane-leaves. The Indians had 
quit their cover on discovering the manoeuvre of Gen. 
Jackson, and now threw themselves precipitately on his 
rear. The onslaught was so sudden and vigorous that the 
right and left columns of the rear-guard gave way in con- 
fusion, which soon extended to part of the centre column. 
Some of this column remained firm, and with Russell's spy 
company and a part of the artillery company, dispatched to 
hold the ground with their muskets until the piece could 



THE WAR OF 1812-14. 



81 



be brought up, which was soon effected by the exertions 
of Lieut. Armstrong, held the hordes of the enemy in check. 
The gun was pushed up under a galling fire, and quickly 
opened with a discharge of grape. The rammer and picker 
having been left tied to the limber in the hurry of the 
movement. Craven Jackson used the ramrod of his mus- 
ket for a picker, and Constantine Perkins used his gun for 
a rammer. In this way the piece was loaded. A vig- 
orous charge was now made on the Indians by those gath- 
ered at this point, by which they were repulsed. At this 
moment Col. Higgins had led his regiment across the 
creek, and also Capt. John Gordon, an old pioneer hero, 
when a determined advance was made, before which the 
Indians fled, being chased for two miles. In this chase 
Col, Higgins engaged in combat with an Indian and slew 
him with his own hand far in advance of his men. Capt. 
Pipkins, who commanded a company from Davidson County, 
was conspicuous also in the pursuit. The enemy left twenty- 
sis warriors dead on the field. Of the whites who were 
killed were two very brave officers, Capts. Hamilton and 
Quarles. The entire loss in the two engagements was 
twenty-two killed and sixty wounded. 

The army continued its retreat without further inter- 
ruption, and reached Fort Strother on the 26th. 

Reinforcements having shortly arrived from East and 
West Tennessee, the, volunteers were now discharged, and 
preparations made for a decisive blow at the large force of 
Creeks assembled within a strong fortification in the Horse- 
shoe Bend of the Tallapoosa. On the 14th of March 
Jaekson set out on his march with something over three 
thousand militia and a regiment of regular infantry six 
hundred strong. On the 26th he reached the mouth of 
Cedar Creek, where Fort Williams was established. A 
force under Brig.-Gen. Johnson having been left as a 
guard for this post, he set out on the 24th, by way of 
Emuokfaw, for the Tallapoosa Bend, near which were 
situated the Oakfuskee villages. The Indian name of the 
bend was Tohopoka or the Horseshoe. This peninsula con- 
tained about one hundred acres, and the isthmus, which was 
about three hundred and fifty yards across, had been forti- 
fied with unusual care, with a high breastwork of logs, in 
which were two rows of port-holes: Behind this fortifica- 
tion were nine hundred Creek warriors, and at the village 
in the rear over three hundred women and children. The 
river-bank at the farther point of the bend was lined with 
canoes, to favor escape in case of disaster. The interior of 
the space was covered with brusli, trees, and ravines, ad- 
mirably adapted for defense. 

Jackson arrived on the 27th of March before the place, 
and saw at once his opportunity of surrounding the enemy 
and destroying the whole force. He, therefore, dispatched 
Gen. Coffee with his mounted brigade to the right to cross 
the river below and cut off escape in that quarter. At half- 
past ten the artillery — a three- and a six-pounder — was 
brought to bear on the works at a distance of eighty yards 
and fired for two hours without any other effect than to 
provoke derisive cheers from the besieged warriors. 

At this juncture Gen. Coffee detached Col. Morgan with 
Russell's spy company to cross the river in some eanoes 
which had been procured by volunteer swimmers. This 
11 



detachment quickly set fire to the Indian village near the 
bank and opened fire on such warriors as were in sight. 
This diversion being discovered by the troops at the front, 
these were now ordered to charge; a desperate contest en- 
sued for the possession of the works, in which Maj. Mont- 
gomery of the Thirty-ninth Regulars lost his life as he 
mounted the parapet. The assault was at length successful, 
and the Indians took refuge behind trees and logs to the 
rear, whence they waged an obstinate conflict, but they 
were gradually driven from this shelter, when they sought 
to make their escape in canoes. Finding retreat out off in 
this direction, many of them took shelter in the deep ravine 
and under the river-bank, where in the course of the day 
they were destroyed, disdaining to the last to surrender. 
Only about twenty escaped by swimming and diving. 
Four surrendered, and about three hundred women and 
children were taken prisoners. Jackson's loss was fifty-five 
killed and one hundred and forty-six wounded, of whom 
quite one-half were friendly Indians. Jackson sunk his 
dead in the river to prevent them being scalped by the 
enemy after his departure, and returned to Fort Williams. 
On the 7th of April he again set out on his march, and 
reached the Holy Ground of the Creeks, at the junction of 
the Tallapoosa and the Coosa, without bringing the Indians 
to another engagement. Here the chiefs of the hostile 
party began to arrive in his camp and make professions of 
submission, among them Weatherford, the leader of the 
attack on Fort Mirams. Tiiis brave chief, in tendering his 
submission, said, "I am in your power; do with me as 
you please. I am a soldier. I have done the white people 
all the harm I could ; I have fought them, and have fought 
them bravely. If I had an army I would yet fight, and 
contend to the last ; but I have none, — my people are all 
gone. I can now do no more than weep over the misfor- 
tunes of my nation." Tliese professions proved sincere as 
to the great body of these people ; a certain part took refuge 
with the English and Spaniards at Pensacola, and continued 
in a state of hostility. 

The war being virtually over, those troops whose term of 
service was nearly out were now discharged, the artillery 
company from Nashville among the rest, and on the 21st 
of April they started on their return home. Capt. Ham- 
mond's spy company from Davidson was retained to do 
duty at Fort Deposit. 

Gen. Jackson being anxious to make sure of the fruits 
of his important victories, now sought to make the Spanish 
Governor of Pensacola a party, as it were, to the treaty 
with the Indians, so as to hold him to a stricter respon- 
sibility for his future conduct. But to reach him it was 
necessary for the bearer of his messages to traverse a long 
stretch of tropical wilderness, unmarked by road or path, 
and rendered doubly difiicult of penetration by reason of 
numerous swamps, lagoons, and rivers. The bearer of the 
dispatches was Capt. John Gordon, of Davidson County, 
who, with a single companion, undertook the dangerous 
and seemingly desperate mission. At the end of the first 
day's journey the companion of Capt. Gordon became so 
much appalled by the prospects ahead that the captain drove 
him back and continued his mission alone. After many 
difficulties and dangers from hostile Creeks, he reached 



82 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Pensacola. On his arrival ho was surrounded by a large 
body of Indians, and it was only by the greatest presence 
of mind that he escaped instant death and reached the 
protection of the commandant. His mission being ended, 
he returned as he came, and reached Gen. Jackson in 
safety. 

The designs of the British against the Gulf coast having 
been made known to Gen. Jackson, he urged at once on 
the neighboring Governors to hasten forward their levies. 
The call having been made on the 9th of September, the 
quota of Tennessee was soon full, many paying for the priv- 
ilege of places in the draft. About the 1st of October 
these troops, under Gen. Coffee, set out from the rendez- 
vous to join Gen. Jackson at Mobile. The attack on Fort 
Bowyer, at the entrance of Mobile Bay, on September 10th, 
by a British fleet of ninety guns and a combined land force 
of Spaniards and Indians, was but the precursor of greater 
events, and tlie development of the design of the grand 
invasion of the lower Mississippi region. The attack failed 
and the enemy's ships, with blood-stained decks, cockpits 
lull of dead and wounded, and shattered hulls were scarce 
able to reach the shelter of Pensacola, whence they had 
rallied. Jackson now saw that the defense of New Orleans 
could not be successfully maintained until Pensacola was 
reduced. Gen. Coffee having reached the vicinity of Fort 
St. Stephens, he repaired there on the 26th of October 
and began preparations for an expedition against that 
point. Coffee's men, being mounted, cheerfully abandoned 
their horses, on account of the difficulty of procuring 
forage, and marched on foot. Besides these were some 
regulars and a few Indians, the whole force amounting in 
all to about three thousand men. The march began on 
November 2d, and the neighborhood of Pensacola was 
reached on the 6th. The news of Jackson's approach 
having been received at the place, it was in a state of 
preparation for an active defense. 

Jackson, feeling the nature of the responsibility he was 
incurring ih proceeding against a neutral power with which 
the United States were at peace, dispatched a flag to 
demand of the Spanish Governor the possession of the forts, 
in which a United States garrison should be placed to insure 
the preservation of neutrality from violation by the forces 
of Great Britain, then at war with his country. The flag 
was fired upon and forced to return. However, the 
American commander was anxious to make another effort at 
negotiation, and he sent a letter by a Spanish corporal who 
had been captured the day before. The Governor now re- 
plied that the outrage of the flag was committed by the 
British, and that he would be glad to hear any overtures 
that might be made. Jackson therefore dispatched the 
same ofiicer with a communication in which he demanded 
possession of the forts within an hour. To this a decided 
refusal was returned. It being important to avoid the fire 
of the British fleet in the bay, Jackson sent forward a body 
of five hundred men to occupy the attention of the enemy, 
while the greater force was carried to a point whence it 
could i.ssue against the forts under the cover of the houses. 
The manoeuvre was eminently successful. The troops 
stormed the field-guns of the Spaniards posted in the street, 
and took them at the point of the bayonet, seeing which 



the intendant, fearing Jackson's vengeance, rushed from 
his quarter's with a white flag and submitted to his fate, 
which was 'the rendition of the various forts under his 
command. However, Spanish resentment and treachery in 
giving up Fort St. Michel came near provoking an indis- 
criminate slaugliter of its garrison. During those transac- 
tions the British men-of-war kept up an active cannonade 
on the Americans, but were finally driven off by the fire of 
the light batteries ranged along the beach. Fort Barrancos 
was fourteen miles to the west, and preparations had been 
made for receiving its surrender the next day, but during 
the night it was blown up, and the British fleet retired from 
the bay. Jackson held the town two days, and then aban- 
doned it, hastening to Mobile, whither the fleet seemed to 
be bearing. The danger having blown over in this quarter, 
he left for New Orleans on the 22d of November, where he 
arrived the 1st of December. The troops under Gen. Coffee 
marched across the country, striking the Mississippi at the 
present site of Port Hudson. This journey is memorable for 
the hardships endured. It rained constantly, and the march 
lay through an uninhabited pine forest, intersected by 
numerous cypress swamps. Many of the horses succumbed 
to toil and hunger, while the backs of the survivors were 
stripped of hair, owing to the constant drenching of their 
bodies with water. 

On the 17th of December he received orders from Gen. 
Jackson to hasten his march. Starting on the 18th, he ac- 
complished one hundred and fifty miles in two days, reaching 
within fifteen miles of New Orleans on the night of the 19th. 
In the mean time two thousand five hundred Tennessee mili- 
tia had embarked at Nashville on the 19th of November, 
under Maj.-Gen. Carroll, and were hastening in boats down 
the Mississippi to New Orleans, which they reached on De- 
cember 21st. Gen. Jackson had been making superhuman 
exertions for the defense of the place, but his preparations 
were far from complete when it was announced that the 
British army had come through Bayou Bienvenue and es- 
tablished itself on the Mississippi at Gen. Villery's planta- 
tion. He received these tidings about noon of the 23d of 
December, and resolved on a movement which virtually de- 
cided the fate of the invading army. Gens. Carroll and 
Coffee from above the city were ordered to join liim at once, 
and in two hours those active and experienced officers had 
arrived at his headquarters with their respective commands. 
Here it was decided to detach Carroll's division to guard 
the Gentilly road, leading from Chef Menteur to the city, 
in case of a hostile movement from that quarter. With 
Coffee's brigade, the 7th and 44th regulars, the Louisiana 
battalions, and Col. Hind's Mississippi dragoons, Jackson 
arrived in presence of the enemy a little before dark. He 
immediately made his dispositions for the attack. Coffee 
being ordered to bear to the left and gain the rear of the 
British right wing, which extended out into the plain at 
rioht angles to the river, on which their left rested. The 
remainder of his forces were held to strike in the front at a 
signal from the " Caroline," an armed schooner, which had 
orders to drop down the river to a point opposite the 
enemy's camp, and open with grape-shot. Coffee, having 
farther to go than the rest, was unable to get in position be- 
fore the signal-guns from the " Caroline" announced that the 



SEMINOLE WARS. 



83 



battle was opened ; but his brave fellows immediately dis- 
mounted, and turning their horses loose stripped for the fight, 
and advanced in the direction of the British camp. Tliey 
had proceeded but a short distance in the darkness before 
they received an unexpected fire from a line of the enemy 
which had taken refuge in that quarter from the guns of 
the " Caroline." Coffee ordered his men to press forward 
in a line, and only fire when close enough to distinguish the 
enemy's line with certainty. This was done, and such a 
destructive volley was opened at short range that the Brit- 
ish were driven back ; but they soon reformed, to be again 
forced back by the steady advance of the Tennesseeans, until 
they reached an orange-grove, along which ran a ditch, 
where they halted in full confidence of maintaining their 
position. From this, however, they were driven, to the 
mortification of the British officers, and in a short time from 
another position of similar nature, whence they retreated to 
the bank of the river, where, by great exertions, they were 
enabled to withstand further assaults for a half-hour, but at 
length they were forced to take refuge behind the remains 
of an old levee, which afforded security from the fire of the 
American rifles. 

In the mean time the battle on the right wing had been 
pushed by Gen. Jackson in person, and the enemy driven 
nearly a mile from successive positions. In the last charge 
made by Coffee, Cols. Dyer and Gibson, with about two 
hundred men and Capt. Beal's company of riflemen, be- 
came separated from the rest of the brigade, and unex- 
pectedly found themselves in the presence of a line which 
they took for their own. On being hailed their officers 
rode forward and announced that they belonged to Coffee's 
brigade, when, discovering that it was a line of the enemy, 
they wheeled to retire. Col. Gibson fell over some obstacle, 
and before he could rise was pinioned to the ground by the 
bayonet of an adversary who sprang forward upon him. 
Fortunately the bayonet inflicted only a slight wound, and 
held him only by his clothing. With a violent effort he 
regained his feet, and knocking his enemy down made his 
escape. Col. Dyer's horse was killed by the fire of the 
enemy before going fifty yards, and himself slightly wounded 
and entangled in the fall. He called out to his men to fire, 
which arrested the advance of the enemy, and enabled him 
to make good his retreat. Capt. John Donelson, who com- 
manded a company from Davidson County, during the 
confusion of this movement, discovered a line advancing in 
his rear, and on hailing it was answered that it was " Cof- 
fee's brigade." This line advanced rapidly with their guns 
at a "ready" until within a few paces, when it fiercely 
ordered the " d d Yankees" to surrender. Capt. Don- 
elson instantly ordered his company to fire, but the 
British line being prepared delivered the first volley, by 
which three of his men were killed and several wounded. 
Donelson had no thought of surrendering, but ordered his 
men to charge and cut their way through. In this des- 
perate attempt he not only succeeded, but brought off 
Maj. Mitchell of the Ninety-second Royal Foot a prisoner 
of war, taking him with his own hands. He, however, lost 
some prisoners. 

The success of this first battle had answered Jackson's 
anticipations, but burning to make it complete, he ordered 



Carroll's Tennessee division to report to^ him for an attack 
on the British lines at daylight. This design, however, 
was relinquished in favor of one of greater safety, and the 
troops were ordered to form on the Rodriguez Canal and 
fortify in haste. The events that followed, culminating in 
the battle of the 8th of January, are too familiar to need 
repetition in this place. From the date of their landing 
the invaders were put on the defensive day after day. 
Caution on their part took the place of enterprise, and 
when they advanced, seventeen days after their landing, it 
was but to slaughter and repulse from a line of fortifications 
which had sprung into existence in this interval. In the 
final battle the brunt of the attack fell upon the division of 
Gen. Carroll and the brigade of Gen. Coff'ee, which occu- 
pied the left wing of Jackson's line. Coff'ee was on the ex- 
treme left, and Carroll next, supported by the Kentuokians 
under Gen. Adair. The centre of Carroll's division was 
selected for the attack by the British commander on the 
information of a deserter from the American lines, who re- 
ported this as the weakest point on account of being occu- 
pied by " militia." The British advance was made in 
column, with a front of about seventy men, and hence the 
terrible destruction of life when, failing to carry the works, 
it had to retire across an open plain under a deliberate fire 
of rifles and cannon from many quarters. 

In this battle, as in all of the events which have been 
related so briefly in connection with the history of this 
period, the sons of Davidson County bore a conspicuous 
and leading part. Her fame is indelibly linked with the 
immortal name of Jackson, while she borrows additional 
lustre from those of Carroll, Coff'ee, and thousands of others 
who occupied subordinate relations to their great chief, but 
in their spheres sustained the glory and prestige of the 
pioneer period. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

SEMIKOLE MTAIIS. 

Influence of the Creeks with the Scmiuoles— First Seminole Wiir— 
Gen. .Tackson ordered to command the Campaign— He Seizes the 
Spanish Fort of St. Mark's— His Decisive Measures— Second Sem- 
inole War — Tennessee Troops — The Davidson " Highlanders" — 
"State Guards." 

Notwithstanding their terrible defeat at the Horse- 
shoe in 1814, many of the Creeks still remained implacable, 
and sought safety in the neutral Spanish territory of Flor- 
ida, where they were taken into the service of Great Brit- 
ain. By the treaty of Ghent, which concluded the war 
between the United States and Great Britain, it was stipu- 
lated that the former power was to restore to the Indian 
tribes with which it was at war at the time of the ratifica- 
tion of this treaty all the possessions and rights that said 
tribes were entitled to in the year 1811. Peace had been 
made with the Creek nation many months before the ratifi- 
cation, but this government construed that the terms did 
not apply to them, and erected forts and permitted settle- 
ments to be made quite down to the Spanish boundary. 
The hostile Creeks, on the other hand, claimed that they 



84 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



had not been a party to the treaty by which their lands 
were ceded, and that they had remained in a state of hostil- 
ity. The Seminoles, with whom they had become assimi- 
lated, also claimed certain boundaries on which the Geor- 
gians were making settlements. Individual acts of murder 
and rapine on either side led at length to an open rupture 
with the United States in the latter part of the year 1817. 
On the 21st of November of this year, Col. Twiggs, in 
command at Fort Scott, sent a body of troops to Fowltowu, 
a Seminole village twelve miles east of the fort, to demand 
of the chief the surrender of some of his warriors who 
had been committing murder upon the Georgia settlers. 
The troops were fired upon as they approached the village, 
before time was had for a parley ajid statement of their 
mission. The fire was returned, by which two warriors 
and a woman were killed. The town was captured, and 
after a few days was burnt by order of Gen. Gaines. This 
act kindled into flame at once a bloody and devastating 
war. The government having obtained the right of passage 
up the Appalachicola for the better supplying of the forts 
in this quarter, an opportunity was soon aiforded the Semi- 
noles of wreaking a terrible revenge for their late injury. 
On the 30th of this month, as Lieut. Scott was proceeding 
up this river in a large boat, containing forty soldiers of 
the Seventh Infantry, seven soldiers' wives, and four little 
children, a sudden fire was poured into the party from the 
bank, killing and wounding nearly every person on board at 
the first volley. The Indians then rose from their conceal- 
ment and, getting possession of the boat, began an indis- 
criminate massacre. Four men leaped overboard at the 
first fire and swam to the other bank, two of whom only 
reached it uninjured and got into Fort Scott in safety. One 
woman, who was uninjured by the volley, was bound and 
carried ofi'. 

The Prophet Francis, one of the leaders in the Fort 
Mimms massacre and a refugee from his nation since their 
defeat four years before, soon appeared in the field at the 
head of the warriors of his tribe who, like himself, had 
refused to acquiesce in the results of that war. Having 
captured a Georgia militiaman, he doomed him to the stake, 
but his daughter, Milly Francis, a girl of fifteen years, 
being moved to pit}' at the fearful spectacle about to be 
enacted, fell upon her knees before her father and begged 
the prisoner's life. The fierce chief at length relented 
and granted her prayer. The prisoner was given up to 
the Spanish commandant for safe-keeping, and by this 
means regained his liberty. 

The news of hostilities having reached the government. 
Gen. Jackson was ordered to proceed to the South and 
conduct the war, Gen. Gaines being absent at the time, 
engaged in ousting a band of filibusters who had taken 
possession of Amelia Island, on the Florida coast, for the 
purpose of overthrowing Spanish rule in this province. 
Gen. Jackson, being directed by the Secretary of War, Mr. 
Calhoun, to call upon the " adjacent States" for any addi- 
tional troops he might need, decided to construe the order 
to mean Tennessee as an adjacent State, in order to get the 
services of his veterans of the war of 1812. Two regi- 
ments of over a thousand mounted men assembled at Fay- 
etteville on his call, and were ready to march in twenty 



days after the Secretary's dispatch came. These were com- 
manded by Cols. Dyer and Williamson. A company of 
over one hundred men, under the command of Capt. A. 
Dunlap, went from Nashville as his life-guard. 

Profiting by experience. Gen. Jackson ordered supplies to 
be sent from New Orleans to Fort Scott, and on the 22d of 
January set out from Nashville on horseback to reach his 
destination, four hundred and fifty miles distant. On the 
9th of March he reached Fort Scott, where he was soon 
after joined by Cols. Williamson and Dyer, commanding the 
two Tennessee regiments. About two thousand friendly 
Creek Indians came also to war upon the Seminoles and 
their own kindred. The campaign was brief and unmarked 
by a determined battle upon the part of the hostile warriors, 
who fled to the security of swamps where it was useless to 
attempt to follow them. Gen. Jackson set out from Fort 
Gadsden on the 26th of March for St. Mark's, in the 
Spanish province of Florida, where he had arranged with 
Capt. McKeever, of the navy, to meet him with the gun- 
boats and transports. With his long experience of Spanish 
influence and intrigue in the affairs of the adjacent Indian 
tribes, he had doterniincd on the grave responsibility of an 
invasion of the territory of a neutral power with his usual 
firmness and decision. He had two objects in view by this 
step, — to strike the enemy in his stronghold whence issued 
the raids on the whites, and to seize and hold the Spanish 
fort at St. Mark's, and garrison it vcilh his troops as security 
against the outrages which the representatives of his Cath- 
olic Majesty acknowledged themselves as powerless to pre- 
vent. On his way he had an affair on the 1st of April, in 
which he lost one man killed and four wounded, and killed 
fourteen Indians and captured and burnt their town, in the 
square of which were found over fifty fresh scalps hanging 
from a red pole erected at the council-house. King Hajah's 
town was also destroyed en route, and one thousand head 
of cattle and three thousand bushels of corn taken. 

St. Mark's was reached on the 6th, and the Governor 
having stated his want of authority to enter into an agree- 
ment by which an American garrison would take possession 
of a fort belonging to his Catholic Majesty, and asked for 
a suspension of operations until he could get proper in- 
structions, Jack.son entered on the 7th, and lowering the 
Spanish colors, hoisted the American flag in their place. 
This was accomplished without any resistance further than 
a formal protest from the Governor. In the fort was found 
Alexander Arbuthnot, a Scotchman and Indian trader, 
who had allowed his " philanthropy" and zeal to right the 
wrongs of the red man to betray him into undoubted acts 
of hostility against the United States, and he was ordered 
into confinement. Before Jackson's arrival McKeever's 
fleet had appeared in the lower bay, and on displaying the 
English colors the Prophet Francis and his next chief, 
Himmolemmico, came aboard in full anticipation of finding 
some expected military stores from his friends in England 
for the prosecution of the war. They were seized and 
bound, and on arrival of the fleet at anchor, Jackson, mind- 
ful of Fort Mimms and their present purposes, ordered them 
to be hung, which sentence was executed the next day. 
The fate of this brave prophet-chief was greatly deplored 
even in America, but especially in England, where he had 



SEMINOLE WAKS. 



85 



made a favorable impression when on a visit after the con- 
clusion of the late war. 

After two days' stay at St. Mark's, Jackson set out for 
Suwanee, one hundred and seven miles distant. This was 
the stronghold of the great chief Boleck or Bowlegs, and 
the refuge of runaway negroes. The march was through 
swamps a great part of the way, the troops having often to 
wade for hours through water waist-deep. The Indians, 
however, got warning in time to escape without much loss 
of life. This was a large town, extending for three miles 
along the Suwanee, and was burned to the ground. During 
the stay here Kobert C. Ambrister, an Englishman and 
nephew of the British Governor of New Providence, came 
incautiously into the American camp, and was taken pris- 
oner. He had been an officer of the British army, but in 
consequence of a duel had been suspended from his rank, 
and while waiting tlie expiration of his sentence his love of 
adventure and his military tastes had led him to embark in 
the cause of exciting the Florida Indians to acts of hos- 
tility against the United States, then at peace with his 
government. 

This expedition virtually ended the war, and on the 26th 
Gen. Jackson was again back at St. Mark's. A court-martial 
was at once convened for the trial of Arbuthnot and Am- 
brister, and at the end of two days the verdict was returned 
that Ambrister should be shot and Arbuthnot executed on 
the gallows. The finding and sentence of the court were 
submitted to the commanding general as he was leaving for 
Pensacola with his army, and being approved, the execu- 
tion of the prisoners took place the following day. This 
execution created a tremendous sensation in England, and 
but for tlie firmness of the British ministry would have in- 
volved the two countries in immediate war. Jackson now 
returned to Fort Gadsen, which had been erected by him 
on the ruins of the Negro Fort. This fort had been built 
and strongly armed by Co!. Nichols, a British officer, who 
had figured in the war of 1812 on the southern coast as 
friend, patron, and commandant of the hostile Indians in 
that quarter. He remained several years after the cessation 
of hostilities actively engaged in the interests of these In- 
dians, but with what ultimate design is unknown to the 
historian. .He finally departed for England, leaving his 
stronghold, which was on a bluff of the Appalachioola, 
seventeen miles from the coast, defended by ten or twelve 
pieces of artillery and a large store of warlike munitions, 
including over seven hundred barrels of powder. The In- 
dians not being suited by nature or habit for garrison duty, 
the care of the fort was neglected, when it was seized by 
several hundred free and runaway negroes, under one 
Gargon, in 1816, and held against all comers. They soon 
attacked some boats going up with supplies for Gen. Gaines, 
at Fort Scott, which determined the latter to destroy the 
place at once. He surrounded it with a detachment of sol- 
diers and Seminole Indians, who claimed the guardianship 
of it in Col. Nichols' absence, but was unable to make any 
impression on its skillfully-fortified walls. In the mean time 
he had ordered a gunboat under Sailing-Master Loomis to 
work up the river and co-operate. Loomis finally reached 
his position and opened fire, which at first proved futile ; 
but having heated some solid shot to redness, a gun was 



trained to drop a ball within the inelosure. It was aimed 
with deadly precision, and alighted in the magazine ;^an ex- 
plosion followed which shook the earth for a hundred miles. 
Of the three hundred and thirty four inmates of the fort 
only three crawled from the ruins unhurt, and one of these 
was Gargon, the negro commander. Two hundred and 
seventy were killed instantly, and most of the others 
perished soon after of their injuries. 

Jackson rested at this point a few days, when he started 
westward with a detachment of regulars and six hundred 
Tennesseeans to scour the country in that direction. He 
had proceeded but a short distance when he was informed 
that a large body of hostile Indians, who harbored at Pen- 
sacola, had recently massacred a number of the Alabama 
settlers. This was enough ; he instantly turned his march 
in the direction of the hated place, and Pensacola was again 
doomed to submit in humiliation to the presence and occu- 
pation of an American army. The Governor protested and 
then tried force, but Jackson brought his guns to bear 
actively on Fort Barrancos and got ready his scaling-lad- 
ders to storm the place, when it was surrendered. An 
American garrison replaced the Spanish occupants, and the 
place was held subject to the action of the United States 
government. As said before, the acts of Gen. Jackson in 
this campaign created a tremendous sensation abroad, and 
involved him at home in conflicts with prominent political 
leaders, which only ended with the death of the parties 
concerned ; but he was backed by the general approbation 
of the country, and came out triumphant over all opposi- 
tion. 

SECOND SEMINOLE WAR. 

By the treaty of Sept. 18, 1823, at Moultrie Creek, in 
the Territory of Florida, the Seminoles were put on a re- 
servation, of sufficiently large extent, the boundaries of 
which, however, were not to approach the coast nearer than 
fifteen miles. If these bounds were found on survey not 
sufficiently large to include the necessary farming lands, 
they were to be extended to a stated line farther north. 
For tlie cession of the rest of their lands they were to 
receive five thousand dollars a year for twenty years. Six 
of the leading chiefs having shown great reluctance to give 
up their settlements under the stipulations, new reservations 
were allowed outside of the general reservation to suit these 
special cases. The hummock-lands of Florida, being equal 
in fertility to any in the United States, were quickly appro- 
priated by white settlers, who in many instances sternly 
ordered off, rifle in hand, any wandering Indian who hap- 
pened to be found north of the imaginary line that was 
intended to keep the two races asunder and preserve them 
in a state of amity. For some years the agents had their 
hands full settling disputes and keeping down an open out- 
break of war between them. 

The complaints of mutual and flagrant aggression grew so 
frequent that the state of affairs in the years 1829 and 1830 
was very critical indeed, and likely to end at any moment in 
a devastating onslaught upon the white settlements. Then 
came up the question of the removal of those Indians, as 
had been done with many other tribes, to the Indian Ter- 
ritory west of the Mississippi, as the quickest and most 
economical solution of a difficulty that was growing in 



86 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



gravity every year. The frontier settlers, wlio were anx- 
ious to obtain the valuable lands included in the reserva- 
tion, or solicitous to hold peaceable possession of those 
already taken, pressed this question of removal upon the 
authorities, alleging that their slaves, cattle, and other prop- 
erty were daily stolen, and that there could be no peace 
possible under the circumstances. Indeed, this was the 
only wise course left, and the government directed Col. 
Gadsen to endeavor to engage the Seminoles to relinquish 
their lands in exchange for good lands in the Creek nation. 
On this wish being made known, great opposition was 
manifested, and it was with great difficulty that Col. Gad- 
sen succeeded in getting a council of chiefs at Payne's 
Landing. Here, after many vexatious delays, such a treaty 
was at length concluded on the 9th of May, 1832. One 
provision of this treaty was that the new country was to 
be visited by a delegation of chiefs and examined, and if 
their report was favorable and the Creeks should express 
a willingness to receive and reunite with them, the ex- 
change would be made and the migration completed by the 
end of the year 1835. The delegation was sent at the ex- 
pense of the government, but the visit being made in the 
midst of winter, when the country looked drear and unin- 
viting, and the antipodes of their verdant landscape in 
Florida at this season, the result was not satisfactory. Still 
they were induced to sign a favorable report, which thereby 
bound their nation irrevocably to a removal. In the mean 
time an opposition party had been formed, headed by the 
youthful Osceola, who was the animating spirit, but void of 
a voice in the councils of the nation at this time on ac- 
count of the obscurity of his station and want of heredi- 
tary authority as a chief His mother was a Creek, and 
became a Seminole by leaving her tribe and taking refuge 
among these people, the word Seminole meaning runaway. 
The term thus derisively applied became at length generic. 

The hostility soon became so formidable that the offend- 
ing chiefs either disclaimed their signatures to the late 
agreement or denied a true knowledge of it« nature. The 
government, being thoroughly persuaded that the only solu- 
tion of the question was in removal soon or late, insisted 
on the performance of the contract, and made due prepara- 
tions to carry through its part of the business, notwith- 
standing the evident determination of the great majority 
of these people to the contrary. As the time approached, 
the love of home and native soil grew so strong in the 
breasts of the Seminoles that they determined to die to a 
man rather than submit to the expatriation. Still the gov- 
ernment disregarded their threats and continued its prep- 
arations for their removal. By dissembling their feelings 
and making show occasionally of compliance, the Indians 
were enabled to purchase extra supplies of ammunition, 
ostensibly for use in their new hunting-grouuds. Even 
Osceola seemed to grow penitent, although he had been 
ironed and incarcerated at Fort King for six days for vio- 
lent and abusive language to the agent, Gen. Thompson. 

All things being in readiness for the rising, Osceola 
repaired with a band of warriors to the vicinity of Fort 
King, determined to execute his vengeance on the man who 
had shackled his free limbs with chains a short while 
before. He lay concealed in a hummock near by for two 



days before the opportunity came of gratifying his revenge, 
the strongest and most enduring feeling of Indian nature. 
On the afternoon of the 28th of December, Gen. Thomp- 
son, while taking a walk in company with Lieut. Constantine 
Smith, of the Second Artillery, came in short range of his 
ambush, and fell pierced with twenty four balls, Lieut. 
Smith receiving thirteen. The assassins then rushed for- 
ward in eager emulation for the first trophy of their long- 
anticipated and now unsmothered revenge. The scalps of 
the victims were cut into small pieces for distribution to 
gratify the feelings of all the participants. On the same 
day Maj. Dade, on his way to Fort King with two com- 
panies of regulars, amounting to one hundred and eight 
officers and men, was waylaid near the Wahoo Swamp, and 
his entire command destroyed after an obstinate resistance, 
with the exception of two privates, who escaped badly 
wounded and bore the intelligence to Fort Brooke. 

Thus began a war which for seven successive years filled 
Florida with rapine and blood, and cost the government 
nineteen million four hundred and eighty thousand dollars, 
exclusive of the expense pertaining to the regular army. 
Owing to the scattered condition of its regular forces, the 
government was compelled to call upon the neighboring 
States for volunteers. Tennessee promptly furnished three 
regiments of mounted volunteers, which gathered at the old 
rendezvous, Fayetteville. Of these the First and Second 
llegimeuts were received into the service, and the Third 
discharged. In the Second Regiment were three companies 
raised wholly or in part from Davidson, — namely, the 
" Highlanders," commanded successively by Capts. Wil- 
liam Washington and John J. Chandler ; the " State 
Guards," by James Grundy and Joseph Leake successively ; 
and a company from Davidson and Williamson Counties, 
commanded by Capt. Joel A. Battle. At the organization 
of tlie regiment William Trousdale was elected colonel, 
J. C. Guild lieutenant-colonel, Joseph Meadows 1st major, 
William Washington (captain of the Highlanders) 2d major. 
The two regiments were formed into a brigade, to the com- 
mand of which the President appointed Brig-Gen. Robert 
Armstrong, of Nashville, one of the heroes of Enotochapco. 
The men were enlisted to serve for six months. The 
brigade marched from their rendezvous on the 4th of July 
direct for Columbus, Ga., but were detained several weeks on 
the Tallapoosa, which they crossed by swimming to awe 
into submission a large body of Creek Indians, then col- 
lected for emigration across the Mississippi. Some of 
these Indians were largely in debt to traders, who instigated 
them to remain in order to made collections. It was feared 
also that they in their irritated state would catch the spirit 
of hostility then prevailing in Florida. In consequence of 
this diversion the Secretary of War ordered the brigade 
not to enter the sickly region of Florida in the midst of 
the hot season. Therefore it was about the middle of Sep- 
tember before the Tennessee troops reached Tallahassee. 
From this point they soon started for the Indian country. 
On reaching Suwanee they found the yellow fever prevail- 
ing, and during their brief stay a number were attacked 
with the disease and died. From this point they marched 
south sixty miles to Fort Drane, where on arrival they 
broke up a large encampment of Indians without being 



COURTS. 



87 



able to bring them to an eDgageinont. This body votrcated 
to the cove in the folks of the Withlacooehee, wliitlier Gen. 
Armstrong, reinforced by some regulars and two pieces 
of artillery, took up the line of march on October 10th. 
On the 12th an encampment of about fifty Indians was 
attacked, and seven were killed, and eleven squaws and 
children captured. It was here ascertained that a large 
body of the enemy with women and children occupied the 
forks of the Withlacooehee, while another large force was 
below to dispute the passage of the river. Gen. Arm- 
strong marched with the main body to the latter point, 
while Lieut.-Col. J. C. Guild was ordered to take a detach- 
ment of four hundred volunteers and move upon the enemy 
in the cove. 

The route lay through dense hummoeks along the river, 
and one of the captured squaws was taken along for a guide. 
As Col. Guild's detachment approached the fork and reached 
a deep muddy creek, a heavy fire was opened from the op- 
posite bank at the head of the column, by which the friendly 
chief, Capt. Billy, was killed at the side of the commander. 
The command was ordered to dismount and open fire along 
the stream; an action of a half-hour ensued. Maj. Golf, 
of the First Tennessee, was ordered to take two hundred men 
and go up the stream and endeavor to effect a passage, which, 
if successful, would be followed by the entire command. 
He returned in a short time with the information that the 
stream was too deep for fording. In the mean time a vigor- 
ous fire had been kept up to cover the crossing, which was 
continued until the enemy retired. Col. Guild lost four 
men killed and about twenty wounded. The main body, 
under Gen. Armstrong, found the river too deep to ford 
under the hot fire of the enemy, and returned to camp. 
On the 22d, Col. Trousdale crossed the river, which had 
fallen at this point, with his regiment, and entered the cove. 
Two large towns were found and destroyed, the warriors 
having made their escape. From an old negro who was 
captured it was ascertained that the Indians had gone to 
Wahoo Swamp, which was in the vicinity of the Dade 
massacre. He also stated that in Guild's battle twenty- 
eight Indians and five negroes were killed, and in Maj. 
Gordon's affair under Gen. Armstrong, on the 13th, nine- 
teen were killed. 

The provisions having given out, and nearly all of the 
horses having succumbed to hunger and fatigue, it was 
determined in council to march to the mouth of the With- 
lacooehee, where a depot was to be established. On the 
25tli wagons wore met with supplies, when the march was 
turned to Fort Drane. Getting reinforcements, the First 
and Second Tennessee regiments moved up the north side 
of the Withlacooehee, and the regulars and friendly Indians 
on the south side. On the 17th a short skirmish took 
place, in which eighteen Indians were killed, and the whites 
had one man killed and ten wounded. On the 18th the 
large number of fresh trails indicated that there was a large 
force of the enemy in the vicinity, and on approaching the 
town of Nickanopa, which was discovered to be on fire, a 
heavy volley was poured into the Second Tennessee as it 
advanced with the rest of the army through an open field. 
The Indians were in a dense hummock about seventy-five 
yards distant. The men poured in one volley, and when 



they had reloaded they charged tlic hummock, driving the 
enemy slowly before them. So dense was the growth that 
the combatants often fired at each other at the distance of 
a few feet. The action lasted about two hours and a half, 
when the command drew off at dark, and camped in the 
vicinity of the scene of Dade's massacre. 

On the 21st, Gen. Armstrong ordered a combined move- 
ment against the enemy, who occupied the battle-ground of 
the 18th. The Tennesseeans were on the right, the regulars 
in the centre, and the friendly Indians on the left. The 
advance was made through open ground, and when the line 
reached a point within fifty yards of a dense hummock, a si- 
multaneous fire broke forth from both sides. The exposed 
situation of the troops rendered it imperative that they should 
go forward, and this they did with great impetuosity. The 
Indians stood the charge stubbornly, firing into the men's 
faces ; but they were gradually forced back through the 
hummock and the open space beyond into another hum- 
mock, whence they were again driven to take refuge on the 
margin of a shallow lake into which the men plunged in 
pursuit, wading up to their waists. The enemy, being again 
dislodged, sought refuge behind a deep channel connecting 
two lakes, whence it was impossible to drive them farther. 
About sunset the troops were withdrawn to camp three 
miles distant, bringing off the dead and wounded. The 
provisions being exhausted the brigade marched after this 
engagement to Velusia. Supplies being obtained here, 
the sick and disabled, one hundred and twenty in number, 
were sent around the cape on their homeward journey, and 
Armstrong's brigade returned by the late battle-ground to 
Fort Dade. The Indians had all returned south into tlfe 
Everglades. From this point the Tennesseeans marched on 
foot (having to use the remaining horses for pack-animals) 
to Tampa Bay, whore they embarked on the 25th of De- 
cember for New Orleans, at which place they were dis- 
charged, ending a six-months' term of service, the most 
arduous that can well be imagined. 

Judge Guild mentions among the members of this regi- 
ment who afterwards became distinguished, Ex-Governor 
Neill S. Brown, Ex-Governor William Trousdale, Ex-Gov- 
ernor William B. Campbell, Gen. Robert Armstrong, Gen. 
Felix K. Zollickofler, Hon. Russell Houston, Judge Terry 
H. Cahal, Judge Nathaniel Baxter, Gen. J. B. Bradford, 
Oscar F. Bledsoe, Capt. Frierson, Col. Henry, Maj. Goff, 
Col. John H. Savage, Col. J. H. McMahon, Gen. Lee 
Read, and Hon. Jesse Fiuley, of Florida. 



CHAPTER XX. 

COURTS. 

Inferinr Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions— First Session in Da- 
vidson—Full List of Justices and Judges of the County— Clerks 
— Sheriffs — Circuit Court Record — Supreme Court of Law and 
Equity — Superior Court of Errors and Appeals— Court of Chancery 
— Law Court — Criminal Court. 

INFERIOR COURT OF PLEAS AND QUARTER 
SESSIONS. 
Under an act of North Carolina, of Oct. 6, 1783, the 
Governor issued commissions to four of the citizens on the 



88 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Cumberland — to wit : Isaac Bledsoe, Samuel Barton, Francis 
Prince, and Isaac Lindsay — to organize " An Inferior Court 
of Pleas and Quarter Sessions" at Nasliborough. This In- 
ferior Court was by the act invested with extraordinary 
powers, and embraced a very wide range of subjects. It 
was, in fact, invested with jurisdiction over all the legal, 
judicial, legislative, executive, military, and prudential 
affairs of the county. It was like a country store in a now 
and frontier state of society, which is supplied with all sorts 
of' miscellaneous commodities adapted to the wants of the 
early settlers, but as order and population advance and 
society becomes more systematized, these things are sepa- 
rated and distributed into different branches and depart- 
ments, according to the wants and demands of a more 
civilized community ; so the general and miscellaneous 
functions discharged by the first court became after a time 
separated and assigned to different branches of a systematic 
judiciary, demanded by a more perfect state of society. 

At first as many of the justices of the Inferior Court of 
Pleas and Quarter Sessions as could attend sat in court to- 
gether. This continued to be the practice until the January 
term of 1791, when, " the several commissions of the peace 
being all of the same date, it was agreed by the court that 
each person named in the commission of the peace, with 
others who had been in former commissions, should all place 
their names upon separate tickets, which should be drawn 
in three classes, and a reserve. Samuel Barton was elected 
to succeed Robert Hay as chairman. Several subsequent 
attempts were made to form four separate benches for the 
different sessions, but without success, as each had to draw 
on the other for members to form a quorum." 

The first emancipation of negro slaves within the county 
was ordered by this court April 18, 1801, on the petition 
of Thomas Molloy, Esq., " praying leave of the court to 
emancipate three slaves, — Sam, Sophi, and Harry, — or 
either of them, free by deed at any time hereafter, and the 
same may be entered ou record." 

At the first session of the Davidson County Court, An- 
thony Bledsoe and James Mulherin were both candidates 
for the ofiice of surveyor. The vote resulting in a tie, that 
office was left vacant until the ensuing court. Samuel 
Ma.son was appointed constable at Maulding's, James Mc- 
Cain at Mansker's, Stephen Ray at Ilcatonsburg, John Mc- 
Adaras at Nasliborough, and Edward Swanson at Free- 
laud's Station. James Freeland was appointed overseer of 
the road from Nasliborough to as fiir as opposite Mr. Bu- 
chanan's spring, and Josiah Shaw from Mansker's to said 
spring, with authority to call together as many of the inhabi- 
tants of their respective stations as should be necessary. 

The following persons were named by the court as the 
first grand jurymen: James Shaw, Ebenezor Titus, James 
Mulherin, Isaac Johnson, Daniel Williams, Sr., Robert 
Espey, John Buchanan, William Gowen, James Freeland, 
George Freeland, Francis Hodge, John Thomas, Heydan 
Wells, David Rounsevall, James Hollis, Sr., John Hamil- 
ton, Capt. Gasper Mansker, Benjamin Kuykendall, Elmore 

Douglass, Joseph Masdin, Capt. McFadden, Solomon 

White, Charles Thompson, Benjamin Drake. Daniel Smith 
was elected surveyor, and James JloCain coroner, at the 
next session of the court. 



FIRST MILL. 

'' The Court give leave to Headon Wells to build a water 
grist-mill on Thomas' Creek, about a quarter and a half a. 
quarter up said creek from the mouth." 

FIRST ROAD LAID OUT. 

" Ordered, that the road leading from Nashville to 
Mansker's Station, as laid off heretofore by order of the 
Committee, be cleared out. 

" 178-t, January 5. — -Court met. Members present, 
the Worshipful Isaac Bledsoe, Samuel Barton, and Isaac 
Lindsay, Esqs. 

" January 6. — On motion made to the Court concerning 
allegations against George Montgomery, as an aider and 
abettor in the treasonable piratical proceedings carried in 
the Mississippi against the Spaniards, it is the opinion of 
the Court that the said M. be in security in the sum of 
one hundred and fifty pounds for his appearance at our next 
Court, on which Elijah Robertson and Stephen Ray became 
securities for his appearance. 

" William Cocke and John Sevier were ofi"ered as securi- 
ties on the bond of Matthew Talbot, elected as Clerk. It 
is the opinion of the Court that he is not entitled thereto. 

" The following military officers were sworn : Anthony 
Bledsoe, 1st Colonel; Isaac Bledsoe, 1st Major; Samuel 
Barton, 2d Major; Gasper Mansker, 1st Captain; George 
Freeland, 2d ; John Buchanan, 3d ; James Ford, 4th ; 
William Ramsey, Jonathan Drake, Ambrose Maulding, and 
Peter Sides, Lieutenants ; William Collins and Elmore 
Douglass, Ensigns. 

" Daniel Smith appointed Surveyor. 

" 1784, April 5.- — Court met at the house where Jona- 
than Drake lately lived. Adjourned to meet immediately 
in the house in Nashborough where Israel Harmon lately 
lived." 

We give below a complete list of the justices, clerks, and 
sheriffs from the date of organization of the court to the 
present year, 1880, with the years in which they were com- 
missioned : 

JUSTICES. 

1783. — Anthony Bledsoe, Daniel Smith, James Robert- 
son, Isaac Bledsoe, Samuel Barton, Thomas Molloy, Francis 
Prince, Isaac Lindsay. 

1784.' — James Ford, Elijah Robertson, James Mulherin. 

1785. — Samuel Marston, Ephraim McLean. 

1787. — Benjamin Hardin, James Mears. 

1788. — John Sappington, Adam Lynn, John Kirkpat- 
rick, David Hay. 

1789. — John Donelson, Robert Hay, Robert Weakley, 
Robert Ewin. 

1790. — Robert Edmundson, Joel Rice. 

1791. — Lardner Clark, Edwin Hickman, James Ross, 
James Hoggatt. 

1792. — John Nichols. 

1794. — Seth Lewis, Thomas Smith, Sampson Williams. 

1795. — James Byrns. 

1796. — John Gordon, Joseph Phillips. 

1797. — Thomas Hutchings, George MoWhirter, Thomas 
Talbott, William Donelson. 



COURTS. 



89 



1798. — John Davis, Thomas Dilahunty,* Andrew Cas- 
tleman, Joel Lewis, Henry Redford. 

1799. — John Thompson, Thomas Hickman, Robert 
Searcy, Robert Hewitt, Samuel Bell, Nicholas Tait Perkins, 
Benjamin D. AVclls, John Weathers, Abraham Boyd, David 
McEwen, John Hope, John Witherspoon, David Shannon, 
Robert Thompson, Willie Barrow, Daniel Young, Thomas 
Thompson. 

ISOO. — Edmond Gamble, James Dickson, James BI. 
Lewis, Josiah Horton, Sampson Hfeis, Elisha Rice. 

1802. — William Nash, John Anderson, Joseph Coleman, 
Sampson Harris, James Byrns. 

1803. — Joseph Horton. 

1804. — John Stump, William Hall, Lewis Demoss, 
Joshua Balance, Robert Heaton, John Lewis, Isam Allen 
Parker, Thomas Deaderick, Charles Robertson, Isaac Rob- 
erts, Thomas Williams, Thomas A. Claiborne, Eli Ham- 
mond. 

1805.- — James Demoss, Michael C. Dunn, Carey Felts, 
William Donelson, Christopher Stump. 

1806. — Francis Sanders, Candour McFadden, Robert 
Horton, Samuel Shannon, Peter Perkins, M. Donelson, 
Thomas Williams, Robert C. Foster, George S. Allen. 

1807. — John Wilkes, Henry Hamilton. 

1808. — Edmond Cooper, George Wade, Hugh Allison, 
George Wharton, Joseph Love. 

1809. — Christopher Robertson, Joseph Green, Benjamin 
J. Bradford, Benajah Gray, Philip Pipkin, Robert Johnson, 
P; S. Allen. 

1810.— John Goodrich, Elihu S. Hall, William Chil- 
dress, Jr., William Anderson, Alexander Walker, John 
Read, James Shannon, Braxton Lee. 

1812. — Richard D. Harmon, Eldridge Newsom, Robert 
Edmondson, John Childress.^ 

1813. — Levi McCoUum, Jonathan Drake. 

1815. — George M. Martin, Eldridge Newscom, Zachariah 
Allen. 1 

1816.— Stephen Cantrell, Jr., Wilkins Tannehill, Eli 
Talbot,-}" William Russell, Jeremiah Ezell, William Sanders, 
Joseph Caldwell, Isaac Redding, Robert B. Cherry, E. H. 
Call, William B. Lewis. ^ 

1817. — Edmond Goodrich, Iredale Redding, Joseph T. 
Elliston, William Williams, Jesse Wharton, William Wal- 
lace, William H. Shelton, William H. Nance, Richard 
Tale. 

1818.— Thomas Claiborne. 

1820. — George Wilson, John P. Erwin, Daniel A. Dun- 
ham, David Dunn, V. Buchanan Lanier, Alpha Kingsley, 
Sampson Prowell, Thomas Edmonston. 

1821. — Dahiel A. Dunham, Silas Dilahunty, William 
Faulkner, Willis L. Shumate, Thomas G. Bradford, Ab- 
solom Graves, William Lytle. 

1822. — James Carter, John Bell, Robert C. Thompson, 
William Ramsey, Leonard Keeling, Jlichael Gleaves,'j' Gil- 
bert G. Washington, Eli Talbott, John Pirtle, Philip 
Campbell. 

1824. — Joseph Narville, Jeremiah Baxter, John Davis, 
Stephen Cantrell, John R. Grundy, Andrew Ilynes, Enoch 



Originally spelled De La Hoote. 

12 



t Resigned. 



P. Crowell, David Ralston, James Marshall, Herbert Towns, 
John M. Lovell,-Henry Whyte. 

1826. — Samuel McManners,f Anthony W. Johnson, 
John Jones, George W. Charlton, Thomas Welch, Nicholas 
B. Pryor, Thomas Scott, Isaac Hunter. 

1827. — Jesse Shelton,. Willoughby Williams, William 
E. Watkins, Jordan Hyde, Wilson L. Gower, Daniel 
Brice. 

1828. — Robert Farquharson, Hays Blaekman, Thomas 
Fenbee, William Donelson, John Hall, Abraham Demoss, 
Reuben Payne. " . 

1830. — Enoch Ensley, William L. Willis, Jonathan 
Garrett, Thomas Bell, Herbert Owen, Nathaniel Gillian, 
John Berry, John P. Erwin, William Armstrong."}" 

1831. — James Sims, Jonathan Browning, John Wright, 
William James, Francis McGavock, Howell Harris. 

1832.— William H. Hogans. 

1833.— Allen Knight, Edward H. East, David Aber- 
nathy. 

1834. — Joseph W. Clay, James H. Foster, Brent Spence, 
Joseph B. Knowles, L. P. Cheatham. 

1S35.— Quorum, William Williams, Elihu S. Hall, Gil- 
bert G. Washington. 

Agreeable to the " Act to Reorganize the County Courts 
of this State," passed by the Legislature of Tennessee, 
Dec. 3, 1835, the County Court was opened May 2, 1836, 
by Gilbert G. Washington, Esq., a justice of the former 
court, and commissions from the Governor of the State were 
presented, authorizing the following-named gentlemen to 
serve as justices of the peace in and for the county of 
Davidson for a "term of six years : 

In the District of Nashville (No. 1).— Elihu S. Hall, 
John P. Erwin, Joseph B. Knowles, Joseph Norvell, 
Thomas J. Read, Thomas Calendar. 

District No. 2.— John H. Clopton, William G. M. 
Campbell. 

District No. 3. — Edward H. East, John Vaudeville. 

District No. 4.— John A. Shute, John BIcNeill. 

District No. 5. — Herbert Towns, Thomas S. King. 

District No. 6. — William Hagans, James R. Chilloutt. 

District No. 7. — Enoch Ensley, John B. Hodges. 

District No. 8. — William Owen, John Hogan. 

District No. 9. — John Cortwell, John Hathaway. 

District No. 10. — John McRobertson, Joshua Mcin- 
tosh. 

District'No. 11.— Robert Bradford, Philip Shute. 

District No. 12. — William E. Watkins, Samuel B. Da- 
v'uhoH. 

District No. 13. — William Shellon, Elijah Nicholson. 

District No. 14. — John Davis, Martin Forehand. 

District No. 15. — Thomas AUiston, William Herrin. 

District No. 16. — William Greer, Lewis Dunn. 

District No. 17. — Francis Carter, Moses Crisp. 

District No. 18. — John McGavock, John Hobson. 

District No. 19. — Reuben Payne, Edmund Goodrich. 

District No. 20. — -Enoch P. Conneli, John C. Bowers. 

District No. 21. — Charles W. Moorman, Claiborne T. 
Il'joper. 

District No. 22. — David Ralston, John Cloyd. 

District No. 23. — William I. Drake, David Abernathy. 



90 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



District No. 24. — Jonathan R. Garrett, Daniel Brice. 

District: No. 25.— Thomas W. Sherron, Wilson Crockett. 

Elihu S. Hall, of Nashville, was elected chairman. 
Those whose names appear in italics constituted with him 
the quorum for the ensuing year. 

1836.— William Williams, John Wright, Robert Weak- 
ley, Blackstone F. Brinkley. 

1837.- James M. Cook, Bartlett M. Barnes, William 
Stringfellow, Thomas Scott, AVilliam Hassell. 

1838.— E. M. Patterson, John Beasley, Marshall B. 
Mumford, Peter B. Morris. 

1839.— William II. Hambelio, William M. Bartle, 
William Faulkner, Benjamin D. Pack, Joseph Kellam. 
Qiiormn, Robert Bradford, Charles W. Bloorman, John 
Mcintosh. 

1840. — George S. Smith, Thomas Gale.* Quorum, Elihu 
S. Hall. 

1841.— Samuel W. Hope, Elihu S. Hall, William Tan- 
nehill,* Joseph H. McEwen, Josiah Ferris, W. H. Hamlin, 
John Mcintosh, William Williams, Jonas Shivers, W. R. 
EUiston, James Yarborough, George W. Cliarlton, James 
H. Cook, W. H. Clemons, David Ralston, Samuel W. Hope, 
C. W. Nance, Enoch P. Connell, Lewis Joslin, Samuel B. 
Davidson, G. F. Hamilton, Robert Goodlett, A. G. Briley, 
Tiiomas Bell, C. G. Lovell, Benjamin D. Pack, W. H. Lovell, 
Thomas J. Hale, Leonard Burnett, Martin Forehand, Mastin 
Ussery, William J. Drake, David Abernathy, William Greer, 
Benjamin Sharpe. Quorum, Elihu S. Hall, Charles W. 
Moorman, John Hogan. 

1842.- George D. Falmer, William E. Cartwright, Her- 
bert Towns, T. N. Cotton, John Hogan, John Corbitt, Allen 
Knight, John P. Still, John A. Shute, FeUx G. Earthman, 
B. M. Barnes, Zachariah Jones, William Herrin, E. M. 
Pallemon. Quorum, Elihu S. Hall, John Hogan, David 
Abernathy. 

1843. — William Cummings, John J. Henton, H. I. An- 
derson. Quorum, Josiah Ferris, William Williams, C. W. 
Nance. 

1844— William H. Coleman, John B. McCutchen, 
Sterling W. Goodrich, James H. Hagar, James R. Allen. 
,Quornm, Josiah Ferris, William Williams, William R. 
EUiston. 

1845. — Theodore Fagundus,* S. W. Edmondson, Roger 
Pegran. Quorum, Josiah Ferris, William Williams, 
AVilliam R. EUiston. 

1840.- Robert L. Neely, George Gill, David Williams, 
Hugh I. Patterson. §«o)-!(«i, Joseph BI. McEwen, William 
Williams, William R. EUiston. 

1847. — Moses Newell, Hollis Hagar, William Nelson, 
John BI. Thompson, William G. Lanier, James H. Wilson. 
Quorum, Joseph H. BIcEweu, William R. EUiston. 

1848.— Hiram Gray, John F. Felts, Walter T. Greer, 
William Greer, William Blclntosh, Blastin Ussery, Zach- 
ariah Jones, Robert Green, E. A. Raworth, George Gill, D. 
F. BIcGhee, Robert Goodlett, P. B. Blorris, Josiah Ferris, 
Isaac Paul, Lawson Barry, I. R. Garrett, Benjamin Sharpe, 
Rolla Harrison, John H. Cartwin, Benjamin A. Phillips, 
Hollis Hagar, Henry Rumer, John BI. Thompson, William 

* Kcsign'ed. 



Williams, Samuel S. Hall, Thomas N. Cotton, Hugh J. 
Patterson, Henry Holt, Jesse Jordan, Chilson Crockett, 
William Johnson, C. G. Lovell, Joseph L. Jenill, Noah 
Underwood, Samuel B. Davidson, James R. Allen, Herbert 
Towns, Richard A. Turner, James H. Austin, Andrew 
Gregory, H. I. Anderson, Samuel "W. Edmonson, Hejiry BI. 
Hutton, John B. BIcCutchen, George B. Goodwin, James 
H. Wilson, John Corbitt, Benjamin L. Pack, Hawes 
Graves. Quorum, Josiah W. Ferri.s, Joseph H. BIcEwen, 
Isaac Paul. 

1849. — Quorum, Josiah W. FerriSj Joseph H. BIcEwen, 
Isaac Paul. 

1850. — William Dobson, Sterling Goodrich. Quorum, 
Joseph H. BIcEwen, Hawes Graves, Henry BI. Hutton. 

1851. — John House. Quorum, Joseph H. BIcEwen, 
Hawes Graves, Isaac Paul. 

1852. — Washington G. Smith, Joseph L. Garrett, Ed- 
mond B. Bigley. Quorum, Joseph H. BIcEwen, Hawes 
Graves, Isaac Paul. 

1853. — John W. Baker. (?»r«i(?;i, Joseph H. BIcEwen, 
Hawes Graves, Isaac Paul. 

1854. — John Chickering, Blichael H. Gleaves, Hiram 
Gray, A. J. Ramsey, W. C. Briley, William K. Wair, 
George Gill, Napoleon B. Willis, W. G. Lanier, Hawes 
Graves, John Taylor, Andrew Gregory, W. B. Phillips, J. 
AV. F. Blanning,* Benjamin F. Drake, Thomas Fuqua, 
William D. Baker, John W. Cartwright, Samuel B. David- 
son, Jesse Jordan, W. G. Smith, H. L. Parch, William 
Herrin, William Scott, Hollis Hagar, Isaac Paul,* H.'C. 
Blaroell, N. H. Belcher, I. G. Briley, W. Freeman, W. E. 
Cartwright, John Collart, P. B. Blovris, S. S. Hall, I. N. 
Brinkley, Josiah Ferris, J. L. Willis. Quorum, Hawes 
Graves, W. Crockett, Hollis Hagar. 

1 855. — Quorum, Hawes Graves, Wilson Crockett, Thomas 
B. Page. 

1856.— Herbert Towns, Joel F. Blays, R. G. Reeves, 
Ishara Dyer, John Greer, J. B. G. Carney. Quorum, 
Hawes Graves, Arthur C. White, Napoleon B. Willis."]" 

1858. — I. N. Alexander, Robert Holt, Felix Conipton. 
Quorum, F. W. Blaxey, Arthur C. White, T. W. Balance. 

1859.— BI. I. Couch, Wiftiam D. Robertson. 

I860.— William D. Robertson, G. BI. Southgate, W. C. 
Briley, AVilliam W. Goodwin, Nathan Harsh, Joseph A. 
Brent, George W. Spain, James Williams, Horace G. Scales, 
G. B. Gunter, Samuel B. Davidson, Church Hooper, Ben- 
jamin Williams, E. H. Childress, John Taylor, W. B. Hud- 
son, Robert Holt, George Harsh, George Gill, Napoleon B. 
AViUis, T. F. BIcNcill, William Curtis, Willis Wade, T. BI. 
Patterson, Gilpin Hallum, John H. Cartwright, J. Creigh- 
ton, N. H. Belcher, Theodore B. Page, W. J. Chandler, S. 
D. Corley, George Greer, I. G. Powell, B. Gray, John G. 
Briley, George Lunisden, James Thomas, Zachariah Payne, 
James Fleming, Alexander BIcDaniels, Benjamin Williams, 
Charles Burrows, James Ilaynie, William F. Bleacham, 
Benjamin N. Dodd. 

f These were succeeded by Hon. James AVhitworth, who was elected 
first judge of the County Court of Davidson County on Saturday, I 
May 3d, and took his oath of office May 9, 1S56, when he immedi- 
ately took his scat as judge of the Counly Court. 




J j Ci-^C^^^-?^ 



COUETS. 



91 



1861.— L_N^ Hobbs, William W. Gan-ctt, P. B. Cole- 
man. 

1862.— Herbert Towns, John W. Kucker. 

1864.*— C. M. Stewart, I. R. AV. Peavcy, Enoch Cun- 
ningham, Wesley Drake, Joseph I. Robb, D. Bruce Blair, 
Thomas McCarty, A. B. Shankland. 

1865. — I. B. Canfield, John R. Cowan, Jeremiah Bowen, 
William A. Knight, Z. T. Hays, Drury A. Phelan, James 
Norveli, Isaac Wbitworth. 

1866.— W. D. Baker, William J. Chandler, Henry Mc- 
Neil';" Henry Holt, Jr., James S. Williams, W. B. Hudson, 
William Curtis, Paschal W. Brien, A. S. Edwards, John 
W. Bush. 

1867.— Ernst Pohl. 

1868.— B. N. Dodd, Samuel B. Davidson, A. S. Thur- 
neck, T. A. Harris, J. Albert Smith, D. L. Lapslcy, Her- 
bert Towns. 

1869.— John H. Baskette, Isaac Paul, Patrick McTigue, 
James M. Hinton, Thomas T. Saunders, William B. Ewing, 
Fletcher W. Horn.f 

1870.— A. C. Phelan, Daniel N. Neylan, W. F. Meacham, 
W. H. Wilkinson, W. A. Wherry, J. H. Galbreath, J. BI. 
Shives, H. G. Scales, W. M. Butler,j; D. S. Graves, John 
W. Rucker, C. B. Chickering, L. B. Bigley, Oswell Newby, 
W. A. Knight, Thomas T. Saunders, G. W. MoCarley, H. 
L. Abernathy, James S. Williams, R. D. CampbelLf Joseph 
W. Bigley, B. F. Gloaves, A. Peebles, W. J. Wade, James 
Wyatt, D. A. Phelan, W. J. Chandler, William Curtis, 
Patrick Walsh, Thomas K. Griggs, Isaac Paul", M. I. 
Couch, James T. Patterson, Jam^s A. Steele, F. P. Sulli- 
van, Patrick McTigue, E. H. Childress, P. R. Albert, John 
H. Baskette, H. L. Claiborne, John I. C. Davidson, James 
Everett, George J. Hooper, Martin Kerrigan, B. W. Masey, 

D. W. Neylan, Isaac Paul, George W. Spain, Jerry Bowen, 

E. H. Childress, William B. Ewing,. Thomas J. Hardy, 
John G. Marshall, James S. Read, John Taylor, John 
Bush, Hat. F. Dortch, Benajah Gray, John Hows, James 
T. Patterson, F. P. Sullivan, Isaac Whitworth, W. A. Size- 
more, T. D. Ca.ssetty, F. A. Trcppard, James Wyatt, J. S. 
Dillahunty. 

1871.— J. E. Wright. 

1872.— James H. Brantley, John F. Hide. 

1873.— A. D. Creighton, R. B. Cheatham, S. A. Duling, 
R. S. Millt-r, James H. Still, Thomas Harris, Chris. Power. 

1874.— Frederick Ehrhart, George Mayfield, S. Y. Nor- 
veli, James BI. Sinipkins. 

1875.— J. H. Bruce, Peter Tamble. 

1876.— R. K. Adams, W. H. Ambrose, John H. B.as- 
kette, H. J. Bruce, Joseph W. Bigley, J. B. Brown, W. 
D. Baker, T. D. Cassetty, A. D. Creighton, J. B. Canfield, 
H. L. Claiborne, J. B. Cox, C. B. Chickering, W. J. 
Chandler, W. S. Craig, J. J. Corley, BI. J. Couch, BI. S. 
Cockrill, John S. Dasheilds, John S. C. Davidson, S. A. 
Duling, John V. Dennison, James Everett, Philip Ehrhart, 
W. L. Earthman, J. R. Evans, John H. Graves, J. H. 
Galbreath, Benajah Gray, Peter Harris, Jr., P. A. Harris, 
C. B. Hall, Stephen H. Hows, James Haynie, John A. 



''^'" Commissioned by Andrew Johnson, military governor. 
I Resigned. J Colored. 



Hamblen, W. A. Hadloy, Robert C. Hill, T. C. Hibbett, 
Andrew H. Johnson, Blartin Kerrigan, R. S. Knowles, 
Isaac Sctton, R. S. Bliller, John G. Blarshall, George May- 
field, D. N. Neylan, George W. NorvcU, John Overton, C. 
Power, A. Peebles, Howard Peckett, T. A. Sykes, Jerry 
Sullivan, James H. Still, James BI. Simpkins, T. T. Saun- 
ders, John W. Shule, John BI. Simpkins, J. BI. Shivers, 
L. BI. Temple, F. 0. Treanor, Peter Tamble, John Taylor, 
S. BI. Wene, James Whitworth. 
1878.— Robert R. Caldwell. 

JUDGES. 

The judges of this court have been Hon. James Whit- 
worth, commissioned Blay 9, 1856, and Blarch, 1858; 
Hon. William A. Glenn, qualified April 3, 1866, and was 
his immediate successor. 

Hon. William K. Turner first presided over this court 
in July, and was sworn into office as county judge Sept. 1, 
1870. He died while in office, Thursday, Aug. 10, 1871. 

Hon. W. A. Glenn was elected by the court to fill the 
vacancy. His seat was contested by Hon. Thomas T. 
Smiley, — "Case of State of Tennessee on the election of 
Thomas T. Smiley, ss. : William A. Glenn," — which re- 
sulted in declaring Thomas T. Smiley judge of the County 
Court of Davidson County, to fill the vacancy occasioned by 
the death of Hon. W. K. Turner, in accordance with a com- 
mission from His Excellency D. W. C. Senter, Governor 
of Tennessee, dated Aug. 26, 1871. He took his oath and 
entered upon the duties of his office Feb. 11, 1872. Ho 
'was succeeded by Hon. John C. Ferriss, the present judge, 
Aug. 8, 1872. 

At the expiration of Judge Whitworth's term of office 
the court passed the following resolution of respect : 

" Resolved, That we bid adieu to James Whitworth, late 
judge of this court, ;with feelings of kindness and heartfelt 
gratitude for the very able manner in which ho has man- 
aged^ the financial affiiirs of this county during the late 
troublous times incident to the war ; and that' it has been 
a pleasure to this court to review the acts and deliberations 
of this court for the last four years, when it is remembered 
that the County Court has been the only part of the civil 
machinery belonging to the civil government that has been 
free and untrammeled and suffi^red to exercise its legal 
functions, and, as this court is constrained to believe, in a 
very great measure, attributable to the wise head at the 
helm." 

On the organization of the first court, in 1783, Blatthew 
Talbott, Esrj., was elected clerk, and given until the open- 
ing of the next day's court in which to make his bonds. 
Failing in this, BIr. Andrew Ewing was elected in his stead 
the next morning, and continued to fill the position of clerk 
of the court until Feb. 1, 1813, when his son, Nathan 
Ewing, qualified as deputy clerk. He resigned in April 
ensuing, signing his formal resignation upon the record of 
the court and affixing a seal. Nathan Ewing, who had 
resigned his position as register in 1812, was then elected 
clerk . 

The court minutes contain the following record relat- 
ing to the death of Nathan Ewing, under date of Saturday, 
Blay 1, 1830: 



92 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



"At one o'clock p.m., Thomas Crutcher, Esq., treasurer 
of West Tennessee, came into open court and solemnly an- 
nounced that Nathan Ewing, clerk of the court, was no 
more; whereupon, on motion of Andrew Haj's, Esq., at- 
torney-general, the court su.spended all further judicial pro- 
ceedings, and the following preamble and resolutions were 
unanimously adopted, and ordered to be entered on record : 

" ' Nathan Ewing is dead. His long-continued and use- 
ful labors as an officer of this court are at an end ; his place 
cannot be filled. In the discharge of his official duties he 
united industry with intelligence, inflexibility with good na- 
ture and urbanity, and for a period of forty years stood before 
the public in a situation of the most delicate trust, not only 
■without imputation, but without suspicion ; and it may be 
stated with confidence that as a clerk he had no superior and 
scarcely an equal. As a neighbor, a citizen, and Christian 
he was admired by all. As a father, a husband, and master 
he was an example worthy of imitation. Penetrated with 
a just sense of the loss which the public has sustained by 
his untimely death, and with a view of manifesting our 
regard for his private virtues, — 

" ' Resolved, That the justices of the court, the members 
of the bar, and the officers of the court will wear crape for 
thirty days as an evidence of their respect for the memory 
of Nathan Ewing, late clerk of the court.' " 

CLEracs. 
Andrew Ewing, 1783-1813; Nathan Ewing, 1813-30; 
Henry Ewing, 1830-35 ; Smith Criddle, 1836-40 ; Robert 

B. Castleman, 1840-50 ; Felix R. Cheatham, 1850-61 ; 
Philip L. Nichol, 1862-70 ; W. G. Ewing, 1870-73 ; James 

- G. Bell, 1874-78 ; Joseph R. McCann, 1878-80. 

I SHERIFFS. 

J Daniel Williams, 1783; Thomas Marston, 1785; David 
Way, 1787 ; Thomas Hickman, 1788; Sampson Williams, 
1789; William Porter, 1790; Sampson Williams, 1791-93; 
Nicholas P. Hardiman, 1794-98 ; Wright Williams, 1799; 
Joseph Johnson, 1800-1 ; John Boyd, 1802-7 ; Michael 

C. Dunn, 1808-15; Caleb Hewitt, 1816-17; Thomas 
Hickman, 1818-21; Joseph W. Horton, 1822-29; Wil- 
loughby Williams', 1830-35; Philip Campbell, 1836-38; 

■ Felix R. Rains, 1838-43 ; Churchill Lanier, 1844-47 ; B. 
M. Barnes, 1848-51; Littlebury W. Fussell, 1852-53; 
Edward B. Bigley, 1854-57 ; John K. Edmundson, 1857 ; 
James Hinton, 1858; Robert Campbell, 1859; John K. 
Edmundson, 1860-61 ; James M. Hinton, 1862-65; E. E. 
Patterson, 1866-67; C. BI. Donelson, 1868-72; E. D. 
Whitworth, 1872-75; Francis M. Woodall, 1876-77; 
John L. Price, 1878-79. 

CIRCUIT COURT OF DAVIDSON COUNTY. 
Pursuant to an act. of the Legislature passed at Knox- 
ville, Nov. 7, 1809, entitled " An Act to Establish Circuit 
Courts and a Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals," on the 
12th day of March, 1810, a commission from William 
Blount, the Governor of the State of Tennessee, and under 
seal thereof, bearing date the 24th day of November, 1809, 
directed to Thomas Stuart, to be judge of the Fourth Circuit, 
was produced and read. The Circuit Court for Davidson 
County was thereupon organized and proceeded to business. 



The judges and clerks of this court have been the 

following : 

JUDGES. 

Hon. Thomas Stuart, commissioned Nov. 24, 1809. 

Hon. William P. Brown, commissioned Feb. 5, 1836 ; 
resigned 1838. 

Hon. James Rucks, commissioned Jan. 19, 1838. 

Hon. Thomas Maney, commissioned Sept. 5, 1839; re- 
signed 1852. 

Hon. Nathaniel Baxter, qualified Sept. 20, 1852. 

Hon. Manson M. Brien, commissioned June 28, 1864. 

Hon. John M. Lea, commissioned July 25, 1865. 

Hon. Manson M. Brien, commissioned May 18, 1866. 

Hon. Eugene Cary, commissioned Jan. 9, 1868. 

Hon. Nathaniel Baxter (elected), commissioned Sept. 1, 
1870. 

Hon. Frank T. Reid, commissioned Sept. 1, 1878. 

CLERKS. 

Randall BIcGavock, qualified March, 1810. 

Jacob BIcGavook, qualified November, 1834. 

Robert B. Turner, qualified May 9, 1836. 

Thomas T. Smiley, qualified March 2, 1844. 

David C. Love, qualified March, 1858 ; reappointed Sept. 
5, 1864. 

Albert Akens, qualified May, 1870. 

Nat. F. Dortch, qualified September, 1874. 

At the last session of September, 1861, the court met, 
but no judge was present. The clerk, David C. Love, Esq., 
recorded the meetings of the court March 3, 4, and 5, 1862 ; 
Sept. 1, 2, and 3, 1863 ; and March 2, 3, and 4, 1863, no 
judge being present on either occasion. The next court 
convened Sept. 5, 1861, and was presided over by Judge 
Brien. 

SUPERIOR AND SUPREME COURTS. 

The Supreme Court of Tennessee was organized under 
the Constitution of 1834. It was preceded by the Superior 
Court of Law and Equity, from 1790 to 1810, and by the 
Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals, from 1810 to 1834. 

The judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity 
were : 

HON. DAVID CAMPBELL. 

A judge under the authority of North Carolina, ap- 
pointed by the President in the spring of 1790 Territorial 
judge. Upon the Territory south of the Ohio being ad- 
mitted into the Union as the State of Tennessee, Judge 
Campbell went out of office. He was again appointed a 
judge of the Superior Courts in the fall of 1797 by the 
Legislature, vice W. C. C. Claiborne resigned ; went out of 
office on the abolition of the District or Superior Courts, on 
the 1st of January, 1810, and in the session of Congress, 
1810 and 1811, was appointed by the President one of the 
judges of the Mississippi Territory, and died in the fall of 

1812. 

HON. JOHN McNAIRY. 

A judge under the authority of North Carolina ; was 

appointed by the President Territorial judge in the spring 

of 1790. He continued in that office until the formation 

of the State, April, 1796, when he was appointed by the 

Legislature one of the three judges of the Superior Courts. 



COURTS. 



93 



In the spring of 1797 he was appointed district judge of 
the Federal courts for the State of Tennessee, which office 
he held till his death, in 1831 (?) 

HON. JOSEPH ANDERSON. 

Appointed by the President Territorial judge in Feb- 
ruary, 1791 ; continued in that office till the spring of 
1796, when the Territory ceased and the State took its 
place. He was then appointed a senator in Congress. 

HON. ARCHIBALD KOANE. 

Appointed by the Legislature of the State in April, 
1796; resigned in June, 1801. In August following he 
was elected Governor for two years, and in November, 1811, 
appointed circuit judge. 

HON. WILLIE BLOUNT. 

Appointed in April, 1796 ; resigned in September follow- 
ing. In August, 1809, elected Governor for two years, and 
again elected to the same office in August, 1811. 

HON. WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. 

Appointed by the Executive, vice Willie Blount resigned, 
in the fall of 1796. In the summer of 1797 he resigned, 
and was elected a member of the House of Representatives, 
and by re-elections continued in Congress until appointed 
by the President Governor of the Mississippi Territory, in 
the year 1801. After the Territory of Orleans was formed 
he was appointed by the President Governor of that Terri- 
tory, and was also elected Governor of the State in the fall 
of 1812. 

HON. HOWELL TATUM. 

Appointed by the Governor in May, 1797, vke John 
McNairy ; resigned in June, 1798, and subsequently ap- 
pointed by the Legislature commissioner of land-claims. 

HON. ANDREW JACKSON. 

United States senator from Tennessee ; resigned in June, 
1798; in the fall or winter of that year was appointed a 
judge of the Superior Courts ; continued in office until 
June, 1804, when he resigned, having been appointed 
major-general of the militia. 

HON. HUGH L. WHITE. 

Appointed by the Legislature in the fall of 1801, vice 
Archibald Roane; resigned in April, 1807 ; the same year 
elected a' Senator in the State Legislature ; in the fall of 
1809 appointed by the Legislature one of the judges of the 
Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals, which office he held 
till Deo. 31, 1814, when he resigned, and was afterwards 
appointed president of the State Bank. 

HON. JOHN OVERTON. 

Former supervisor of the revenue of the United States, 
appointed in July, 1804, a judge of the Superior Courts, 
vice Andrew Jackson, resigned ; went out of office on the 
abolition of those courts &n the 1st of January, 1810. 
In November, 1811, he was appointed by the Legislature 
one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Errors and 
Appeals, vice George W. Campbell. 



HON. THOMAS EMMERSON. 

Appointed by the Governor in April, 1807, vice H. L. 
White ; resigned in the fall following. 

HON. PARRY W. HUMPHREYS. 

Appointed an additional judge of the Superior Courts in 
the fall of 1807 ; continued in office till the abolition of 
those courts on the 1st of January, 1810, having in the 
preceding fall been appointed one of the judges of the Cir- 
cuit Courts. In April, 1813, he was elected a member of 
Congress, and thereupon resigned the office of circuit judge. 

HON. SAMUEL POWEL. 

Appointed by the Legislature in the fall of 1807, vice 
Hugh L. White, resigned ; continued in office until the 
abolition of the Superior Courts. In the fall of 1812 he 
was elected a circuit judge, which office he declined. 

The following were judges of the Supreme Court of 
Errors and Appeals : • 

HON. GEORGE W. CAMPBELL. 

Formerly representative in Congress; was appointed judge 
by the Legislature in the ftiU of 1809; he continued on 
the bench till the fall of 1811, when he was elected United 
States senator. 

HON. HUGH L. WHITE. 

Appointed by the Legislature in the fall of 1809. He 
resigned Dec. 31, 1814, and was afterwards appointed pres- 
ident of the State Bank. 

HON. JOHN OVERTON. 

Appointed in November, 1811, vice George W. Camp- 
bell. He remained on the bench till his resignation, 
April 11, 1816. 

HON. WILLIAM W. COOKE. 

Appointed by the Governor, May 27, 1815, vice H. L. 
White, resigned ; also appointed by the Legislature, Oct. 
21, 1815, and remained in office until his-death, July 20, 
1816. 

The vacancy had been tendered by the Governor to 
Samuel Powel, of Rogersville, January 2d; to Enoch 
Parsons, of Maryville, in January ; to George Duffield, of 
Elizabethtown, in February; and to John Williams, of 
Knoxville, in March, 1815 ; but they had severally de- 
clined. Mr. Powel was afterwards elected to Congress, 
and Blr. Williams to the United States Senate. 

HON. ARCHIBALD ROANE. 
Appointed by the Legislature as third, or an additional, 
judge of the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals, Oct. 
21, 1815. 

HON. ROBERT WHYTE. 

Appointed by the Legislature, May 22, 1816, vice John 
Overton, resigned, and continued in office till the court was 
abolished in 1834 by the adoption of the new Constitution. 
Judge Haywood had been offered the appointment, April 
23, 1816, but had declined. 



u 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



HON. JOHN HAYWOOD. 
Appointed by the Legislature, Sept. 1-1, 1816, vice Wil- 
liam W. Cooke, deceased, and remained on the bench till 
his death, Dec. 22, 1826. 

HON. JACOB PECK. 

Appointed by the Legislature in 1822, upon the resigna- 
tion of Judge EmmersoD, and remained on the bench till 
1834. 

HON. WILLIAM L. BKOWN. 

Appointed by the Legislature in 1822, upon the resigna- 
tion of Judge Emmerson, and resigned in 182-1, and Hon. 
Henry Crabb was appointed in his place. 

HON. JOHN CATRON. 
Appointed by the Legislature in December, 182-t, vice 
William L. Brown, resigned, and remained upon the bench 
until superseded by the election under the new Con.stitu- 
tion of 1834. He was afterwards, in March, 1837, ap- 
pointed a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

HON. HENRY CRABB. 
Appointed by the Governor in 1827, vice Hon. John 
Haywood, deceased, and died the same year. 

HON. NATHAN GREEN. 

Appointed by the Legislature, in 1831, an additional 
judge, and remained on the bench till the change of the 
court under the Constitution of 1834. 

Nine of the above judges — viz., Messrs. McNairy, Tatum, 
Jackson, Overton, Campbell, Emmerson, Cooke, Haywood, 
and Whyte — were residents of Davidson County; the others 
resided chiefly or wholly in East Tennessee. 

JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT. 
(Since 1834.) 

Under the Constitution of 1834 the following judges of 
the Supreme Court were elected, viz. : 

Hon. William B. Turley. 

Hon. William B. Reese. 

Hon. Nathan Green. 

These were all re-elected in 1843. 

Judge Reese resigned in 1848, and Hon. Robert J. 
McKinney was elected in his place. 

In 1850, Judge Turley resigned, and Hon. A. W. 0. 
Totten was elected in his place. 

Judge Green resigned in 1852, and Hon. Robert L. Ca- 
ruthers was appointed to fill the vacancy. 

In 1853 the Constitution was revised, and the existing 
judges were re-elected, viz. : 

Hon. Robert J. McKinney. 

Hon. Robert L. Caruthers. 

Hon. A. W. O. Totten. 

Judge Totten resigned Aug. 20, 1855, and Hon. Wil- 
liam R. Harris was elected in his place. 

Judge Harris died June 19, 1858, and Hon. Archibald 
Wright was elected in his place. 

Judge Caruthers resigned in 1861, and Hon. William F. 
Cooper was elected in his place. 

No term of the court was held during the civil war, and 



in 1865, His Excellency William G. Brownlow, Governor 
of the State, appointed new judges as follows : 

Hon. Samuel Milligan. 

Hon. J. 0. Shackleford. 

Hon. Alvin Hawkins. 

Judge Shackleford resigned in 1867, and Hon. Horace 
H. Harrison was appointed in his place. 

Judge Harrison resigned in 1868, and Hon. J. 0. 
Shackleford was appointed in his place. 

In 1868, Judge Hawkins resigned, and his place was 
filled by the appointment of Hon. Henry G. Smith. 

Upon the resignation of Judge Milligan, in 1868, Hon. 
George Andrews was appointed judge. 

In May, 1869, there was an election by the people, under 
the restricted suflFrages which then prevailed, and the fol- 
lowing judges were chosen : 

Hon. George Andrews. h 

Hon. Andrew McClain. ^ 

Hon. Alvin Hawkins. 

In August, 1870, there was a new election held under 
the revised Constitution of that year, and six judges were . 
elected, to wit : 

Hon. Alfred 0. P. Nicholson. 

Hon. James W. Deaderick. 

Hon. Peter Turney. 

Hon. Thomas A. R. Nelson. 

Hon. John L. T. Sneed. 

Hon. Thomas J. Freeman. 

In 1871, Judge Nelson resigned, and Hon. Robert Mc- 
Farland was elected in his place. 

Judge Nicholson was elected chief justice. He died on 
the 23d of March, 1876. 

By a provision of the Constitution of 1870, the judges 
of the Supreme Court are, by the death of Judge Nichol- 
son, reduced to five. 

Judge Deaderick was then elected chief justice. 

In August, 1878, there was a new ele^ition, and the fol- 
lowing five judges were elected : 

Hon. J. W. Deaderick. 

Hon. Robert McFarland. 

Hon. Peter Turney. 

Hon. Thomas J. Freeman. 

Hon. William F. Cooper. 

Judge Deaderick was again elected chief justice. These 
constitute the present bench of the Supreme Court of Ten- 
nessee. 

Of the judges of the Supreme Court since 1834 only 
Messrs. Caruthers, Nicholson, and Cooper are, or have been, 
residents of Davidson County. 

Judges of the Supreme Court were elected by the Legis- 
ture till 1853, at which date, by provision of the revised 
Constitution, they became elective by the people, and hold 
their office eight years instead of twelve, as under the 
former Constitution. District and State attorneys also hold 
for a term of eight years. 

COURT OF CHANCERT. 

From the adoption of the Constitution of 1834 to 1847 
the Court of Chancery was held at Franklin. In the latter 
year a Court of Chancery was established at Nashville for 





^^^^^^y-U^z 



COUETS. 



95 



Davidson County. Hon. Terry H. Cahal was appointed 
chancellor in 1S4G, and continued to occupy that station 
till his death, which occurred in February, 1851. We give 

j below a list of the chancellors and clerks of this court for 

I Davidson County : 

' CHANCELLORS. 

Terry H. Cahal, 1846, to Feb. 19, 1851. 

B. L. Ridley,* June, 1851. 

John S. Brien, Oct. 29, 1851, to November, 1853. 

Samuel D. Frierson, November, 1853. 

David Campbell, commissioned March 12, 1866. 

Horace H. Harrison, commissioned April 2, 1867. 

J. 0. Shackleford, commissioned Feb. 28, 1868. 

E. A. Otis, commissioned Deo. 16, 1868. 

Edward H. East, elected May 27, 1869. 

William F. Cooper, commissioned Nov. 20, 1872. 

Alfred G. Merritt, elected Aug. 1, 1878. 

CLERKS. 

Jackson B. White, appointed Feb. 3, 1846, and Feb. 3, 
1862. 

Carlton D. Brien, appointed March 12, 1853. 
John E. Gleaves, appointed March 2, 1858. 

! Morton B. Howell, appointed Sept. 9, 1865. 
Nathaniel Baxter, appointed Nov. 16, 1870. 
Eobert Ewing, appointed Nov. 18, 1876. 

The Court of Chancery held jurisdiction over equity 
causes exclusively till 1877, since which certain legal causes 
are included. 

Benjamin Litton, clerk of the Court of Chancery-for 
Williamson County, was a resident of Nashville, and re- 
sided till his death at the Litton place, where the Van- 
derbilt University now stands. He was a brother of Mr. 
Isaac Litton, one of the present justices of the County 
Court. 

CRIMINAL COURT. 

This court was organized under the revised Constitution 
of 1853, and originally embraced Davidson, Rutherford, 
Sumner, and Montgomery Counties. On the 17th of June, 
1870, its limits were reduced to Davidson and Rutherford 
Counties. The judges of this court have been as follows: 

Hon. William K. Turner, 1853-64. 

Hon. Thomas N. Frazier, 1864-67 ; removed. 

Hon. John Hugh Smith, 1867-70. 

Hon. Thomas N. In-azier (elected), 1870-78. 

Hon. James M. Quarles, 1878 ; present incumbent. 

CLERKS. 

Thomas T. Smiley, 1853t to 1856. 

John Shane, 1856 to 1860. 

Charles E. Diggins, from Blarch 3, 1860, to April 6, 
1863, when he was removed from office. 

Charles W. Smith, appointed April 6, 1863. 

John H. Hall, elected March 5, 1864; died in office in 
1865. 

Charles E. Diggins, appointed to vacancy Aug. 8, 1865 ; 
elected, and served' to 1870. 

'=' Served in May and June terra, 1851. 
t Clerk of Circuit Court for ISJi. 



Hugh W. Frizzell, September, 1870, to August, 1872. 

Samuel Donelson, August, 1872 ; re-elected, 1874, to 
September, 1878. . 

Albert S. Williams, September, 1878, to serve until Sep- 
tember, 1882. ' 

LAW COURT OP NASHVILLE. 
This court was established by act of the Legislature in 
1870, with jurisdiction of law causes for Davidson and 
Sumner Counties. The first term began in Nashville on 
the first Monday of September, 1870. 

JUDGE. 

Hon. Josephus C. Guild, elected by the people for a term 
of eight years, and occupied the bench till September, 1878, 
when the court was abolished by the Legislature. 

The clerks of the Circuit Court, Messrs. Albert Akers 
and Nat. F. Dortch, officiated as clerks of the Law Court. 

We subjoin the following list of United States Senators 
and Representatives from Davidson County, with the num- 
ber of the Congres^s in which they served : 

SENATORS. 

V. — Andrew Jackson took his seat Nov. 22, 1797 ; re- 
signed 1798. 

v., IX., X.— Daniel Smith, Dec. 3, 1798, to March 3 
1799 ; Dec. 2, 1805, to March 3, 1809. 

XL— Jenkin Whiteside, May 29, 1809 ; resigned 1811 

XII., XIII.— George Washington Campbell, Nov. 4 
1811; resigned Feb. 9, 1814. 

. .XIII.— Jesse Wharton, April 9, 1814, to March 2, 
1815. 

XIV., XV.— George Washington Campbell, Dec. 4 
1815; resigned 1818. 

XVIII. — -Andrew Jackson, Dec. 1, 1823; resigned 
1825. 

XXI.— John H. Eaton, Nov. 16, 1818 (XV. Cong.) 
to resignation, March, 1829. A resident of Williamson 
County previous to 1825. 

XXL, XXII., XXIII., XXIV., XXV.— Felix Grundy 
Dee. 7, 1829; resigned July 4, 1838. 

XXV.— Ephraim H. Foster, Dec. 3, 1838, to March 3 
1839. 

XXVL— Felix Grundy, Dec. 2, 1839, to his death 
Dec. 19, 1840. 

XXVIL— Vacant. 

XXVIIL— Ephraim H. Foster, Dec. 4, 1843, to March 
3, 1845. 

XXX., XXXL, XXXIIL, XXXIV., XXXV.— John 
Bell, Dee. 6, 1847, to March 3, 1859. 

XXXY in. — Vacant, 1863 to 1865. 

XXXIX., XL., XLL— Joseph S. Fowler, July 25, 
1866, to March 3; 1871. 

XLIL, XLIIL, XLIV.— Henry Cooper, March 4, 1871, 
to March 3, 1877. 

XLV.— Isham G. Harris, Oct. 15, 1877. 

REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 
IV.— Andrew Jackson, Dec. 5, 1796, to JIarch 3, 1797. 
v., VI.— William Charles Cole Claiborne, Nov. 23, 1797, 
to March 3, 1801. 



96 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



YIII., IX., X —George Washington Campbell, Oct. 17, 
1803, to Blarch 3, 1809. 

XI.— Robert AVeakley, May 22, 1809, to March 3, 1811. 

XII., XIII.— Felix Grundy, Nov. 4, 1811; resigned 
1814. 

XIII., XIV.— Newton Cannon, Oct. 15, 1814, to 
March 3, 1817. 

XV.— Thomas Claiborne, Dec. 1, 1817, to March 3, 
1819. 

XVI., XVII.— Newton Cannon, Deo. 6, 1819, to March 
3, 1823. 

XVIII., XIX.— Samuel Houston, Dee. 1, 1823, to 
March 3, 1827. 

XX., XXL, XXII., XXIII.,XXIV., XXV., XXVI.— 
John Bell, Dec. 3, 1827, to March 3, 1841. 

XXIX.— Edwin H. Ewing, Dec. 1, 1845, to March 3, 
1847. 

XXX.— Washington Barrow, Dec. 6, 1847, to Blarch 3, 
1849. 

XXXI.— Andrew Ewing, Dec. 3, 1849, to March 3, 
1851. 

XXXII.— James M. Quarles, Dec. 1, 1851, to March 
3, 1853. 

XXXIII., XXXIV., XXXV.—Fclix K. Zollicoffer, 
Dec. 5, 1853, to March 3, 1859. 

XXXVI.— James M. Quarles, Dec. 5, 1859, to March 
3, 1861. 

XXXVIII.— rac(?H<, Dec. 7, 18()3, to March 3, 1865. 

XL.— John Trimble, Nov. 21, 1867, to March 3, 1869. 

XLL— William F. Prosser, March 4, 1869, to March 3, 
1871. 

XLIII. — Horace H. Harrison, Dec. 1, 1873, to March 
3, 1875. 

CONVENTIONAL RECORD. 

The following-named persons served as members of the 
Constitutional Conventions from this county : 

COXVEXTION OF 1796, TO FORM THE FIRST CONSTITU- 
TION OF THE STATE, 

convened at Knosville, January 11th, and adjourned 
Feb. 6, 1796. Hon. William Blount, President ; William 
Maclin, Secretary ; John Sevier, Jr., Reading and Engross- 
ing Clerk. 

Delegates from Davidson. — John McNairlv, Andrew 
Jackson, James Robertson, Thomas Hardeman, Joel Lewis. 

Of the two members from each county appointed by the 
Convention to draft the Constitution, Hon. John McNairy 
and Hon. Andrew Jackson were appointed for Davidson. 

CONVENTION OF IS34, FOR THE REVISION OF THE 
CONSTITUTION, . 

convened at Nashville, May 19th, and adjourned Aug. 30, 
1834. William B. Carter, President; William K. Kill, 
Secretary. 

Delegates from Davidson. — Francis B. Fogg, Robert 
Weakley. Three only of the members of this Convention 
from the whole State are living at this writing, viz. : Francis 
B. Fogg, of Davidson ; West H. Humphreys, of Fayette ; 
and Boiling Gordon, of Hickman. 



CHAPTER XXL 

BENCH AND BAK OF DAVIDSON COUNTY. 

Status of the Legal Profession — List of Admissions to the Davidson 
County Bar — Bar Association — Biographical Slietches of Prominent 
Lawyers and Judges. 

From the earliest period of the history of our country 
the legal profession has constituted a most valuable and 
important element in society. In all countries where ju- 
risprudence has reached the dignity of a science, it has 
become more complicated and minute in its ramifications 
from one generation to another, extending through all the 
frame-work of society, from the greatest to the least of 
human concerns, and exerting an omnipresent spell and 
power second only to that of religion itself To people 
thus educated reverence for the law becomes a powerful 
and controlling sentiment, and this reverence attaches in 
a very large degree to the outward exponents and officers 
of the law, whose duty it is to expound and apply its 
principles, to pronounce its authoritative judgments, and 
to enforce and execute its mandates. 

In proportion as a country is free or despotic, in propor- 
tion as her laws are oppressive or just and beneficent, 
does this reverence become a fear and a dread, or, on the 
other hand, a loving and cordial appreciation of that which 
is designed to subserve the highest ends of justice and 
liberty among the people. Hence a very different feeling 
prevails towards lawyers and judges in a free country 
from that which exists in a country ruled more or less by 
despotic power. In the one case they are dreaded as more 
or less the tools and agents of irresponsible and arbitrary 
rulers ; in the other they are loved and venerated as the 
wise and just executors of laws of their own enactment, 
based upon an authority emanating from the people them- 
selves and designed to promote the welfare of the humblest 
citizen. Especially does this reverence become a cordial 
and an affectionate sentiment, and promotive of the highest 
influence for good, when the characters of these legal ex- 
ecutors become conspicuous for honor, for patriotism, for 
eminent abilities, for learning, for high culture, and for all 
the domestic and social virtues. 

In a free country, like our own, members of the legal 
profession exert an influence which they can nowhere else 
attain. They are not merely expounders and adminis- 
trators of the law, but law-makers also; not only counselors 
and jurists, but legislators as well. It is not only a fact 
apparent at the present time that a large proportion of the 
members of our legislative bodies, both State and national, 
are lawyers, but it has always been so from the foundation 
of our government. The fact did not escape the observa- 
tion of that great statesman, Edmund Burke, who remarked 
on a very grave and interesting occasion in Parliament, 
when our national struggle for independence was in progress, 
that in both the national and colonial Legislatures, and in 
the first Congress of the Union, a much larger proportion 
of lawyers wore occupants of seats in those bodies than had 
been elsewhere known. This order of things, which began 
with the first legislative bodies of our government, has 
continued to the present time in all the States of the 
Union. 



BENCH AND BAR. 



97 



The influential bur of Diividson County has furnished a 
, striking illustration of this rule, from the time when Jack- 
son and Grundy, Campbell and Whiteside, Houston and 
S Peyton, Bell and Foster, Cooper and Harris, and many 
other bright lights, among whom are the Browns, the Ew- 
ings, the Claibornes and the Trimbles, carried their great 
talents and abilities from the legal profession to the halls of 
Congress and the State Legislature. From this profession, 
too, how many have graduated up to the highest bench of the 
State and nation, and worn the judicial ermine with honor 
to themselves and their country ! 

On looking over the following sketches of lawyers and 
judges, it will be seen how large a proportion of them have 
been sent to the legislative bodies, both State and national. 
The plan of the present subject, the bench and bar of 
Davidson County, has been arranged in sueh a manner as 
to give first a list of the lawyers of the county, with dates 
of their admission to the bar, and then to follow the list 
with personal sketches of greater or less length of the more 
prominent and noticeable members. 

MEMBERS OP THE DAVIDSON COUNTY BAR. 

The following is a list of the members of tlie Davidson 
County bar, with the dates of their admission : 

1785. — William Grubbins. 

1789. — Andrew Jackson. 

1790. — James White, James Cole. 

1791. — Howell Tatum, Hopkins Lacy. 

1793. — James Dougherty. ■ 

1796. — Thomas Stuart, Gideon Davis Pendleton, John 
Brown, Joseph Herrendon. 

1797. — George Smith, Francis Hall, Robert Hamilton. 

1798. — John Hamilton, Preston Anderson, Howell 
Tatum. 
. 1800. — John Dickson, Samuel Henry. 

1801.— Matthew Lodge. 

1802. — Peter Richardson Booker. 

1803.— Hutc'hins G. Burton. 

1804. — Robert Whyte, Thomas Overton, Washington 
L. Hannum, William Barton. 

1805.— George W. L. Marr, Robert F. N. Smith, Wil- 
liam Burton. 

1806.— John E. Beck, Thomas Swann, Thomas K. 
Harris, Jenkin Whiteside, Blount Robertson, Thomas H. 
Benton. 

1807. — William Sanders, Thomas Claiborne, L. D. 
Powell. 

1808.— Felix Grundy, Thomas E. Turnbull, Kinchon 
Turner, Eli Talbott, James Rucks, Oliver B. Hays. 
■ 1809.— Gabriel Moore, Joseph Phillips. 

1810. — Alfred H. Lewis, Lemuel P. Montgomery. 

1812.— Stockley D. Hays. 

1813.— Elias K. Kam, John G. Syms, Samuel Smith 
Hall, Thomas Washington. 

1814. — William R. Hess, Douglass J. Puckett, W^illiam 
Alexander, David Craighead, Henry Crabbo, Patrick H. 
Darby, James Trimble, Ephraim H. Foster. 

1815. — James G. Martin, John Bell. 

1816.— Robert Goodlett, John J. White, W. L. Brown, 
John A. Cheatham, Aaron V. Brown, Robert P. Dunlap. 
13 



1817. — Robert H. Adams, George W. Gibbs, Argyle 
Campbell, Aaron V. Brown, Neill S. Brown, Morgan W. 
Brown. 

1818.- John Catron, Francis B. Fogg, James P. Clarke. 

1819. — Samuel Houston. 

1820. — John P. Erwin, George S. Yeager. 

1821. — David Barrow, Alfred Murray. • 

1822. — Alexander Barrow, Thomas A. Duncan, James 
C. Hays, William Stevens, William Cooper. 

1823. — Benjamin S. Litton, John L. Allen, Nelson Pat- 
terson, McCoy W. Campbell, Andrew J. Donelson, James 
Collinsworth. 

1824. — Samuel Yerger, Baylie Peyton, Allen A. Hall, 
William E. Andrews, John H. Blartin. 

1825. — Thomas Haywood, John Colwell. 

1820. — Joseph J. Anthony. 

1827.— Henry Rutlidge, Thomas H. Fletcher, George 
Washington Barrow. 

1828. — George C. Childress, Samuel Hays, James P. 
Thompson, Andrew Bachus, Richard S. Williams. 

1829. — Orville Ewing, Felix Catron, George W. Foster, 
Samuel Watson, Henry A. Wise, William L. Washington, 
Thomas J. Lacy, Micajah Claiborne, John A. Walker. 

1830. — Thomas C. Whiteside, William Woodson, John 
BI. Bass, John Bruce, James I. Dozier, Henry B. Shaw, 
John R. Shenault. 

1831.— Charles D. Shewsbury, William T. Brown, Ben- 
jamin Patton, George R. Fall, David Campbell. 

1833.— William F. White. 

1834.— Joseph W. Perkins, John M. Hays, John Chil- 
dress, Charles Scott, John W. Goode, Robert B. Castleman, 
J. S. Yeager. 

1835. — Henry Hollingsworth, David Sheldon, John W. 
Barker, Augustus L. Hays, John Trimble, Nathaniel Bax- 
ter (judge), Godfrey BI. Fogg. 

1836.— Thomas T. Smiley. 

1838. — Isaac F. Anderson, Jordan G. Stokes. 

1841. — John M. Lea, James Campbell. 

MEMBERS OF THE BAR ASSOCI.A.TION. 
(Incorporated May 10, 1S75.) 

1840.— M. C. Goodlett. 
1841.— W. F. Cooper. 
1847.— D. F. Wilkin. 
1854. — Baxter Smitli. 
1857. — Horace H. Harrison. 
1858.— Blorton B. Howell. 
1858.— Thomas H. Malone. 
1859. — James Chamberlin. 
18G0.— R. McP. Smith. 
I860.— G. P. Thruston. 
1861.— Thomas L. Dodd. 
1863.— D. W. Peabody. 
1864.— John Frizzell. 
1865. — Andrew Allison. 
1866. — John Lawrence. 
1866.— G. M. Fogg, Jr. 
1866. — John Lellyett. 
1866.— Matthew W. Allen. 
1866.— Frank T. Reid. 



98 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



1867.— Nicholas D. Malone. 

1867.— John M. Gaiit. ' 

1867.— T. M. Stcger. 

1867.— Nathaniel Baxter. 

1867.— J. B. Brown. 

1867.— Edwai-d Baxter. 

1867. — Thomas M. Osmcnt. 

1868.— James D. Park. 

1869.— John Ruhm. 

1869.- C. D. Berry. 

1869.— Wirt Hughes. 

1869.- James Trimble. 

1869.— M. T. Brjard. 

1870.— William E. McNeilly. 

1870.— J. C. Cartwright. 

1870.— William K. McAlistcr. 

1870.— S. Watson, Jr. 

1870. — Harry Harrison. 

1871.— H. D. Smith. 

1871.— E. T. Morris. 

1871.— Robert S. Overall. 
. 1872.— A. H. Lusk. 

1872.- — George H. Vaughan, West H. Humphreys. 

1873._J. C.^^Bradford." 

1 873. — James S. Frazer. 

1874.— J. M. Dickinson. 

1874.— Robert B. Lea. 

1874. — Jere Baxter. 

1874. — John L. Kennedy. 

1876. — Edward Gawnaway. 

1876.— William G. Brien, Jr. 

1876.— George C. Hunt. 

1877.— Lewis B. McWhirter. 

1878.— T. E. Matthews. 

1879.- J. P. Helms. 

1879.— Paul Jones. 

To this list should be added the following-named mem- 
bers of the Davidson bar, not members of the Bar Associ- 
ation, the dates of whose admission to the bar have not 
been obtained. Some of them are noticed in sketches fur- 
ther on in this chapter : J. B. White, Neill S. Brown, 
Thomas T. Smiley, George Stubblefield, Jackson B. White, 
George Maney, Mattheiv W. Allen, M. M. Brien, Nathaniel 
Baxter, J. W. Ilorton, Jr., E. H. East, John C. Grant. 

The above list of admissions to the Davidson County bar 
contains the names of but three lawyers of any consider- 
able note up to 1806 : these are Andrew Jackson, Thomas 
Stuart, and Robert Whyte. With respect to Jackson, it 
may be remarked that he exhibited no special greatness 
either as a lawyer or as a jurist, nor did he remain long in 
the profession. His taste, his ambition, and his providen- 
tial calling led him into other fields in which his great 
talents were fully displayed, and where he won imperishable 
I'enowu. The life of Gen. Jackson, as a hero, patriot, and 
statesman, will be found in another part of this work. It 
is only necessary to record here the few brief facts respect- 
ing his early career as a lawyer and judge. He read law 
and obtained license to practice before emigrating from 
liis native State. When he came to Nashville he was ad- 
mitted to the Davidson County bar, at the date above given, 



1789, and practiced in the courts here with other early 
lawyers several years. For about six years he exercised 
the functions of judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 
from the autumn of 1798 to the month of June, 1804, 
when he was appointed major-general, and was succeeded 
on the bench by Hon. John Overton. 

HON. .JOHN OVERTON. 

/ 

Judge Overton was born in Louisa Co., Va., the 9th day 
of April, 1766. His family was not wealthy, and his edu- 
cation was only such as could be procured at that day in; 
the best common schools of Virginia. While a youth he 
taught school for several years, chiefly for the purpose of 
educating his brothers and sisters ; but his attention sooHi ' 
became directed towards the profession of the law, in which 
numbers of his family connections, the Wythos, Tazwells, 
and Currs, had become highly distinguished. He removed 
to Kentucky before his majority, studied law there, but, it 
is believed, began the practice in Nashville, Tenn. The lit- 
igation then was chiefly concerning the titles to real estate, 
and old lawyers, as well in Kentucky as Tennessee, will re- 
member that there was a good deal of it, and very profitable 
it was too. A good land-lawyer was the highest eminence 
of the profession. Judge Overton at once obtained a full 
practice, and by his industry and atteijtion to business kept 
it till he was transferred to the bench. , A system of law, 
based upon the acts of 1777 and 1783 of the North Caro- 
lina Legislature, disposing of lands in the Territory of Ten- 
nessee, had to be built up by the bar and bench of Tennes- 
see, and Overton, as lawyer and judge, exercised considerable 
influence in moulding the system to suit the wants and ne- 
cessities of the new community. The English law-books 
failed to afford a precedent for settling the titles to boun- 
daries of adjacent wild lands, involving the questions of 
special entries, younger grants, elder entries, the ages -of 
marks on trees, the authority of plats to control the calls in 
grants, and various other points springing from the peculiar 
system adopted by North Carolina; and hence the difficulty 
of the task which had to be encountered by our earlier 
judges. The constructions of our land-laws, as ruled 
whilst Overton was on the bench, became established law, 
and the points arc not now controverted in the courts. He i 
was conscientious in the discharge of his duties, giving to 1 
every case, no matter how small the amount involved, a 
patient attention, and stucli/ing it before he delivered an 
opinion. His private journal, now in the possession of his 
son-in-law, shows that during vacation he was constantly 
engaged in studying the cases which had been laid over 
from the last term, and there is an abstract of the principal 
points of almost every case that was before the court whilst 
he was a member. 

He was appointed supervisor of the revenue of the United 
States, and held the office till it was abolished by Congress. 
The office was one of responsibility and trust, and, as a mark 
of his industry, it may be proper to state that he kept copies 
of every letter to his various agents, his correspondence with 
the department at Washington, and of even the minutest 
transaction, so that a correct statement of the business and 
accounts of his office could now, after the lapse of half a 
century, be accurately made. 





(^^-^^^^5^ 



BENCH AND BAR. 



99 



In 1804 he was elected a judge of the Superior Court of 
Law and Equity, in place of Gen. Jackson, wlio resigned, 
and held the office till the abolition of the court on the 1st 
day of January, ISIO. During this period Judge Overton 
was also appoiiiteJ by the Legislature as agent to confer 
with the Legislature of North Carolina respecting the land- 
titles of the separate States, and to make such agreement, 
stipulation, or compromise as might be necessary. The ap- 
pointment evidences the estimation in which Judge Overton 
was held as a land-lawyer. In November, 1811, he was 
elected a judge of the Supreme Court in place of Hon. 
George W. Campbell, who was transferred to the Senate of 
the United States, and continued to discharge the duties of 
said office till his resignation in 1816. Overton's Reports 
run through a series of years from 1791 to 1817, and arc 
valuable as a repository of the land-law, now almost obso- 
lete, however, as tlie healing power of the statute of limita- 
tions has cured all titles originally defective, and titles at 
this day are seldom controverted except on principles arising 
from irregular sales, the construction of wills, etc. 

After Judge Overton's retirement from the bench he 
practiced in important cases, and used the same industry 
and energy that had characterized his early professional life. 
His private business also required his attention, and that, 
with his limited but important practice, kept him constantly 
engaged. He never knew what it was to be idle, and always 
did well what he undertook. Judge Overton and Gen. Jack- 
son wore throughout their lives firm and unwavering friends, 
and it was singular that individuals differing in many points 
of character should have such an ardent attachment for each 
other. Gen. Jackson seldom advised with anybody but Judge 
Overton, and it is said, by those who know, that it was his 
custom to consult Judge Overton upon all important sub- 
jects ; he certainly had a very high respect for his opinion, 
and a confidential correspondence was carried on between 
them till the day of Judge Overton's death. During the 
Presidential campaigns of 182-1 and 1S28, Judge Over- 
ton labored assiduously for the success of Gen. Jackson. 
He had the happiness to see his early and fast friend elected 
to the Presidency, and immediately withdrew from political 
strife. Tlie relations of Gen. Jackson and Judge Overton 
were most intimate and confidential and unreserved on all 
subjects of men and measures. A few days before Judge 
Overton's death he caused all the correspondence of Gen. 
Jackson, embracing a life-time (for Judge Overton never 
lost or mislaid a paper or letter), to be brought to his bed- 
side. Political excitement was then at the highest pitch, 
and the war between Jackson and the Bank was raging. 
He reflected that, after his death, many of those letters, in- 
tended for his own eye, might fall into the hands of his 
friend's enemies, and garbled extracts find their way to the 
public, — such a thing had happened and might happen 
again, — few would be living wlio could explain the circum- 
stances under which they were written, time and the events 
of life might have induced a change of opinion concerning 
men and things, and with a singular prudence he com- 
mitted the correspondence to the flames, remarking that, 
living or dead, ho would not betray the confidence of a 
friend. It is a matter of regret that this correspondence 
was not preserved and trusted to a judicious and impartial 



historian. It would have developed the true character of 
Gen. Jackson, and have shown that, in addition to all the 
honorable, noble, and generous qualities of which the world 
is well aware in the character of that groat man, he was also 
a reflecting, thinking, prudent man, — there was a degree 
of coolness in all his rashness. 

Judge Overton died the 12th day of April, 1833, at his 
residence, near Nashville. He was an influential citizen. 
He had some peculiar idiosyncrasies of character, but was 
universally respected and loved by his family and a chosen 
body of friends, who cherished for him the warmest affec- 
tion. His success in the pursuits of life was very great, and, 
though economical in the smallest particulars, he was liberal 
towards all public improvements and institutions, and by his 
will gave handsome legacies to many of his wife's relatives. 
He predicted the success of George S. Yerger, of Missis- 
sippi, as a lawyer, and gave him his law library, the largest 
then in the West ; he was of a discriminating mind, and 
read character well. Though his life was emphatically one 
of business, overflowing with private and public duties, and 
though his large private interests often brought him into con- 
flict with others, no word of suspicion was ever whispered 
against his character, and his children are justly proud of the 
name ho has left them. 

Judge Overton left three children, two of whom, a son 
and a daughter (Mrs. John M. Lea), reside in Nashville ; 
the other daughter married Mr. R. C. Brinkley, of Mem- 
phis, and has departed this life. 

THOMAS STUART. 

Thomas Stuart was an active, industrious, and laborious 
lawyer; was for many years judge of the Circuit Court at 
Nashville, and retired from that position upon the adoption 
of the Constitution of 183-4. He was then a very old man, 
and retired to his farm in Williamson County. He practiced 
law in a feeble way in the courts of that county, coming 
into court on crutches, which he was obliged to use from 
an accidental injury. He died, it is believed, about 1840. 

ROBERT WHYTE. 
Robert Whyte was a Scotchman by birth, and a very 
excellent lawyer and judge. He vacated the bench of the 
Supreme Court in 1834 upon the adoption of the new Con- 
stitution, having served as an honored judge for many 
years. He was then a feeble old man ; he lived to a great 
age, but appeared no more in public life after his retire- 
ment from the bench. He was a laborious and accurate 
lawyer, and exceedingly tenacious of his views and opin- 
ions. His opinions as a judge are remarkable for laborious 
research and accuracy. (See Haywood's, Peck's, Blartin 
and Yerger's, and 1 Yerger's " Reports.") 

JENKIN ^VHITESIDE. 
" Jenkin Whiteside," says Governor Foote, in his " Bench 
and Bar of the South and Southwest," " has come down to 
the men of this generation exclusively as a great land- 
laiDijer. No one was more familiar than he with all that 
Coke and Blaokstone and the other English writers have 
said in their labored and profoundly-reasoned treatises upon 
the laws of real property. No man had mastered more 



100 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



fully tlian himself the principles involved in the doctrine 
of executory devises and contingent remainders. No law- 
yer of his time could talk more learnedly and luminously 
upon the celebrated rule in S/icIleys case ; and he mani- 
fested a steady energy and masterly dexterity in the man- 
agement of all the sharp points and subtle devices that 
appertain to the trial of actions of ejectment, which things 
gave him many advantages over a sluggish and less wily 
adversary. No man could be more conversant than was 
Jenkin Whiteside with the whole history of land-titles in 
Tennessee, as well as with the operations of the land-ofBoes 
both in that State and North Carolina, — a species of knowl- 
edge quite indispensable to success in the arduous but 
profitable vocation in which ho had enlisted, and upon 
which his attention had been concentrated in a manner 
rarely exemplified. He was undoubtedly a man of vigor- 
ous understanding, of wonderful sagacity and acuteness, 
devoted much to money-making, and especially delighting 
in what was known as speculation in uncultivated lands, of 
which he had, in one way and another, at difl"erent times, 
accumulated largo bodies, the titles to which were not 
rarely involved in troublesome and expensive litigation." 
From an unfortunate speculation in what was called for 
many years Balch and Whiteside's addition to Nashville, 
he died insolvent, and his estate became the subject of 
very extensive litigation. He lived and died a bachelor. 
He is described as a man " of rough and unimposing ex- 
terior, of awkward and ungainly manners, and had no relish 
whatever for those elegant and refined pursuits which are 
understood to distinguish polished and aristocratic com- 
munities." Still, he is admitted by all who knew him to 
have been " civil and unobtrusive in his general demeanor, 
not deficient in public spirit, and of a coarse and unpre- 
tending cordiality which made him many friends and no 
enemies." 

THO.AI.iS 11. BEXTOy. 
Thomas H. Benton, it will be seen from our list, was 
admitted to the bar of this county in 1806. He came from 
North Carolina, where he had received a collegiate education, 
and taught a small school upon Duck River, not many miles 
from Franklin, in which latter place he subsequently began 
the practice of law. From the first it is said that Mr. Benton 
was " much fonder of political pursuits than of the study 
of law-books, and greatly preferred the making of stump- 
speeches to the argument of legal causes." He, however, 
possessed great powers, as is clearly evinced in his future 
almost unbounded control of politics in the Territory and 
State of Missouri, and his unrivaled career of thirty years in 
the United States Senate, where he was regarded as the peer 
of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun. " No man," says a late 
writer, " was ever more industrious, more persevering, or 
more fertile in expedients than Mr. Benton." The same 
writer, however, thinks that " no amount of rhetorical train- 
ing could ever have enabled Mr. Benton to cope in lively 
and splendid forensic eloquence with such persons as Mr. 
Clay or Felix Grundy," or in legal argumentation " to rival 
the condensed vigor of a Marshall or a Pinckney." " The 
ready and rapid flow of choice and appropriate words," says 
our author, " and of earnest, clear, and forcible logic, some- 
times bordering upon metaphysical subtlety, and occasionally 



embellished and adorned with sublime generalities, to which 
Mr. Calhoun was indebted for so large a portion of his fame 
and influence, seemed ever to arouse in Mr. Benton a feel- 
ing allied to astonishment, not unmixed with an emulation 
nearly akin to resentment." As a writer Mr. Benton is 
accorded great excellence : " AVhen he chose to do so, he 
could express himself on paper with a clearness and precision 
not often equaled. He had command of a simple, nervous, 
and idiomatic English style which few of his own genera- 
tion could boast." 

For a year or two of Mr. Benton's residence in Tennes- 
see he was the. law-partner of the Hon. Oliver B. Hays, 
who became a resident of Nashville in 1808, but whose 
name does not appear on our list of admissions at the bar. 
He was probably admitted in Baltimore, where he had 
studied law before he came here. Mr. Benton probably 
removed from Tennessee on account of his difficulty with 
Gen. Jackson respecting the duel of his brother, Jesse, about 
1810. He was exceedingly ambitious, and could not brook 
the ascendency of his great rival. He therefore concluded 
that, so far as his own personal competition was concerned, 
he would withdraw from the immediate arena, and leave 
Jackson " alone in his glory." He removed to St. Louis, 
where he had things very much his own way, and erected a 
throne on which he reigned without a rival for the rest of 
his days. The career of Mr. Benton in politics is one of 
the most remarkable in the history of our country.* 

HON. FELIX GRUNDY. 

This eminent jurist and statesman was born in Berkeley 
Co., Va., on the 11th of September, 1777, and died in 
Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 19, 1S40. His father was an 
Englishman, and settled in Kentucky in the year 1780. 
Felix was educated at Bardstown Academy, and was ad- 
mitted to the practice of law in the courts of Kentucky, 
where he soon attained a high reputation. He was a 
member of the Constitutional Convention of Kentucky in 

1799 ; a member of the Legislature of that State from 

1800 to 1805 ; was appointed judge of the Supreme Court 
in 1806, and soon after made chief justice. 

Such is a brief outline of his record in Kentucky. In 
the winter of 1807-8 he removed to Nashville, where his 
fame had pr^jceded him, and for a long series of years main- 
tained a position at the head of the bar as a criminal ad- 
vocate. He was a member of Congress from 1811 to 
1814: ; was in the Tennessee Legislature for several years; 
was United States senator from 1829 to 1838, and elected 
to the same oSice in 1810. He was a strong Jackson man, 
and was United States attorney-general from July 5, 1838, 
to Dec. 1, 1840. 

From the sources of information within our reach re- 
specting Mr. Grundy's forensic character and reputation 
we select the following. Hon. Edwin H. Ewing, who has 
kindly furnished us valuable notes on a number of the 
leading members of the bar of which he himself has long 
been an honored member, says of Mr. Grundy, — 

" He was a fluent and dignified speaker, and ranked high 
in Tennessee as an orator, an adroit and, skillful practitioner, 

■•■■■ See " Thirty Years in tlie Senate." 




■0/&y /^y 



T'/Z/A 




BENCH AND BAR. 



101 



especially on the criminal side of the law. He was a keen 
jutliie of men and motives. His manner of speaking would 
now be considered somewhat aiSFected and stilted ; it was, 
however, very effective for its time. He had very little 
learning as a lawyer, but was exceedingly quick and skill- 
ful in taking up and appropriating the knowledge of others. 
Of his more public history as a member of Congress of both 
houses and as attorney-general of the United States, I need 
not speak." 

Judge Guild says, " Felix Grundy will always rank 
among the greatest men this century has produced. He 
was Tennessee's greatest criminal advocate, and he was the 
peer of any the United States has produced. He was not 
only a great lawj'cr, but was a powerful stump-speaker, and 
ranked with Henry Clay as an orator before he removed 
from Kentucky to Tennessee, which occurred about the 
year 1807. He had been a distinguished member of the 
Kentucky Legislature, a member of the convention that 
framed the Constitution, and chief justice of that State. 
He was a member of the United States House of Repre- 
sentatives from Tennessee, and sustained the war of 1812 
with great eloquence. He was a member of the Tennessee 
Legislature in 1820, and was the author of the relief 
measures adopted by that body for the purpose of miti- 
gating the severity of the revulsion of 1819. He was 
elected to the United States Senate, and was a tower of 
strength in that body to Gen. Jackson's administration. 
He was attcrney-general under Mr. Van Buren's adminis- 
tration, the duties of which ho discharged with the same 
marked ability that he had brought to bear in every position 
he had accepted. 

" Judge Grundy was not what may be called a book man 
or a book-lawyer. To his fine voice and inimitable action 
thei-e was added a brilliant intellect, through which ran a 
vein of strong common sense. He was good at repartee, 
and his wit fairly sparkled. He possessed in a marked de- 
gree the power to arouse and sway the passions of the 
heart, to excite sympathy or indignation, to parry the blows 
of an adversary, and to carry his point by brilliant charge. 
He was a consummate judge of human nature, and this ren- 
dered him unrivaled in the selection of a jury. He was 
unsurpassed in developing the facts of a case, and wonder- 
ful in the cross-examination of a witness introduced against 
his client. He generally relied upon his associate counsel 
to bring into court the books containing the law of the 
case in which they were employed, and the law was read 
and commented upon by these associates. And then, when 
Mr. Grundy came to close the case, so clear were his de- 
ductions, so striking his illustrations, so systematically 
would he tear to pieces the superstructure of the opposing 
counsel, and so vividly portray the right and justice for 
which he contended, that all who heard him regarded him 
as the finest lawyer of that or any other age. So thor- 
oughly did he carry the crowd with him that he may be 
aptly likened to Paul when he made his great speech before 
King Agrippa, and extorted from that monarch the expres- 
sion, ' Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.' 

" While I was reading law in Nashville, in 1821," says 
Judge Guild, " Judge Grundy and William L. Brown were 
engaged on the same side in an ejectment case involving 



the construction of the phrase, ' Being in possession of the 
land under a deed or assurance of title founded on a grant,' 
contained in the statute of limitations of 1796. Some 
judges held that the words ' founded on a grant' meant 
that the deed must be connected by a regular chain of title 
down to the grantee, while others held the meaning to be 
that the land must be granted, but the deed under which it 
was held need not be connected with the grant. This con- 
fiiot of opinion rendered the present case all the more impor- 
tant. The proof was all hoard, as also the title-papers, and 
the case was ready for argument. Judge Grundy had ex- 
pected to make the closing speech, as was usual with him 
in all cases in which he was employed, and had not exam- 
ined the law and the decisions bearing upon the suit. This 
he had left for Judge Brown to do, intending to avail him- 
self of that gentleman's research to enable him to make the 
closing argument. He requested Judge Brown to open 
the case, but he refused. Grundy appealed to Brown to 
open the alignment, but the latter pointedly refused to do 
so. Judge Grundy was therefore compelled to open the 
case, and this was the only occasion, as was said at the 
time, that he was ever known to make an utter failure. If 
Judge Brown had opened with his clear and exhaustive ex- 
position of the law, he would have laid the foundation upon 
which Judge Grundy would have built a brilliant and mas- 
terly argument. Judge Grundy was a great manager, and 
he relied for success upon his knowledge of men, his bril- 
liant wit, and his unrivaled eloquence, more than upon the 
dry details of the law. . . . 

" The happy personal relations between Mr. Grundy and 
Mr. Clay were never seriously disturbed by their political 
differences, and each frequently indulged in sallies of wit 
and humor at the expense of the other in their political 
speeches. 

"In the Presidential campaign of 1840, Mr. Clay, Mr. 
Crittenden, and other leading Whig orators visited Nash- 
ville, and held forth at a great barbecue prepared for the 
occasion. They came first into East Tennessee and crossed 
over the mountains. When speaking at Knoxville, Mr. 
Clay said when he came through Cumberland Gap into 
Tennessee one of the first. questions he asked was, ' Where 
is ray old friend, Felix Grundy ? And,' he continued, ' on 
being informed that he was away down in Alabama, making 
speeches for Mr. Van Buren, I raised my hands and ex- 
claimed, " Ah, yes ! still pleading the cause of criminals !" ' 

" When Mr. Grundy returned to Nashville he was in- 
vited to address the people of Rutherford, at Murfrecsboro'. 
He availed himself of the opportunity to say that he had 
seen the report of Mr. Clay's Knoxville speech in the 
newspapers, and regretted that he was not there to reply to 
it, or that he could not now make a reply in Mr. Clay's 
hearing. He said it was true he had acquired some repu- 
tation as a criminal lawyer, and expressed a belief that he 
still retained all his professional faculties; but he felt well 
assured that if Mr. Clay should be indicted and brought 
before a court of strict justice for all his political offenses, 
and he (Mr. G.) were to be retained as his counsel, it would 
prove to be another Bennett case. 

" This elicited a round of applause that made the welkin 
ring, for everybody seemed to know the fact that of the 



102 



HISTOEY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



many causes of criminals managed by Mr. Grundy, he never 
lost but one, and that was the cause of a notoriously guilty 
client- by the name of Bennett, who had murdered a Mr. 
Hays in Wilson County. For many years the case was 
continued in the courts, and at last, by a change of venue, 
Bennett was convicted and hanged in Williamson County." 

HON. JOHN HAYWOOD. 

[We extract the following sketch of Judge Haywood, 
the earliest historian of Tennessee, from the Southwestern 
Laio Journal and Reporter for June, 1844:] 

" John Haywood, the subject of the present memoir, 
was born in the county of Halifax, in the State of North 
Carolina, on the 16th of March, 1762, of a femily engaged 
in agriculture. His ancestors emigrated originally from 
England, and settled at an early period in the city of New 
York, whence they subsequently removed to Norfolk, Va. 
The latter town was almost entirely consumed by fire in the 
year 17 — , and the fortune of William, his grandfather, was 
involved in the general ruin. With a view to retrieve his 
losses, he soon after withdrew from this ill-fated town to 
the infant colony of North Carolina, and established him- 
self near the town of Halifax, on the Roanoke. Egbert, 
the father of John, was a respectable farmer in moderate 
circumstances, and followed his occupation in the same 
neighborhood. He discharged with credit to himself such 
county offices as are usually filled by country gentlemen, 
but was by no means remarkable for a love of letters. He 
delighted rather in the amusements of the chase, and other 
field .sports which are known to possess so many attractions 
for those who ' faterna rura bovibius exercent sitis.' From 
the too great love of these diversions, united with the low 
state of learning in the colonies, it is probable that the 
family name, which has been borne by very distinguished 
individuals in England, fell into obscurity for a time in 
America. Previous to the Revolution few of the family 
seemed to have enjoyed the smiles of executive favor, or to 
have been members of the public councils of the country, 
or in any way distinguished for literary attainments. 

" William, a paternal uncle, from whom the Haywoods 
of Raleigh, N. C., derived their lineage, was the only one 
whose fortune it was, previous to the Revolution, to enjoy 
an office of distinction. He was a member of the Execu- 
tive Council. His descendants have always filled since that 
time the highest offices of the State, one of whom was a 
distinguished United States senator in 1844. John, the 
subject of our brief memoir, with limited means of instruc- 
tion, and deprived of the invaluable blessings of a collegiate 
education, by indefatigable industry, and ardent, exclusive 
devotion to the profession he had chosen, has acquired for 
himself a reputation which, if less brilliant than that of 
many of his contemporaries whose lot it was to enroll their 
names on the bright page of their country's glory, will be 
equally appreciated for the lasting and substantial benefits 
it has conferred on his native and adopted State. He may 
be considered a pioneer of the laio. He was the first 
lawyer and judge who reported cases decided in the courts 
of North Carolina and Tenne.ssee, and in future time, on 
account of his Teamed decisions, will be regarded as the 
leading authority on all questions which involve doubt in 



the organic laws of these infant States. Doubtless the in- 
dividuals who have mainly contributed by their industry 
and learning to fix the moaning and supply the deficiencies 
of our fundamental institutions have done as much service 
and deserve no less praise than the most gifted of those who 
have held more distinguished stations while engaged in 
framing them. 

" The names of Coke, Hale, and Holt, the pioneers of 
English law, are not less respected, nor are the benefits 
derived from their exertions likely to be sooner forgotten 
by their countrymen than the services of their political 
contemporaries. Who at present ever hears the names of 
the signers of the great English charter ? and, indeed, most 
of those inscribed on our own bright roll have nearly faded 
from the i-ecoUections of the people. Not so with our dis- 
tinguished judges ; Wythie, Marshall, Haywood, are as 
fiimiliar in the mouths of the people as household words. 

" We have said thus much to encourage the diligent 
student with the hope of ample reward, who with pure am- 
bition exclusively devotes himself to his profession, by the 
example of one who made it the sole business of his life, — 
his only pursuit. He was contented with the honors to be 
derived from his profession alone, and owes whatever repu- 
tation he has attained to his untiring application and great 
diligence in its prosecution. 

" Of his early education there is not much to be said, for 
of this he had but little. His' father, being in moderate 
circumstances, had it not in his power, however much he 
might have inclined, to send him to a foreign country, or 
even to a neighboring province, for educatioii, which was 
the general practice at that time of the wealthy colonists. 
Enabled by their wealth to dispense with domestic institu- 
tions of learning, they illiberally failed to provide means 
of education for the gifted sons of their less fortunate 
neighbors. But this deficiency was in some measure sup- 
plied by the conductors of private academies, who were - 
generally well grounded in the branches they professed to 
teach, and the learned languages especially were thoroughly 
taught. To one of those in a neighboring county, con- 
ducted by an intelligent minister of the gospel, was he sent 
by his father at an early age to receive the rudiments of a 
learned education. In justice to the memory of this gen- 
tleman, whose name was Castle, it is not useless to remark 
that another individual, Mr. Harper, of Maryland, equally 
distinguished for his eminence in the legal profession, was 
educated at the same school. Honor to these humble bene- 
factors of mankind, without whose fostering care many a 
genius of the brightest talents would be left to wither 
under the blighting infiuence of poverty and neglect! 

" Here Haywood acquired the usual knowledge of Latin 
and Greek, geography, and the elements of mathematics. 
Of the higher branches of science, mental and moral phi- 
losophy, and physics, he learned but little, and perhaps 
nothing. In after-life, when he had attained distinction in 
his profession, he relaxed in his diligent pursuit of the law, 
and turned his attention to more agreeable studies. He 
made deep researches into history and theology, and became 
well acquainted with the general results of natural science. 
Tlius it is seen that on his return to his paternal abode he 
had traversed but few of the wide fields of human knowl- 



BENCH AND BAE. 



103 



edge, and was but scantily prepared to thread with success 
the intricate mazes of a profession which requires almost 
universal knowledge. But so strong was the direction 
which his mind had received from nature towards legal 
pursuits that he soon after entered upon the task, under 
difficulties which to minds endowed with ordinary vigor and 
perseverance would have been unsurmountable. Less fa- 
vored than other individuals who from a humble beginning 
have risen to eminence by the vigor of their intellect and 
untiring industry, he had not the advantages of access to 
the librai-y of a friend or the benc:fit of legal tuition in a 
law3'er's office. In law he was his own instructor. Com- 
ing by some accident into possession of an old volume of 
Raymond's Reports, with this he commenced his study, 
thus pursuing a course the very reverse of ordinary stu- 
dents. They usually study the principles of the law, which 
they afterwards trace in their application to particular cases, 
while his vigorous intellect traveled at once through the de- 
tails of a case, deducing from it tKose great principles on 
which all law is founded. Nothing so strikingly marks the 
vigor of his mind and the enthusiastic ardor with which he 
entered upon his legal studies as the fact that he could 
master the extremely technical statements of Lord Ray- 
mond's Reports, interspersed as they are with the old Latin 
and French phrases which were in use in those times. 

" With no preparation, except" such as he had made by 
his own unaided genius, he began the practice of law in hii^ 
native county, and in a very short time took his stand by 
the side of such men as Gen. Davie, Nash, McCoy, Badger, 
and Martin, — men whose learning and ability had placed 
them at the head of the North Carolina bar. His first ar- 
gument before the Supreme Court of the State was made 
when he was about twenty-four years of age, and was said 
to have displayed as much learning and as comprehensive 
a view of the great landmarks of the law as any argument 
which had ever been made before it. From that time his 
services were engaged in all important causes, and he ad- 
vanced rapidly to professional honor, and secured a large 
share of professional emolument. 

" As attorney-general for the State, in the year 179-1, he 
had the address to procure a reconsideration of the opinion 
of the. judges of the Supreme Court in a case where the 
court had decided the act of 1793 unconstitutional, which 
authorized judgments to be taken by motion tvithout notice 
against defaulting public officers. After a most learned and 
elaborate argument from Haywood, the court reversed their 
judgment. Judge Macay remarking that he " had given 
such strong reasons that his objections were vanquished, 
and, therefore, that the attorney-general might proceed, — 
but yet that he did not very much like it." 1 Hay. R. 40. 
This was the first innovation on the common law allowing 
those summary proceedings by motion which are now so 
common in our courts; and the synopsis of the argument 
of Mr. Haywood, in Hay. R. 40-50, evinces thus early the 
power and vigor of his mind. 

" During the same year he was elevated to the bench of 
the Superior Courts of Law and Equity. He entered im- 
mediately on a vigorous discharge of his duties. In the 
five or six years during which he occupied a place on the 
bench, he collected with great care and published three 



volumes of reports of cases decided by the Superior Court 
of North Carolina from the year 1789 to 1798. In the 
decision of a great majority of these cases Mr. Haywood 
took part, either as counsel or judge. And throughout the 
whole range of subjects which arose in the establishment of 
the government subsequent to the Revolution, no great 
question arose which was not elucidated by his learning and 
generally determined by his great ability. As an instance 
of the eiFect which his reasoning had upon the current of 
decisions in North Carolina, as well as in Tennessee, we 
need only refer to the case of the State vs. Long, decided 
at Hillsborough, N. C, April, 1795 (Haywood R. 177, 
Battle's Ed.). This was an indictment against Long for 
larceny, on the authority of the English cases, that a bor- 
rowing with a fraudulent intent to steal the property bor- 
rowed would constitute larceny. Two of the judges went 
with the English authorities ; Judges Haywood and Williams 
held that in order to constitute the offense the property 
should have been taken invito domino; and Long was par- 
doned. To Haywood's report of this case he appended a 
note opposing the authority of the English modern cases, 
and contending for the law as laid down in Coke, Hale, and 
Hawkins. Upon the authority of this extra-judicial opinion 
of Judge Haywood, the courts of Tennessee (and of North 
Carolina, too, it is believed) have uniformly acted: first, in 
Braden's case, 2 Term (Overton's) R. 68, and then in 
Martin and Yerg., 526; Wright's case, 5 Yerg., 154; 
Kite's case, 9 Yerg. R., 205 ; Dodge vs. Brittain, Bleigs' 
R., 84. In Braden's case, Overton, judge, said, ' The 

RULE LAID DOWN IN THE NOTE TO THE CASE OF THE 

State vs. Long, Hay., 197, is correct law, and the 

REASONING, THOUGH CONTRARY TO MANY LATE DECI- 
SIONS IN England, is incontrovertible.' But by an 
act of the Legislature of 21st of January, 1842, the law 
which had thus been established for fifty years was thrown 
aside, and the English law established in all its vigor. 

" But the ability and learning of Judge Haywood were 
nowhere so fully displaj'ed as in the celebrated case of the 
University of North Carolina vs. Toy & Bishop. The 
Legislature in 1789 conferred upon the university all the 
property which had or might hereafter escheat to the State ; 
but by an act of 1800 this right was attempted to be taken 
from the university, which was resisted by Judge 'Hay- 
wood, who was then at the bar. The law divesting the 
university was declared void and unconstitutional, and the 
rights of the university triumphantly sustained. 

" About the year 1800, Judge Haywood left the bench 
and entered again into the field of litigation, where he 
continued to add to the already unequaled reputation 
which he had acquired as a judge Giving himself up 
strictly to the business of his profession, and to those 
studies which enabled him so long to adorn it, he was en- 
abled to take the lead in all questions of constitutional and 
international law, and in the interpretation of the laws of 
descent, limitations, land-laws, etc., which arose in the 
courts of his native State. In the case of Crutchcr vs. 
Punnell (Murphey's R., 22), Judge Haywood's argument 
at the bar, in reference to the act of 1715, on the Statute 
of Limitation, had the effect to produce the decision ' that 
seven years' j^ossession without color of title will not bar an 



104 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSOiN" COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ejectment.' In reference to this argument Judge Murphey 
remarks (1 Murph. R., 30), ' that it had the efFeot of 
changing the current of decisions and unsettling the opin- 
ions of the profession as to the construction of the Act of 
Limitatio"ns, and at the distance of one hundred years after 
the passage of the act more diversity of opinion seems to 
exist as to its meaning and operation than at any former 
period. Twenty years after the Revolution the doctrine of 
color of title was introduced, which, being urged with 
ability, has supplanted the construction which had been 
given to -the act for a century.' Such a compliment from 
one who heard the argument and felt its force is the highest 
tribute to his learning and genius. 

"Having already secured the highest judicial and pro- 
fessional honor in his own State, and having acquired a 
respectable fortune, Judge Haywood in 1807 came to the 
county of Davidson and settled seven miles south of Nash- 
ville. Middle Tennessee was then the frontier of the 
West. Having doffed the judicial ermine in his native 
State, he came with his family and entered immediately 
upon the practice of his profession. He was then but 
little over forty years of age, and almost as well known in 
Tennessee as in North Carolina. As a judge he had 
already decided many of the questions which were arising 
in the courts of Tennessee, and was, perhaps, at that time 
more familiar with the Constitution and laws of both States' 
than any other member of the bar. Unlike most of the 
profession, he kept no oiEoe in town, but kept his office 
and library and received his clients at his residence in the 
country. 

" The leading members of the bar were then in the habit 
of attending the sessions of the Supreme Court at all the 
places for holding it, so that most of them were brought 
into immediate contact. Haywood, Grundy, Jackson, 
Whiteside, Robert Whyte, Hugh L. White, George W. 
Campbell, and others, were then the leading members of 
the Tennessee bar. The questions growing out of land- 
titles afforded a fruitful source of litigation, and in all these 
suits Judge Haywood was almost invariably retained. 

" When Judge Haywood came to Tennessee the pro- 
fession was much divided in reference to the construction 
of the act of 1797 esplaining the Statute of Limitations 
of 1715. The question involved in this statute had been 
decided in North Carolina, in the case of Crutchor vs. 
Parnell, 1 Murphey's R. 22. In that case the argument of 
Judge Haywood had the effect to produce the decision that 
seven years' possession, with a color of title, would bar an 
action of ejectment, and that it was not necessary to show 
a regular chain of title. The act of 1797 provided that 
' the act of 1715 should apply in all cases where any person 
or persons shall have had seven years' peaceable possession 
of any land by virtue of a grant, or deed of conveyance 
founded on a grant, and no legal claim by suit,' etc. The 
cases of Sawyer's lessee vs. Shannon, 1 Tenn. R. 4G5 ; Lil- 
lard vs. Elliot, Patten vs. Eaton, 1 Wheaton R. 476, and 
Hampton's lessee vs. McGinnis, 1 Tenn. R. 28G, were 
decided about the time Judge Haywood made his appear- 
ance at the bar of Tennessee, in which the doctrine of the 
connection of title seemed to be settled. The case of 
Weatherhead and Douglass vs. Bledsoe's heirs, reported in 2 



Tenn. 352, was the first leading case on the construction of 
this statute in which Judge Haywood took a part as counsel. 
A distinguished and able lawyer who was then at the bar 
thus describes the position of Judge Haywood in reference 
to this case : 

" ' No ease could have been more thoroughly investigated 
and ably argued at the bar than that of Weatherhead and 
Douglass vs. Bledsoe's heirs. By the time at which it came 
up for final adjudication many cases involving the same 
question were in progress in the Circuit Courts ; the sub- 
ject had been very' much discussed, both at the bar and 
elsewhere ; public attention was strongly directed to it, and 
the faculties of the profession had become quickened and 
invigorated, all their zeal and energy aroused, and all their re- 
sources stimulated into action, by the general interest which 
now began to be felt in the issue. All seemed to anticipate 
that a decisive battle was to be fought, and, however it might 
terminate, that the result would be most disastrous to some, 
most fortunate to others, and of very doubtful influence to 
the community at large. Jenkin Whiteside appeared as 
the great champion for Bledsoe's heirs and connection of 
title ; John Haywood for Weatherhead and Douglass and 
the doctrine of '■ color of title." A number of other pro- 
fessional gentlemen of less celebrity, but of various degrees 
of talent and acquirement, were arranged on both 'sides of 
this question. The leading counsel referred to were known 
■ each to advocate his own private opinion ; and they all 
brought to the discussion that tliorough knowledge of the 
.subject which, when united with great abilities, and with 
the expectations which hung upon the cause, was sure to 
produce an intellectual ■ display pre-eminently interesting 
and captivating. Such was truly the character of the dis- 
tinguished forensic contest which took place on that mem- 
orable occasion. The event of it has been told ; and that 
which to all human appearance now seemed the consumma- 
tion of the thing proved only a prelude to one of the most 
agitating and exacerbated controversies, perhaps, that ever 
grew out of a question which was purely judicial.' 

" But notwithstanding Judge Haywood's great talent, 
he lost this case, by the opinion of all the judges, except 
Judge Overton, dissenting. Soon after this opinion Judge 
Overton resigned and Cooke died, and their places were 
supplied by Robert Whyte and John Haywood, in the year 
181G. When Mr. Haywood became a judge of the Su- 
preme Court, although he stood alone on the subject of his 
doctrine of ' color of title,' he never yielded it. From that 
time until 1825 he persevered in his opposition to the con- 
struction of the Statute of Limitation which made a connec- 
tion of title necessary. From being alone in his view of 
this law. Judge Haywood found himself at last sustained 
by all the members of the court of five judges, with the 
exception of Judge Whyte, who was not to be moved from 
his opinion by popular feeling or the sophistry of legal 
learning. 

" We have seen Judge Haywood establishing the doc- 
trine of ' color of title' in his native State, and unsettling, 
according to Judge Murphey, the current of decisions for 
more than a century, while we find him arrayed against and 
apparently overwhelmed by the force of a powerful opposi- 
tion, struggling for years against it, and finally establishing 



BENCH AND BAR. 



105 



tho same doctrine in his adopted State. Much was due, no 
doubt, to the popular feeling which grew up in the country 
in favor of his construction of the law, wliich tended 
directly to establish the doubtful claims of many resident 
citizens of Tennessee against the superior claims of non- 
residents." 

The same gentleman quoted above says, " Judge Hay- 
wood was a fine genius and a most powerful and unrivaled 
advocate. In tact and eloquence — such eloquence as 
reaches the heart and convinces the judgment — he had no 
equal in Tennessee. He was often employed with and 
against the late Felix Grundy in the most critical criminal 
cases, and it would not be saying too much, perhaps, to say 
that as an orator he was equal, if not superior to that dis- 
tinguished advocate. Both had been on the supreme bench 
of their respective States, and both came to Tennessee pre- 
ceded by the most brilliant reputation. Both were men of 
great learning and attainments, but in all the learning 
which pertained to his profession Judge Haywood stood 
far in advance of his great rival. He possessed inexhaust- 
ible stores of imagination, was quick and ready in argument, 
and prompt in reply. But withal his judgment was too 
much under the dominion of imaginative faculty, which 
gave to some of his opinions too great an air of eccentricity 
and uncertainty. He had many sympathies in common 
with his fellow-men, and highly cherished their good opinion, 
particularly of his own fame. He was ambitious in the 
highest degree, somewhat overbearing in his desire to be 
considered ' the Court,' and perhaps thought too highly of 
his own and too little of his brotiier-judgos' opinions, and 
acted and felt that he was the master-spirit in the settle- 
ment and' determination of all loading questions of juris- 
prudence. I do not think I should do him injustice if I 
should say he never delivered an opinion without desiring 
the presence of a large audience. 

" Withal, he was agreeable in his manners, fond of soci- 
ety, and entertaining to the highest degree in his conversa- 
tion. Although not educated in his youth in the sciences, 
be amassed a large amount of learning in reference to nat- 
ural history, astronomy, antiquarian research, relics, fossils, 
shells, and aboriginal history, which he gave to the world 
under the title of the ' Natural and Aboriginal History of 
Tennessee,' containing about four hundred pages. 

" He also found leisure to prepare a very minute though 
somewhat iuartistically arranged ' History of Tennessee,' 
in five hundred pages, from 1770 to 1795, embracing a 
variety of most interesting traditions, which he obtained 
from the first settlers of the Cumberland Valley. During 
his residence in Tennessee he reported three volumes of 
decisions, given while he was on the bench. He also 
prepared a manual for clerks and justices. 

" Another work which he published during his residence 
in Tennessee was entitled ' Tiie Evidences of Cliristianity.' 
It was much read in Tennessee at the time of its publica- 
tion. . . . It was a worksHi yoicj'i's. It embraced a variety, 
it might almost be said a medley^ of historical, traditional, 
scientific. Scriptural, and antiquarian learning. Taken in 
connection with his ' Natural and Aboriginal History of 
Tennessee,' it might be considered a wonderful production. 
They both dealt largely in the suj)crnatural and marvelous, 
14 



giving accounts of earthquakes, dreams, ghosts, meteors, 
bones of giants and pigmies ; caves and strange and super- 
natural voices which were heard in the air ; and portents 
and signs and wonders ; but with all this there was mixed 
up much real and valuable information, displaying great 
historical and scientific research. These works have given 
rise to the common opinion that Judge Haywood was cred- 
ulous and superstitious, and his introduction into one of 
those works of a remarkable ghost story, with an apparent 
belief in its reality, has led many persons to say that he 
was a believer in ghosts ! The truth is, perhaps, that 
Judge Haywood, like Dr. Johnson and some other great 
men, could not entirely divest himself of a belief in the 
supernatural ; and it is probable, had he lived in the pres- 
ent day, he would, like many other distinguished judges, 
have been a believer in the sciences of phrenology, mes- 
merism, and clairvoyance. But it might as well be charged 
against the inimitable author of ' Waverley' that because he 
wrote the history of demonology and the wonderful story ~ 
of ' AVoodstock' he was a believer in witchcraft as to at- 
tribute superstition to Judge Haywood because he wrote 
the marvelous and wonderful things co'ntained in ' The Evi- 
dences of Christianity' and ' Aboriginal History of Tennes- 
see.' 

" His information and learning were varied and exten- 
sive, and we might almost apply to him the language of 
Canterbury when describing King Henry's great attain- 
ments : 

*' ' Hear him but reason in divinity, 

And, all-admiring, with an inward wish, 

You would desire the king were made a prelate : 

Hear him debate of commonwealth affairs, 

You would say, it hath been all in all his study j 

List his discourse in war, and you should hear 

A fearful baltle rendered you in music; 

Turn him to any cause of policy. 

The Gordiau knot of it will be unloose, 

Familiar as his garter; that when he speaks, 

The air, a chartered libertine, is still, 

And the mute wonder lurketh in men's ears 

To steal his sweet and honeyed sentences.' 

Kjiiff Henri/ V. 

" From the moment when he entered the profession his 
mind and his energies were constantly directed to the im- 
provement and advancement of his private fortune and the 
attainment of distinction in his profession. Notwithstand- 
ing the whole vigor of his powerful mind seemed to have 
been directed to the science of jurisprudence, he was yet 
enabled to amass and leave to his children a very large 
fortune. 

" But few men possessed in a higher degree the elements 
which constitute a great jurist ; and had he been placed 
under circumstances of fortune and education more favor- 
able to the development of his faculties, he might, perhaps, 
have left more enduring monuments of his genius. As it 
was, however, he impressed his spirit upon the jurisprudence 
of Carolina and Tennessee, and contributed more than any 
other man to give it form and shape. From the year 1786, 
when he began the practice of his profession in his native 
State, to 1826, when he died, in this State, he has left in 
the reports of adjudications in these States evidences in 
every volume of his learning, ability, an-d indomitable 



106 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



energy of cliaracter. And even now liis opinions and 
arguments, whether right or wrong, are more cjuoted and 
relied upon in the courts of both these States than those of 
any other judge who has ever presided in them." 

Judge Haywood died on the 22d of December, 1826, at 
his residence near Nashville, after a few days' illness, in the 
sixty-fourth year of his age. His death was hastened by 
his extreme corpulency, which in his old age greatly har- 
assed him. He left three sons and three daughters. 

His children were Thomas Haywood, a lawyer by pro- 
fession and teacher of fine classical education, who lived 
and died in this county, at his residence near the Nolens- 
villc Turnpike, about six miles from Nashville, about 1868 ; 
Dr. George Haywood, a well-known physician of Marshall 
County, where ho died some years ago ; Dr. Egbert Hay- 
wood, who practiced in Brownville, Haywood Co., Tenn., 
where he acquired a fine reputation as a physician, and 
where he died. Of his three daughters, one married Dr. 
Moore, of Huntsville, Ala. ; one married Col. Jones, of 
Tuscumbia, Ala.; the third was the. wife of Col. Spotts- 
wood Jones, of Limestone Co., Ala. None of his descend- 
ants are now residing in Davidson by the name of Hay- 
wood. 

Upon the meeting of the Supreme Court on the first 
Monday in January, 1827, the late Hon. Felix Grundy 
ofi'ered the following preamble and resolutions, which were 
adopted : 

" Whereas, The Hon. John Haywood, one of the judges 
of this court, departed this life on the 22d of December 
last, as an evidence of that high regard justly due to his 
legal acquirements and extensive erudition, and the great 
public services rendered to his country, in a long life de- 
voted to the profession of the law, of which he was the 
pride and ornament, — 

" Therefore, 1st. It is ordered by the court, with the 
unanimous assent of the bar, that the court and the several 
oflicers wear crape on the left arm for the space of thirty 
days. 

" 2d. That a similar proceeding be recommended to all 
the inferior jurisdictions of the State. 

" 3d. And that these resolutions be entered on the 
minutes of this court." 

HON. JAMES TRIMBLE. 

James Trimble, counselor and attorney-at-law, was born 
in 1781, in Rockbridge Co., Va., a Scotch-Irish settlement 
famous for its schools and churches and its self-dependent 
people, and their patriotism during the war of independence. 
His ancestors — the Trimbles and Alexanders — were plain, 
educated, and religious people in the middle class of life. 
The Trimbles of Oiiio and Kentucky — two of whom were 
members of the United States Senate, one a justice of the 
United States Supx-eme Court, and several members of the 
lower house of Congress — were connections. Dr. Archibald 
•Alexander and his sons, well-known divines at Princeton 
College, New Jersey, were also connections on his mother's 
side. 

James Trimble was educated at Washington College, 
East Tennessee. He studied law at Staunton, Va., and 
settled at Knoxville, E. Tenn., the seat of government of 



the State at that time. He was soon thereafter chosen a 
clerk of the General Assembly. 

In 1809 he was elected a member of that body from 
Knox County. 

In 1810 he was elected a State circuit judge. 

In 1813 he came with his family to Nashville to reside, 
where he opened a law-oiEce, and followed his profession 
until his death. 

While a member of the General Assembly he procured 
the charter of the Nashville Female Academy, and upon 
its organization became an active trustee thereof. 

He was also a trustee of Cumberland College, now the 
University of Nashville, and in connection with Judge 
Henry Crabb, an eminent member of the Nashville bar, 
was active in reviving the college in 1823, and he was in- 
strumental in procuring as its president Philip Lindsley, 
one of the most famous and distinguished educators of the 
Mississippi valley. 

James Trimble was known throughout the State as one 
of its leading minds, and as one of the leading members of 
the Nashville bar. He ranked with Whiteside, Overton, 
Dickinson, White, Williams, Crabb, and others. His law- 
library was a large and costly one, consisting of standard 
English and American works, and with which as a lawyer 
he was well acquainted. He was also a student of history, 
and had a choice and select library of English and Amer- 
ican works. 

He was well acquainted with human nature and with 
the people among whom he lived. In his manners and 
conversation he was pleasant and affable, and mingled with 
all classes of society, and had the good-will and respect of 
the entire community. 

His ability, skill, and integrity as a lawyer procured him 
a large practice and secured lo him a large estate, which he 
bequeathed to his wife and children. 

As a citizen, in his politics, he was a Republican, of 
the school of Madison. In 1822 he preferred Crawford to 
Jackson, although the latter was a personal friend. From 
Jefferson and IMadison he received several civil commis- 
sions. 

He was a close and intimate friend of John Dickinson, 
an eminent lawyer, and also with George W. Campbell, 
Felix Grundy, William Brown, lawyers and well-known 
public men of Tennessee. 

Among the law-students in his ofiice were Gen. Sam 
Houston, Aaron V. Brown, Judge William 111. Kennedy, 
of Maury County, Samuel P. Blontgomery, who was killed 
at the battle of the Horseshoe under Gen. Jackson, George 
S. Yerger, attorney-general of the State. 

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and 
for many years an elder therein. He was liberal in his re- 
ligious ideas, and was held a man of integrity and honor, 
and of high moral character. 

In his law-cases he was laborious and always well pre- 
pared to conduct them. His style was that of animated 
conversation. He reasoned well and was persuasive. His 
tone of voice and expression of eye told his zeal and interest 
in his cases. He died, from over-labor in his profession, 
in July, 1824. His funeral was largely attended by citi- 
zens of Nashville. 



BENCH AND BAE. 



107 



JOHN DICKINSON.s 

Jolin Dickinson was Massucliusetts born and educated, 
came to Nashville a young man, earned a living as deputy 
clerk in the office of the United States District Court, and 
prosecuted the study of the law. His mind and moral 
greatness, and liabits of industry and economy, soon quali- 
fied him for his profession, and he rose to distinction, and 
stood among the most eminent of the able men of the pro- 
fession and times. His success was brain-work and train- 
ing, close, faithful attention to his business, and honorable 
conduct; he was a cool, clear-headed, upright, honorable 
man, respected and esteemed throughout the State for his 
intellect and moral qualities. Always selfpossessed and 
under self-control, he earned and deserved his high place. 
He never sought popularity. His self-respect was high, 
and he deserved and had the respect of his fellow-men. 
He was one of the able land-lawyers of his day, an able 
commercial lawyer, and collected the claims of Eastern 
merchants. He acquired a large and remunerative prac- 
tice. His capacity and fidelity and honorable conduct se- 
cured him a large estate, — probably the best estate up to 
that day which any lawyer had earned and laid up. He 
died in 1813-14, of consumption, in early manhood, leav- 
ing a rich widow, young and handsome, and a son. Eph- 
raim H. Foster, a law-student in his office, afterwards 
United States senator, married his widow. John Dick- 
inson and James Trimble were close and intimate friends; 
the latter survived the former for many years. From him 
these reminiscences and traits of character of Mr. Dickin- 
son were obtained by the writer, from and through James 
P. Clark and Thomas Warington. 

OLIVER B. HAYS. 

Oliver B. Hays was a native of Massachusetts, and re- 
ceived in that State a liberal education. He studied law 
and was probably admitted to the b:ir in the city of Balti- 
more. Governor Foote is authority for saying that he 
came to Nashville in 1808, which is probably correct, as 
he was a partner with Thomas H. Benton before the re- 
moval of the latter to Missouri. Mr. Hays had a taste for 
classical studies, which he pursued more or less all his life. 
He was a good speaker, had an extensive and accurate ac- 
quaintance with the law, was an acute, diligent, and ener- 
getic practitioner. " He appeared often in the argument 
of land-causes, and the briefs filed by him will be found 
always to have been skillfully framed and full to exuber- 
ance of the citations of adjudicated cases." 

At middle age he retired from the bar, became a Pres- 
byterian minister of what was known as the New School, 
led a rather reeluse life, and died an old man in 1858. f 

GEORGE S. YERGER. 

"Towards the close of the last century a very worthy 
Dutch family was residing in the town of Lebanon, Tenn., 
now so celebrated for its institutions of learning, and espe- 
cially for its law-school. The Yerger mansion is still stand- 
ing, and in a comfortable state of preservation. In this 



'■■■" By John Trimble. 

"j" Hays I'v. Hays, 3 Tenn., chap. Ixxxviii. 



house were born eight worthy gentlemen, all brothers, and 
all but one of them practitioners of law." 

The eldest brother was the subject of this notice ; he 
was at one time a prominent member of the Nashville bar, 
and officiated for some years as reporter of the judicial 
decisions of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, at first alone 
and afterwards with his younger brother. Hon. E. H. 
Ewing, speaking of him in a recent letter, says, " George 
S. Yerger was rather an uncommon man. I do not know 
when he came to the bar ; I should say, however, not bo- 
fore 1820. He was first a merchant's clerk, with very little 
education, but felt this to be too narrow a field for his abil- 
ities. He read law at odd times, and when he began prac- 
tice soon got into business. He was what might be called 
eminently an indefatigable man. He became State reporter 
in 1831, and we have ten volumes of his reports. The 
editing and compiling of these did not interfere with a full 
and extensive practice at the bar. He was fluent, had a 
remarkable memory for cases and dates, never gave up a 
point, however desperate, and occupied a first rank at the 
bar, where he had as associates and rivals Washington, 
Fogg, Bell, and others. He removed to Mississippi early 
in 1839, and there maintained his character as a sound and 
able lawyer." 

Governor Foote speaks of him as an intimate acquaint- 
ance, and, in some important cases, an associate in practice 
in Mississippi. He says, " He brought with him to this 
new home a high reputation for legal learning, and this 
reputation he succeeded in maintaining unimpaired to the 
last moment of his life. . . . His impulsive nature was 
easily roused, but never ran into excesses of any kind. He 
always .spoke with animation, and sometimes with no little 
fervor and emphasis. His manner was uniformly easy and 
natural, his diction chaste and unpretending, and his ges- 
ticulations decorous and impressive. . . . He preferred 
taking part in the trial of commercial causes, or in the dis- 
cussion of such as were of equitable jurisdiction ; but he 
was well fitted both by temperament and intellectual train- 
ing for the vindication of the innocent or the prosecution 
of the guilty before courts of criminal cognizance."^ He 
died in Mississippi about 1859. 

J. S. YERGER. 

J. S. Yerger, a younger brother of the above, possessed 
many of the qualities of mind which give fame at the bar. 
His stock of general knowledge was larger than his brother's. 
His powers of perception were unusually quick, and his 
judgment strong. He had read deeply and generally, and 
was a good judge both of men and their motives of action. 
He was of an eminently sociable disposition, and possessed 
conversational powers of a most entertaining and instructive 
order. He had made his mark as a lawyer at this bar be- 
fore removing to Mississippi, where he became an eminent 
circuit judge. A still younger brother, William Yerger, 
was afterwards judge of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. 
He was a very gifted man, and it is- said that an elFort of his 
made in court when he was only twenty-two years of age — 
his first plea at the Mississippi bar — "suggested almost 



J Bench and Bai- of the South and Southwest, pp. 7 



S, 70. 



108 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY", TENNESSEE. 



inevitably the examples of intellectual precocity of the 
younger Pitt and Alexander Hamilton." 

In our list we find the name of Samuel Yevger, admitted 
in Nashville in 1824. He was probably one of the brothers, 
as seven out of the eight are known to have been lawyers. 
But of Samuel we have no further account. 

GEN. GEORGE W. GIBBS. 

Gen. George W. Gibbs was admitted to the Davidson 
bar in 1817, and was for many years the law-partner of 
Judge James Rucks. Both maintained high characters as 
gentlemen, and did a large amount of professional business. 
Gen. Gibbs settled on a farm near or including the site of 
Union City, Tenn. The present Secretary of State, Flon. 
Charles N. Gibbs, is one of his sons. 

HON. JOHN C.VTRON. 

A life of Judge Catron, or rather a somewhat humorous 
letter embracing the principal points of his life, written by 
himself from Washington, D. C, in December, 1851, while 
he was a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
appears in " Sketches of Eminent Americans," having been 
furnished at the solicitation of John Livingston, Esq., the 
editor of that work. We have also been furni.shed with a 
copy of the same in pamphlet form by the friends of Judge 
Catron. It is a rich and original document, full of the 
quaint humor of the judge, which rendered his speeches 
and writings so pleasing, and often amusing. We regret 
that we have not space to quote it in full ; but such ex- 
tracts as we shall make will serve the double purpose of 
giving the reader an outline of his legal career, and at the 
same time a sample of his racy, original, and interesting 
style. He begins : 

" I do not believe there is a man living who could give 
you any tolerable account of my early life except myself; 
and when the incidents were narrated they would pnly 
prove what Campbell sa3-s of Lord Mansfield, — that when 
became up from Scotland to Westminster school on a High- 
land pony, the chances were a billion to one against his ever 
being chief justice; and I can safely say that quite as many 
chances stood in the way of my being a supreme judge 
when of the same age as was His Lordship at the time he 
wended his solitary way south, with his pony as his only 
companion. Y'our readers would only learn that I had 
been reared on a farm, and been flogged through the com- 
mon schools of Western Virginia and Kentucky, and then 
had had the advantages of such academies as the Western 
country afforded, — humble enough, in all conscience, and 
where little else than Latin and the lower mathematics 
was added to the common-school training ; that, with this 
amount of acquired knowledge, I read history, novels, and 
poetry ; grounded myself well, as 1 thought, in Virginia poli- 
tics ; that I read everything which came to hand as it came, — 
Fielding, Smollett, Sterne, Goldsmith, and up through Tom 
Paine, Hume, and Gibbon. Everything, or nearly so, then 
to be had in the country, of history, ancient and modern, 
was read, and much of it with a devouring appetite. Pres- 
ter John, Peter the Hermit, Richard and Saladin, Falstaff 
and Frederick, were all jumbled up together. It is due, 
however, to say that preparatory to taking up Blaekstone 



I carefully re-read Hume's ' History of England,' with 
Smollett's and Bisset's continuations; Robertson's 'Charles 
the Fifth,' and also Gibbon's ' Decline and Fall,' and made 
extensive notes on each, which I thought exceeding valua- 
ble at the time. They were on large foolscap, bound 
in pasteboard, and, all told, were, when packed on each 
other, two-thirds as high as a table ; nor did I doubt that 
my condensed Gibbon would go forth some day in print; 
nor do I now remember at what time it was used to kindle 
the ofiice fire, but this was its fate. With my old friends, 
Pope, Shakspeare, and Sterne, I iiad to act as I have 
often done since with my snuffbox, — hide them from my- 
self . . . 

"The Bible being the common reader of my early schools, 
of course I knew almost by memory. Of geography I 
learned more than most men and know more now. AVith 
this confused mass of self-taught knowledge I commenced 
to read law in April, 1812, in the State of Tennessee. Up 
to this date I had never been sick a day or hour and had a 
frame rarely equaled,; one that could bear ardent and rigor- 
ous application for sixteen hours in the day, and which was 
well tried about four years at something like this rate. 
Late in 1815 I tried my chances at the bar and succeeded, 
certainly in the main chance of getting fees ; but then I ' 
had a good deal of worldly experience and availed myself 
of the eases in court, throughout a heavy circuit, of a re- '.} 
tiring brother-lawyer and friend who was elected to Con- ,^ 
gross. . . . The courts were full of indictments for crimes 
from murder down. Here I had to fight the battle single 
and alone and to work day and night. No man ever 
worked much harder, I think ; my circuit judge was an 
excellent criminal lawyer, and being partly Scotch always 
stood firmly by the State and leaned strongJij against the 
culprit; so that I got on very well, but often with an arro- 
gance that would have done credit to Castlereagh, for 
blundering in my law certainly, if not in my grammar. 
Like His Lordship, I was given to white waistcoats and 
small-clothes, and drew pretty largely on the adventitious 
aids furnished by the tailor. 

" The lawyers then traveled the circuit from county to 
county usually of a Sunday. Each man that was well 
appointed carried pistols and holsters and a negro waiter 
with a large portmanteau behind him. All went on horse- 
back. The pistols were carried not to shoot thieves and 
robbers, but to fight each other, if by any chance a quarrel 
was hatched up furnishing an occasion for a duel, then a 
very favorite amusement and liberally indulged in, and the 
attorney-general for the circuit was expected to be, and 
always was, prepared for such a contingency. He managed 
to keep from fighting, however. His equipments were of 
the best, with a led third horse now and then for the sake 
of parade." . . . 

We cannot quote further from Judge Catron, although 
his account of himself is very interesting to the end. He 
settled in Nashville at the close of the year 1818. In 
182-1 he was elected by the Legislature a judge of the 
Supreme Court, and continued on the bench till the change 
of the judicial system by the Constitution of 1834. On 
the 4th of March, 1837, he was nominated to the Senate 
by President Jackson as a judge of the Supreme Court of 



BENCH AND BAK. 



109 



the United States and confirmed for that office, wliich he 
held till his death. 

PATRICK H. DAUBY. 
Patrick H. Darby was a native of Ireland. He came to 
Tennessee from Kentucky about 1814., He was a lawyer 
of considerable ability, a fluent speaker, but did not sustain 
himself as to character. He returned to Kentucky, where 
he died about 1830. 

HON. HENRY CRABB. 

Henry Crabb came to the bar about 1814. He was a 
dignified, somewhat haughty and polished gentleman of 
more than common talents, and a man of learning for his 
time. He was probably about forty years of age when he 
died. He occupied a position in the front rank at the bar, 
and was elevated to the bench of the Supreme Court in 
1827. He was then in a state of rapid physical decline, 
and died a few years after. The opinions delivered by him 
during the brief period he occupied his seat upon the bench 
are found in Blartin and Yerger's Eeports, the most noted 
of whijh was upon the question. How far an attorney in 
the State of Tennessee was entitled to claim pecuniary re- 
muneration for professional services rendered by him, upon 
the basis of a quanUim meruit, and the interesting case of 
Vaughn vs. Phebe. 

Judge Crabb left one son, Henry A. Crabb, who be- 
came quite prominent aS a lawyer and politician in Califor- 
nia, where he was a candidate for the United States Senate, 
and was one of the Fillmore and Donelson electors of that 
State in 185G. 

THOMAS H. FLETCHER. 
Thomas H. Fletcher, one of the early and well-known 
attorneys of Nashville, was a resident of the city upwards 
of thirty-five years, and held a higli rank in the profession. 
He was born in the town of Warren, Albemarle Co., Va., 
on the 15th of September, 1792. He came to Nashville 
in 1808, at the age of sixteen, having walked all the way 
from Virginia. His first engagement in business was with 
Col. Andrew Hynes, as clerk in his store, with whom he 
subsequently became a partner. He afterwards largely en- 
gaged in mercantile pursuits, but was uniortunate, like hun- 
dreds of his fellow-citizens, in the financial disaster of 1818 
-19. This led him to the study of law. He commenced prac- 
tice in Fayetteville, Tenn., in 1821, having been appointed 
by his life-long friend, Governor Carroll, district attorney or 
attorney-genei'ul. His acquaintance with the politics of the 
country was very general, and few men could trace their 
progress from the early days of the Constitution to his own 
lime with more accuracy. 

He had a great taste for political pursuits, and his ready 
talents would have adorned any station to which he might 
have aspired, but his pecuniary disasters prevented him en- 
gaging in that field, and hung over him like a cloud the 
whole of his life. In 1825 he represented the county of 
Franklin for two terms in the State Legislature, and was 
chiefly instrumental in the romovai of the seat of govern- 
ment from Blurlreesboro' to Nashville, and at a later period 
served as Secretary of State under a pro (em. appointment 
from his intimate and valued friend, Governor Carroll. 



With these exceptions, he contented himself with the ex- 
pression of his political sentiments in private circles. 

Mr. Fletcher served his country in the Indian campaigns 
of 1813 ; was in the battles of Talladega and the Horseshoe 
as a member of Capt. Deaderick's company, which was Gen. 
Jackson's life-guard ; and in December, 1812, was appointed 
by Gen. Jackson his second aide-de-camp, but declined the 
position. During the Creek campaign at Camp Coffee, Gen. 
Jackson tendered him the appointment of military secre- 
tary, which he also declined. 

He married, Jan. 10, 1814, Sarah G., a daughter of 
Thomas Talbot, an old resident of Davidson County. He 
died suddenly of apoplexy, Jan. 12, 1845, in the fifty- 
third year of his age. He was the father of twelve chil- 
dren, four of whom are yet living. 

Mr. Fletcher became widely known in 1823-24 as the 
author of "The Political Horse race," in which he humor- 
ous! v and graphically portrayed the characteristics and con- 
jectured popularity of the Presidential candidates of that 
period, Messrs. Clay, Crawford, Adams, Jackson, and Cal- 
houn. It was one of the most popular effusions of the kind 
ever written, and has been several times republished. It 
appeared lately in the Nashville Banner, with some very 
excellent and appreciative introductory remarks respecting 
' the article and its author by Hon. John M. Lea, which 
we cfuote, as containing the best summary of Mr. Fletcher's 
character and standing as a lawyer which we have seen. 
Judge Lea says, — ■ 

" The piece was copied with notices of commendation in 
the newspapers, and inquiry showed the author was an 
eminent lawyer of Nashville, the late Thomas H. Fletcher, 
a most eminent advocate, who stood in the front rank of his 
profession, the peer of Whiteside, Brown, Grundy, and 
Crabb. Mr. Fletcher, though he had a large and general 
practice, stood pre-eminently high as a criminal lawyer, and 
possessed all the requisites for success in that special foren- 
sic field. A good judge of human nature, knowing its 
strong and its weak side, he selected his jury with great 
discriminatio'n, and having a heart as tender as a woman's, 
his feelings were naturally with his clients in their distress, 
and he always made their cause his own. There have 
been great criminal lawyers in Tennessee, but few his equals 
and none his superior. His voice was clear and strong ; 
manner earnest and excited, but never rude and boisterous ; 
pathetic or humorous as the occasion suggested, he always 
spoke with good taste and made, perhaps, fewer fiiilures than 
almost any lawyer at the bar. He was very popular with 
the profession, especially among the younger lawyers, whom 
he always treated with the utmost kindness and courtesy. 
His reading was extensive and not confined to professional 
works, and often he beguiled his leisure hours in composi- 
tion for the newspapers on ephemeral subjects of the day. 
Those who have had the good fortune to listen to his inter- 
esting conversation will never forget the pleasant impression 
which he always made. There was in his manner no rude- 
ness, in his speech no coarseness or invective, and his sym- 
pathy for the misfortunes of his fellow-men was unbounded. 
His death was the subject of universal grief in Nashville. 
He had been engaged for a week on the trial of a murder 
case,— of course, for the defense,— and became very much 



110 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



exhausted. On Saturday a verdict of acquittal was brought 
in, and Mr. Fletcher walked to his office, saying that he 
did not feel at all well. The next afternoon, about three 
o'clock, the unhappy news was circulated that this worthy 
man and distinguished advocate had instantly died from a 
stroke of apoplexy. The writer of this brief notice imme- 
diately hastened to his office and assisted in raising from 
the floor his manly form, his hand still grasping the book 
from which he had been reading when death summoned his 
presence to the higher court above." 

Perhaps the character of Mr. Fletcher's legal mind may 
be best illustrated by one of his own anecdotes, which he 
■was in the habit of telling with great glee. Owing to his 
reputation as a jury advocate, he was retained as counsel in 
a large ejectment suit pending in an adjoining county. 
Now, Mr. Fletcher would say, if there was any branch of 
the law about which he know less than any other (and, he 
would add, he knew very little about any), it was land-law. 
He tried to read up for the occasion, but the more he read 
the less he know about it. AVhen he went to try the case 
he was in great tribulation. Luckily, however, it was de- 
veloped in the testimony of one of the first witnesses that 
the parties had gone upon the land for the purpose of try- 
ing to adjust the matters of difficulty amicably, the result 
of which was a free fight, participated in by the litigants 
and their friends in attendance. At once, Fletcher would 
say, " my foot was on my native heath and my name was 
Macgregor." He was at home in an assault-and-battery case. 
He set to work to bring out all the details of the fight, 
turned the whole case into the charge of an assault by the 
opposite party on his client, and won his case with flying 
colors.* 

HON. TIIOJIAS WASHINGTON. 
Thomas "Washington (not mentioned in the above list) 
came to the bar in 1813. Although making an unpromis- 
ing beginning, he attained a good degree of eminence in 
his profession. By perseverance and application he brought 
out what was latent within him, and became a very able and 
effective lawj'er. His law-papers were drawn with great 
care and ability, and were perfect models of their kind. 
He was a slow, deliberate speaker, but always correct in his 
lano-uase. In manner he was courteous and dignified, firm 
and outspoken in his opinions, and " a gentleman to the 
core." He was fine and polished as a literary writer. The 
obituary notices of Chancellor Kent and Hon. W. G. Camp- 
bell (printed in the beginning of 8 Humphreys) and of 
Judge Turley (at the end of 11 Humphreys) were written 
by him. Perhaps the ablest of his arguments was made in 
the great case of the Ohio Life Insurance and Transporta- 
tion Company vs. Merchants' Insurance and Transportation 
Company (11 Humph. 1). He died quite advanced in 
years during the civil war. 

HON. JAMES RUCKS. 

Hon. James Rucks was at one time a prominent attorney 
at Nashville, and afterwards circuit judge. He was born 
in North Carolina, and came to Tennessee with his parents 
when in his seventeenth year. He soon went back and 

■'^' Anecdote related by Judge Cooper. 



finished his classical education at the university of his 
native State. Returning to Tennessee, he read law dili- 
gently and successfully for two years, and commenced the 
practice of his profession in Carthage, where he soon ob- 
tained a profitable business, in competition with some of the 
ablest attorneys that Tennessee could then boast. He is 
said to have been singularly industrious in the preparation 
of his cases, and remarkably clear and forcible in his man- 
ner of discussing them in court. He subsequently located 
in the town of Lebanon, where he remained until 1828, 
when he removed to the city of Nashville, and was associ- ! 
ated in business with Felix Grundy and Gen. Gibbs. He 
afterwards became one of the circuit judges. Ho removed 
to Jackson, Miss., in 1829, where he became quite wealthy, 

and died in February, 1862. j 

.1 

HON. THOMAS CLAIBORNE. 

Hon. Thomas Claiborne was admitted to the Nashville 
bar in 1807. He was distinguished more in politics than 
in law, being an intense Jeffersonian Democrat. He was 
an able and fluent speaker, and a man of honorable and up- 
right character. He left many descendants. He was mem- 
ber of Congress from 1817 to 1819. He was the first 
Grand Master of the Blasonic Grand Lodge of Tennessee. 

DAVID CRAIGHEAD. 

David Craighead came to the bar about 1814, and would 
have gcquired more distinction as a lawyer had he not when 
young married into wealth, and thus become relieved from 
the spur of necessity. He was a man of native wit, a 
good speaker, and possessed fine conversational powers. 
Occasionally he appeared with great effect at the bar in 
important cases. His son, Thomas B. Craighead, now re- 
sides in Nashville. 

GEN. SAM HOUSTON. 

Gen. Sam Houston deserves to be mentioned in connec- 
tion with the bar of Davidson County, pot because he was 
great or very much noted as a lawyer, but because of his 
eminent distinction in other respects. His career was truly 
one of the most remarkable of modern times, and we have 
reserved a sketch of him to be placed by the side of Gen. 
Jackson's, whom he somewhat resembled in certain phases 
of his character. Probably his reverence and respect for 
Jackson, under whom he had fought and achieved his first 
distinction in the Southern Indian war, brought him to the 
home of that great hero to embark in his civil and political 
career. He read law for a short time with James Trimble, 
at Nashville, and was admitted to the bar in 1819. His 
personal qualities rather than his learning or legal attain- 
ments — of the latter of which he must have possessed very 
little at that time — gave him prestige and place, and in a 
very short time he was district attorney and member of 
Congress. He was elected to the former office by the Leg- 
islature in October, 1818, and to the latter in 1823, and 
again in 1825, serving two consecutive terms, which closed 
in 1827. In August,,1827, he was elected Governor of 
Tennessee by a majority of about twelve thousand over his 
worthy competitor, Hon. Newton Cannon. Such was his per- 
sonal popularity that upon his accession to the gubernato- 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Ill 



rial office he had not a single opponent in the Legislature. 
He was the nominee again for Governor in 1829, and un- 
doubtedly would have been elected had he not, in conse- 
quence of his unhappy domestic difficulty, renounced the 
canva.ss and the prospect not alone of immediate success, 
but of a future brilliant and perhaps unrivaled career in 
Tennessee, and hid himself for several years in the heart of 
the Cherokee Nation, west of the Mississippi. He emerged, 
however, from the wilderness and from a life among sav- 
ages to be the herald of the " Lone Star" of the Texan 
republic, and the leader and founder of civilization upon 

I the great southwestern frontier of the United States, carving 
out for himself a sphere of splendor which far outshone his 
earlier achievements in Tennessee. When he had, by his 

I military genius, achieved the independence of Texas, he 
was chosen its civil president, then its representative in the 
hall of Congress from 1838 to 1840, then again president 

, from 1841 to 1844, then, after its annexation, its senator 
in Congress from 1846 to 1859, and lastly Governor of 
Texas from 1859 to 1861. 

! Of his talents and rank as a lawyer little is to be said. 

1 What he might have been in this department would no 

i doubt contrast very strikingly with what he actually was, 

I had he not been early tempted to abandon his professional 
studies for the allurements of political life. But he was 
doubtless better adapted to the sphere of action into which 
he seemed to drift, almost without intention on his part, 
than to the forensic arena or the judicial seat. 

A more complete sketch of his life will be found else- 
where in this work. 

WILLIAM E. ANDERSON. 

1 William E. Anderson was a native of Rockbridge Co., 

I Va. Mr. Ewing says he came to Nashville about 1825. 

I He is described by Governor Foote as " truly a Samson 
Agonistes, alike in his physical frame and in his gigantic 
mental proportions. He was considerably more than six 
feet in height. His shoulders were broad and massive. 
His limbs were huge and muscular, but of most harmonious 
proportions. His figure was perfectly erect, even when he 
was far past the meridian of life. His expansive chest 
gave shelter to one of the most generous and sympathizing 
hearts that ever yet palpitated in a human bosom. His 
physiognomy was most striking and expressive, and when 
kindled into excitement, as in his later days he rarely was, 
there flashed forth from his commanding visage the mingled 
light of reason and sentiment, the effulgent beamings of which 
no man ever beheld and afterwards forgot." He has been 
compared to a volcano ordinarily in a state of slumberous re- 
pose, but capable of being stirred into sublime and terrible 
commotion by some adequate cause. Although such was 
his great power, he has left behind him the reputation of 
having never been a very diligent student of the learning 
appertaining to his profession. He was self-indulgent and 
fond of conviviality. One who knew him well, writing of 
this peculiarity of his character, and how it sometimes be- 
trayed him into excesses, says, " But with all this he was 
a man of powerful intellect, and such were his acuteness, 
ingenuity, and analytic power that the truth seemed to be 

. whatever he desired to make it. His mind was not of the 



more subtle and hair-splitting order (rail-splitting, rather), 
but, like the trunk of the elephant, tore up trees while it 
could pick up pins. He stood high at the bar, and his 
services were eagerly sought, but he was too negligent in 
the preparation of his cases to be a truly successful lawyer. 
His resources and power, however, in the day of conflict 
frequently overcame his negligence in preparation. I was 
once smashed by him before a jury in this way where I 
had felt secure of a verdict. 

" Anderson and Yerger in their encounters at the bar 
reminded me sometimes of a powerful bull and a stubborn 
bull-dog : sometimes the dog would be gored and tossed 
upon the horns, and sometimes the bull, bellowing with 
pain, would have his nose dragged to the ground and held 
there as in a vice. Anderson, for native intellectual power, 
had few superiors anywhere, so far as I have known men ; 
and I have known Webster, Clay, and Calhoun." He was 
at one time a judge of the Circuit Court, and removed to 
Mississippi about 1845. 

ANDREW C. HAYES. 

Andrew C. Hayes is yet well remembered by his sur- 
viving friends and old associates in Tennessee. He was a 
native of Rockbridge Co., Ya., and was educated at what 
was formerly known as Washington College. During his 
practice in Nashville he held the office of district attorney 
for several years. He removed to Mississippi in 1837, and 
was there associated in practice with Yolney E. Howard. 
He died quite suddenly a few years after his settlement in 
Blississippi. 

GEORGE W. CAMPBELL. 

George W. Campbell was an early member of the David- 
son bar, and a contemporary of Felix Grundy and Gen. 
Jackson during his early career. He enjoyed a large and 
lucrative practice, acquired national distinction, and accu- 
mulated a handsome fortune. He was a member of Congress 
prior to 1809, when he was appointed a judge of the Su- 
preme Court; he continued on the bench till 1811, and was 
then chosen United States senator, which office he filled 
till Mr. Monroe made him Secretary of the Treasury, 1813 
-14. He resigned his place in the Cabinet, and wa.s ap- 
pointed minister to Russia. 

Some interesting reminiscences might be related of Judge 
Campbell's family did space permit. His only daughter, a 
most accomplished lady and heiress, became the wife of 
Gen. Ewell at the close of the late war. In 1873 they 
both died at the same time with malignant fever. " The 
dying hero, on hearing of her decease, demanded a last 
sight of those beloved features which he had so long felt to 
be identified with his own being. Her yet life-like but 
inanimate form, dressed for the tomb, was borne to his bed- 
side ; he gazed upon the face of his beloved for one single 
moment of heart-convulsing but tearless agony, and fell 
back upon his pillow as dead as the corpse upon which he 
had been tenderly gazing." 



112 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

BENCH AND BAK— Continued. 

Members of Davidson Bench and Bar — Biographical Sketches. 

HON JOHN BELL. 

This gentleman, who.se talents and distinction shed a 
lustre upon the place of his birth, was a native of David- 
son County, born about 1795. He was educated at the 
University of Nashville, and began his career as a lawyer 
in Williamson County. He was sent to the Legislature 
from Williamson County before he was twenty-one years of 
age. He came to practice at Nashville, and entered into 
partnership witli Judge Crabb prior to the elevation of the 
latter to the Supreme Bench in 1827. Before he entered 
politics as a lifc-busiuess he had acquired a high standing at 
the bar as a lawyer of great acuteness, research, and ability, 
and as a speaker of no ordinary merits. He was about 
thirty-five when he entered the lower house of Congress, and 
from that till 1860 he was in public life most of his time. 
With the exception of appearing occasionally with his usual 
force and ability, he did little in the practice of his profes- 
.sion after he entered into public life. 

He was a Representative in Congress from 1827 to 

s 1841, and was elected Speaker of the House on entering 

I upon his first term. He was Secretary of War under Gen. 

v% {rayToFs)administration, United States senator for two full 

terms, — from 1847 to 1859, — and Whig, or Conservative, 

candidate for the Presidency in 1860. 

We cannot resist the temptation to introduce a passage 
or two here from Governor Foote respecting Mr. Bell's in- 
troduction into politics and a few other incidents of his life. 
We quote from Mr. Foote's work on the " Bench and Bar 
of the South and Southwest," page 177 : 

" In his first contest for a seat in Congress he had to en- 
counter as an opposing aspirant the celebrated Felix Grundy. 
A more excited canvass than that just alluded to has never 
occurred in any State of the Union. There are some re- 
markable features about it which imparted to it at the time 
it was in progress peculiar interest. Mr. Bell was a young 
man of yet une.-tablished reputation. Mr. Grundy was a 
man past the middle stage of life and of world-wide fame. 
They were both avowed friends and supporters of Gen. 
Jackson in the coming Presidential election, but Jackson 
openly declared his preference for 5Ir. Grundy over his 
more youthful and inexperienced opponent. Often did the 
two candidates meet in discussion, and sometimes words 
were uttered by each of them not altogether comporting 
with kindness and courtesy. Several of the speeches made 
by Blr. Bell during this heated conflict are yet referred to 
often by old residents of Tennessee as master pieces in what 
may be called political digladiation. The success of BIr. 
Bell over such a competitor as Mr. Grundy at once gave 
him a high national attitude. 

" When he reached Congress he soon found himself in 
the midst of a new contest. Mr. Polk and himself were 
pitted against each other by their respective friends as can- 
didates for the Speakership of the House, and a bitter 
political antagonism sprang up between them, which did 
not sensibly abate for a long scries of years. Mr. Polk at- 



tained the Presidential station through the election of 
1844 ; Mr. Bell was ui>succcssfully run for the same high 
place in 1860. Mr. Polk served in the ofiice of Governor of 
Tennessee for a single term ; Mr. Bell officiated as senator 
of the United States for two full terms. They are both 
now dead, and the questions upon which they were arrayed 
against each other are at rest, perhaps forever. . . . They 
were both men of eminently conservative turn of mind and 
devoted friends of the National Union. . . . BIr. Polk, as 
a popular speaker, has perhaps never had his equal in Ten- 
nessee ; Mr. Bell occasionally delivered a profound and 
statesmanlike discourse which would have done credit to 
any public man that our country has produced." 

Governor Foote refers to his great speech, delivered at 
Vauxhall Garden, in Nashville, in 1836, and relates a very 
interesting incident connected with it. " Having," he says, 
" the honor of being on exceedingly intimate terras with 
Mr. Bell in the latter years of his life, I recollect having 
said to him, in the presence of his most intelligent and 
estimable lady, that I thought this Vauxhall speech by far 
the best I had ever seen of his composition, and that I had 
heard much as to its effect upon those who listened to it. 
He very modestly declared that he had taken more pains 
in preparing it than he had exercised in any other instance. 
Mrs. Bell said, with that noble and hearty frankness and 
freedom from false delicacy which so distitiguished her, that 
there was an anecdote connected with that same speech 
which she would relate to me, which she did, very much in 
those words : ' I had never seen Sir. Bell until the day on 
which he addressed the large assemblage at Vauxhall, 
though I had heard much of him and sympathized with 
him deeply as a public man. I listened to the whole of it 
with the warmest admiration. When, he had closed, I 
whispered to a friend that, though I had never before 
thought of marrying a second time, I did not know how I 
should be able to refuse a nuptial off'er from such an orator 
and patriot as I had been just listening to with such un- 
feigned delight. Whether Mr. Bell heard of my commen- 
dations or not, it is not for me to say ; but not many days 
elapsed before he called to pay his personal respects, and in 
little less time we became, as you see us, man and wife.' " 

Judge Cooper says in a recent note, " Mr. Bell was a 
practicing lawyer at the bar, after I came to Nashville, for 
two or three years. On every occasion in which he under- 
took to argue a cause he showed a thorough mastery of it, 
and in one case, certainly, and perhaps two cases, where the 
cause was worthy of his steel, his forensic eflForts were mas- 
terly. He was possessed in an eminent degree of the power 
of sarcasm. The late Judge William B. Turley, who was 
at college with Mr. Bell, once said to me that the young 
men rated their college-mates much as they stood in after- 
life, and that they all looked upon John Bell as the most, 
talented man at college, — Cumberland College, now the 
University of Nashville." 

Hon. E. H. Ewing, in furnishing some reminiscences of 
Mr. Bell, remarks, " He was a man of a powerful and com- 
prehensive mind, in many respects well fitted to occupy the 
highest positions as a statesman. Though not a man of 
learning in the usual sense, lie was a man of very extensive 
readincT and information. His knowledtro was of the most 





■^/4 



wqH^^ 



BENCH AND BAK. 



113 



practical and effective character. In speaking he was 
equally at home before a jury, a crowd at the hustings, a 
Supreme Court, or the United States Senate. He enlisted 
attention everywhere by his complete mastery of his subject 
in all its bearings, and his earnestne.ss and impressivcnoss 
in the enforcement of his argument. He had little wit, 
some humor, no coruscating brilliancy like Prentiss, but a 
large vocabulary, brought well into use in the clothing 
mighty thoughts and well-considered opinions." 

nOX. EPHI1.4IM H. FOSTER. 

Ephraim H. Foster was born near Bardstown, Nelson 
Co., Ky., on the 17th of September, 1794. His father, 
Eobert C. Foster, located with his family in Davidson 
County, near Nashville, in 1797. He became a prominent 
citizen, filling at different times almost every civil office 
within the gift of the people, was repeatedly elected to both 
branches of the State Legislature, and was twice made pre- 
siding officer of the Senate. He died at Col. Foster's resi- 
dence in 1845, at the advanced age of seventy-six, re- 
spected and honored by a people among whom he had so 
long lived. Col. Foster received the best advantages in the 
way of an education that the schools of a now and sparsely 
settled country afforded, and graduated in 1813 with the 
first class that was matriculated in Cumberland College, 
afterwards known as the University of Nashville. 
. He immediately commenced the study of law with John 
Dickinson, a lawyer of fine acquirements, who had emi- 
grated from Massachusetts, and at that time stood high at 
the Nashville bar. 

While pursuing his studies the news reached Nashville 
of the Indian massacre at Fort Mimms, and upon a call 
being made for men he enrolled as a volunteer, and marched 
under Gen. Jackson to the scene of action. He was taken 
into Gen. Jackson's military family as private secretary, and 
manfully endured all the hardships of this perilous cam- 
paign, bearing himself gallantly in the battles of Talladega, 
Enotocligpee, Emucfaw, and Topeka. 

Upon the Indians being subdued and the campaign 
closing, Mr. Foster was lionorably discharged, returned 
home, and in a short time commenced the practice of his 
profession. 

He soon took rank with the first members of the bar, and 
by close application to business, combined with a high and 
manly bearing, and being kind, courteous, and pleasant in 
his intercourse with all, was soon the recipient of a large and 
lucrative practice. In 1817 he married the widow of Mr. 
Dickinson, the gentleman with whom ho had prepared him- 
self for his profession, and about this time, his engagements 
becoming too arduous and heavy for one person, he formed 
a partnership with William L. Brown, a man of quiet and 
retiring disposition, but without a superior in his profession, 
and who was subsequently placed upon tlie bench of the 
Supreme Court. 

When Mr. Brown assumed his place upon the bench, 
Mr. Foster formed a partnership with Francis B. Fogg, who 
had emigrated from Connecticut to Tennessee in 1817. 
Mr. Fogg was a retiring, studious man, possessed of an in- 
exhaustible store of legal learning, combined with & most 
remarkable knowledge upon all subjects and the most re- 
15 



tentive of memories, but so reserved that his practice was 
limited. The association with Mr. Foster brought him 
more fully before the public, and his immense powers soon 
became known and appreciated. In a little while he took 
rank with the first lawyers of the State, and his services 
were eagerly sought, especially in the higher courts. This 
good man and great jurist lived to the advanced age of 
eighty-five, and was regarded by all as one of the founders 
of Tennessee jurisprudence. This partnership continued 
until Col. Foster's political engagements forced him to re- 
tire from the practice. To the last hour of his life he 
always regarded his old friend and partner with the affec- 
tion of a brother. 

Col. Foster was a fine speaker, had a noble carriage and 
commanding presence. His mind was elastic, and his per- 
ception quick ; his wit and repartee sparkling. He was 
social and vei-y agreeable in his manners ; very fond of a joke, 
which he would indulge in and play upon his best friends, 
either male or female. He was always companionable and 
pleasant with the ladies, who permitted him to perpetrate a 
joke that would not bo tolerated from another. All in all 
he was as brave and gallant a man as ever trod the earth ; 
was a stranger to fear ; might be inclined to yield his life, — 
his honor, never. He was no stickler, either at the bar, in 
private life, or in politics, bearing himself under all circum- 
stances as the brave, courteous, and accomplished gentle- 
man. 

With all his good qualities, Mr. Foster was not faultless. 
What mortal is or ever was ? He had by nature a quick 
and violent temper, under the influence of which he some- 
times did things that in his cooler moments no one regretted 
more than himself. In 1821, wliile arguing a case in which 
his feelings were very much enlisted, he became angry at 
some remark that fell from the bench and threw a book at 
the presiding judge, who, throwing aside the dignity of the 
court, sprang towards Mr. Foster, a heavy hickory walking- 
stick in his hand, and but for the intervention of friends a 
serious difficulty would have been the result. Peace, how- 
ever, was restored without bloodshed. Mr. Foster made 
the proper apology, paid a heavy fine lor his rashness, and 
the honorable but belligerent court adjourned. In a few 
minutes Mr. Foster was in his office quietly writing, when 
in came the now venerable Judge J. C. Guild, then a coun- 
try boy of some nineteen years, a total stranger and without 
recommendations, and asked permission to study law under 
him. Mr. Foster readily consented, thus exhibiting in a 
brief period of time two very antagonistic traits of charac- 
ter. Judge Guild remained in his office until he completed 
his studies, subsequently rose to eminence in his profession, 
and, although a zealous antagonist of Col. Foster at the 
height of his political career, always retained for him the 
warmest personal attachment, with the most profound re- 
spect and admiration, and now in his green old age delights 
in relating incidents, both personal and political, that oc- 
curred between them in years long gone by. 

For years Mr. Foster pursued his profession with great 
assiduity ; his practice was large and very lucrative. Ho 
lived in princely style, and his hospitality was proverbial, 
and yet, with all his lavish expenditures upon family and 
friends, he accumulated a fine estate, and his surroundings 



114 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



at this time gave every promise of a long and happy 
life. 

In 1832 he gave the first evidence of tlie political aspi- 
rations that marked his subsequent career. Previous to 
this time he had served his county in the State Legislature, 
but always reluctantly, and never had any formidable oppo- 
sition when liis name was before the people. AVhen a mem- 
ber, he was invariably elected Speaker of the House, and by 
his courtly manners and an unequalod capacity for the 
despatch of business acquired an enviable reputation as a 
presiding oflBcer. 

Hon. Felix Grundy was at this time United States sen- 
ator from Tennessee, his term of service to expire in March, 
1833. Col. Foster's popularity had grown until it was co- 
extensive with the limits of the State, and his friends de- 
termined to place him in competition with Judge Grundy for 
this exalted position. The contests for seats in the Legis- 
lature were vrarm. In his own county Mr. Foster's friends 
■were elected by large majorities. When the Legislature 
assembled the name of Maj. John H. Eaton was brought 
forward as a candidate whose success would be more than 
gratifying to Gen. Jackson. 

The balloting continued from time to time for weeks, and 
was terminated on the fifty-fifth ballot by the election of 
Mr. Grundy. The secret history of this result was known 
to but few. Mr. Foster became satisfied that Tennessee 
would be without her full representation in the United 
States Senate unless some of the aspirants should withdraw, 
and, fully determined that the President should not dictate 
who should bo the senator from Tennessee, prevailed upon 
enough of his own friends to vote for Mr. Grundy to secure 
his election. 

Mr. Foster, with a zeal and devotion unsurpassed by any 
one, had to this time supported Gen. Jackson in all of his 
political conflicts. In 1835 he united his influence with 
that of the Tennessee delegation in the United States House 
of Representatives — with the exception of James K. Polk 
and Cave Johnson — in prevailing upon Hugh L. White, 
then a senator from Tennessee, to permit his name to be 
placed before the country for the Presidency in opposition 
to Jlr. Van Buren, advocated his election before the people, 
and ended in giving the vote of Tennessee to this pure and 
unspotted statesman and patriot. From this time to his 
death Mr. Foster was a warm, zealous, and devoted Wlii". 
In 1837, Blr. Foster was elected to succeed Judge Grundy 
in the United States Senate, whose term of service would 
expire in March, 1839. Soon after this Judge Grundy 
accepted a seat in Mr. Van Buren's Cabinet, and Mr. 
Foster received the executive appointment to fill his unex- 
pired term, and took his seat in the Senate in December, 
1838, and continued in office until March 3, 1839. The 
elections in Tennessee this year proved a Democratic suc- 
cess, and the Legislature which convened in the fall passed 
resolutions of instructions which neither Judge White nor 
himself could obey, and they both resigned. The resig- 
nation of Mr. Foster was transmitted to the Legislature 
Nov. 15, 1839, and closed with the.?e words : " I surrender 
without painful regret a trust which, under the circum- 
stances, I could not hope to retain without reproach, and 
now deliver to the representatives of the people the com- 



mission I have the honor to hold in their service. It 
reached my hands without stain or corruption, and I return 
it without a blot of dishonor." 

From this time for years the political strife and excite- 
ment in Tennessee were intense and bitter- The home of 
Jackson was battled for by both parties, without any regard 
whatever to the expenditure of brains, muscle, or money. 

In 1840, Mr. Foster was placed upon the Whig electoral 
ticket for the State at large, and commenced in May the 
most exciting campaign that had ever been inaugurated in 
Tennessee, and continued in the field without rest until 
the election, and made .speeches in every county in the 
State. The Whigs were triumphant by a majority of 
twelve thousand, and to this result, without doing injustice I 
to others, it can bo truly said Mr. Foster contributed more 
tlian any other one person. 

In 1841 the Democratic majority in the State Senate was 
one ; in the House the Whigs were in the ascendant by 
three votes, giving them a majority on joint ballot. 

The Democratic senators, subsequently known as the 
" immortal thirteen," refused to join the House in conven- 
tion for the purpose of a senatorial election, and the State 
was left without her full representation in the United States 
Senate. 

In 1843 the Whigs were again in the ascendant, and Mr. 
Foster was elected senator a second time, and served until 
March 3, 1845. During this term of his senatorial life, Mr. 
Foster had the severest trial of all his political career. He 
advocated the admission of Texas into the Union, and his 
sense of duty to his native South prompted him to part 
company, for a little while at least, with a party to which 
he had so long clung alike in defeat as in victory. We 
give in his own words his painful feelings under the cir- 
cumstances. 

In a letter dated Washington, Feb. 12, 1845, to a de- 
voted personal friend, he says, " No one can conceive the 
tortures I have suff"ered and am suflering in connection with 
the Texas question. I took my ground, as you will have 
seen from my declarations in the Senate, without saying a 
word or giving notice of my intentions to any member of 
that body. I did so for a reason which I also stated when I 
introduced my resolutions. This circumstance, in connec- 
tion with the fixed and I fear deleterious repugnance of the 
leading Whigs here against the measure, occasioned jeal- 
ousies and suspicions which it required no little skill and 
tact on my part to attack and overcome. Whilst all this 
was going on I was assailed by the locofocos with the most 
disagreeable flatteries and congratulations, which I always - 
repelled with a true and becoming spirit. And now, when 
I apprehend from the signs that all hope of annexation 
during this session of Congress is lost, you tell me that both 
parties at home, believing it to be in my power to accom- 
plish the task, look to me to secure the passage of the reso- 
lutions, and that success is essential to my fate, as some of 
my friends think. Was ever a poor, impotent devil in such 
a hopeless, helpless category ? I have done my duty. I 
have done the best I could, and I shall continue in tlie 
same fidelity ; but, alas ! I do despair, and my despair is 
almost without hope." 

The Presidential canvass of 1844 exceeded in excite- 




T '£€) & 



nr ^:-: siTT^r'./f: rf::. vkss'EF. . 



BENCH AND BAR. 



115 



ment, bitterness, and animosity that of 1340. James K. 
Polk, one of Tennessee's favorite sons, was the Democratic 
nominee. Tlie canvass throughout was one continued 
scene of excitement beyond description. Victory again 
perched upon tlie Wiiig banner, and Mr. Clay carried tlie 
State by the bare majority of one hundred and thirteen 
votes. Mr. Poster was a participant in all this excitement 
and strife, battling manfully for his now personal as well as 
political friend, Henry Clay. In 1845 be received the 
Whig nomination as candidate for Governor, and again 
made a long and arduous campaign, speaking throughout 
the entire State. He was unsuccessful, his competitor, 
Aaron V. Brown, receiving a majority of some fourteen 
hundred in a poll of upwards of one hundred and fifteen 
thousand votes. Two consecutive years of intense excite- 
ment, with the attendant labor of traveling and speaking, 
made great inroads upon bis constitution, and laid the foun- 
dation of his subsequent sickness and suffering. 

In 1847, Mr. Foster lost his wife. She had been to bim 
a "help-meet" iud^ied, presiding over his hospitable home 
in a way to win the hearts of all, and in his absence watch- 
ing with a sleepless eye his personal interest, always dis- 
playing an energy of character that could not be surpassed. 
The day of her death was one of mourning with all, high 
and low, rich and poor alike. 

He subsequently lost two married daughters, in whom 
he had taken great pride, and to whom he had always been 
most tenderly attached, and was never again the social and 
pleasant companion of former days. 

In 1852, at the earnest solicitation of numerous friends, 
he consented to prepare an oration for the funeral obsequies 
of Mr. Clay, but when the day for its delivery came he 
was stretched upon a bed of suffering, unable to rise, and 
it was read to a large audience by the Hon. Andrew Ewing. 
This production has always been pronounced one of the 
best efforts of his life. 

From this time to bis death he was a confirmed invalid, 
and often his sufferings were intense. 

He died Sept. 14, 1854, with an abiding hope and 
faith that he would be reunited in another and better world 
to venerated parents and an idolized wife and daughters 
who had gone before. 

Upon the monument that marks his grave should be 
written : " He loved wife, children, and friends ; they 
loved him." 

HON. FRANCIS BKINLEY FOGG. 

This gentleman, who recently died in Nashville, in the 
eighty-sixth year of his age, was the oldest member of the 
Davidson County bar. He was born in Brooklyn, Conn., 
on the 21st of September, 1705, being the son of Ilev. 
Daniel Fogg, a native of New Hampshire and a worthy 
minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church. His mother, 
whose maiden name was Briuley, came of one of the most 
respectable families of New England, and was a lady of 
excellent character. 

The first ten years of Mr. Fogg's life were spent under 
the paternal roof, where he received such instruction as 
could bo obtaiued at homo and at the common schools. He 
was subsequently sent to an academy at Plaiufield, where 



he made rapid progress in Greek and L;itin, becoming well 
versed in these languages at the age of thirteen. At the 
conclusion of these academical studies a relative of his, — ■ 
Hon. William Hunter, of Newport, R. I., for many years 
a United States senator, and later in life minister to Brazil, 
— being delighted with the early talents of his young kins- 
man, invited him to pursue his studies, including that of 
law, in his family at Newport and under his own immediate 
instruction. This was most fortunate for the mental train- 
ing of our young student, as bis instructor was a gentleman 
of liberal culture and wide acquaintance with literature. 
While availing himself fully of these accessory advantages 
he made special preparation in that particular branch which 
he had chosen as his profession, and at the age of twenty 
was admitted to the Newport bar. 

Declining a generous invitation of Blr. Hunter to estab- 
lish himself with bim on equal terms in the profession at 
Philadelphia, — an unusually flattering proposition to a 
young man just admitted to the bar, — Mr. Fogg set bis 
face southward, and after spending a few days in Wash- 
ington continued his journey, and in February, 1818, 
reached Columbia, a beautiful and thriving village of 
Tennessee, about .forty miles south of Nashville. Here 
he opened an ofiioe, but was soon induced by Hon. Felix 
Grundy to remove to Nashville, which he did in the latter 
part of the year 1818. Since that day Nashville has been 
his home, the theatre of his various labors and triumphs, 
and the scene of the checkered experiences of joy and 
sou'ow of his long, useful, and honored life. No man had 
been more fully identified with all the important legal and 
judicial proceedings of this county and of the State for 
the last half-century up to the time of his retirement from 
active business than the subject of this notice. 

Tennessee, at the time of his advent to the then young 
State, was celebrated for her patriotism and for the "heroic 
achievements which had closed the last war with England 
in a blaze of glory." Nashville, though but a respectable 
village in size and population, was the acknowledged city 
of the State. Her bar, which in previous years had ac- 
quired a good degree of fame, was then renowned through- 
out the State and in many foreign parts for the learning, 
the great abilities, and the honorable bearing of its mem- 
bers. 

At such a bar Mr. Fogg took his place, then young and 
inexperienced. He was not a man who, by boldness and 
self-confidence, would thrust himself into the professional 
field to reap prema^urely the fruits which he knew could 
only grow and ripen by patience and enlarged study. He 
could well afford to wait for the fruit to mature, that when 
the harvest came it might be full, rich, and ample. By 
his modesty and solid attainments he soon won the confi- 
dence and esteem of the leading members of the profession, 
and business followed as a natural consequence, slowly at 
first, but surely and cumulative, so that in a few years his 
professional labors were large and remunerative. He was 
first employed to make up pleadings, a most difficult branch 
of legal science; but in this bis great memory and won- 
derful acquaintance with law-books became apparent, and 
he was an acknowledged adept in that department of the 
profession. 



IIG 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



While waiting for that recognition which his learning 
and talents justlj' entitled him to expect, he was constantly 
busy in his office and among his books, mingling in his 
daily exercises the study of law, politics, and abstruse 
literature, and never forgetting to keep up and extend his 
critical learning in the ancient classics. He was thus 
improving himself and enlarging those rich and abundant 
stores which subsequently obtained for his judgment and 
opinions almost oracular authority. 

Sir. Fogg was for nearly twenty-five years the law-part- 
ner of Hon. Epliraim H. Foster. The latter member was 
engaged in the law practice, and the former in the chancery 
practice. A living member of the bar, intimately acquainted 
with Mr. Fogg, says, " He was exceedingly well educated, 
and even profoundly read in the elements of the law. He soon 
made his mark, and before 1830 was one of the leaders of the 
bar of Tennessee. He was a man of high honor, of amiable 
temper, of pleasing and kindly manners, always ready to 
lielp and instruct the younger members of the bar, with 
whom he was universally popular. I acknowledge my ob- 
ligations to him in many a difficulty. He was the most 
learned lawyer of his day in Tennessee. He had an extra- 
ordinary memory, especially for dates and cases. Of him it 
might be truly said, he was a walking library. He was 
eminently a lawyer calculated for the Chancery and Su- 
preme Courts, not a jury lawyer. He was of a quick appre- 
hension and suggestive mind, able in exposition, a fluent 
speaker, and overflowing with learning, both classical and 
legal. It was a delight to hear him, even when one took 
no interest in the particular ease to which he addressed 
himself The late Chancellor Cahal, a man of strong mind 
and strong appetites, was in the habit of saying that he 
would rather hear Mr. Fogg speak than to eat. Mr. Fogg's 
brain did fairly ovciflow with learning. He was a long 
time a partner of Hon. E. H. Foster, and also for a while 
a partner of W. L. Brown. He never interfered in party 
politics, looking with some disdain upon the ignoble con- 
flicts to which they give rise. He was a mild Union man 
during the civil war, but found much to censure on both 
sides. He will leave behind him a character unstained 
and almost unapproachable. He was a true but large- 
hearted and liberal Christian. One might well say. May 
my last days be like his!" Mr. Fogg died on the 13th 
day of April, 1880, aged eighty-five years. 

" A large number of lawyers and citizens assembled yes- 
terday afternoon at two o'clock in the Circuit Court room to 
oifer a public tribute of respect to the memory of the late 
Francis B. Fogg, Esq. 

" The meeting was called to order by ex-Governor Neill 
S. Brown, who made a motion, which was adopted, that 
Judge J. C. Guild take the chair. Mr. Nicholas Vaughn 
and the American representative were chosen secretaries. 

" After the purpose of the meeting had been stated with 
some eulogistic remarks upon the character of the deceased 
and the recognition of his qualities due to the occasion, the 
chairman, upon motion, appointed a committee of six to 
draft and report suitable resolutions. The committee, com- 
posed of J. B. White, ex-Governor Neill S. Brown, Judge 
E. H. East, Gen. T. T. Smiley, George Stubblefield, and 
Judge J. M. Lea, made the following report : 



" ' This meeting have heard with deep regret of the death 
of our esteemed and distinguished friend and fellow-citizen, 
Hon. Francis B. Fogg, wliich occurred at the residence of 
Col. W. B. Reese, in this city, on the morning of the 
13th inst. 

" ' Mr. Fogg was born in Brooklyn, Conn., in 1795, and 
after receiving an education, both scholastic and legal, emi- 
grated to Tennessee in 1817, where he made his home for 
the remainder of his life. Upon his settlement in Tennes- 
see he commenced the practice of law, which he pursued 
with unremitting diligence for half a century, until age and 
disease disqualified him for labor. It is no disparagement 
to his many distinguished cotemporaries in the profession 
during that long and eventful period to say that he had few 
rivals and no superiors. His success was eminent. He 
commanded the confidence of the community in a remark- 
able degree. To a mind naturally strong and vigorous he 
united rare industry, and, with original scholarship of a 
high order, he was able to amass stores of learning on all 
subjects. He possessed a wonderful mepiory, by which he 
could recall cases and incidents that most others had for- 
gotten. He was familiar, not only with the history of the ; 
law, but with the history of this and other countries. 

" ' Mr. Fogg was not ambitious for office, and never sought 
promotion; but, in 1834, he was, by the voluntary action 
of this community, elected a member of the Constitutional 
Convention, and took a prominent part in its deliberations. In 
1 851-52 he was elected to the State Senate from this county, 
and aided efficiently in inaugurating our system of internal 
improvements, which has done so much for the State. He 
was also prominent in the establishment of the free schools 
of Nashville, which have accomplished so much for its pop- 
ulation. 

" ' In a word, he was the friend of education in all its 
phases, and contributed whatever he could to make society 
better and happier. It is injpossible now to tell how many 
of the statutes that adorn our code and measure and regu- 
late the rights of persons and property he was the author 
of. It was the habit of legislators to call upon him on all 
occasions lor aid in the preparation of bills. 

" ' But in this hour of sorrow at his loss, it is consoling to 
reflect upon his high moral nature. He lived a long life of 
struggle and toil, but no stain of vice rests upon his mem- 
ory. He was a Christian gentleman, — the highest eulogium 
that can be paid to any man, — and for half a century he was 
a consistent member of the Episcopal Church. But in 
religion, as in everything else, he was tolerant to all. If 
he could have had his way he would have made all men 
prosperous and happy, without any special superiority to 
himself; therefore, 

" ' Resolved, That in the death of Francis B. Fogg not 
only this bar, but the whole State, has sustained a great 
loss. 

" ' Resulved, That we will attend his funeral at four 
o'clock this afternoon. 

" ' Resolved, That this preamble and resolutions be pub- 
lished in the city papers, and that a copy be transmitted to 
the family of the deceased.' 

" A motion was then made, and adopted, that a committee 
of one for each court be appointed to present the resolutions 



BENCH AND BAR. 



117 



and request that they be spread upon the minutes. The 
followina; were appointed: Mr. R. McPhail Smith, for the 
Federal Court ; Gen. George Blaney, for the Circuit Court ; 
Mr. Matthew W. Allen, for the Chancery Court; Mr. J. 
W. Horton, Jr., for the Criminal Court ; and Judge John 
C. Gaut, for the Supreme Court. 

" While the committee on resolutions were absent, Hon. 
Horace H. Harrison made the following address, which, on 
motion of Gen. Maney, was directed to be published as an 
accompaniment to the resolutions : 

" ' Mr. Chairman : I approach the bier of the distin- 
guished and worthy dead, whose life and character we have 
met to speak of, with solemnity, affection, and veneration. 
1 " ' He illustrated in his long and useful career all the 
I sterling virtues which can adorn human character. He 
was true to himself, true to his friends, and true to his pro- 
fessions. He was never known to break a promise, or to be 
guilty of the slightest dissimulation. He was just in his 
dealings and just in holding the scales as he judged his 
fellow-men. 

! " ' He was prudent, temperate, discreet, and charitable. 
I He was quiet in his demeanor, unobtrusive in his manner, 
I and actually shrank from notoriety and prominence. He 
i never seemed to be conscious of his own intellectual power, 
or to realize that he possessed the most extensive and varied 
acquirements. While he was a giant in intellect and attain- 
ments, he was a child in the simplicity and modesty of his 
general bearing. Of his profound legal learning I need 
not speak in this presence. The reports of causes argued 
and decided in the highest court in our State for forty 
years, until within the last few years, are full of evidences 
! of his industrious labors, his skill in dealing with the intri- 
cate and difficult questions before that court, and of the 
' prominent role he played in building up our jurisprudence. 
" ' He has been thrown into the most intricate professional 
association with three generations of lawyers in Tennessee, 
[ and no man who ever lived in our State has been more 
i universally honored and respected by his brethren. 
I " ' No unkind word was ever heard to fall from his lips. 
No bitter resentments ever found a place in his bosom. 
Nearly thirty years ago I was an officer of the State Senate, 
of which he was a member, and during the eventful session 
of that body, of 1851-52, 1 learned to know him well. In 
the heated debates of that session he never lost his equality 
of temper or uttered an unkind word against his jjolitical 
opponents, and it was noticeable that at the close of the 
session the Democratic members of the Senate were -as 
warmly and affectionately devoted to him as were the 
Whigs with whom he acted. 

" ' He never sought an office. Those he filled so ably 
and conscientiously were thrust upon him. 

" ' He lived out more than his threescore-and-ten years, 
and died at peace with the world at the advanced age of 
eighty-five, a ripened sheaf ready to be garnered in that 
unseen country to which faith, hope, and love all, all com- 
bined to lead his tottering steps. 

" ' He has gone from us. No more will his voice bo heard 
in our temples of justice. No more his kindly greetings to 
lawyers, young and old, will be extended ; but his name we 
will find on the pages of our State Reports so frequently that 



we will be continually reminded of him, as in his day, the 
foremost lawyer in the State, and his character and example 
will, I trust, continually excite in all of us a desire to emu- 
late his sterling qualities of head and heart. 

" ' He needs no other monument to perpetuate his memory 
than those which he himself has erected. The Constitu- 
tion of 1834, the legislation which sent the locomotive 
through the valleys and under and over the hills and 
mountains of his adopted State, the jurisprudence of the 
State which he aided so powerfully in placing on firm 
foundations, and the public-school system of our beautiful 
and prosperous city, will speak his praises and remind us of 
the master-builder long after those who knew and loved 
him have passed away.' 

" Governor Neill S. Brown then addressed the meeting. 
He said he could never forget when he first met the distin- 
guished man. He had heard of him before he knew of 
Coke or Blackstone. He had supposed this eminent law- 
yer, like many other men in high life, was arrogant and 
self-sufficient. He had been surprised to find a man affable 
and simple of manner and generous of heart. And 
throughout his long acquaintance with him he found him 
what he now could say of him, the kindest man he ever 
knew. His life was an example to every young man. 
No finger of criticism could be put upon it. He acted out 
the principles of honor and of the Christian religion. 
Governor Brown here related incidents illustrative of the 
wonderful memory Mr. Fogg possessed, and which he made 
profitably useful to others around him as well as to himself. 
His death was a premonition to others of the bar who were" 
old in years. There was something to lament in the devas- 
tation of death, even among the aged. How old must a 
man grow whom we have known and loved that we should 
be willing to see him die ? It was not well for them to 
refrain to give just meed to Francis B. Fogg, for who 
had done as much as he ? His handiwork could be seen 
all through the history of Tennessee. His great, quiet, 
unobtrusive merit, contrasted with that which has laurels 
and plaudits from the multitude, was what won the hearts 
of those who knew him. There was no better way to close 
these words than to apostrophize him : 

"' Full of honors and of years, fare thee well ! 
While o'er thy tomb all Tennessee will .sigh, 
The lessons of thy life shall tell 

The young how to struggle and the old how to die.' 

" Mr. Jackson B. White here related of the deceased an 
incident of his great legal and historical learning which 
astonished those who knew of it, and which had been the 
cause of a great event. Shortly after the war a large gath- 
ering of Nashville lawyers were assembled at a session of 
the United States Court, over which Judge Trigg presided, 
and at which the fiimous test oath was administered. Mr. 
Fogg refused to take tlie oath, and gave his reasons in an 
exhaustive argument, which he sustained with a wealth of 
historical reference and illustration that combined to make 
his objections irresistible. When he finished his remarks, 
he left the court-room, followed by a number of citizens 
who with him had refused to take the oath. Judge Trigg, 
turning to Mr. White, told him to go after Mr. Fogg and 
induce him to write out his argument and present in the 



118 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



proper way, and the law would be repealed. Mr. Fogg de- 
clined to do this, as ho did not believe he could completely 
recall what he had said. It liad all occurred to him as he 
spoke. Col. W. B. Reese, however, wrote as much of it 
as he could recall, and it was presented to the court at 
Knoxville, where the same Judge Trigg declared the oath 
unconstitutional. Mr. Fogg was, perhaps, the first lawyer 
in the country to argue against the constitutionality of the 
act of Congress in prescribing the oath. 

" Several other citizens made warmly eulogistic allusions 
to the character and bore witness to the profound and 
varied learning of the distinguished lawyer. 

'■ The meeting was one which evoked deep interest. The 
older members of the bar always spoke with emotion when 
they talked of the pure life of the man they had known 
and honored and who was gone from among them. 

" Tiie meeting then adjourned." 

GODFREY M. FOGG, 
a brother of Francis B,, was a worthy and respectable man 
of business and a practitioner at the Nashville bar. 

HON. AARON V. BROWN. 

Governor Brown was a student-at-law in Na.shville with 
Judge Trimble, and entered the profession in this city. 
He was born on the 15th of August, 1795, in the county 
of Brunswick, Va., the same county in which Gen. James 
Robertson was born. His father, the Rev. Aaron Brown, 
enlisted when not yet of lawful age for three years in the 
Revolutionary army. He was in the battle of Trenton, 
and participated in that ever-memorable march through 
the Jerseys wliere the course of AVashington's army was 
known to the enemy by the blood of its barefooted soldiery. 
He was also one of the sufferers in the encampment at 
Valley Forge during the severe winter of 1777-78, where 
disease, famine, and nakedness so often drew tears from 
the illustrious Washington. At the close of his term of 
service he returned to the county of Brunswick, where he 
continued to reside for nearly forty years in the midst of 
those who had witnessed his early and patriotic career, re- 
spected and honored by all as a faithful and useful minister 
of the gospel of the Methodist persuasion, an upright 
civil magistrate, a staunch Republican of the old Jefferson 
school, and an honest man. 

The subject of this memoir was the issue of his sec- 
ond marriage, with Elizabeth Melton (corrupted from Mil- 
ton), of Northampton Co., N. C. Except in the simplest 
tlements, Governor Brown was educated in the last-men- 
tioned State. He was sent when very young to Westray- 
ville Academy, in the county of Nash, in order to be placed 
under the care of Mr. John Babbitt, one of the best edu- 
cators of his time. After continuing there for two years, 
he was transferred in 1812 to the" University of North 
Carolina, at Chapel Hill. He graduated at this institu- 
tion in 181-1, iu a large class, of which Senator Mangum 
and Ex-Governor Manley, of North Carolina, were also mem- 
bers. The duty was assigned to him by the faculty and 
trustees of delivering the valedictory oration on commence- 
ment-day, and the service was performed in a manner 
which produced the most striking impression on the large 



as.sembly then in attendance. The collegiate career of but 
few young men is marked by incidents of sufficient im- 
portance to be noticed in a sketch like this. Industry in 
preparing for and punctuality in attending at the hour of 
recitation, as well as the most cheerful conformity to 
the rules of the institution, were the most striking charac- 
teristics of his educational course. And it should be added 
that these characteristics, becoming a confirmed habit, were 
of great service in after-life in his professional and public 
career. 

Having finished his educational career. Governor Brown 
returned to his parents, who in the previous year had re- 
moved to the county of Giles, in Tennessee. About the 
beginning of the year 1815 he entered upon the study of 
his profession in the office of the late Judge Trimble at 
Nashville. With this gentleman he continued to read for 
two years, and often referred to him as one of the most \ 
sympathetic, able, and upright men he ever knew. Hav- 
ing obtained a license, he opened an office in Nashville, 
and commenced practice with the. most fiattering prospects 
of success. ' 

About this time, however, Alfred M. Harris, who was ; 
engaged in an extensive practice in all the southern coun 
ties in Middle Tennessee, accepted a place on the bench, ; 
and .solicited Governor Brown to remove to the county of 
Giles and close up his extensive business for him. The 
opportunity was inviting, and that being the residence of 
his now aged parents, he determined to settle in that I 
county. Taking charge at once of an extensive practice, 
both civil and criminal, including the land-litigations, then 
an important and almost distinctive branch of the profes- 
sion. Governor Brown found all the resources of his mind 
brouglit into immediate requisition. No time was to be 
lost in idleness, none to be devoted to pleasure. One off' 
liis maxims about this period was " Always to be the first 
at court, and never to leave it until the adjourning order 
was made." Under such habits it was no matter of sur- 
prise to those who observed them that there were but few 
causes of importance in the counties in which he practiced 
in which he was not engaged. 

In a few years after Governor Brown commenced his 
career in Giles the late President Polk commenced his in 
Columbia, in the adjoining county of Maury. They soon 
formed a law-partnership, thereby extending the field of 
their professional labors into more counties than they could 
have done without this union of interests. This partner- 
ship continued for several years, until BIr. Polk engaged in 
his Congressional career. Its dissolution brought no termi- 
nation of that cordial friendship, personal and political, in 
which it had commenced, and which continued until the 
death of the late lamented President. Governor Brown 
continued engaged in profession until the year 1839, when, 
having been elected to Congress, he gave it up altogether. 
Much of the time in which he was engaged in regular and 
full practice ho was also a member of one branch or the 
other of the State Legislature. This service, being near 
home, and the counties he represented being those in which 
ho practiced, produced no material impediment to the prog- 
ress of his professional business. But the case was different 
iu his distant service in Congress. Governor Brown served 



BENCH AND BAB. 



119 



as a senator from the counties of Lincoln and Giles at all 
the sessions of the Legislature, regular and called, from 
1821 to 1S27 inclusive, except the session of 1825, when 
he was not a candidate. In the session of 1831-32 he 
was the representative of the county of Giles in the other 
branch of the General Assembly. In this session, by the 
I order of the judiciary committee, he prepared an elaborate 
and able report, which he submitted to the House, on the 
subject of capital punishment, which attracted great atten- 
i tion throughout the country. 

Governor Brown first became a candidate for Congress in 
1839, and during the period of his Congressional services — • 
beginning 1839 and ending 1815 — he seems to have been 
j an active member, taking a part in nearly all the great 
i questions which came up during that eventful period of our 
political history. His services in Congress ended with the 
commencement of President Polk's administration. He 
I declined any office under the administration, and deter- 
mined to return home and devote himself to the education 
of ills children and the management of his own private 
i affairs. Before he reached liouie, however, he was nomi- 
■ Dated by the Democrats as a candidate for Governor of 
Tennessee, and met the news of his candidacy at Pittsburgh 
on his return. He hesitated several days before accepting 
the nomination. It conflicted with bis purpose to retire 
to private life, and opened a wide field of labor with 
what seemed a doubtful prospect of success. The Whig 
i strength had not yet been decisively broken in the State, 
( notwithstanding the prestige gained by the election of Mr. 
Polk to the Presidency. Besides, Blr. Polk, in organizing 
his administration and selecting his friends for different 
i offices, had withdrawn from the State some of the most 
influential and powerful members of the party. He himself 
' was gone, Hon. Cave Johnson was gone, Gen. Robert 
Armstrong was gone, and several others, whose weight had 
always been felt in State elections. Discouraging, however, 
as were the prospects, he finally determined to take the field 
I against Col. S. Foster, a late senator, and one of the most 
'' popular and able men of the Whig party. The discussions 
of the canvass turned chiefly on the tariff, the admission of 
I Texas, and the Oregon question. Governor Brown was 
I elected by a majority of fifteen or sixteen hundred, but in 
] the canvass of 1847 he was defeated by about half that 
number. At this period, and for some thne previous, 
political parties in Tennessee were so evenly balanced that 
they carried the State alternately against each other. 

In 1848, Governor Brown was a candidate for Presi- 
dential elector- at-large, and canvassed the State with great 
vigor. 

In 1850 he was a member of the Southern Convention, 
held at Nashville, and while he concurred fully in the reso- 
lutions passed by that body, dissented from and protested 
against the address. 

He was also a delegate to the Baltimore convention in 
1852, and introduced a resolution into that body, raising a 
committee of one from each State, to be appointed bj' the 
delegates of the same, to whom all the resolutions relative 
I to the principles or platform of the Democratic party should 
bo referred without debate. This postponing the discussion 
of resolutions till after the report of the committee was an 



important improvement, the utility of which was at once 
perceived by the convention, and the resolution was adopted. 
Governor Brown was unanimously appointed chairman of 
the committee, and reported the platform, which gave such 
general satisfaction to the party throughout the United 
States. He was, in foct, the great platform-maker of his 
party at most of the important conventions. 

BAILIE PEYTON. 

Half a century ago Bailie Peyton and Henry A. Wise 
were practicing attorneys in Nasliville. Both have since 
become renowned names, — one in Tennessee and the other 
in Virginia, their native States. 

Bailie Peyton was born in Sumner County in 1803. In 
1824 he was admitted to the Davidson County bar, and 
soon after formed a partnership with Henry A. Wi.se, then 
a young man about of his own age, whom he met for the 
first time in Nashville. Being of a congenial disposition, 
they at once became fiimiliar and intimate friends. Nature 
had lavished her gifts upon both, and at the commencement 
of their career hosts of admiring friends predicted for them 
alike quite as much distinction as it was afterwards their 
fortune to acquire. The partnership lasted about two years, 
wlien Mr. Wise returned to win honor and distinction in a 
most brilliant political career in his native State. Mr. 
Peyton remained to become no less renowned in Tennessee. 

Mr. Peyton was a Whig, and was thirtjr years of age 
when he first ran for Congress, in 1833. His competitor 
was Col. Archie Overton. Peyton was elected, and was 
returned twice afterwards, serving till 1839. He was 
lieutenant-colonel of a Louisiana regiment in the Mexican 
war, and was conspicuous for his gallantry. He entered 
heartily and eloquently into the canvass for both of the 
successful Whig candidates, Harrison and Taylor. The 
latter appointed him United States district attorney at 
New Orleans, and, with the concurrence of the United States 
Senate, sent him as minister to Chili. By President Pierce 
he was tendered the portfolio of the war department, but 
declined it, preferring to engage in the practice of law in 
California. How long he practiced there we are not in- 
formed. 

Sir. Peyton possessed no great legal learning, and as a 
Icnvijer was not ranked high by the profession generally ; 
but as an advocate and political speaker he had few equals. 
He possessed wit, fervor, strong common sense, a vehement 
and impressive delivery, fluency, imagination, and personal 
magnetism. His conversational powers were of a high 
order, and his friends were devotedly attached to him. 

Throughout his life BIr. Peyton was noted for his fond- 
ness for the turf, and it is said that no man in the South 
did more to maintain its purity and tone. He got up the 
great Peytona stake of forty-three thousand dollars, which 
drew thousands of people to the Nashville race-course in 
1843. He was a man of fine physical appearance, "and, 
taken all in all, was one of Tennessee's greatest sons." He 
died at his home near Gallatin, Aug. 18, 1878, aged seventy- 
five years. 

HENRY HOLLINGSWORTH. 

Henry Hollingsworth, admitted in 1835, was a self-made 
man ; he possessed little learning, no early advantages, and 



120 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



forced his way up to a good position as a politician and 
lawyer by native strength and perseverance. He did not 
remain long at the bar, but acquiring considerable property 
by his marriage, he retired to the country, where he died 
many years ago. 

RETURN J. MEIGS.- 

Eeturn J. Meigs, who, with Judge William F. Cooper, 
compiled the " Code of Tennessee," practiced law for many 
years in Athens, E. Teun., and afterwards removed to 
Nashville, where he ran as brilliant and useful a career 
as any lawyer or jurist in the State. He was concerned for 
nearly thirty years in the management of a large number of 
diifioult and important causes. He was not only learned in 
the law, but in ancient and modern languages, and was a 
comparative philologist of no common attainments. He 
is the author of a voluminous digest of the judicial de- 
cisions of the State of Tennessee, a work which is regarded 
by many as the most skillfully compiled book of the kind 
to be found anywhere in the United States. Mr. Meigs, 
being an uncompromising Union man, and unable to concur 
in the measures which carried the State in favor of seces- 
sion in 1861, removed to Wa,?hington, and is now holding 
a very responsible official position under the government. 

It has been remarked that when Mr. Meigs left the city 
of Nashville he left no equal behind him in general scholar- 
ship, and no superior in legal attainments. The only man then 
living who could risk a comparison with him was the ven- 
erable Francis B. Fogg, a gentleman who, for deep scholarly 
research and unstained purity of morals, had no superior 
west of the Alleghany Mountains. 

WILLIAM L. BROWN. 

William L. Brown commenced his legal career in Clarks- 
ville, Tenn. He is reputed to have been a native of South 
Carolina. He was a man of fine natural endowments and 
a persevering and untiring student of books. Such was 
his tenacity of purpose that no difficulty could turn him 
aside. His energy verged upon combativeness. He had 
little claim to be recognized as an orator of the highest 
grade, but he always spoke with earnestness, precision, and 
force. His elaborate speeches were free from flowery rhet- 
oric, which he utterly despised, and were models of con- 
densed logic and argument. The great peculiarity of Judge 
Brown was that he sought neither argument, illustration, 
nor inspiration outside of his large and well-selected library 
of law-books, believing these to be the richest and best- 
supplied armory from which to draw his weapons for every 
encounter, great or small, in the legal arena. He was ap- 
pointed with Hon. Jacob Peck one of the judges of the 
Supreme Court in 1822, in the place of Judge Emmerson, 
resigned, and held the office two years, when he resigned. 

JOHN M. BASS. 

John M. Bass was admitted to the bar in 1830. He 
was a young man of fine estate ; married a daughter of 
Hon. Felix Grundy, and having no taste for the law, never 
practiced it. He was a man of fine abilities, of liberal 
education, and in every respect a first-rate citizen. He was 
an active promoter of every scheme for the advancement of 



the interests of Nashville ; was mayor of the city several 
times, president of the Union Bank, and an extensive 
planter in Louisiana and Arkansas. Though decided in 
his party politics, he was entirely above the tricks and de- 
vices of the ordinary politician, and was universally re- 
spected for his good sense and probity. Few men have 
impressed themselves more powerfully upon the city of 
their residence. He died a few years since in New Orleans, 
having become much embarrassed by losses consequent upon 
the civil war, and by some unfortrfnate suretyships. 

HENRY B. SHAW. 

Henry B. Shaw, admitted in 1830, was a young man of 
fine talents, but did not practice long in Nashville. He 
died young, — it is believed, in St. Louis. 

DAVID CAMPBELL. 

David Campbell is still alive and a lawyer of high stand- 
ing in Franklin. He was admitted to the Davidson bar in 
1831, and was chancellor of this district a short time after 

the late war. 

WILLIAM T. BROWN. 

William T. Brown was an able lawyer, and was for some 

time a circuit judge. He afterwards removed to Memphis, 

where he held a high rank at the bar. He has been dead 

quite a number of years. 

MORGAN W. BROWN. 

Morgan W. Brown came to the bar some time prior to 
1830. He was for a number of years judge of the United 
States Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. He 
was a man of considerable reading and literary taste, a fine 
miscellaneous writer, for some time editor of one of the 
leading newspapers of Nashville, and a gentleman of pol- 
ished manners and high social qualities. He was a brother 
of Hon. William L. Brown, one of the judges of the 
Supreme Court. 

HON. ANDREW EWING. 

The subject of this memoir was the youngest of six 
brothers, sons of Nathan Ewing, and grandsons of Andrew 
Ewing, the first clerk of the County Court of Davidson 
County. He was born in Na.shville in 1813 ; graduated at 
the University of Nashville in 1831 ; was admitted to the 
bar in 1835, and formed a partnership in law in 1837 with 
his brother, Hon. Edwin H. Ewing, now of Murfreesboro'. 
This business connection continued till 1851, when the 
latter relinquished practice for a time and made a tour in 
Europe. Andrew Ewing, though somewhat careless in his 
diction, was easy, fluent, and unembarrassed at the bar from 
the first, and was a speaker of great persjiasiveness and 
force. He was also a diligent and laborious student, and 
strictly attentive to business. Those best acquainted with 
him kt the outset of his career felt sure that he only needed 
time to make him deservedly prominent at the bar. And 
it so turned out. He was one of those men (not very 
common) who grow in knowledge, wisdom, and ability so 
long as they live. While giving diligent attention to pro- 
fessional business, he also mingled considerably in the pol- 
itics of the day as a speaker and counselor. 



BENCH AND BAR. 



121 



He was an earnest, moderate, and liberal Democrat, 
while his brother was a Whig. While in business together 
they did not discuss their political ditFereiices, and, indeed, 
found in some of their more private interviews that these 
diiferences were not so radical after all. In 184-t, and ever 
after, he was much sought for, at home and in other parts 
of Tennessee, as a political speaker. In discussion and de- 
bate, whether at law or in politics, he feared no opponent, 
and liad few equals. Especially were his speeches eflFective 
and powerful, for many years before his death, in the Cir- 
cuit and Criminal Courts, and in the argument of the cases 
which went up by appeal from these to the Supreme Court. 

He was liberal, kindly, sympathetic, and very popular, 
not only with his own party, but also with the MHiigs. In 
1846-47, when his brother and partner was in Congress, 
he gave attention, not to the law branch of their business, 
which was his own, but also to the chancery branch, which 
was his partner's, and to the entire satisfaction of their 
clients. He was liberal in his purchase of law-books, and 
studied them well. He was an excellent case-lawyer, as 
well as one thoroughly imbued with a knowledge of elements 
and principles. 

His party was largely in the minority in the Nashville . 
Congressional .District, and he did not therefore seek office 
at first, but in 1849 his friends thought proper to bring 
him forward as a candidate for Congress. He was elected 
against a vigorous, active, and energetic opponent, so much 
stronger was he than his party. He served two sessions in 
Congress with credit, having made two respectable speeches; 
but not having much taste for the House of Representa- 
tives, and not being willing to impose on his friends again 
an arduous struggle against a party majority, he declined a 
renomination by his party. 

At the political convention which first nominated Andrew 
Johnson for Governor, Andrew Ewing was first nominated 
by acclamation after a number of efibrts to nominate others, 
but he declined, and Johnson was finally the nominee. 
Andrew Ewing was a prominent candidate before the 
Legislature for United States senator when Senator N ichol- 
son was elected, in 1860. 

Upon the erection of a statue to Gen. Jackson at Mem- 
phis, by public request Andrew Ewing delivered an address 
on Jackson's character and services, which was one of a high 
order of merit, and was received with general applause. 

In 1851 he formed a partnership with Hon. W. F. 
Cooper. This continued with mutual satisfaction till the 
year 1801, when Blr. Cooper was elected a judge of the 
Supreme Court. A partnership was then foimed between 
Mr. Ewing and John Marshall, of Franklin, but this was 
unfruitful of professional results, as the civil war came on 
immediately, and they both died before it ended. 

Though a sincere Democrat, he was not a secessionist. 
On the contrary, he struggled with all his might to make 
the Union vote of February, 1861, as large as possible, 
thus offending many of his old associates and admirers. 
With many others, he yielded to the overwhelming current 
which set in against the North after Mr. Lincoln's procla- 
mation. He retired South with the Southern army in the 
spring of 18U2, making every sort of sacrifice of business 
and property, and was appointed one of a permanent court- 
16 



martial of lawyers, which sat until towards the close of the 
war, under the commands of Bragg and Johnson. He was 
much beloved and admired in the army. He died in 1864 
at Atlanta, Ga., worn out and overborne by a complication 
of diseases, the result of exposure, anxiety, and excessive 
labor. He left behind him a character without stain or re- 
proach. He was twice married, and his last wife survives 
him. 

HON. EDWIN II. EWING, LL.D. 

This gentleman is connected by his father, Nathan, and 
by his grandfather, Andrew Ewing, with the first settlers 
of Nashville. Both of his progenitors were men of prom- 
inence, and among the best educated of the pioneers of the 
Cuniberland Valley, being descended from the intelligent 
and enterprising Scotch-Irish stock, an infusion of which 
constituted so large and influential an element in the early 
population of Bliddle Tennessee. The names of the Ewings, 
Andrew and Nathan, appear in the County Court records 
as clerks, successively, from 1783 to 1830, a period of forty- 
seven years. The former was the chief scribe, and did 
most of the public writing, as well as much for private 
individuals, under the temporary form of government which 
preceded Davidson County. Both Andrew and Nathan 
Ewing were well educated for men of their times, with 
that tendency to self-reliant study and mental discipline 
which has been prominently characteristic of their de- 
scendants. 

Edwin H. Ewing was born in Nashville on the 2d of 
December, 1809, and, from the age of three years till his 
recent removal to Murfreesboro' resided in this city con- 
stantly, with the exception of temporary absences on offi- 
cial duties at Washington and in travels abroad. He 
graduated at the University of Nashville in 1827, received 
in due course the degree of A.M., and within a few years 
past the honorary title of LL.D. He studied law without 
a preceptor, using the books of an older brother who had 
studied but did not practice the profession, and appealing 
for aid in his difficulties to that truly learned and generous 
member of the Nashville bar, Hon. Francis B. Fogg, than 
whom no man could be found better qualified to correctly 
guide his inquiries or more ready to extend to him a help- 
ing hand. Mr. Ewing cherishes a grateful remembrance of 
the kindness of Mr. Fogg in those day.s of preparation for 
the profession, and for the sympathy shown him in his early 
difficulties and struggles, as well as the uniform courtesy re- 
ceived from him on all occasions. Mr. Ewing obtained a 
liccn.se to practice in 1830, and was regularly admitted to 
the bar in 1831 . He then formed a partnership with James 
P. Grundy, which continued till 1837. During this time 
they did a large amount of business, and Mr. Ewitig was 
growing in character as a lawyer. In January, 1837, he 
dissolved the partnership with Mr. Grundy, and formed a 
partnership with his younger brother, Andrew Ewing, who 
had shortly before come to the bar. In 1840 he took a 
very active part in Gen. Harrison's election, having become 
a Whig in the previous canvass of Van Buren, White, and 
Harrison. This involved him in some personal conflicts 
and quarrels, and made him so far a favorite of his own 
party that he was elected along with James Campbell, Esq., 



122 



HISTOllY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



without opposition, to the General Assembly of 184-2. In 
that body he gained in reputation by several able speeches. 

Meantime, he married in December, 1832. His wife 
died in 1844, and he has not since married. 

In the canvass of 1844 he took an active part in favor 
of Mr. Clay's candidacy and against Mr. Polk ; and by re- 
quest delivered an oration at the laying of the corner-stone 
of the Capitol at Nashville, on the 4th of July, 1845. In 
the winter of that year he was elected to fill a vacancy in 
the Nashville district in Congress, Hon. I. H. Peyton (a 
brother of Bailie Peyton) having been elected and having 
died without taking his seat. He served two sessions in 
Congress, from December, 1845, to Blarch 4, 1847, and 
might have been re-elected had he not declined on account 
of a "distaste to a seat in the house." While in the 
house he delivered several able speeches, — one on the 
Oregon question; one on the tarilF of 184G, which his 
room-mate, Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, said 
was the best delivered on the Whig side of the question, 
or against the bill ; one on the river and harbor bill of 1846 
(which, b}' the way, contained some doctrines he would 
hardly indorse now) ; and one on the Mexican war. He de- 
livered also some other speeches of minor importance. With 
characteristic modesty, Mr. Ewing has said, "I do not 
think I made much character in Congress." His friends 
think this an underestimate of his services and of the credit 
generally awarded him. 

In the mean time his reputation as a lawyer increased. 
He sat frequently as a special judge on the supreme bench, 
delivered an opinion in the great Winchester case, which 
has been a good deal talked about, and has been as much 
cited as any case in the courts of Tennessee, together with 
several other opinions in important cases. His partnership 



with his brother continuing and their 

in 1850 he made a fortunate speculation in 



business enlarging, 



real estate, 

which rendered him independent of further practice ; and 
this, together with impaired health, induced him to carry 
out a purpose which he had long cherished, of somewhat 
extensive travel. He dissolved his business relations with 
his brother, and in April, 1851, being forty-one years of 
age, he left for a tour in Europe. He was absent about 
eighteen months, visiting England, Scotland, Ireland, 
France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Egypt, 
Palestine, Western Asia, Constantinople, and Greece, 
making extensive notes of travel, and writing many long 
letters. Upon his return he was urgently solicited to write 
a book of travels, and had some idea of it, but has never 
put it into execution. 

In 1852 he delivered, by request, at Nashville an oration 
on the death and services of Daniel Webster, then lately de- 
ceased. This oration compares favorably with Mr. Ewing's 
many able productions. He continued to practice law, taking 
fees only in important cases, till 185G, when he went to 
Rutherford County and lived with one of his daughters, 
then lately married. She removed to Nashville in 18G0 ; 
he returned with her, and lived in the city again one year, 
or until the winter of 1860-61, when he went and lived 
with his son in Rutherford County till the war broke out. 
He still, however, kept his citizenship in Davidson County, 
and kept up constant communication by letters and visits, 



He spoke and voted for the Union in the election of Feb- 
ruary, 1861. Mr. Lincoln's proclamation in April raised 
a storm in Tennessee which carried almost every one into 
opposition to the North. Blr. Ewing's sympathies being 
with the Southern people,'and no neutrality being possible, 
he naturally went with his State, and took a position against 
coercion with John Bell, John Marshall, Andrew Ewing, 
Ncill S. Brown, and others. In the latter part of 1863, 
however, when he saw that Tennessee was irrecoverably 
lost to the South, he advised the people of the State who 
were staying at home to submit to the Federal government. 
The letter containing this advice was published, and sub- 
jected him to much obloquy, and being brought out again 
at the time of his candidacy for judge of the Supreme 
Court, probably defeated his election to that bench. 

After the war Mr. Ewing formed a partnership and re- 
commenced the practice of the law at Murfreesboro', prac- 
ticing also in the courts at Nashville. He has appeared in 
a number of very important cases since that period ; notably 
he was one of the counsel for Judge Frazer when he was 
impeached before the Senate in 1868. He was also, in 
connection with Judge Cooper and William B. Reese, Esq., 
counsel for the State in the suit for the sale of all the delin- 
quent railroads in Tennessee under the act of 1870, and 
went with Judge Cooper to Wa.shington to resist the ap- 
pointment of a receiver for the Nashville and Chattanooga 
Railroad. They successfully accomplished the object of 
their mission. 

Mr. Ewing is now seventy years of age; his health is 
good, and his mental faculties scarcely impaired. He has 
some important cases yet unfinished, but he has been aim- 
ins for some time to draw his lesal business to a close. He 
has been a voluminous newspaper writer and an omnivor- 
ous reader of books, is fond of metaphysical studies, and 
has been much sought after as a public lecturer. 

UON. W. F. COOPER. 

William Friorson Cooper was born in Williamson Co., 
Tenn , on the 11th of March, 1820. He was reared in 
Blaury County, and since early manhood has resided in 
Nashville, where his high reputation as a lawyer and jurist 
has been attained. By both parents Judge Cooper is de- 
scended from the Scotch-Irish race of the north of Ireland, 
which constitutes so large a portion of the population of the 
Southern States. Both families, the Coopers and the 
Friersons, settled in South Carolina, his paternal grand- 
father being a captain in Sumter's brigade during the - 
Revolutionary war, and both moved to Middle Tennessee 
early in the present century. 

Being sent early to school and having a ready memory, 
he was pushed forward beyond his years, and was always in 
classes of which he was the youngest member, and so con- 
tinued till he graduated at college when only eighteen years 
of age. The strain upon his mental faculties was, however, 
as he is in the habit of saying, moderated by the absence 
of emulation, which he was too young to feel in its full 
force, and by an uncontrollable appetite for general reading. 
At twelve years of age he spent a winter in New Orleans, 
where he learned the French language and acquired a taste 
for French literature. In the summer of 1834, Mr. Polk, 



BENCH AND BAR. 



123 



then a member of Congress from Maury County, concluded 
to take his youngest brother and two of his nephews to 
Yale College to finish their education, and young Cooper 
was persuaded to join them. Under the charge of the 
future President of the United States, these young Tennes- 
seeans paid their respects to the then President, the vener- 
. able chief from their own State, and bowed before the tomb 
of the first President. They entered the same class at Yale 
College, were joined by two other students from their State, 
making perhaps a larger number of Tennesseeans than were 
ever together there at one time before or since, and five of 
them graduated in the class of 1838. 

Upon his return home one of the leading lawyers of 
Columbia, who needed a young man in whom he could 
have confidence to aid him in his heavy practice, offered to 
give him an equal partnership as soon as he could obtain a 
license. But the young graduate considered himself un- 
fitted' for the contests of the forum, and declined the gener- 
ous offer. He had previously concluded to study medicine, 
and diligently applied himself accordingly for the next two 
years, taking during the time a course of lectures at the 
University of Pennsylvania. This period was sufficient to 
satisfy him that while the study of the profession chosen 
was profoundly interesting, its practice was not suited to 
his tastes. Having ascertained this fact, he made up his 
mind to change his profession, and immediately commenced 
the study of law. The lawyer already mentioned renewed 
his offer, and in the same month that he came of ago the 
subject of our notice obtained a license to practice law, and 
went into partnership witli the Jate chancellor, Samuel D. 
Frierson. 

The next three years were spent in active business and 
diligent study, which so increased the self-confidence of 
the young lawyer that he determined to seek a wider field. 
He spent the fall and part of the winter in New Orleans, 
being inclined to remove to that city. On his return he 
remained a few days at Nashville to argue some of his 
cases in the Supreme Court, and was so much pleased that 
he concluded to spend at least the ensuing summer in that 
city. Understanding his intentions, the Hon. A. 0. P. 
Nicholson, lute the chief justice of the Supreme Court of 
Tennessee, who had then only recently removed from 
Columbia to Nashville, kindly took him into partnership. 

Nashville thus became the home, and, as it proved, the 
permanent home, of the young lawyer. The comparative 
leisure of the next few years gave him the opportunity of 
deepening the foundations of his legal studies. Ho com- 
menced at the same time, as a mode of disciplining his 
faculties and increasing the accuracy of his knowledge of 
the State decisions, to report the opinions of the Supreme 
Court for one of the daily papers, preparing the head- 
notes, and, with occasional suggestions from the Hon. W. 
B. Turley. one of the judges of the court, condensing the 
opinions themselves when too long to be inserted tM extenso. 
This he continued to do for several years. At the Decem- 
ber term, 1816, of the Supreme Court, his arguments 
were twice favorably noticed by the judge who delivered 
the opinion in the cases, one of these arguments receiving 
the unusual, if not unprecedented, honor of being expressly 
referred to and adopted by the court. (Brown vs. Vanlier, 



7 Hum. 239.) All of the judges of that court treated 
them with the kindness which was their uniform charac- 
teristic towards young men, but he formed an intimate and 
cordial friendship with Judge Turley, who, to a lofty intel- 
lect and genial disposition, added a fondness for general 
literature, which was a powerful connecting-link between 
them. 

In 1851, upon the death of Chancellor Cahal, the Nash- 
ville bar united in recommending Judge Cooper to fill the 
vacancy, but he declined to allow his name to be used when 
he understood that Judge Nicholson, who had returned to 
Columbia, was willing to accept the position. And after- 
wards, when Judge Nicholson resigned, he warmly sup- 
ported Judge Frierson for the office. In the latter part of 
the same year he entered into partnership in the practice 
of the law with the Hon. Andrew Ewing, which continued 
for ten years, and until he was elected one of the judges 
of the Supreme Court. By the terms of the partnership, 
Judge Cooper took exclusive charge of the chancery busi- 
ness, and Mr. Ewing of the business of the law-courts, 
each following his cases to the Supreme Court. The equity 
business, into which Judge Cooper thus stepped, had been 
built up by the Hon. Edwin H. Ewing, then and now one 
of the first lawyers and public men of the State, who had 
concluded to spend a few years in Europe. It taxed his 
powers to the utmost, and increasing as it did with the 
growth of the city, it kept him incessantly employed during 
this period. 

On the 8th of February, 1852, the Legislature of the 
State appointed Return J. Bleigs, Esq., and Judge Cooper 
to revise and digest the general statutes of the State. 
Under this appointment the present code of Tennessee was 
prepared, and passed into a law by the General Assembly of 
1857-58. Both revisers separately went over and digested 
the whole body of the law, compared together their separate 
work, and united in the drafts submitted to the legislative 
committee, and which were adopted by the Legislature 
almost without modification. The analytic plan of the code 
is, however, the exclusive work of Judge Cooper. 

In 1854, upon the change in the State Constitution giv- 
ing the election of judicial officers to the people, Judge 
Cooper was a candidate for the office of attorney-general 
and reporter, but was defeated, his successful competitor 
being the Hon. John L. T. Sneed, then a deservedly popu- 
lar member of the opposite political party, and subsequently 
one of the judges of the Supreme Court. In October, 
1861, he became a candidate to till the vacancy on the 
bench of the Supreme Court, occasioned by the resignation 
of the Hon. Robert L. Caruthers, and was elected. The 
courts were, however, almost immediately thereafter closed 
by the late civil war, and upon the reorganization of the 
State government in 18G5, new judges were appointed by 
the executive. The enforced leisure occasioned by the 
war gave to Judge Cooper the opportunity of carrying out 
a long-cherished plan of a trip to Europe. Some of the 
fruits of this trip appeared in the Southern Law Review, 
published in St. Louis after the civil war, under the style 
of " English and French Law"' and " Modern Theories of 
Government." 

Upon the reopening of the courts at the close of the 



12-t 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



war, Judge Cooper resumed the practice of his profession, 
confining himself to chancery cases. He was in partner- 
sliip for a few years with the Hon. Robert L. Caruthers, 
his predecessor on the Supreme Bench, and upon his re- 
tirement with Iiis hrotlier, the Hon. Henry Cooper, kite 
member of Congress. In November, 1872, he was ap- 
pointed by the Governor chancellor of the Nashville chan- 
cery district, and in August, 1874, he was elected by the 
people to the same place. His decisions while upon the 
bench have been published in three volumes of " Tennessee 
Chancery Reports," the last of which appeared in 1879. 

In the year 1870, Judge Cooper superintended the repub- 
lication of the early " Tennessee Reports." He prepared or 
re\wote the head-notes of the first eight volumes of these 
reports, with notes and references. These volumes, together 
with a new annotated edition of " Meigs' Reports," were 
republished in 1870. Upon the republication of the " Re- 
ports of the Supreme Court of Tennessee," begun in 1875, 
by G. I. Jones & Co., of St. Louis, Judge Cooper con- 
sented to edit the entire work. He has since completed 
the forty volumes, with annotations and references re- 
written,- — a herculean labor, exhibiting in its results great 
care, industry, and legal acumen. Of twenty-nine of the 
volumes he has written the head-notes. He has also just 
finished re-editing an edition of " Daniels' Chancery Prac- 
tice" fur Little, Brown & Co., law-publisliers, of Boston, 
bringing down the references and annotations to the present 
time. In tliis work he has examined nearly a thousand 
volumes of reports. 

In August, 1878, Judge Cooper was elected one of the 
judges of the Supreme Court of the State for the constitu- 
tional term of eight years from Jan. 1, 1879. The duties 
of this high and responsible position he is now discharging 
with the modesty, ability, and address which have charac- 
terized him in all his official and professional relations, 
together with his other various and arduous labors in the 
departments of jurisprudence. His works will be a monu- 
ment of which his native State will have reason to be 
proud. 

It should be stated, also, that Judge Cooper, among his 
other labors, has succeeded in cstablisliing a bar association 
at Nashville, and in building up in connection therewith a 
law-library now numbering about three thousand volumes. 
As a suitable tribute the American Bar Association, which 
convened at Saratoga in the summer of 1879, elected him 
one of its vice-presidents. 

Judge Cooper is now sixty years of age. The longevity 
of his ancestors and his temperate and orderly habits and 
cheerful disposition point to the conclusion that many years 
of useful labor yet remain to him. Those years will yield 
the greatest benefits to society if consumed in the labors of 
judicial science. It may with some degree of truth be said 
of a judge, as of a poet, that he is born, not made. We 
mean that the judicial temperament is innate in some men. 
Judge Cooper is one of those men. He loves the adminis- 
tration of justice. The possession of an ample competence 
places him beyond the reach of every ambition, except 
the ambition that has moved the greatest and best of 
judges, — the desire to do right and to leave behind an hon- 
orable name. The death of his former partner, the great 



and learned Chief Justice Nicholson, reduced the judges 
of the Supreme Court to five, the number provided for by 
tlie revised Constitution of 1870. At the next election 
Judge Cooper took his place upon the bench. Says a late 
writer, intimately acquainted with the character and ser- 
vices of Judge Cooper, " We shall not be contented to see 
his usefulness limited to that position," — the Supreme Court 
of Tennessee. " For twelve years the South has had no 
representative on the supreme bench of the United States. 
The exclusion from the national court of last resort of 
a section embracing one-third of the population of the 
Union — a section which has contributed to that bench 
such great names as Marshall, Taney, Catron, and Camp- 
bell ; a section, too, whose laws and institutions contain so 
much that differs from those of the rest of the Union — 
cannot be expected to last much longer. The South is 
fairly entitled to her representative on that bench, — unless 
she is unable to produce lawyers worthy of that high posi- 
tion. She can certainly produce one such man, and that 
is the subject of this sketch. When it shall become neces- 
sary to look to the South for a suitable appointee to that 
great court the general consent of the bar will, unless we 
are greatly mistaken, point to him." 

HON. JOHN TRIMBLE. 

John Trimble, counselor and attorney-at-law, son of 
James Trimble, was born in Roane Co., E. Tenn., on the 
7th day of February, 1812. He was educated at Nashville 
at a classic school taught by Moses Stevens, and at the 
Nashville University, whose president was Philip Lindsley. 

In 1836 he was elected attorney-general for the Nash- 
ville district, which position he held for six years. 

In 1843 he was nominated and elected by the Whigs to 
the General Assembly. 

In 1845 he was nominated and elected to the State 
Senate. 

In 1847 he refused a renomination, as also a nomination 
to the United States Congress. 

He preferred his professional pursuits, and he acquired 
a large practice in all the courts, criminal, law, and equity, 
in both State and United States courts. 

He soon found himself in possession of as large an estate 
as he desired to have, and losing his taste for the profes- 
sion he gradually retired from it. He acquired a taste for 
literary pursuits, and his ruling passion became love of 
knowledge and culture, mental and moral. He had ac- 
quired a large and select library of miscellaneous works, 
the best English and American authors, and he gave his 
time almost wholly to the acquisition of knowledge and 
culture. 

In 1859 he was placed by the Whig party on their ticket 
as a candidate to the State Senate. He was elected with- 
out canvassing, and almost without opposition. 

He was in the extra session of the Senate in January, 
1861 ; also in the extra se.ssion of April, 1861, during 
which session was passed the " ordinance of secession," 
against which and all acts tending towards secession of 
the State he voted, being an '-unconditional" Union and 
National man. When the act of secession was passed he 
resigned his seat as a senator and retired to private life. 




^i'TSsw 



EX. QOV. NEILL S. BROWN . 



-N 



^-.1^ 



- Cr'S^^^^ 





BENCH AND BAR. 



125 



During the entire civil war he was well known to be a 
National Union man, with firm convictions and faith in 
favor of the United States government. 

His firm convictions were that the Rebellion ought not 
and could not succeed, and if by possibility it did it would 
be the greatest of calamities to the South and Southwest ; 
and that the State had been betrayed by its public men 
and forced out of the Union. Yet during the entire war 
his opinions were respected, and he was treated kindly and 
with respect by all, which he will ever hold in grateful 
remembrance. 

In 1862, Justice Catron, of the United States Supreme 
Court and circuit judge for Tennessee, brought with him 
from Washington a commission for Mr, Trimble from Mr. 
Lincoln, appointing him United States district attorney. 
This position he held for two years and then resigned. 

In ] 865 he was again elected to the State Senate, and 
as such sat in the " Reconstruction General Assembly," 
and aided in reconstructing the State government. 

While in the Senate at this time he voted for the Thir- 
teenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States 
Constitution ; also in favor of unicersal suifrage and the 
re-enfranchisement of the people of the State. 

In 1867 he was elected a member of Congress, and sat 
as a member of the Fortieth Congress in the House of 
Representatives. As such member he voted for the Fif- 
teenth Amendment and for the restoration of the Southern 
States to the Union. 

He declined to be a candidate for re-election, and returned 
again to private life and his " books." 

He liberated his servants he/ore the emancipation procla- 
mation of President Lincoln, from a conviction that it was 
an emancipation of the whites from the greatest of evils, 
and his views were from a white man's standpoint looking 
at their enlightened interests and welfare. 

HON. NEILL S. BROWiSr. 

Hon. Ncill S. Brown, ex-Governor of Tennessee, is a 
native of Giles County, in this State, where he was born on 
the 18th of April, 1810. His parents were descendants of 
Scotch Presbyterians, respectable and enterprising people, 
and were among the pioneers of Giles County when that 
region of country was a wilderness. In such a new coun- 
try educational advantages were limited, so that the subject 
of this sketch received little more than a knowledge of the 
common English branches up to the age of seventeen, at 
which time he was thrown upon his own resources, and 
took to teaching school as a means' of promoting his ardent 
desire to obtain a collegiate enucation. In this laudable 
undertaking he was not disappointed, his energy and ambi- 
tion being sufficient to carry him through the multiplied 
difficulties and hardships which beset his path until he had 
completed, unassisted, his college and his law course, and 
been admitted to the bar with as brilliant and encouraging 
prospects as most young lawyers. 

In 1836 he served as a soldier in the Seminole war in 
Florida, and upon his return in 1837 was elected a member 
of the Legislature from Giles County. He soon acquired 
in politics not only influence, but considerable ambition, 
being a fluent and efi'ective speaker both in the hall of legis- 



lation and upon the stump. His oratory was of that earn- 
est and persuasive kind, mixed with anecdote, keen wit, and 
satire, which renders a speaker popular and effective with _ 
juries and before the people. When the great political par- 
ties were formed he took an active and prominent part as a 
Whig, and after a very spirited contest was elected Gover- 
nor in 18-17. He was an honorable and popular chief 
magistrate. In 1850 he was appointed United States min- 
ister to Russia, and was abroad in that capacity about three 
years. In 1855 he was chosen to represent Davidson 
County in the Legislature, and was elected Speaker of the 
House. From this time he held no political ofilce until 
1870, when he was elected a member of the convention 
called to remodel the existing Constitution of the State. 

Governor Brown, though opposed to the war of 1861-65, 
and an anti-secessionist, yielded to the issue when it was 
made up, and took sides with the South. Since the war he 
has neither held nor sought any public office, but has been 
an active and open advocate of the Union and of peace and 
reconciliation. His professional career as a lawyer began 
in 1835, and he has practiced ever since except when pre- 
vented by political engagements. Few men in the profes- 
sion have attained a better standing at the bar, although it 
is undoubtedly true that public duties have somewhat di- 
vided his attention and detracted from the full exercise of 
his powers and abilities in the strict line of his profession. 
Still, he is one of the ablest lawyers of the county bar, and 
his services are retained in the most important cases both 
in the criminal and civil courts. 

He took an active part in thepoli'.ical campaigns of 1836, 
1840, 184-1, 1856, and 1860, and was an elector on the 
ticket of Judge White in 1836 and of Henry Clay in 
1844. He has always been an ardent friend of common 
schools and of education in all its branches, and few men 
are more fully trusted and highly esteemed in the commu- 
nity in which he resides. We might write much moie in 
his praise, but such is his modesty that we forbear, lest 
we might inflict a wound where we mean simply to do 

justice. 

GEN. THOM.\S T. SMILEY. 

Gen. Thomas T. Smiley was born in Nashville, Oct. 8, 
1813. He graduated at the University of Nashville in 
1833 ; studied law with Hon. Ephraim H. Foster, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1836. He has ever since practiced 
in Nashville. Gen. Smiley was fourteen years clerk of 
the Circuit Court, from 1844 to 1859. 

JUDGE JOSEPHUS C. GUILD. 

Judge Josephus C. Guild was born in the county of 
Pittsylvania, Va., in 1803 ; came to Sumner County with 
his parents in 1806 ; studied law with Ephraim H. Foster 
at Nashville, and admitted to practice in 1822 ; began piac- 
tice in Sumner County, where he remained till the close 
of the civil war, and acquired a high reputation at the bar 
and as a public speaker and lecturer. He was a member of 
the General Assembly in 1833, 1835, and 1852, and of 
the Senate in 1837 and 1845; was lieutenant-colonel of 
the Second Tennessee Ilegimeut, under Gen. Armstrong, 
in the Florida campaign of 1836; Presidential elector for 
James K. Polk in 1844; elector at-large for Franklin 



126 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Pierce in 1852 ; and was elected chancellor for the seventh 
chancery division of the State in 18G0. The court was 
broken up by the war in 1861. In 1870, Mr. Guild was 
elected judge of the law-court at Nashville for a term of 
eight years, and held the office until the court was abolished 
by the Legislature in 1878. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

GEN. JAMES EOBERTSON. 

Notices of Him in History — Early Life and Education — Associations 
witli Daniel Boone — Robertson and Sevier — Perilous jNIission to the 
Ciicrokees — Indian Diplomacy — Settlement on tlie Cumberland — 
Civil Administration — His Career as a Legislator — His Appoint- 
ment as Indian Agent — Treaties with the Chickasaws and Choctaws 
— Last Hours and Death of Gen. Robertson. 

The life of Gen. Robertson is interwoven with the whole 
history of Middle Tennessee, and with events whioli ex- 
tend far beyond its limits. In this locality, which was 
more especially the theatre of his action, it is desirable to 
bring these events together, and, as it were, to focalize them 
in a personal sketch of the chief actor. 

Haywood, speaking of Robertson's first visit to the Cum- 
berland, says, — 

" He is the same person who will appear hereafter by his 
actions to have merited all the eulogium, esteem, and aifec- 
tion which the most ardent of his countrymen have ever 
bestowed upon him. Like almost all those in America who 
have attained eminent celebrity, he had not a noble lineage 
to boast of, nor the escutcheoned armorials of a splendid 
ancestry. But he had what was far more valuable, — a 
sound mind, healthy constitution, a robust frame, a love of 
virtue, an intrepid soul, and an emulous desire for honest 
ftme." 

Mrs. Dr. Blackie, of Nashville, who is a great-grand- 
daughter of Gen. Robertson, under date of Feb. 28, 1880, 
relates the following interview with the historian Bancroft 
respecting Gen. Robertson ; 

" I met him more than twenty-five years ago at a dinner- 
party in New York. Hearing that I was from Tennessee, 
he soon began to speak of Gen. Robertson, saying he was 
his 'lavorite hero of those times.' He told me how he had 
become possessed of some of his letters, and of some au- 
thentic accounts of him, which had won his admiration 
and respect. I was proud to tell him that he was my great- 
grandfather. I was much gratified afterwards to see how 
honorably he was woven into his great history." The pas- 
sage in Bancroft referred to by Mrs. Blackie is vol. xi. chap. 
xlvi. History of the United States; November, a.d. 1770. 

" This year James Robertson, from the home of the 
Regulators in North Carolina, a poor and unlettered for- 
ester of humble birth, but of inborn nobleness of soul, cul- 
tivated maize on the Watauga. The frame of the heroic 
hunter was robust, his constitution hardy, he trod the soil 
as if he was the rightful lord. Intrepid, loving virtue for 
its own sake, and emulous of honorable fame, he had self- 
possession, quickness of discernment, and a sound judg- 



ment. Wherever he was thrown, on whatever he was 
engaged, he knew how to use all the means within his 
reach, whether small or great, to their proper end, seein" 
at a glance their latent capacities, and devising the simplest 
and surest way to bring them forth ; and so he became the 
greatest benefactor of the early settlers of Tennessee, con- 
firming to them peace, securing their independence, and 
leaving a name blessed by the esteem and love and praise 
of a commonwealth." 

James Robertson was born in Brunswick Co., Va., on 
the 28th of June, 1742, and when he was quite young his 
parents removed with liim to Wake Co., N. C. Here he 
was reared to manhood and married Miss- Charlotte Reeves. 
The influences upon him in early life were such as to lay 
the foundation of a good moral character, develop personal 
energy and independence, and imbue liis mind with those 
principles of liberty of which he was in after-years so 
earnest and faithful an exponent. Wake County, at the 
time of his residence there, was the centre of tlio most 
intelligent and refined society in the colony, — the future 
capital of the State being in this county, — and it is but 
reasonable to believe that such associations had a powerful 
influence in moulding the character of the subject of our 
notice, and that he went out into the world not unac- 
quainted with the usages of good society, and with at least 
the rudiments of an education. Rlrs. Elizabeth Cheatham, 
his granddaughter, now living with her son, Felix R. 
Cheatham, Esq., in North Nashville, writes under date of 
Feb. 28, 1880 : " He had as good an education as most 
gentlemen of his day, and was not indebted to his wife for 
his knowledge of letters, as BIr. Putnam says. I know 
that he received his education in his youth ; and I have a 
letter from uncle Felix Robertson denying this statement 
of Mr. Putnam's, and saying that he was astonished that 
he had made such a mistake. I do not suppose he was a 
rich man in Carolina, but he certainly brought a good many 
slaves and fine stock and cattle with him to this settle- 
ment." 

Mrs. Cheatham also, in the same letter, speaks of the 
personal appearance of her grandfather, thus: 

" Gen. Robertson was about five feet nine inches in 
height, heavy built, but not too fat. His head inclined 
slightly forward, so that his light-blue eyes were usually 
shaded by his heavy eyebrows. His hair was very dark, 
like a mole in color, and his complexion, though naturally 
very fair, was darkened and reddened by exposure. I re- 
member him as being usually quiet and thoughtful, and 
full of the cares of business. We all loved and venerated 
him." 

This was when Robertson was quite advanced in years. 
He was twenty-eight years old when he left North Carolina 
and crossed the mountains. In his hunting excursions on 
the Watauga he was an associate of Daniel Boone, and 
they were probably together on the Holston in 1770. 
Robertson returned, and is believed to have been engaged 
with the Regulators in the battle of Alamance, but there 
is no positive proof of it. It was soon after the battle, in 
1771, that he started with his wife and child to an almost 
unknown country beyond the great range of mountains, 
never to return to claim the right of citizenship in the old 




I'lioto- Ijy Armstrong, NasbviUt^. 




GEN. JAMES KOBERTSON. 



VZI 



settled portion of the State. Henceforth his life was iden- 
•tified with that heroic class of frontiersmen whose mission 
it has' been to push the advance of civilization into new 
couutrius. 

On liis arrival at Watauga he met Boone there again, 
but the latter had no intention of remaining. Boone and 
Robertson, though intimately associated, were very different 
types of men. The former was ever on the move. He 
acted as pilot to now settlements, and continued the pioneer 
of civilization from the Yadkin, in North Carolina, to the 
district of St. Charles, in Missouri, where be ended his 
remarkable and eventful life in 1820, in the eighty-sixth 
year of his age. Robertson, on the other hand, remained 
to organize the settlements, and to extend over them the 
protection of a simple but eiBcient form of government. 
In this lie was successful both at Watauga and on the 
Cumberland, being in both places the master-spirit and the 
principal man in authority, the organizing force and the 
chief executive head. Nor do we know of a single in- 
stance in the forty years of his life where that authority 
was ever abused. His loyalty to the people — his sacrifice 
of personal ambition to the public welfare — was one of the 
most remarkable traits of his character ; and it places him 
high above many of the rulers of mankind who have filled 
the world with their fame. 

The tyranny which drove him and his associates beyond 
the mountains is but another illustration of how new settle- 
ments and States have been formed. Out of tyranny into 
liberty has ever been the progress of man. The tyranny of 
rulers has been the most fruitful cause of the colonization 
of new countries. People fleeing from oppression have 
planted the seeds of states and republics. So was it in 
this case : the refugees from North Carolina laid the foun- 
dation of the commonwealth of Tennessee. Was there 
not a providence in it? Did not the pioneers "build wiser 
than they knew" ? Were they not sent to open this beau- 
tiful country, which was destined to send down its blessings 
of civilization to unborn generations ? 

Robertson frequently alluded to the tyranny of British 
officials in the old State. " This was the best thing," he 
remarked, " ever done by the British government. Never 
were threats so harmless, and yet so powerful : they were 
laughed to scorn. No man feared them out here, whatever 
they might have done in old Orange and in Wake." 
Again he said, " These acts made a new set of Regulators, 
patriots and soldiers out in the mountains ; and they 
were thus preparing to prove themselves such at King's 
Mountain, and wherever else God, in his providence, or 
their country, in her need, should call them." 

The part taken by Robertson and Sevier in the battle 
with the Indians at the Kanawha deserves to be mentioned. 
This was in the year 1774. The little settlement west of the 
mountains was in its infancy; yet when the warlike Shaw- 
nees and their confederates threafened the destruction of the 
settlements in Western Virginia, they raised and equipped a 
company, which they placed under their own ofiioers, and 
marched to the scene of action. James Robertson and 
Valentine Sevier held commissions in Shelby's company. 
On the morning of the 10th of October these men were 
beyond the encampment looking after deer, and came sud- 



denly upon the Indians, who had advanced within half a 
mile of Gen. Lewis' camp. They were approaching in 
very regular order, and by a line extending from the banks 
of the Ohio back to the hills, and across the point towards the 
Kanawha, evidently intending to confine the Americans to 
their position on the point between the two rivers. Robert- 
son and Sevier were within ten steps of the advancing foe : 
they fired at the front column. It was yet too dark in the 
twilight of the morning to take sight or deliberate aim, but 
the fire was so unexpected that the Indians came to a 
general halt, thus affording Robertson and Sevier time to 
run into the camp, give the alarm, and arouse every man to 
arras. Instantly Col. Charles Lewis was ordered to advance 
with one hundred and fifty men towards the hills, and near 
the Kanawha River. The little force under Col. William 
Fleming was directed to the right, up the banks of the 
Ohio. These forces had scarcely passed the line of sentinels 
when they were met by tlie enemy, and a hot and deadly 
conflict commenced. In a short time the entire force on 
each side was fiercely engaged, and the battle continued- 
during most of the day. Many feats of daring and indi- 
vidual contests took place under and along the banks of the 
rivers, and the dead Americans and Indians were scattered 
from the waters of one river to those of the other. Before 
the close of the day the savages liad retreated, the firing 
ceased, and the dead and wounded were gathered and prop- 
erly attended to. 

It has been ever since admitted on all hands that this 
victory was attributable to Robinson and Sevier, who dis- 
covered the plan of the Indians and gave timely warning, 
without which the whole camp must have been surprised 
and either cut to pieces or driven into the river. 

As an Indian diplomatist Gen. Robertson had no supe- 
riors and very few equals. The Indians, as a general rule, 
had confidence in him and respected his judgment. He 
had not been long a member of the settlement at Watauga 
before his excellent services in this direction wore called 
into requisition. In 1772, at the time the Watauga lease 
was negotiated with the Cherokees, some hunters from the 
Wolf Hills in Virginia shot ain Indian while they were en- 
gaged in friendly contests of foot-races and other athletic 
sports. The Indians were highly excited, and contemplated 
revenge. The chief citizens at this critical moment selected 
Robertson to go upon the perilous mission to the Indian 
towns to seek to appease their anger. It was certainly put- 
ting his life in jeopardy ; nevertheless, such was his desire 
to protect and benefit his neighbors that he undertook the 
embassy, taking with him, as was customary, a few pres- 
ents. He penetrated to the Cherokee towns, called the 
chiefs and head-men together, and succeeded in convincing 
them that the murder, which he and his people universally 
condemned, had been committed by irresponsible renegades 
outside of their community ; that should the assassin fall 
into their hands he would be dealt with according to his de- 
serts ; and that the Watauga settlers were anxious to preserve 
peace and intercourse with their nation. He remained 
several days with the chiefs, who, from his courage, ad- 
dress, and friendly manner, conceived a very high regard 
for him. 

The successful manner in which he executed this diffi- 



128 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



cult and dangerous mission elevated him in the regard of 
his townsmen. From this time he was granted the post of 
honor. The cares and responsibilities of a leader in civil 
and military affairs now devolved upon him, and to the 
close of his life he found them both weighty and many. 

After this Gen. Robertson held more negotiations with 
the Indians than any other man of his times. Those mas- 
terly feats of diplomacy by which, later in life, he secured 
treaties for the relinquishment of their lands from the 
Chickasaws, Choctaws, and other tribes will be considered 
in their chronological place farther on. 

But Gen. Robertson could not only make treaties with 
the Indians ; he could fight them when occasion required, 
and when diplomacy failed to keep them in their proper 
place. We shall not here give an account of his various 
expeditions, campaigns, and engagements in Indian war- 
fare ; for these the reader is referred to the military history 
of the pioneer period in another part of this work. While 
at Watauga he held the rank of captain ; soon after his 
•settlement on the Cumberland the people elected him col- 
onel, and upon the organization of the Territorial govern- 
ment he was commissioned a general by President Wa.sh- 
ingtou. This was at a time when the title meant service 
as well as honor. 

Gen. Robertson was one of the committee who drew up 
the memorial to the General Assembly of North Carolina, 
asking for the " annexation" of Watauga to that colony. 
In this famous document the name Washington is for the 
first time in America applied to any portion or district of 
territory. His residence at Watauga was on the north 
side of the river, at the upper end of the island. The 
fort or block-house of which he was appointed commandant 
stood upon a knoll on the bottom-land, a mile north of the 
mouth of Gap Creek. It is identified by a large locust- 
tree and a few graves on the right of the highway leading 
to Elizabethtown. 

During the winter of 177G-77, Gen. Robertson was in 
Wake Co., N. C, for the purpose of settling his private 
affairs, and to receive from Col. Michael Rogers, guardian 
of his brother Mark, the legacies and personal estates due 
him under the will of his father. , 

On the 10th of July, 1777, Robertson, co-operating with 
the force of Col. Christian, which had been sent by Vir- 
ginia to invade the very heart of the Cherokee Nation, re- 
pulsed a considerable band of Indians who attacked the 
settlement. 

Dui'iug this j'ear he was appointed temporary agent of 
North Carolina, and instructed to repair to Chota (the 
beloved town) in company with the warriors returning from 
the treaty, there to reside until otherwise ordered by the 
Governor. He resided there some time, the accredited 
minister of North Carolina at the court of the Cherokee 
Nation, rendered himself popular among the chiefs of the 
ancient order of red men, and accomplished some valuable 
services for his fellow-citizens. We have his own words 
for it that about this time he was a subject of more than 
ordinary consideration on the part of his native State. He 
says, " Without inquiring how, I was restored to citizen- 
ship and invested with office in my native State : we lived 
and fought as neighbors for each other and our united 



country. Whether we were Virginians or Carolinians we 
asked and cared not ; we were all for the General Congress 
and for Washington." Mrs. Robertson remembered to 
have once asked the question, " I wonder if they will make 
Washington a king?" and the answer was, "If they do, 
he will be the king of our own choice. We will change the 
man, but not the name. He will still be King George by 
the will of the people and the grace of God." 

On the 16th of October, 1777, Governor Caswell ad- 
dressed a letter to Robertson, as superintendent of Indian 
affiiirs, in which he acknowledged the receipt of a letter 
from the latter, covering a talk from old Savanuoa, one of 
the Cherokee chiefs, with whom Robertson was on most 
friendly terms. The Governor inclosed a talk in return 
for the old chief, to be delivered to him and the nation at 
Chota, the Beloved Town. Robertson was informed in this 
letter that it was the wish of the General Assembly that 
he should reniain as Indian agent in the nation, which 
wish the Governor heartily seconded and urged. But he 
had business to attend to in the settlement and in the affairs 
of its government which would not admit of his staying 
permanently among the Indians. He had stayed long 
enough, however, to do much good, the fruit of which was 
seen in after-years upon the Cumberland. 

CoL Henderson, no doubt, had much influence with 
Robertson in inducing him to remove to Middle Tennessee. 
He was just such a man as the colonel wanted to head an 
important settlement, which he was desirous of making in 
the heart of the tract which he had recently obtained of 
the Indians. The treaty had been held at Watauga ; 
Robertson was present, and took part in it ; the great plans 
of Henderson, with reference to both Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee, were freely communicated to him ; he led the settlers 
to the Cumberland ; in the organization of the government 
over them, and in the land-oflioe opened at Nashborough, 
he was associated with Henderson, till the latter, upon the 
proclamation against his treaty by both the Governors of 
Virginia and North Carolina, left the Cumberland, and re- 
moved to the tract granted him near the Ohio River, now 
Henderson Co., Ky. Henderson's name was the first on 
the compact or association in recognition of his position as 
principal proprietor of the lands. After his removal and 
the liiilure of the treaty, Robertson was left alone, as it 
were, to father the whole settlement, and that, too, amidst 
a most complicated and uncertain state of affairs. It was 
indeed as difficult and trying a situation as a man was ever 
placed in. Put almost in the attitude of land-stealers by 
the proclamations of Virginia and North Carolina, declaring 
the treaty illegal, although the purchase had been made in 
good faith and the consideration honestly paid ; the Indians 
disaffected and hostile ; abandoned by a large portion of the 
settlers, and left to defend themselves in a few forts as best 
they could, — the few brave stationers, who looked to Robert- 
son as their leader, resolved not to abandon their homes let 
what might come. Their situation at this critical period is 
thus graphically described by a historian : 

" The three first years of the stationers on the Cumber- 
land were years of privation, losses, and gloom. Remote 
and separate improvements had to be abandoned. The 
people were driven in, and were under the necessity of con- 



GEN. JAMES IlOBEllTSON. 



129 



gregating at the Bluff, or Frenoli Lick Station, and at 
Eaton's. Some continued at Freeland's. At Manslcei's 
tliey lingered to the close of this year. 

" Some began to regret that they had not gone with their 
friends who had parted their company at the mouth of the 
Tennessee ; others wished the boats had not been broken 
up to make but indifi'orent cabins among the cedars. 
' Shall we flee the country ?' was the question. ' Better,' 
said some, ' to leave while wo may than remain and die of 
hunger, or be massacred by savages.' 'No,' said a. few 
resolute men, — ■ no !' And there were some brave-hearted 
women who said 'No. This is the place for which we set 
out, and here we will remain.' So said Mrs. Cartwriirht 
Mrs. Neely, Mrs. Robertson, IMrs. Donelson, Caft'ery, Pur- 
nell, Jennings, Blackemore, and the wives of the Bledsoes, 
who came by the long land-route, — women whose names 
deserve to be forever memorable. Nearly every one of 
these held the same religious sentiments, and often com- 
forted themselves and others by their ' trust in Provi- 
dence.' " 

Ilobertson was one of those who never thought of aban- 
doning his post. In the winter of 17S1, when their stock 
of ammunition was nearly exhausted, and the question was, 
in view of the danger to which all felt imminently exposed 
from lurking savages, '' Who will go to the settlement and 
obtain a new supply for us?" Robertson, with one of his 
sons, some good woodsmen, and one of the Bledsoes, went 
upon the mission. Robertson returned, as he had at first 
determined, after visiting Harrod's, Boone's, and Braint's 
Stations, in Kentucky. The Bledsoe party continued to 
Watauga, and came back with some accession of numbers, 
— wives and children. 

In his policy with the Indians Gen. Robertson deter- 
mined at first to use all conciliatory measures, so far as they 
would serve to promise success, in withdrawing the Indians 
from British alliance and gaining them over to the Ameri 
can cause. In this he was opposed by a strong desire on 
the part of some of the stationers to take summary ven- 
geance for the outrages the Indians had committed. There 
had been forty unprovoked murders, — "brothers' blood 
crying from the ground." "What could atone for these? 
Would it be politic, even if it were possible, to enter into 
covenants of pjaco, and these deaths unavenged ? Robert- 
son sought peace, and the fact that Ire did it shows that his 
mind rose above mere considerations of revenge to the great 
question of public weifare. In the spirit of the true states- 
man he inquired. What policy is for the best good of the 
people? To such a policy he was always ready to sacrifice 
every gratification of a mere personal nature which, in his 
judgment, stood in the way of the general welfire of the 
society which seemed the special object of his care and so- 
licitude. Instances of this spirit are innumerable in his life. 
With regard to the Indians, he found that they could not be 
easily conciliated or won to the interests of the settlers, when 
Spanish, French, and Eugli-sh emissaries, and even those of 
the Northern tribes of their own race, were constantly ex- 
citing them to hostility. Some cavilers asked, " What does 
the colonel think now of his pacific measures ?" " Kill 
them, yes, kill them !" said the colonel, "making a differ- 
ence: spare the innocent." " Yes," said George Frcelaud, 
17 



",{/' there are any innocent ones hunting around here, notify 
them by powder and shot that they arc too far from homo, 
— so far that a good rifle-shot will help them to a diort- 
cat." 

When the peace policy had been sufficiently tried, and it 
was found necessary to resort to severer measures, no man 
fought the Indians with greater thoroughness and vigor than 
Gen. Robertson. Still, the wisdom of his pacific measures 
was apparent. He convinced the Indians that he was their 
friend no less tlian that of the white man, so long as they 
were disposed to keep peace with the settlements. It is 
well known I hat the Indians always had confidence in him, 
and that whenever fighting was suspended no man could 
approach them so easily or exert such an influence in their 
diplomatic councils. He never had provoked their implac- 
able vengeance by wantonly slaying any of their kindred. 
This policy repeatedly kept the savages at bay, and saved 
the lives and property of the settlers. 

In his Indian wars and travels through tlie country his 
life was full of hair-breadth escapes. In January, 1781, ho 
went to the stations in Kentucky to learn the news respect- 
ing the progress of the American cause, to concert measures 
with the stationers there for the defense of the settlements, 
and to see what aid Gen. Clarke could render in that direc- 
tion. He did not fail to obtain some powder and lead, with 
which he returned to the Cumberland. His escape from 
the savages as he came through the open prairies or barrens 
of Kentucky, and through the cane-brakes of Tennessee, 
passing across the Indian trails, and by their half extin- 
guished camp-fires in several instances, was regarded by 
himself and others as remarkable. He crossed the river at 
the Bluff on the 15th of January. Leaving his paek-horso 
at that station, and learning that his wife and children were 
at Freeland's, he hastened to greet them and to rejoice with 
them that they and he were yet alive. As he approached 
he was welcomed, not only by the family, but by every one, 
as he had been at the Bluff. AVhile he asked and answered 
queslions, he allowed his powder-horn to be handed round, 
as generous lovers of Maccaboy are pleased to see their 
snuff-boxes serve the coiupany. He had a ?<iVi bullets to 
spare in his shot-pouch, and the destitute helped themselves 
economically. The main'stock of powder and lead was at 
the other station. 

In 1781, Gen. Robertson made a treaty with the Chick- 
asaws. 

Troubles thickened in 1782. During this year a propo- 
sition was made to abandon the settlements and seek some 
more secure place. Robertson, as reported by Judge Hay- 
wood, " pertinaciously resisted the proposition." " It is im- 
possible," said he, "to get to Kentucky; the Indians are in 
force upon all the roads and passages which lead tliither. 
For the same reason it is impossible to remove to the setlle- 
ments upon the Holston. No other means of escape remain 
but that of going down the river in boats, and making- 
good our retreat to the Illinois, where we might find a few 
of our friends, or going down to the French and Spaniards 
on the lower Mississippi. To this plan insuperable obstacles 
are opposed. With such boats as we have a few may get 
away, risking the dangers of the navigation and of being 
shot by the savages on the blufi's and all along the shores. 



130 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



But liow can we obtain wood with which to make the boats 
that afe needed ? It cannot be procured. The Indians are 
every day in the skirts of the woods all along the bluff; we 
look for them under every shrub, and privet, and cedar, and 
behind every tree; they are ready to inflict death upon 
whoever shall attempt to fell a tree for a canoe or to saw it 
for lumber." 

These difficulties were all stated by Col. Robertson, says 
Haywood, and there was no exaggeration ; everybody knew 
the facts to be as he had stated. He did not speak with 
indifference or contempt of the sufferings they had already 
endured, or of the dangers which then surrounded them. 
He did not deny or doubt that the probabilities were that 
the Indians would attempt to drive them away or utterly 
destroy them. " There is danger attendant on the attempt 
to stay, as there is in the effort to go ; and in the attempt to 
do either we may be destroyed. Every one must decide for 
himself; do as you please. You all know that my mind is 
made up. I have never thought of leaving. I am deter- 
mined not to leave. There are others who have never enter- 
tained the idea of departing. We know each other. We 
hope there are others who, though they may have talked of 
going, may yet conclude to stay." 

In this grave conference Robertson predicted the success- 
ful termination of the struggle for independence, and pic- 
tured to his almost disheartened associates the better day 
which would then dawn upon the settlement : 

" We have reason to believe also that the Revolutionary 
war will not last much longer, and that it will terminate in 
favor of our liberty and independence. Then we may rely 
upon large accessions to our population. Officers and sol- 
diers will come and select and settle their bounty-lands." 
In the course of his remarks he added : " We have to fight 
it out here or fight our way out from here." Rains caught 
up the sententious remark, and ho and others continued to 
repeat it, and they adopted the first part of it as their 
motto and resolution — " Fight it out here." 

Robertson's connection with the government of the no- 
tables has been elsewhere enlarged upon. He was not only 
its principal founder, but was president of the committee 
or board of judges during its entire existence. He was 
one of the justices of the County Court upon the organiza- 
tion of Davidson County, in 1783. As these magistrates 
were appointed " during good behavior," it is presumable 
that he held the office as long as he lived. 

In his correspondence and intercourse with the Spanish 
authorities, Gen. Robertson was ever a true friend to 
America and to the Western settlements. By his wise and 
conciliatory, counsels he removed many difficulties out of 
the way of commerce on the Mississippi, and made it pos- 
sible that settlers on the Cumberland and other Western 
waters could trade in safety to New Orleans and other points 
within the Spanish dominion. He well understood how im- 
portant was the Mississippi River and its unobstructed navi- 
gation to the Western people. He predicted the day as near 
at hand when the settlers west of the mountains must have 
the use of that river in conveying their produce to market ; 
he well knew the import-jnce of quiet to the settlers, and 
that if they could remain undisturbed but a few years longer, 
they would be in sufficient strength to defy both the In- 



dians and the Spaniards. And knowing the intimacy be- 
tween these parties he could not doubt as to the best policy 
of the settlers. It was to attend to their own affairs, have 
no quarrels with their neighbors, encourage immigration, 
and build up the settlements as securely and rapidly as pos- 
sible. That his policy was sound and statesmanlike must 
be admitted. On the 20th of April, 1783, he received a 
letter from Don Estepan Blero, the Spanish Governor, 
thanking him for his friendly communication and for the 
assurances of friendship it contained, promising to write to 
McGillivray, the Creek chief, and to the Spanish comman- 
dant above the Walnut Hills to use their exertions with 
the Creeks and Cherokees to restrain them from any inter- 
ference with the American settlements. This letter shows 
how earnestly he labored to keep the Indians from disturb- 
ing the settlements, and knowing the influence the Span- 
iards had over them, he sought to effect for them peace 
through that channel. 

In 1785 ho was delegated by the citizens to write a letter 
to Mr. Francis Cruzat, of St. Louis, concerning the " bri- 
gands," Colbert and his gang, who had been robbing barges 
passing up and down the Mississippi. To this letter he 
received a very friendly reply, dated Nov. 4, 1785. 

Upon the orr,anization of Davidson County, in 1783, 
Gen. Robertson was its first representative to the Assembly 
of North Carolina. He conlinued by successive elections 
to represent it till the cession of Tennessee to Congress, 
and its organization as the " Territory of the United States 
southwest of the river Ohio," on the 25th of May, 1790. 
He was then commissioned by Washington major-general 
of Jlero District. His old friend, John Sevier, was com- 
missioned major-general of Washington District, these being 
the two great divisions of the Territory. William Blount 
was appointed Territorial Governor ; John BIcNairy and 
David Campbell, Judges; Daniel Smith, Territorial Secre- 
tary ; and Andrew Jackson, District Attorney for Mcro 
District. The first Territorial representative in Congress 
was James White. Andrew Jackson was then a young 
lawyer at the Davidson County bar. 

The career of Gen. Robertson as a legislator in the North 
Carolina Assembly presents an interesting phase of his life. 
He was zealous in promoting the best interests of the set- 
tlements on the Cumberland, and, considering the disposi- 
tion of North Carolina to leave these struggling settlements 
to take care of themselves, succeeded in getting a large 
number of beneficial acts passed, many of which laid the 
foundation of justice and education in Bliddle Tennessee. 
He procured an act securing free lands to those who had 
remained and defended them during the early Indian 
troubles, and to the heirs of those who had perished in the 
struggle. In the list of brave defenders of their country 
named in the act, Robertson places his name last. The list 
contains the names of seventy persons living entitled to free 
lands, and of sixty-four who had been killed by the Indians 
and left heirs. 

He procured a land-office to be established at Nashville 
in 1784. The business of entering and surveying land at 
once presented a lively aspect. Could we present a picture 
of that time, we are sure it would be interesting. The 
frontier land-office, surroundM by eager land-hunters and 



GEN. JAMES ROBERTSON. 



131 



immigrants, seeking to enter tlieir cliiims ; the surveyors 
running and blazing their Hues through the woods and tlie 
cane-brake; the sound of the woodsman's axe in many 
parts of the forest, or tlie crashing and jarring sounds of 
the falling trees ; the now rail-fences iu many places inclos- 
ing stumpy and blackened patches of ground, where, per- 
chance, remnants of charred logs lay scattered among the 
growing corn, or burning brush-heaps sent up tlioir flame 
and crackling sound, — all gave evidenno of how the wilder- 
ness was being redeemed from the dominion of savage na- 
ture to make homes for coming civilized men and women. 
Already the rude beginnings of those homes appeared in 
many log cabins in the openings of the forest and on the 
banks of the streams. At the little fortified huddle of 
buildings on the bluff known as Nashboroiigh, the life was 
more busy and intense ; the land-office had been opened in 
a building of cedar logs, and many were waiting their turn 
to enter their land. 'J'his was a brighter day for the toil- 
worn stationers, and no doubt all felt grateful to their bene- 
factor, whose care and exertion had brought about such a 
state of things. 

Gen. Robertson, in 178J:, secured also an ofSce for tlie 
inspection of tobacco fur Davidson County. In this year 
he also obtained an act establishing the Davidson Academy, 
which grew eventually into the University of Nashville. 
In its progress, and in the cause of education, ho continued 
to be interested as long as he lived. While at the Assem- 
bly he became acquainted with Rev. Thomas B. Craighead, 
whom he induced to come out and take charge of this first 
institution of learning in Middle Tennessee. The reader 
will find a full account of this institution under the head of 
the Nashville University. 

In May, 1784, Gen. Robertson also procured the passage 
of an act establishing a Superior Court of Law and Equity 
for David.son County. This is the court over which Andi'cw 
Jackson was appointed judge, at a salary of fifty pounds a 
year, North Carolina currency, to be paid, not out of the 
State treasury, but out of such means as Davidson County 
could raise.* 

He also procured an act for the raising and sustaining of 
a military force to escort immigrants to the settlements on 
the Cumberland and for the defense of the settlers. A body 
of three hundred men was authorized to be mustered into 
the service, which should be employed part of the time in 
cutting and clearing a road from the lower end of Clinch 
Mountain to Na.shville. A liberal allowance was made to 
these soldiers and officers in lands west of the Cumberland 
Mountains, but North Carolina would pay nothing for their 
support, except some tax on wild lands. 

It is a fact worth noticing that Gen. Robertson, in accord- 
ance with his own strict temperance principles and practice, 
procured an act against the establishment of distilleries in 
the country. He declared in the debate upon his bill in 
the Assembly that " tlie conve;'sion of grain into .spirituous 
liquors is an unwarranted perversion, unserviceable to white 
men and devilisli to Indians." In tlie report of this meas- 
ure we find the following language with reference to the 
settlement on the Cumberland : "Hitherto there has been 

■« rutnaui, p. 235. 



no drunkenness here, and Col. Robertson hopes there never 
may be any waste of grain by distillation, or waste of estates 
or ruin of souls by the drinking of li((uor." The prohibi- 
tion, however, was but limited. The evil which he sought 
to guard against, alas! established itself, as in other com- 
munities, and wrought its sad and terrible consequences 
upon many, not omitting some of the briglit and shining 
lights of society. 

In the preparation for the organization o( the State, Gen. 
Robertson, though deeply engaged in military affiiirs, was 
urged to attend the meeting of the Assembly, at Knoxville, 
for consultation. Governor Blount wrote him : " The pub- 
lic interests and your own and my interests require that 
you and I and other public men should meet and consult to- 
gether. Come to Knoxville. I trust, sir, this infant coun- 
try, particularly the people of Mero District, of which you 
may be said to be the political father, will long retain a 
grateful sense of your services." These services had been, 
both civil and military, of a pre-eminent character, and 
having, by the Nickajack expedition, put an end to the 
Cherokee war, and resigned his commission on the 15th of 
August, 1795, he was again invited to the civil council to 
deliberate upon the important subject of organizing the 
State of Tennessee. Besides public business at this time 
of most absorbing moment crowding upon him,. that of a 
private nature was most astonishing. . A large amount of 
land-papers had been entrusted to him. He was called 
upon to have warrants located, lands surveyed, to give de- 
scriptions of lands, and answer thousands of questions pro- 
posed to him on subjects relating to the Indians and to 
settlements. 

Upon his appointment as Indian agent, in 1796, he 
found much business requiring his attention. The Indians 
were very desirous to have permission to hunt on the waters 
of the Cumberland and to trade with the whites. Some 
of the Clierokees applied to him for his sanction, which he 
gave. In the fall of that year Chilcoe and Gentleman Tom 
had their camps on the southwest side of Stone's River, 
about one mile from the white settlers, with whom they 
were on very friendly terras. But about a mile above, on 
the north side of the creek, two Indians were shot by white 
men, in violation of the treaty and the permission granted 
by Gen. Robertson. This high-handed outrage Robertson 
was not slow to punish. He seized two white men, sup- 
posing them to have been the perpetrators, but after keep- 
ing them tied a day and a night released them, as he.could 
find no proof of their guilt. Gen. Robertson and Judge 
IMcNairy ofi'ered a reward of seven hundred dollars to any 
one who would find out and take the guilty persons. Gen. 
Winchester also issued military orders for their arrest, but 
it does not appear that they were ever brought to justice. 

In 1798 the United States appointed commissioners to 
hold a treaty with the Cherokee Indians. The treaty was 
consummated ou the 20th of September of that year. The 
State of Tennessee saw the importance of having her in- 
terests well represented at this treaty, and to this end Gov- 
ernor Sevier appointed James Robertson, James Stuart, and 
Lachlau Mcintosh State agents. These men were chosen 
because they were the most competent men in the State 
upon the subject of Indian history and Indian treaties. It 



132 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



was felt that infurmation would need to be imparted to the 
coiuniissioucrs on the whole subject of the relation of the 
Cherukees to the soil of Tennessee, and the nature and 
extent of former treaties made with them. This was done 
in what has since been known as the " Great Argument" 
presented to the commissioners by Robertson and his asso- 
ciates, adocument to which we can only refer here. Copies 
of it are in the possession of the Tennessee Historical So- 
ciety, and it is also published in full in Putnam, pp. 550-58. 

This great argument led to the final extinguishment of 
the Indian claim to lands within the State, lleturn J. 
Meigs, who was appointed Indian agent in 1804, adopted 
the views set forth in the argument of Robertson, Stuart, 
and Blclntosh, and entered into correspondence with Rob- 
ertson. A strong combination was thus formed. A me- 
morial embodying these views was sent to Congress, and 
the policy was then initiated of giving the Indians lands 
on the west side of the Missi.^sippi in exchange for those 
tliey hunted upon on the east side. In March, 1805, Gen. 
Robertson was sent on a mission to the Chickasaw and 
Choctaw nations. Clothed with a commission and instruc- 
tions from the war department, this thoughtful public agent 
mounted his horse, accompanied by one servant and a paok- 
hoi'se, quit the comforts of home and the endearments of 
his family, and journeyed through tlie forests and cane- 
brakes, seeking the accomplishment of an object upon 
which his mind had been set for the twenty-five previous 
years, viz. : to secure the relinquishment of the Chickasaw 
claim to Middle Tennessee. He carried with him but few 
presents. In May he met Mr. Silas Dinsmnre, Indian 
agent, who had been directed by the government to asso- 
ciate with liim in this interview for a treaty. They met 
the chiefs and head-men of the Chicka.saws, and after a 
conference of several days, on tlie 23d of July, 1805, ob- 
tained of , them a quit-claim and total relinquishment of 
their title to all lands from the Ohio and mouth of the 
Tennessee, up the main channel of that river to the mouth 
of Duck River ; up Duck River on the left bank to the 
Columbian highway or road from Natchez to Nashville ; 
thence along said road to the dividing-ridge between Duck 
and Buffalo ; eastwardly along said ridge to the great ridge 
between the waters of the Tennessee and Buffalo, near the 
source of the Buffalo ; thenee in a direct line to the great 
Tennessee River, near the " Chickasaw Old Fields,'' or 
eastern part of tlie claim of the Chickasaws on that river; 
thence northwardly to and on the ridge dividing the waters 
of the Tennessee from those of the Cumberland, including 
the waters which run into Elk ; thence along the great 
ridge to the beginning ; reserving only one mile square on 
the Tennessee, at the mouth of Duck River, for Okoye, 
one of the chiefs. The consideration for this grant was 
twenty thousand dollars, mostly paid in goods. 

Col. Meigs and Gen. Daniel Smith concluded a treaty 
with the Creeks for their lands in Tennessee the same year. 
While Robertson was perfecting his treaty with the Chick- 
asaws, he knew that Meigs was employed for like results 
with the Cherokees. They had consulted and corresponded ; 
they harmonized in opinions; they sought the same end by 
the same means and arguments; and they were alike suc- 
cessful. They removed the pretense of right of the In- 



dians to the soil, and left them no excuse for disturbing the 
white settlements. 

Gen. Robertson having accomplished his work among the 
Chickasaws, proceeded to the Choctaw Nation ; and there 
he met with Silas Dinsmore, the United States agent. 
The result of their labors was the conclusion of a treaty 
with the Choctaws for a large cession of country on the 
Homochitto and other streams in the Mississippi Territory. 
This treaty was concluded on the 16th of November, 1805. 

Gen. Robertson returned to Nashville early in August. 
He had traveled, going and coming, probably eight hundred 
miles, besides exploring a considerable extent of country. 
During all of the year 1806 he had taken charge of two 
Chickasaw boys, whom he desired to have educated. He 
made application to the war department, and through the 
secretary and the President, in behalf of the lads. But 
the government, it appears, made no provision for them. 

The services of Gen. Robertson, which had hitherto been 
important to the government, became so in an eminent de- 
gree upon the breaking out of the war with Great Britain. 
Some of tlie Indians who were friendly to' the United States 
had met with others whose minds were unsettled. Good 
advice came from the friendly party. They said, " Gen. 
Robertson by visiting the agencies might exert a happy in- 
fluence. It was a good time to fix the wavering." Robert- 
son, therefore, met a number of the chiefs of the Chei'okees 
and Chickasaws in council at Itala,on the 15th of Septem- 
ber. One of the chiefs said, " My heart is straight, and 
I wish our father, the President, to know it. Our young 
warriors want to fight. Give us guns, and plenty of pow- 
der and lead. We fight your enemies ; we fight much ; 
we fight strong." Gen. Robertson approved of the sugges- 
tion to enlist and equip several companies of Choctaws, 
Chickasaws, and Cherokees, to be in the pay of the United 
States, well supplied with guns and epaulettes, who should 
act as rangers upon the borders to prevent intercourse be- 
tween the northern and southern Indians. On the 20th of 
October he wrote out his views upon this subject. 

During this year there was an earthquake which alarmed 
the Cherokees who had been removed beyond the Missis- 
sippi, and many of them came back. They came in 
haste — as fugitives — with terror depicted in their faces. 
They were not afraid of men ; they had met no warrior, 
white or red ; none of their friends had fallen in battle ; 
they had not suffered by pestilence or famine ; the game 
was much more abundant than they had ever seen it in 
their native country. " But," said they, " we deserted the 
bones of our chiefs, our warriors, our forefathers, and the 
Great Spirit is angry with us. The earth is ready to swal- 
low us up ; it trembles under our footsteps ; it heaves and 
labors to vomit us forth. We cannot remain there. We 
return to sit down, cover our heads, and weep by the graves 
of our ancestors." 

We quote the following letter from Gen. Robertson : 

'• CiiicKAS.WT Agency, Aug. 10, 1812. 

" Capt. John Davis, — I arrived at this place 23d of 
last month. I was sick the day I left your house, and the 
next day ; have been tolerably healthy since. 

" I am well pleased with my berth, and have had the 
greatest council that ever was in this nation. 



GEN. JAMES ROBERTSON. 



" The Cliickasaws profess to be as well pleased with me 
as I am witli them. There cannot be a people more deter- 
mined to observe peace with the- United States' than the 
Chickasaws. If the professions of the Creeks are sincere, 
there will be no danger with the southern Indians. 

" This nation is determined to put their law in force in 
the strictest manner, should horse-tliieves or murderers pass 
through this country. And the Choctaws have ordered all 
out of their nation. 

" You will see in TIte Clarion the letter from the Creeks 
to those people, and the proceedings of our council. 

" The death of the Choctaw, killed by the rangers, will 
cause much trouble, but will not be any great national 
crime. His brother has killed a Mr. Thomas Haley on the 
Mobile road (in retaliation). 

" I have invited the two Indians who lost their com- 
panion and property to accompany mo to iSfashville the 
last of September. 

" James Robertson." 

When Gen. Jackson at the head of his brave Tennes- 
seeans was gaining victories and wreathing laurels around 
his brow, Robertson was accomplishing the great work 
committed to his charge. He urged forward such organ- 
ization of the friendly Indians as were authorized by the 
war department. They maintained a vigilant police and 
made frequent reports to the agency. In a letter from 
Gen. Robertson to Capt. John Davis, dated Chickasaw 
Agency, March 9, 1813, he writes, "The Chickasaws are 
in a high strain for the war. They liave declared war 
against all passing Creeks who attempt to go through their 
nation." 

The services of Gen. Robertson during his agency in 
the years of the war with England are to be reckoned 
among the most valuable ones rendered by him in a series 
of forty years. In not one of these years did he omit the 
performance of many acts of disinterested patriotism. His 
influence over the Chickasaws was indeed almost sovereign, 
and it was well for them and for the American settlements 
near their border. 

The following extract from a letter written by Colbert, 
the Chickasaw chief, in reply to one of Gen. Robertson's, 
will show in what estimation he was held by the people of 
that nation : 

" My old Feiend and Father, — I am overjoyed 
with the word you send, that you are to be the guide of 
our nation, as you have been the life of this nation, and 
every chief of the Chickasaws, I make no doubt, will feel 
the same as I do. I hope everything will prove satisfactory 
in every council. When you go by my house I will take 
my horse and ride to the king's house and the agency with 

you." 

Chin-nubbe was the king of the Chickasaw Nation. He 
is the same person who, with Colbert, Okoye, and others, 
wrote to Gen. Robertson in 1805, that "when they sold 
land it must be by the acre, in the mode adopted by the 
United States." 

Early efforts were made to change the habits of the 
Chickasaws, Cherokees, and Choctaws. Implements of 
husbandry had been furnished them, and an intercourse 



and friendship established which was deemed advantageous 
to the white as well as to the red people ; but these efforts 
at civilization, like nearly all other attempts of the kind 
among American Indians, proved unsuccessful. They were 
destined to pass away before the advance of civilization 
rather than to become assimilated therewith. 

The material comforts at the agency appear not to have 
been of the best. Putnam says, " He wrote to his wife to 
send by Mr. Cohee some feathers and Bedclothes, and very 
fairly and kindly offered her, ' should she come that way, 
the very best chance for rest and sleep which the bed would 
afford, provided always that she should retain a part of the 
same.' And as a dutiful and devoted wife she accepted 
the offer or permission as though it had been a command. 
How strange that this aged couple, seventy-one and sixty- 
three years of age, respectively, should leave their hard- 
earned but now quiet home, their beautiful and comfortable 
residence near Nashville, to go again into the wilderness 
among savages and there patiently, yea, cheerfully, submit 
to all sorts of inconveniences and annoyances !" 

Before he departed the last time to the agency he said, 
" I know I am getting to be an old man ; I cannot delude 
myself with the idea that I am young, or with the hope 
that in this life my days, and being, will turn backwards 
and carry me from age through reversed stages down to 
childhood again. I may not do all the good I design. My 
heart is warm and full, though my limbs are not so very 
supple. As some of you have said, I may not live to return 
and settle down again quietly at home. Older men than I 
have found the post of duty away from their pleasant fire- 
sides, and where duty calls there is home." 

Gen. Robertson had been long subject to violent at- 
tacks of neuralgia. Ho had repeatedly said that his life 
would end in one of these attacks. He knew he could not 
survive many more such as he had recently endured. But 
he was calm and resigned, and " might as well," he said, 
" die there (in the Indian nation) as anywhere, if the will 
of God was so." On Thursday, the 1st day of September, 
1814, he breathed his last at the Chickasaw Agency. His 
wife was by his side. He died contented, resigned ; he 
died at his jjost. 

His remains were interred at the agency, where they 
rested till the year 1825, when they were removed to the 
cemetery at Nashville. A very large concourse of people 
assembled, and an eloquent eulogy was pronounced by 
Judge Haywood. A plain tomb covers the spot where 
rest the remains of this pioneer to the Cumberland, the 
founder of Nashville, and the " Father of Tennessee.'" 
\ By his side rest the remains of his wife. Their tombs 
bear the following simple inscription : 

GEN. JAMES ROBERTSON, ; 

The FouiNDiiii or Nashville, 

Was born in Virginia, 

28tU June, 1742. 

Died 

1st September, 1S14." 

CHARLOTTE R., 
Wife op James Robektson, 
Was born in North Carolina, 

2d January, 1751. 
Died 

11th June, ISIS." 



134 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



General and Mrs. Robertson had eleven children, seven 
sons and four daughters. Two sons were killed by the In- 
dians ; one daughter died at two years of age. 

His son, Felix Robertson, for many years an honored 
physician at Nashville, was born at the Bluff on the lltli 
of January, 1781, and was the first white child born in the 
settlement. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

COL. JOHN DONELSOKT. 

Importance of His Early Services in the Settlement — Nativity and 
Relations in Virginia — Kemoval to Kentucky — His Agency in lo- 
cating Lands — Treaty with the Indians — Location of Lands at tho 
Hermitage — Operations on the Tennessee — His Pacific and _Patri- 
olic Character — His Tragic Death. 

The arrival of Col. Donelson with the company -which 
came to the Cumberland by water in 1780 has been re- 
ferred to in our pioneer history, where his journal has been 
given of the most remarkable expedition in the history of 
Western settlements. After settling at Clover Bottom, on 
Stone's River, and planting a crop of corn, he was driven 
away by the extraordinary freshet of that summer, and 
found refuge with his family at Mansker's Station, whence 
in the autumn he removed to Davis' Station, near Ilar- 
rodsburg, Ky. A number of the earliest stationers on the 
Cumberland removed at the same time. AVhile residing 
there during the five succeeding years. Col. Donelson was 
much engaged in locating Virginia la«d-claims for himself 
and many Virginia acquaintances ; and it is stated that he 
entered large tracts of the rich and beautiful lands in the 
vicinity of Lexington. He was a practical surveyor of 
well-established reputation before he removed to this part 
of the country. Such was the estimation in which his in- 
tegrity and capacity were held in Virginia that he had 
been often called to the discharge of important trusts. He 
was at one time engaged in running the boundary-line be- 
tween Virginia and North Carolina, and was present at the 
treaty of Long Island, on the Holston, in April, 1777. 
The information which he there obtained with regard to 
the lands in the Great Bend of the Tennessee operated 
strongly in connection with other inducements and in- 
fluences to his expedition in the " Adventure" at the time 
of the first settlement. 

He was a native of Pittsylvania Co., Va., supposed to 
have been born in 1718. His father and grandfather had 
been engaged in shipping business from London, England. 
It is worthy of notice that several of the distinguished 
pioneers of Tennessee — Robertson, Sevier, Shelby, Bledsoe, 
Henderson, Cartwright, and Donelson — were born and edu- 
cated in the same section of country, and were personally 
acquainted and devoted friends. Prior to the Declaration 
of Independence, Col. Donelson had served as a member in 
the House of Burgesses, and it is believed that he was 
once or twice a member of the Assembly of Virginia sub- 
sequent to the Declaration. Jefl'erson and Henry were his 
personal friends; he held commissions under each of them 
to execute important trusts, such as the survej' of boundary- 



lines, the negotiation of treaties with the Indians, and the 
establishment of the authority of the State over distant 
territory. • In 1772 he was appointed to survey the State 
line west, to designate certain limits for the Indians, and 
to secure a route for emigration to Kentucky. He was 
the principal person among the first voyagers down the 
Tennessee River, the manager of that wonderful achieve- 
ment, and its journalist, his journal being elsewhere in this 
work published in full. He was of a devout turn of mind, 
and furnished repeated evidences of his recognition of a 
guiding Providence in all that concerned his life and in the 
aifairs of the world. 

In the spring of 1780, very soon after his arrival with 
the first settlers. Col. Donelson commenced his search 
through the forests and cane-brakes for land. He passed 
up the west branch of the Cumberland to the mouth of 
Stone's River, thence up that stream to the beautiful body 
of bottom-lands and rich uplands bordering upon it. In a 
number of open spots there was discovered a luxuriant 
growth of white clover, which place became known as the 
" Clover Bottom." Here he selected a beautiful eminence, 
which was about one hundred and fifty yards to the north- 
west of the bridge (built in later years) across Stone's 
River on the Lebanon Pike. He moved there with his 
family and servants and erected some shanties with open 
fronts, or " half-camps" as they were called. In one of 
these his daughter-in-law, the wife of Capt. John Donel- 
son, Jr., gave birth, on the 22d of June, 1780, to a son, 
whom they named Cliesed, the first white child born on the 
Cumberland or in Middle Tennessee. It is singular that 
this Hebrew name (which has the signification of " de- 
stroyei'") should have been chosen to the exclusion of any 
name belonging to the family or relatives. The motives in 
the mind of the parents we cannot conjecture. The child, 
however, did not survive infancy. As has been remarked, 
'• the great destroyer soon marked him as his victim." 

" The settlement was called ' Stone's River,' or ' Donel- 
son's Station,' as may be seen from the records of the pro- 
visional government of the 13th of May, 1780. It was 
entitled to one representative in the assembly of notables 
at the Bluff. 

" The name of Donelson is the fifth on the roll of noble 
pioneers who adopted the anomalous government of May 
1st, with the amendments and additions of May 13th. His 
name precedes that of Gasper Mansker, as Blansker's does 
that of John Caffrey, who came in the ' Adventure' with 
Col. Donelson. It is written ' Jno. Donelson, C Colonel 
Donelson always abbreviated his Christian name, whereas his 
son wrote his in full, — ' John Donelson.' " 

The overflowing of the Clover Bottom by a flood in 
July, 1780, the supposed destruction of his growing corn, 
and the danger of attacks from Indians were the causes 
which induced him to remove his family to Mausker's Sta- 
tion and thence to Kentucky, as we have related. Yet he 
tarried at Mausker's Station till the fall of the year, when 
it was ascertained that his corn, instead of having been 
destroyed by the flood, had sprung up and eared most 
astonishingly, and, strange to say, neither Indians nor wild 
beasts had injured much of it. In the autumn it was 
jrathered, an abundant harvest, and Col. Donelson gcner- 




A.J . DONELSON. 



COL. JOHN DONELSON. 



135 



oiisly divided it witli the people at the BluiT, or Nashville, 
who had lost much of their crops by inundations and 
other causes. An historian remarks, " Indeed, it may be 
said of these pioneers, as of the early Christians, ' They 
had all things common.' A generous hospitality and cheer- 
ful liberality characterized them all. . . . It is not fobulous 
nor an exaggeration to say that if there remained but one 
dried hvffalo-tovffue, or but one knife, they divided that 
tongue or broke that knife, making as equal a division as 
possible for each one's separate necessity." 

Col. Donelson had delayed his departure to Kentucky on 
account of the prospect of obtaining this .supply of corn. 
He now determined to carry into effect his previous pur- 
pose, and made immediate preparations for moving. Having 
packed his horse and given the best couveyanocs to the 
women and children, and the men being furnished with 
such utensils and weapons as were most needed and ser- 
viceable in their hands, the party set out for Davis' Station. 
They arrived there without interruption by the savages, or 
more toil and suffering than they had anticipated. 

The family of Capt. Rains was already there, or had 
arrived near the same time, as also others of the early Cum- 
berland settlers. Col. Henderson and his brother, Capt. 
Hart, and a number of others, had gone in advance of Col. 
Donelson. The destitution of corn and deficiency of powder 
and lead operated strongly upon the minds of many persons 
who departed in the summer and fall of 1780 and winter 
of 1780-81.'' A few removed their families to more secure 
positions, and then returned to stand by their friends in the 
stations at Easton's, the Bluff, and Freeland's. 

In 1783, Cols. Donelsoa and Martin received from the 
Governor of Virginia commissions to treat with the South- 
ern Indians, the Cherokees and Chickasaws. They sent 
runners into the several nations, calling them to send their 
delegates to the French Lick or Nashborough to hold the 
council. While waiting the arrival of the chiefs and head- 
men of the Indians, Col. Donelson visited his first planta- 
tion and examined the choice body of lands at and around 
the Hermitage:. Here he made enti'ies or locations of some 
of the best lands of Tennessee, and commenced the erec- 
tion of his block-house. The site of this new station was 
near a large spring a mile west of the Hermitage, being the 
site of the late residence of his grandson, William Donel- 
son, Esq. 

Objections were made by the settlers on the west side of 
the Cumberland to the treaty being held at Na.shborough ; 
a vote was taken, and the people on the east side, at Easton's 
Station, being in favor of it, the treaty was accordingly 
held at Nashville, in June, 1783. 

After the treaty Col. Donelson returned to Kentucky 
with the avowed intention of moving back to the Cumber- 
land as soon as he had adjusted some matters of importance 
in Kentucky and Virginia. In 1785 he visited Virginia to 
communicate with his fiiends about the many land-claims 
entrusted to his management. In view of his return to the 
Cumberland he had procured the planting of another crop 
of corn on one of his tracts near Stone's River. In the 
latter part of the year 1785 he was engaged as a commis- 
sioner, appointed by the Assembly of Georgia, in company 
with Cols. Harrod, Downs, and Sevier, and Mr. Lindsay, to 



organize a new county, by the name of Houston, in the bend 
of the Tennessee opposite the Mussel Shoals and the Indian 
town of Nickajaok. They opened a land-office there; Col. 
Donelson was appointed surveyor, and the issuing of land- 
warrants was authorized. These commissioners, with eighty 
or ninety men, descended the river to the point where it 
was intersected by the State line. They appointed military 
officers and justices of the peace, and elected Valentine 
Sevier, brother of Col. John Sevier, to represent them in 
the General Assembly of Georgia. The warrants were 
signed by John Donelson and John Sevier, and were dated 
21st December, 1785.'"' The commissioners and their party 
remained there but two or three weeks. The threats of 
violence and the preparation of the Indians to attack these 
land-hunters rendered it advisable for them to abandon the 
scheme for the time being, and return to the Nollaohucky 
land Holston. Princely estates were, however, ultimately 
realized out of the operation. A plat and deed for ten 
thousand acres, located at the mouth of the Blue Water, 
opposite Mussel Shoals, " to John Sevier, one of the Com- 
missioners of the Tennessee Land Company," may be seen 
in the State Historical Society's rooms. About the year 
1827 the Congress of the United States granted to the heirs 
of these commissioners five thousand acres each, to be 
selected from any vacant lands of the government in Ala- 
bama or Mississippi, in lieu of their ten thousand, and in 
full satisfaction for their services as such commissioners, 
surveyors, and explorers. A time was limited within which 
these lands were to be located. All but the Donelson heirs 
made their selections within the specified time ; so that the 
perils and labors of Col. Donelson remained without com- 
pensation, and his long-cherished plan and hope of acqui- 
sition there were frustrated. 

Col. Donelson had owned extensive iron-works in Pitt- 
sylvania Co., Va., which he sold to Col. Calloway. These 
works had been established as a practical result of a deter- 
mination on the part of the colonists before the Revolution 
to place American industries upon a footing more inde- 
pendent of the jealous and restrictive policy of Great 
Britain. An address on this subject had been signed by 
Washington, Jefferson, Hehry, Lee, Randolph, Donelson, 
and others at the time when Donelson was associated with 
these great Virginians in the House of Burgesses. It has 
been lemarked by a discriminating writer that " here was 
another of those links in the golden chain which bound him 
to the patriots of Virginia. Here was infused through the 
great depth of his soul sentiments which gave a right direc- 
tion to all his subsequent life, and made him ever ready to 
' pledge his word of truth and honor that whatever Wash- 
ington and his associates advocated and did was the wisest 
and best under the circumstances.' He never could doubt 
this. He was exceedingly anxious that other'persons should 
entertain the like implicit confidence. And we verily be- 
lieve that the strong fiiith he had and the earnestness with 
which he delivered his sentiments for the Father of our 
Country, and the like precious faith cherished by Gens. 
Sevier, Robertson, Smith, and other leading spirits in Ten- 
nessee, had a most happy and conservative influence over 



« History of Middle Tennessee, p. 034. 



136 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



all the population of Tennessee, and that there were men 
of eminent talents actuated by the same spirit who staj-ed 
or hushed the storm of discontent in Kentucky." 

Who knows to what extent this all-controlling spirit of 
reverence and fealty to the fathers of the Revolution 
thwarted the Spanish schemes for the dismemberment of 
the Western colonies from the republic ? 

It is stated in Filson's and in Butler's histories of Ken- 
tucky that " Col. Donelson, in behalf of Virginia, nego- 
tiated a treaty with the Five Nations for the country be- 
tween the Kentucky and the Great Kanawha, the considera- 
tion of which was five hundred pounds sterling." As no 
mention of this is found among the colonial records, or in 
any book of Indian treaties, it was probably one of those 
personal or unauthorized transactions, like Henderson's 
treaty of 1775 and that at Nashville in 1783, which, 
though never recognized as valid by the government, were 
nevertheless entitled to some consideration on account of 
the peril and sacrifice of those who negotiated them and 
the interests of those who had settled upon the lands. 

Col. Donelson's last letter, written -during his trip to Vir- 
ginia, is in the possession of the Tennessee Historical So- 
ciety, and is as follows ; 

"CvMi-nELi, Co., Va., Jtb Sejitcmbcr, 1TS5. 

" De.vr Joiiny, — I have the happiness to inform you 
that I am in health at present, with the most sanguine 
hopes that by the first opportunity I .sliall be made happy 
by hearing of the health, happiness, etc., of yourself and 
our dearest connections. 

" I lately saw Capt. Ewing, who told me that several war- 
rants from the military department were sent out to your 
care to locate on the usual terms ; I think he said to the 
amount of ten thousand acres. 

" I wish amongst those warrants you could spare me one 
small warrant to secure the vacancy against my lands on 
the south side of the Cumberland. 

" I have had some conversation with Stockley Donelson 
concerning our locations with Col. Blount. He says that 
he has reason to trust the warrants for those lands have 
issued, and that we need not fear the consequences thereof. 

" However, I shall start to-morrow morning over to Caro- 
lina in order to be satisfied in that business. I purpose re- 
turning to Piichmond from Carolina in order to see if it is 
in my power to get some goods for our family's use, and to 
return to you and my family as soon as possible. 

" If you should find it convenient to remove to Cumber- 
land befort! my return, if my family can remove at the same 
time, I shall have no objection. 

'•I shall have some debts to settle in Kentucky in my 
way out. ... I hope to be at home next month. . . . 

" I entreat you to take particular care so to provide that 
no waste may be made in my corn at Cumberland. A plen- 
tiful stock of provisions is the main chance. Give every 
■ assurance to your dear mamma that I shall use every en- 
deavor for her happiness, and for every branch of the family. 

" Your mamma's ease and happiness in every comfort of 
life, your and your brothers' and sisters' well-being and hap- 
piness, and more, if I could say more, is the constant peti- 
tion and most ardent desire of your most affectionate father, 

" John Donelson." 



During the interval between this letter and the events 
which are to follow, the families of Col. Donelson and his 
son had returned to the Cumberland, and were again iden- 
tified with the stationers there. The Indian wars were not 
ended ; perilous times continued, and they came once more 
to experience the perils and suffering of which the pioneers 
knew little abatement during the first decade of their set- 
tlement. This territory has been called significantly the 
" great slaughter-pen of the pioneers." 

Col. Donelson had forwarded his last letter by private 
messenger, and was soon after on his way to Kentucky. 
" He pursued the usual route by the Gap, and on to Davis' 
Station. There he learned that his family had removed to 
Mansker's. Delaying only a few days to settle some busi- 
ness, he renewed his journey on horseback to rejoin his 
family. Two young men joined him and proposed to travel 
in company, having in view, as they said, a settlement at 
Nashville. These young men arrived safely, and gave the 
following statement : 

" They had traveled together until in the heat of the day, 
when they stopped to take a drink from a spring. Col. Don- 
elson rode on, saying he was anxious to reach home. He 
had not gone far, and but a few moments, when they heard 
several guns fired. Their impression was that his sons had 
met him and fired a feu dcjuie. 

" After some further delay they resumed their journey, 
and finally overtook him, when they found him dangerously 
wounded and in great agony. He was, however, proceeding 
on his journey. He had been wounded by a ball, which 
passed across the abdomen in such a manner as to cause a 
ghastly wound. They continued in company. In their 
opinion ho had been wounded by Indians, but they said not 
what was Col. Donelson's opinion. 

" They encamped on the bank of Barren River that night, 
and there Col. Donelson expired. In the morning they 
buried his body as best they could ; then, taking his horse, 
saddle, and saddle-bags, they crossed the river; but in cross- 
ing, the saddle-bags were washed off the saddle and floated 
down the river and were lost. 

" Such was their statement. He had many valuable 
papers belonging to himself and friends, and it was supposed 
he had some money. 

" Suspicion rested strongly for some time on these young 
men, but no proof of guilt being found, they were released 
and cleared of the charge. The sons of Col. Donelson, 
taking one of the young men with them, returned to Bar- 
ren River in search of the body and the saddle-bags. The 
body was found in a position to verify their statement, and 
the saddle-bags were recovered, with some papers, but so 
damaged as to be of very small value." 

Such is the mystery in which the end of Col. Donelson 
is shrouded. He was eminently a man of peace, having 
no record in connection with any of the Indian wars of his 
time. He is known to have traveled over vast extents of 
wilderness country from the Tennessee to the James River, 
in times, too, of Indian hostility, without carrying so much 
as a weapon for personal defense. He was a man whose 
policy of colonization was perhaps on a more extended and 
comprehensive scale than that of any of his contemporaries. 




s^< '&t> 



,lyLJL.M- 



GEN. ANDREW JACKSON. 



137 



The importance he attached to the fortilication and perma- 
nent occupancy of the Great Bend of the Tennessee River 
by the whites, as the best method of com rolling the Indians 
and preserving the peace of the settlements, was fully recog- 
nized long after his death in the establishment of a fort there 
by the government. Had he lived to carry out his plans, he 
■would undoubtedly have filled a very large and conspicuous 
place in the history of Middle Tennessee. His descendants 
and connections for nearly three-fourths of a century in the 
South and Southwest have been extensive and influential 
both in civil and military affairs. The sons and grandsons 
and great-grandsons of Col. Donelson have preserved the 
name with much credit in our local history. His sons-in- 
law were Col. Thomas Hutchings, Capt. John Caffery, Col. 
Robert Hays, and Gen. Andrew Jackson. 

Col. Donelson had a family of thirteen children, whose 
numerous aud influential descendants are scattered over the 
South and Southwest. Maj. Martin, whose mother was a 
Donelson, and who also married one of that family, has a 
fiimily-tree embracing sis generations from Col. John Don- 
elson. The following has been furnished us by Maj. Mar- 
tin, who vouches for its correctness : 

Children of Col. John Donelson and his wife, Rachel 
Stockly : 

1. Alexander (never married). cA. ■l'^>i 

2. Mary, married Capt. John Ciiff'T, and left a large 
family, of whom are Donelson and Jefferson Caffry, of 
Louisiana. 

3. Catherine, married Col. Thomas Hutching, and left a 
large family. 

4. Stockly, married Mrs. Elizabeth Martin. Left no 
issue. 

5. Jane, married Col. Robert Hays, and left a large 
family, of whom are Stockly D. and Samuel J. Hays, Mrs. 
Gen. Butler, of Florida, Mrs. Dr. Butler and Mrs. Chester, 
of Jackson, Tenn. 

6. John, married Mary Purnell, of Snow Hill, Md. 

7. William, married Charity Dickerson, and had a large 
family, of whom are I. D. Donelson, of Mississippi, the 
late A. J. Donelson, of Louisiana, Mrs. Robert A. and 
Robert M. Barton, of Tennessee, and others. 

8. Samuel, married Mary Smith, and had John, A. J., 
and Gen. D. S. Donelson. 

9. Severn, married Elizabeth Rucker, and had A. J., 
Thomas, John, Samuel, and Alexander. 

10. Rachel, married, first, Robards, and second. Gen. 
Andrew Jackson. 

11. Leven Donelson (never married). 

John Donelson, Jr., born April 7, 1755, and Mary Pur- 
nell, married Aug. 26, 1779, had children : 

1. Chesed, born June 17, 1780, died in infancy. 

2. Tabilha, born July 17, 1781, married George Smith. 

3. Alexander, born 11 , 1784, killed at Emuckfaw. 

4. John, born April 23, 1787, married Eliza Butler. 

5. Lemuel, born Sept. 6, 178;i, married Elizabeth 
Whyte. 

6. Rachel, born July 10, 1791, married William Eastin. 

7. Mary, born June 13, 1793, married Gen. John Coffee. 

8. William, born May 17, 1795, married Rachel Don- 
elson. 

18 



9. Elizabeth, born Nov. 21, 179(5, married John C. 
McLomore. 

10. Catherine, born July 13, 1799, married J. G. Martin. 

11. Chesed P., born July 8, 1801, died in infancy. 

12. Stockly, born Aug. 31, 1805, married Phila H. 
Lawrence. 

13. PJmily, born June 1, 1807, married Maj. A. J. 
Donelson. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

GEBT. AWDKE'W JACKSON. 

His Scotch-Irish Ancestors — Birthpl.acc — Experience in the Revo- 
lution — Study of Law — Arriv.al at Nashville as District Attorney 
— Appointment to the Bench of the Superior Court — Difficulty 
with Governor Sevier — Racy Correspondence — Duel with Dickin- 
son — Admonitory Letters from Friends. 

Gen. Jackson's life belongs to our national history, yet, 
in a restricted sense, it is a part, and a very important part, 
of the history of Davidson County. His home was here 
from early manhood ; from this county emanated those mili- 
tary campaigns which were supported with such singukrr 
unanimity by his countrymen, his friends, and his neigh- 
bors, many of whom won with him imperishable glory on 
the battle-fields of the Soutli and at New Orleans ; here the 
light of his military genius first shone, which afterwards 
burst out and spread over the world ; here was the centre 
of that marvelous personal devotion and enthusiasm for his 
character and services which became national, and which 
exalted him into a career of civil trdmiuistration the success 
and glory of which transcended even his brilliant military 
achievements ; here, at Nashville and in Tennessee, he 
founded a new political dynasty, which rose rapidly into 
ascendancy, and for many years controlled the politics of 
the nation ; here, after his great services had been rendered 
to his country, he retired to spend his declining years in 
the beautiful and quiet retreat of the Hermitage, where 
his venerated dust now reposes, with that of his beloved 
wife and adopted kindred, under the guardianship of the 
State, which is honored no less in keeping the sacred de- 
pository than in the name and reputation of a citizen so 
distinguislied. 

Andrew Jackson was of humble birth, but in his veins 
flowed the blood of a long line of ancestors noted for their 
independence, their personal energy and courage, their rest- 
lessness under political and ecclesiastical restraint, and their 
great sincerity and earnestness in their convictions. " The 
Scotch-Irish," says Parton, ''are a tough, vehement, good- 
hearted race, who have preserved in good measure the 
Scotch virtues of honesty, prudence, and perseverance, but 
exhibit the showing traits of the Irish, subdued and dimin- 
ished, — a plain, simple, and pure people, formed to grapple 
with practical affairs, in dealing with which they often dis- 
play an impetuosity which is Irish, and a persistence which 
is Scotch. They have not the taste or gift for art, of which 
no Irishman of pure blood seems to be quite destitute. . . . 
Their genius shines in other pursuits. They possess a 
sturdiness of understanding, and sometimes a certain quick 
and piercing intelligence, which throws a Drummond glare 



138 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



upon a limited space, thougli it leaves the general scone in 
darkness. 

" One trait in the character of these people demands the 
particular attention of the reader. It is their nature to 
contend for what they think is right with peculiar earnest- 
ness. Some of them, too, have a knack of extracting from 
every affair in which they may engage, and from every 
relation in life which they form, the largest amount of con- 
tention which it can be made to yield. Hot water would 
seem to be the natural element of some of them, for they 
are always in it. It appears to be more difficult for a 
North-of-Irelander than for other men to allow an honest 
difference of opinion in an opponent, so that he is apt to 
regard the terms oj)ponent and enemy as synonymous. 
Hence in the political and sectarian contests of the present 
day he occasionally exhibits a narrowness, if not a ferocity 
of spirit, such as his forefathers manifested in the old wars 
of the clans and the borders, or in the later strifes between 
Catholic and Protestant. But these very people, apart 
from their strifes, are singularly tender in their feelings, 
liberal in their gifts, generous in their hospitality, and easy 
to be entreated. On great questions, too, which lift the 
mind above sectarian trivialities, they will, as a people, be 
invariably found on the anti-diabolic side ; equally strenu- 
ous lor liberty and for law against ' mobs and monarchs, 
lords and levelers,' as one of their stump orators expressed 
it. The name which Bulwer bestows upon one of his 
characters, Sttck-to-iiglds, describes every genuine son of 
Ulster. . . . 

" It is to be observed also of these remarkable people 
that the two races whose good and less good qualities they 
share are blended in different proportions in every indi- 
vidual. Some are Scotch-Irish and others are Irish-Scotch. 
Some come to their Scotch traits only after sowing a plenti- 
ful crop of the most Irish wild-oats. Some are canny 
Scots in repose and wildly Irish in contention. Some, at 
times of keen excitement, exhibit in a surprising manner 
an Irish dash and daring, controlled by Scottish wariness. 
And some will imbibe an opinion or a prejudice with Irish 
readiness, and then cling to it with Scotch tenacity. 

" It could not but be that a race so bold and enterprising 
should have contributed its proportion to the tide of emi- 
gration which has peopled America. Transferred to the 
wider sphere afforded on this continent, the North-of-Ire- 
landers have, upon the whole, done great honor to their 
blood and instincts, their love of liberty and regard for the 
right. Such of them as have attained distinction here 
have done so not so much by originality of thought or 
project as by originality of career. There is an abounding 
energy in these men which enables them to do ordinary 
things in an extraordinary and memorable manner, exhibit- 
ing a rare union of enterprise, perseverance, and prudence. 
In most of them there is a touch of eccentricity. 

" Among the men of North-of-Irelimd stock whose names 
are familiar to the people of the United States, the following 
may serve to illustrate some of the foregoing remarks : 
John Stark, Robert Fulton, John C. Calhoun, Sam Hous- 
ton, David Crockett, Hugh L. White, James K. Polk, 
Patrick Bronte, Horace Greeley, Robert Bonner, A. T. 
Stewart, Andrew Jackson." 



The ancestors of Gen. Jackson resided at Carrickfergus 
(Crag of Fergus), on the northern coast of Ireland, nine 
miles from Belfiist. His grandfather, Hugh Jackson, was 
a linen-draper, residing in Carrickfergus, and suffered in 
the siege of that town in 1660. He had four .sons, all of 
whom were settled in the vicinity as farmers. The youngest 
of these was Andrew, the father of Gen. Jackson. Whether 
he was a member of the " Patriot Club" at Carrickfergus 
or not we do not know, but such an organization existed 
there as early as 1756, and shows the spirit of the people 
among whom he resided. In the " plan of association" of 
this club, it was declared that they were " ready to defend 
the king and constitution, and to oppose all measures tend- 
ing to infringe the sacred rights of the people." Andrew 
Jackson the elder married Elizabeth Hutchinson, a poor 
man's daughter ; she was a sister of Blrs. George McCamie 
and of Mrs. James Crawford, with whom Mrs. Jackson lived 
with her children after the death of her husband in North 
Carolina. The Crawfords — James, Robert, and Joseph — 
came with them to America in 1765. The father of Gen. 
Jackson at that time had two sons, — Hugh and Robert. 
They landed at Charleston, whence Andrew Jackson, with 
his wife and sons, went immediately to a new place on 
Twelve-Mile Creek in Mecklenburg (since Union) Co.,. 
N. C, where he commenced clearing land and erected a log 
house. In less than two years he sickened and died, and 
his widow, with her two sons, went to live with her brother- 
in-law, George McCamie, not far distant. It was in this 
house that Andrew Jackson was born on the 15th of March, 
1767. It is described as a small log house, less than a 
quarter of a mile from the South Carolina boundary. They 
did not remain long here, but went to live with the other 
brother-in-law, James Crawford, in the Lancaster District 
in South Carolina. This was probably what made Gen. 
Jackson suppose that he was born in South Carolina, as he 
evidently did when, in issuing his proclamation to the nulli- 
fiers, he addressed them as " Fellow-citizens of my mitiue 
State !" 

In Partou's " Life of Jackson" are some interesting remi- 
niscences of his boyhood, which we are obliged to pass 
over with the briefest notice. He was a rollicking, fun- 
loving, brave, resolute, chivalrous, and somewhat belligerent 
boy, extremely fond of athletic sports, especially wrestling, 
although quite slender and posses.sed of more energy than 
physical strength. One of his schoolmates used to say, " I 
could throw him three times out of four, but he would 
never stay throwed. He was dead game even then, and 
never would give up." 

He was sent first to an " old field-school," one of those 
institutions peculiar to the country, in which school was 
kept by an itinerant schoolmaster in a log house upon a 
worn-out plantation which had grown up with pine-trees. 
His mother cherished the hope that he might some day 
become a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church, and so 
used her exertions to secure him the advantages of better 
schools. The first school of this kind which he attended 
was an academy in the Waxhaw settlement, where his 
mother resided, of which one Dr. Humphreys was master. 
There is a strong tradition that he also subsequently at- 
tended a school in Charlotte, N. C, quite noted in that 





1>^ 



^-Z.Ci^l^C^o' c:>^ c/^ 



t.J (P-'-^ 



Cg;y:,jh!.dJll(S.E.ETh.>c,-S-C..B«v 



GEN. ANDREW JACKSON. 



139 



day as " Queen's College," and this appears to be confii-med 
by a remark of Gen. Jackson, made to the delegates from 
Cliarlotte at the -time he was President at Washington. 
It has been claimed that Jackson also attended the famous 
school of Dr. Waddell, one of whose pupils was John C. 
Calhoun. " I was inclined to believe this," says Mr. Par- 
ton, " until I discovered that Dr. Waddell did not open 1iis 
academy until after Jackson had left school forever." The 
same author says, " He learned to read, write, and cast ac- 
counts, — little more." If he began, as he may have done, 
to learn by heart, in the old-fashioned way, the Latin gram- 
mar, he never acquired enough of it to leave any traces of 
classical knowledge in his luind or his writings. In some 
of his later letters there may be found, it is true, an occa- 
sional Latin phrase of two or three words, but so quoted as 
to show ignorance rather than knowledge. He was never a 
well-informed man. He never was addicted to books. He 
never learned to write the English language correctly, though 
he often wrote it eloquently and convincingly. He never 
learned to spell correctly, though he was a better sp.^ller 
than Frederic II., Marlborough, Napoleon, or Washington. 
Few men of his day, and no women, were correct spellers. 
Indeed, we may say that all the most illustrious men have 
been bad spellers except those who could not spell at all. . . . 
His mistakes, however, during the last forty j'ears of his 
life did not average more than five to a page. His style, 
when he wrote at leisure and for purposes merely formal, 
was that of a person upaccustomed to composition. Awk- 
ward repetitions occur, and mistakes in grammar as well as 
in spelling. But when his feelings were excited he could 
pour a flood of veliement eloquence upon paper, and with 
such rapidity that his manuscript would be wet two or 
three pages behind. But even this required correction. 
Not one public paper of any description signed " Andrew 
Jackson" ever reached the public eye exactly as Jackson 
wrote it. Often he would write a letter or a dispatch, have 
it copied by a secretary, and then rewrite it himself. 
Some of his most famous passages — those which are sup- 
posed to be peculiarly Jacksonian — he never so much as 
suggested a word of, nor saw till they were written, nor 
required the alteration of a syllable before they were dis- 
patched. It is, nevertheless, a fact that he was more truly 
the aulJior of his public writings than almost any other of 
our public men have been of the documents tvkich bear their 
names. His secretaries wrote with his fiery mind, though 
with their own practiced hands, and wrote with more 
nerve and warmth when writing for him than they ever 
could for themselves. . . . The secret was that Jackson 
supplied the COURAGE, a prime ingredient of powerful 
composition. " I take the responsibility," he would say on 
all occasions when a subordinate faltered. 

The schools, then, contributed little to the equipment of 
this eager boy for the battle of life. He derived much from 
the honest and pure people among whom he was brought 
up. Their instinct of honesty was strong in him always. 
He imbibed a reverence for the character of woman, and a 
love of purity, which, amid all bis wild ways, kept him 
stainless. In this particular, we believe, he was without 
reproach from youth to old age. He deeply loved his 
mother, and held her memory sacred to the end of life. 



He used often to speak of the courage she displayed when 
left without a protector in the wilderness, and would some- 
times clinch a remark or an argument by saying, " That I 
learned from my good old mother." He once said, in 
speaking of his mother, "One of the last injunctions given 
me by her was never to institute a suit for assault and 
battery or for defamation ; never to wound the feelings of 
others, nor sufl"er my own to be outraged ; these were her 
words to me ; I remember them well, and have never failed 
to respect them ; my settled course through life has been to 
bear them in mind, and never to Insult or wantonly to as- 
sail the feelings of any one ; and yet many conceive me to 
be a most ferocious animal, insensible to moral duty, and 
regardless of the laws both of God and man." 

AVheu the Revolution had reached that part of South 
Carolina where young Jackson resided, he was a youth of 
thirteen years of age. Robert was too young to be a sol- 
dier, but his oldest brother, Hugh, had two years before 
joined the army under Col. Davie, had fought at the battle 
of Stono, and died after the action from heat and fatigue. 
After the terrible havoc of the 29th of May, 1780, by 
Tarleton's dragoons in the Waxhaw settlement, Robert and 
Andrew assisted their mother in taking care of the wounded 
in the old wooden church of the neighborhood. Upon the 
great disaster of the war in the South, the defeat of Gen. 
Gates, Aug. 16, 1780, the boys and their mother abandoned 
their home for a safer retreat north of the scene of war. 

A vivid picture is given by Parton, from the memory of 
Mrs. Susan Smart, of Charlotte, of the appearance of young 
Andrew as he made his way northward on that memorable 
occasion : 

" Time, — late in the afternoon of a hot, dusty September 
day in 1780. Place, — the high-road, five miles below 
Charlotte, where Mrs. Smart then lived, a saucy girl of 
fourteen, at the house of her parents. The news of Gates' 
defeat had flown, over the country, but every one was gasp- 
ing for details, especially those who had fathers and brothers 
in the patriot army. The father and brother of Mrs. 
Smart were in that army, and the family, as yet, knowing 
nothing of their fate, — a condition of suspense to which 
the women of the Carolinas were well used during the 
Revolutionary war. It was the business of Susan, during 
those days, to take post at one of the windows, and there 
watch for travelers coming from the south, and, upon 
spying one, to fly out upon him and ask him for news from 
the army, and of the corps to which her father and brother 
were attached. Thus posted, she descried, on the afternoon 
to which we have referred, riding rapidly on a ' grass 
pony' (one of the ponies of the South Carolina swamps, 
rough, Shetlandish, wild), a tall, slender, 'gangling fellow;' 
legs long enough to meet under the pony almost; damaged 
wide-brimmed hat flapping down over his face, which was 
yellow and worn ; the figure covered with dust; tired-look- 
ins;, as though the youth had ridden till he could scarcely 
sit on his pony, — the forlornest apparition that ever revealed 
itself to the eyes of Mrs. Susan Smart during the whole of 
her long life. She ran out to the road and hailed him. 
He reined in his pony, when the following brief conversa- 
tion ensued between them ; 

" She. — Where are you from ? 



140 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUxNTY, TENNESSEE. 



" ^e.^From below. 

" She. — Where are you going? 

" JTe. — Above. 

"^S/ie.— AVhoareyoufor? 

" 5"e.— The Congress. 

" She. — What are you doing below ? 

" -Se. — Oh, we are popping them still. 

" She (to herself). — It is mighty poor popping such as 
you will do, anyhow. (Aloud.) What's your name? 

" He. — Andrew Jackson. 

"She asked him respecting her father's regiment, and 
he gave her what information he possessed. He then gal- 
loped away towards Charlotte, and Susan returned to her 
house to tell her news and ridicule the figure he had cut, — 
the gangling fellow on the grass pony. Years after she 
used to laugh as she told the story ; and later, when the 
most thrilling news of the time used to come to Charlotte 
associated with the name of Andrew Jackson, still she 
would bring out her little tale, until at last, she made it 
get votes for him for the Presidency." 

At the time Jackson appeared on the " grass pony" he 
was going to Mrs. Wilson's, a relative, who lived a few 
miles above Charlotte. He stayed there and did chores for 
his board a few weeks, his mother and Robert being either 
there or at some other house in the neighborhood. In Feb- 
ruary, 1781, Blrs. Jackson and her sons and many of the 
neighbors returned to the ravaged homes at Washaw. 
The desultory war between Whigs and Tories was soon re- 
newed in that section. Robert and Andrew were taken 
prisoners at the house of their cousin, Lieut. Thomas Craw- 
ford, who lay ill from a wound received the day before from 
a party of dragoons. Before the family had suspicion of 
danger, the house was surrounded and the doors secured. 
Regardless of the fact that the house was occupied by the 
defenseless wife and young children of a wounded soldier, 
the dragoons, brutalized by mean partisan warfare, began to 
destroy with wild riot and noise the contents of the house. 
Crockery, gkss, and furniture were dashed to pieces, beds 
emptied, the clothing of the family torn to rags, even the 
clothes of the infant, which Mrs. Crawford carried in her 
arms, were not spared. While this destruction was going 
on, the officer in command of the party ordered Andrew to 
clean his high jack-boots, which were well splashed and 
crusted with mud. The reply which the boy made was 
worthy of a prince : " Sir, I am a prisoner of war, and 
claim to be treated as such." 

The fate of the brotliers was next to suffer as prisoners 
at Camden. The wounded Lieut. Crawford, the Jacksons, 
and some two hundred and fifty other prisoners, were con- 
fined in a contracted inclosure around the Camden jail; no 
beds of any description, no medical attendance, nor means 
of dressing their wounds; their only food a scanty supply 
of bad bread. They were even robbed of part of their 
clothing. The three relatives were separated as soon as 
their relationship was discovered. Miserable among the 
miserable, gaunt, yellow, hungry, and sick, robbed of his 
jacket and socks, ignorant of his brother's fate, chafing with 
suppressed fury, — Andrew passed now some of the most 
wretched days of his life. Ere long the smallpox broke 
out among the prisoners, and raged unchecked by medicine. 



Thus they remained, the sick, the dying, and the dead to- 
gether. Andrew for some time escaped the contagion. 
While in this prison-camp he took his first lesson in recon- 
noitring an army on the field of battle. Gen. Greene, 
having arrived with a force superior to that of Lord Raw- 
don's, which occupied Camden, encamped on a slight emi- 
nence in front of the jail-yard, which was only hidden 
from full view of the prisoners by a high board-fence which 
surrounded the inclosure. All tiie prisoners were overjoyed 
with the prospect of being speedily released from their suf- 
ferings, as the news of Gen. Greene's arrival spread among 
them. Andrew looked for a crevice in the board-fence, 
through which he might feast his longing eyes on the camp 
of the soldiers, but he could find none. In the course of 
the night, however, he managed, with the aid of an old 
razor-blade, which had been generously bestowed upon the 
prisoners as a meat-knife, to hack out a knot from the fence. 
The morning light found him spying out the American 
position with eager eye. What he saw that morning 
through the knot-hole of his prison was his second lesson 
in the art of war. An impressive lesson it proved, and one 
he never forgot. There was the American encampment 
spread out in full view before him at the distance of a mile. 
Gen. Greene, being well assured of Rawdon's weakness, and 
anticipating nothing so little as an attack from a man whom 
he supposed to be trembling for his own safety, neglected 
precautions against surprise. At ten in the morning, when 
Rawdon led out his nine hundred men to the attack, An- 
drew, mad with vexation, saw Greene's men scattered over 
the hill, cleaning their arms, washing their clothes, and 
playing games, totally unprepared to resist. Rawdon, by 
taking a circuitous route, was enabled to break upon 
Greene's left with all the effect of a surprise. From his 
knot-hole the excited youth saw the sudden smoke of mus- 
ketry, the rush of the Americans for their arms, the hasty 
faliing-in, the opening of Greene's fire, the fine dash of 
American horse upon Rawdon's rear, the wild flight of 
horses running riderless about the Iiill, the fire slackening, 
and, alas! receding, till Rawdon's army swept over the hill 
and vanished on the other side, Greene in full retreat before 
him. Tiie prisoners were in despair. Andrew's spirits 
sank under this accumulation of miseries, and he began to 
sicken with the first symptoms of the smallpox. Robert 
was in a condition stilU worse. The wound in his head 
had never been dressed, and had not healed. He, too, re- 
duced as he was, began to shiver and burn with the fever 
that announces the dread disease. Another week of prison- 
life would have probably consigned both boys to the grave. 
But they had a friend outside, — their mother, who at 
this crisis of their fate strove with the might of love for 
their deliverance. Learning of their forlorn condition, 
this heroic woman went to Camden and succeeded, after a 
time, in effecting an exchange of prisoners between a Wax- 
haw captain and a British general. The Whig captain gave 
up thirteen soldiers, whom he had captured in the rear of 
the British army, and received in return the two sons of Mrs. 
Jackson and five of her neighbors." Through forty miles 
of lonely wilderness the little company made their way 
home, Robert Jackson being supported on a horse by one 
of the exchanged prisoners, and Andrew, bare-headed, bare- 



GEN. ANDREW JACKSON. 



141 



footed, and without a jacket, the fever of the smallpox 
rasi'ing in his veins, dragged himself wearily along on foot. 
Part of their journey was through a cold, drizzling rain, 
-which aggravated the disease. In two days after they 
reached home Robert was a corpse, and Andrew was raving 
in delirium. He remained an invalid for several months. 
Andrew was no sooner out of danger than his brave mother 
resolved to go to Charleston to minister to the sufferings of 
her sister's sons, who were prisoners on the loathsome prison- 
ships in that harbor. She made the journey, one hundred 
and sixty miles, probably on hor.sebaok, with two or three 
other women bound on a like mission, ministered to the 
prisoners, and was seized with the ship fever, of which she 
died shortly after at the house of a relative, William Bar- 
ton, a few miles out of Charleston. 

We have thus traced the thread of events to the most 
sad and lonely period in the life of our hero, — a period 
when all of the family but himself had fallen, and left him 
alone in the world, doubly bereaved in the loss of his 
mother and his brothers. " It was not in the nature of 
Jackson not to mourn deeply for such a mother, and as ho 
lay recovering by slow degrees from his illness, he had 
leisure to dwell upon her virtues and his own unhappiaess. 
It was always a grief to him that he did not know where 
her remains were laid. As late in life as during his Presi- 
dency he set on foot some inquiries respecting the place of 
her burial, with the design of having her sacred dust re- 
moved to the old church-yard at Waxhaw, where he wished 
to erect a monument to both his parents. It was too late. 
No exact information could be obtained, and the project 
was given up. No stone marks the burial-place either 
of his father, mother, or brothers." 

We must sum up rapidly some of the events of his life. 
He read law in Salisbury, N. C, in the office of Judge 
Spruce McCay during the years 1785 and 1786. Forty- 
five years after this period, when some one from Salisbury 
reminded him of his residence in that town, he said, with 
a smile and a look of retrospection on his aged face, '• Yes, 
I lived at old Salisbury. I was but a raw lad then, but 
I did my best." 

The advent of Gen. Jackson to Tennessee occurred in 
the year 1788, immediately after the settlement of the 
difficulties between North Carolina and her western coun- 
ties growing out of the formation of the . independent 
" State of Franklin." John McNairy, a friend of Jack- 
son's and former associate with him in the study of law, 
was appointed judge of the Superior Court for the western 
district. Jackson was invested with the office of prosecu- 
ting attorney for the same district. This office was not in 
request nor desirable in the then new state of the country, 
but Jackson accepted it because he' had determined to seek 
his fortune in his profession in the new country, about which 
such glowing accounts were rife in the Carolinas. Thomas 
Searcy, another of Jackson's friends, was appointed clerk 
of the court. Three or four more of his young acquaint- 
ances, lawyers and others, resolved to go with him. The 
party rendezvoused at Morgantown in the spring or early 
summer of 1788, mounted and equipped for a ride over 
the mountains to Jonesboro', then the chief halting-place 
for companies bound to lands on the Cumberland River. 



This cavalcade of judge, attorney, clerk, and lawyers wended 
their way in do'uble file along the usual road, each riding 
his own horse, a pack-horse or two carrying the eifects of 
the learned judge. Every horseman had in his own saddle- 
bags a small wallet in which he carried letters from citizens 
in the old State to settlers in Tennessee. Jonesboro' at 
this time was a place of fifty or sixty log houses, and a 
new court-house had beeus erected, but it was an edifice 
of unhewn logs, sixteen feet square, and without windows 
or floor. The judge and his party waited several weeks at 
Jonesboro' for the assembling of a sufficient number of 
immigrants and for the arrival of a guard from Nashville 
to escort them. This was a military guard provided by 
the people of Davidson County to defend the immigrants 
against the Indians. 

The Stale Gazette of North Carolina, of Nov. 28, 
1788, announcing the departure of Judge McNairy's com- 
pany for Nashville, has the following : " Notice is hereby 
given that the new road from Campbell's Station to Nash- 
ville was opened on the 25th of September, and the guard 
attended at that time to escort such persons as were ready 
to proceed to Nashville ; that about sixty families went on, 
amongst whom were the widow and family of the late Gen. 
Davidson, and John McNairy, judge of the Superior Court; 
and that on the 1st day of October next the guard will 
attend at the same place for the same purpose." 

The date above given fixes the time very nearly when 
Gen. Jackson arrived at Nashville. He remained here 
discharging the functions of his office as district attorney 
and practicing at the bar till the State was admitted into 
the Union, when he was elected its first representative in 
Congress, and served till March 3, 1797. In the next 
Congress he was United States senator, and served about 
one year, when he resigned his seat to accept the appoint- 
ment tendered him by Governor Sevier in the following 
letter : 

"K.xoxviLLE, 29th August, 179S. 
"Sir, — It has been communicated to me by several re- 
spectable characters that was you appoiuted one of the 
judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity, they 
have reason to believe that you would accept such appoint- 
ment. Tliis information is truly satisfactory to the execu- 
tive, and I have the pleasure of adding that your acceptance 
of the office, I have reason to believe, will give general 
satisfaction. 

" I -will do myself the honor of informing you that in 
case the office of judge of the Superior Court of Law and 
Equity meets your approbation, you will please consider 
yourself as already appointed. I hope the pleasure of 
seeing you at the next term of the Superior Court to be 
holdcn at this place, where I intend myself the honor of 
presenting you with the commission. Your answer is re- 
quested. 

" I have the honor to be, sir, 

" With much respect and esteem, 
" Your most ob' hum" sv', 

"John Sevier. 

"The IIon'ble Andrew Jackso.v, Esq." 
Gen. Jackson accepted the appointment, which he held 



142 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



till subsequently elected to the same judicial office by the 
Legislature, and remained upon the bench till 1804. It 
was while he was judge of the Superior Court of Law and 
Equity that the well-known quarrel occurred between him 
and Governor Sevier. 

It may sound strange, in view of Gen. Jackson's many 
conflicts during the early part of his life, to say that he was 
not a quarrelsome man ; but we verily believe, after a close 
and impartial study of his character, that such was not. the 
fact. He was a man of the most marked and chivalrous 
sense of honor, especially in relation to the duty of defend- 
ing those dependent upon him, or in any way related to 
him ; and he frequently got into diflScultios, not on his own 
account, but by espousing the cause of others when their 
characters were in any way assailed or traduced. In the 
case of the quarrel with Sevier, there can be little doubt 
that this lay at the bottom of it. It was charged that cer- 
- tain land-speculators in Tennessee were engaged in the for- 
gery of North Carolina land-warrants. These fraudulent 
warrants wore largely sold, and the consternation among 
the settlers was great when the report of the probable worth- 
lessness of their titles was mooted. Governor Sevier, from 
some apparently suspicious circumstances, was implicated in 
the matter, while a near relative of Mrs. Jackson was in- 
dicted for his supposed complicity with it. Gen. Jackson de- 
nounced the fraud with unsparing severity, and used all his 
influence and authority to bring the offenders to justice. 
He fully believed Governor Sevier guilty, and attributed 
the involvement of his connection to his influence and ex- 
ample. 

" About this time (1803) Sevier was again a candidate 
for Governor, having been out of the office one term, on 
account of ineligibility under the Constitution of Tennessee. 
Gen. Jackson bitterly opposed him. In the fall of that year 
he was holding court at Knosvillc, the capital of the State. 
The Legislature was in session. On the first day of the 
term of court, Governor Sevier had an appointment to speak 
in the public square. Political excitement ran high, and • 
the town was filled with people. While he was haranguing 
his audience and vehemently defending himself, the court 
adjourned, and Judge (General) Jackson, with others, 
passed out and joined the throng who were listening to the 
speech. As soon as the Governor observed him he began 
to denounce him in the strongest language, and applied to 
liim the most opprobrious epithets. Jackson, as opportu- 
nity offered, retorted in kind, and the unseemly altercation 
was maintained for several minutes. At length the Gov- 
ernor made an ofl^ensive allusion to Mrs. Jackson. 

" This aroused the general's uncontrollable wrath, and lie 
made frantic eiForts to reach the speaker, although armed 
with nothing but a cane, whilst his antagonist, in his excite- 
ment, was flourishing a sword, a weapon usually worn by 
gentlemen in those days. Pistols were drawn by the friends 
of the parties, and a bloody riot seemed for a while inevi- 
table, and was only prevented by the active exertions of 
cooler-minded men. The Governor continued to hurl his 
anathemas towards the general as the latter was led from 
the scone, vociferated his readiness to meet him on ' the 
field of honor,' and tauntingly defied him to invite him 
there. On the following day the general challenged him." 



We give, from the original papers published recently in 
the Cincinnati Commercial, the correspondence entire : 

I. 

" KN0XVILL15, Oct. 2, 1803. 

" Sir : The ungentlemanly expression and gasgonading 
conduct of yours, relative to me yesterday, was in true 
character of yourself, and unmasked you to the world, and 
plainly shows that they were the ebulitions of a base mind, 
goaded with stubborn proofs of fraud, and flowing from a 
source devoid of any refined sentiment or delicate sensation. 
'• But, sir, the voice of the people has made you a Gov- 
ernor. This alone makes you worthy of any notice, or the 
notice of any Gentleman. For the Office I have respect, 
and as such I only deign to notice you and call upon you 
for that satisfaction and explanation that your ungentle- 
manly conduct and expressions require. For this purpose 
I request an interview, and my friend, who will hand you 
this, will point out the time and place, when & where I 
shall expect to see you with your friend and no other per- 
son. My friend and myself will be armed with Pistols, — 
you cannot mistake me or my meaning. 

" I am, &o., &o., And'w Jackson. 

"Gov. John Sevier." 



II. 

"Sir: Yours to-day by Andr Whithe, Esqr., I have 
received, and am pleased with the contents, so far as re- 
spects a personal interview. 

" Your ungentlemanly and Gasgonading conduct of yes- 
terday, and indeed at all other times, heretofore, have un- 
unmasked yourself to me and to the world. The voice of 
the Assembly has made you a Judge, and this alone has 
made you worthy of my notice or any other gentleman ; to 
the ofiioe I have respect, and this alone makes you worthy 
of my notice. 

" I shall wait on you with pleasure at any time and place 
not within the State of Tennessee, attended by my friend 
with pistols, presuming you know nothing about the use of 
any other arms. Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina 
are in our vicinity, and wc can easily repair to either of 
those places, and conveniently retire into the iuoffending 
Government. You cannot mistake me or my meaning. 
■ " Yours, &c., &c., John Sevier. 

" Hon. A. Jackso.v." 



III. 



' OcTR. 3a, 1803. 



"Mr. Railings, 

" Sir : Your note without date handed by Capt. Sparks, 
and which I suppose was wrote this morning, is now be- 
fore me, and I am happy to find that the interview pro- 
posed by me in my note of yesterday, is pleasing to you, 
but I am sorry, sir, that the answer has been .so long upon 
its passage, and that my friend Mr. A. White was obliged 
to call so often on yesterday. You say you will wait on me 
at any time and place not within the State of Tennessee. 

" This, sir, I view as a mere subterfuge ; your attack was 
in the'town of Knoxville ; in the town of Knoxville did you 
take the name of a Lady into your polluted lips ; in the 



GEN. ANDKEW JACKSON. 



143 



town of Knoxville did you challenge me to draw, when you 
were armed with a cutlass and I with a cain — and now sir 
in the Neighborhood of Knoxville you shall atone for it or 
I will publish you as a coward and a poltroon. 

" I now call upon you, that you will this day meet me in 
the manner prescribed by my note of yesterday. If\i will 
obviate your sqeemish fears, I will set out immediately to 
the nearest part of the Indian boundry line, on receiving 
an answer to this note. To travel to Georgia, Virginia or 
North Carolina, is a proposition made by you to evade the 
thing entirely. I am therefore compelled to be explicit ; 
you must meet me between this and four o'clock, this after- 
noon, either in the neighborhood of Knoxville or on the 
nearest point of the Indian Boundry line, or I will publish 
you as a coward and poltroon. I shall expect an answer in 
the space of one hour, or I shall expect as you are so fear- 
ful of the consequences of a breach of the law that you may 
think it advisable to shield your body from paying the 
debts of honour under the law, as you have heretofore your 
property. I pledged my honor on yesterday, my friend did 
the same, that no advantage of the law shall or will be taken 
by me or my friends, let the consequences be as they may. 
"I am, sir, &c., &c., ANDREW Jackson. 

" Gov. John Sevier." 



IV. 

"3d Oct. 180,3. 

" Sir : Your letter of this day is before me and I am 
happy to find you so accommodating. My friend will agree 
upon the time and place of rendezvous. 

" Yours, &c., &c., John Sevier. 

" Hon. A. Jackson." 



" Knoxville, Octr. 9th, 1S03. 
" Sir : After this note, I will bid you adieu, it being the 
last you will receive from me on the point of honor, the 
subject of my note to you dated the second inst. From the 
Henor of yours of the third inst. in answer to my note of 
the morning of the same day, I did believe, that all that re- 
mained to be done, was for our friends to immediately pro- 
ceed, and the satisfaction required in my note of the second 
inst. was immediately to be given — as I had expressly 
named in my note of the third, that unless you did meet 
me between then & four o'clock of the evening of the 
same day, or set out immediately to the Indian boundry 
line a place I had named, to remove your squemish fears, 
that I would advertise you as a coward and poltroon, but 
judge my astonishment, when it was stated to me by my 
friend (after application to Capt. Sparks, your friend, to fix 
the time, and to proceed to a place to be named, agreeable 
to your note) that in express contradiction thereto — he 
stated that you had instructed him not to name a day 
sooner than the 8th inst. I directed my friend to state to 
him expressly, if he did not, agreeable to your note, imme- 
diately proceed to name a time and place that after 4 
o'clock I would advertise you as a coward and poltroon, and 
that censure might attach to him, as he was by your note 
authorized to act. He replyed, he hoped I would not ad- 



vertise you, but if I did he could not help it, that ho was 
strictly persuing your instructions, of which I have no 
doubt, as I believe him to be a man of truth. I then had 
a right to expose you. I thought I would that evening, 
post you as a coward ; but to leave you no subterfuge I de- 
termined to wait until the 8th day of your choice. On the 
7th inst. Capt. A. White waited on Capt. Sparks, your 
friend, to be informed of your determination, and did em- 
phatically state to you through Capt. Sparks, that we had 
waited your own time and expected you had instructed him 
to state that on the morning of the 8th that you would bo 
ready to meet me in the vicinity of Knoxville, or be ready 
to set out to the Indian boundry line, there to satisfy my 
demand. 

" The answer was : No arrangement made ; still not 
ready. Capt. Sparks was again told to state to you, unless 
you did meet me on the 8th inst. you would be posted as a 
coward and poltroon. On the 8th an answer was returned 
to my friend, Capt. Andrew White, that you could not see 
me until the committee business was over. 

" The delays I thought were intended as a mere subter- 
fuge for your cowardice. You will recollect that you on 
the 1st inst. in the public streets of Knoxville appeared 
to pant for the combat. You Ransacked the Vocabulary 
of Vulgarity for insulting and blackguard expressions ; 
you without provocation made the attack, and in an ungen- 
tlemanly manner took the sacred name of a Lady in your 
polluted lips, and dared me publicly to challenge you, and 
now, since you gave the insult, you have cowardly evaded 
an interview. On that day you appeared at Court. You 
ought, at least before you make a premeditated attack, to be 
ready to repair the injury of the call of the injured. I have 
waited your time. I have named the Indian boundry line, 
to prevent you from having any subterfuge, to which you 
agreed, — and all in vain. Cowardice is now your only chance 
of safety ; to that you have resorted ; and as you will not 
give that redress in the field that the injury you have done 
requires, and as your old age protects you from that chas- 
tisement you merit, the justice I owe myself and country 
urges me to unmask you to the world in your true colors. 

" In the Gazzett of Blonday next I have spoken for a 
place in that paper for the following Advertisement, and 
have named publicly that you are the greatest coward I 
ever had anything to do with. The Advertisement as fol- 
lows : 

" ' To all who shall see these presents, greeting : Know ye 
that I, Andrew Jackson, do Pronounce, Publish, and De- 
clare to the world, that his Excellency John Sevier, Esq., 
Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Land and 
Naval forces of the State of Tennessee, is a base Coward 
and Poltroon. He will basely insult, but has not courage 
to repair the wound. 

' Andrew Jackson.' 

" You may prevent the insertion of the above by meeting 
me in one or two hours after the receipt of this note ; my 
friend who will hand you this, is authorized so to declare, 
on a written note being signed by you and delivered to him, 
staling time as above, and place, and on no other terms. I 
shall set out for home ou the result about the middle of the 



144 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



day. I hope it 'will not be stated, that I ran away for fear 
of you, and your friends. Adieu. 

"Andrew Jackson. 

"Go\'. JouN Sevier." 

[The following memorandum is indorsed on the back of 
the original draft of this letter in Gen. Jackson's hand 
writing :] 

" Capt. Sparks, on friday evening, the 7th inst., thro' 
my friend Capt. White, requested to have an interview, to 
■which I agreed. In the course of the conversation he 
named to me if an accommodation could take place ? I 
answered that I expected it could not, — that Governor Se- 
vier, as a man of courage, could not make such concessions 
as would be acceptable to uie. Capt. Sparks then said the 
inquiry was unauthorized, but if it was to go any further 
he would wash his hands of it. I then told him to state to 
Governor Sevier his intentions, and also if Governor Sevier 
did not meet me on the 8th I would publish him as a cow- 
ard and a poltroon. Answer on the 8th that he would 
not meet me until his business was over with the commit- 
tee, as stated within. Capt. Sparks left Knoxville on the 
8th of October, the day that had been named by him as the 
time for meeting." 



VI. 

" Knoxville, Octr. — 1S03. 

" Sir, — Yours of this day by Capt. A. White I have 
raced. As to answering your long detail of paper gascon- 
ading, I shall not give myself the trouble. You need not 
be uneasy about an interview, for you shall be favored with 
a hearty concurrance, but I shall not neglect the public bus- 
iness I am bound to attend to, nor my own private business 
now before the House, that you and several other poltroons 
are aiming at to my prejudice. 

"An interview within the State you know I have denied. 
Any where outside, you have nothing further to do but 
name the place and I will the time. I have some regard 
for the laws of the State over which I have the honor to 
preside, although you, a Judge, appear to have none. It is 
to be hoped that if by any strange and unexpected event you 
should ever be metamorphosed into an upright and virtuous 
Judge, you will feel the propriety of being Governed and 
Guided by the laws of the State you are sacredly bound to 
obey and regard. As to answering all your jargon of pre- 
tended bravery, I assure you it is perfectly beneath my 
character, having never heard of any you ever exhibited. 
" Yours, &c., &c., Jno. Sevier. 

" Ilonl. JoDGE J.VCKSO-V." 



VII. 

"Kn'OXVille, Mond:\y Morning. 

" Sir, — Some part of the boundry lines between this 
State and the State of Virginia is within forty-five miles of 
this place. 

" I have heard after all your gasconading conduct that 
you are preparing to leave town within a day or two; you 
have not named a place out of the limits of this State where 
you and myself can have a personal interview, notwithstand- 



ing you have been informed that you might name the place 
and I would the time. Such conduct is characteristic with 
yourself. This is the last I shall write you on the subject. 
" Yours, &c., &c., John Sevier. 

" P. S. — My friend Capt. Sparks being absent at this 
moment I have requested Mr. Mclin to hand you this note. 
"Hon. A. Jacksox." 



VIII. 



"Knoxville, Monday, 12 o'clock, Octr 10, 1803. 

" Sir, — Your note by Mr. William Machlin is this 
moment handed me, and I hasten to reply, that you have 
been well informed what part of the Indian boundry line, 
I would go with you to relieve you from your fears. South 
west point was named and that I would accommodate your 
fears by going there. You have been informed, invited, and 
requested to meet me there, within the vicinity of this place 
or any place that could be named that would be convenient. 
You have refused and evaded a meeting through mere cow- 
ardice ; you may yet retreive your character, by seeing me 
in this neighborhood or at South west point. If in this 
neighborhood, this evening or early to-morrow morning. 
If at South west point, to-morrow evening, or on Wednes- 
day next, any time before 12 o'clock of that day. If 
you incline to this meting, I will expect to be notified by 
you. 

" I well know your friend Capt. Sparks is absent, he told 
me and my friend, Capt. A White, on Friday evening, that 
for certain reasons ho washed his hands of it, and was re- 
quested if he did, to state to you, and to state further that 
agreeable to your appointment on the 8th we would expect 
to hear from you, or I would post you, as you have hereto- 
fore been advised. 

" Capt. Sparks stated to my friend that he had stated to 
you all that he had promised, and gave for answer, as I ad-- 
vised you yesterday. You certainly are not so friendless, 
that you can get no friend. This will not do so well for 
a come off. The advertisement is in the press. I leave 
Knoxville to-morrow after Breakfiist ; will obay a call from 
you between this and that time, in the vicinity of this place 
and I assure you that I will be happy to see you in a situa- 
tion, that I can obtain that redress that I have been trying 
to compel you to afford me for nine days past, and which 
you pledged your honor to my friend to give, and which 
you have forfeighted. 

" Andrew Jackson. 

" Govr. Jno. Sevier." 

[Memorandum by General Jackson, indorsed :] 
"This letter was handed to. Mr. William Machlin, to 

hand to the Governor, in the presence of Capt. A. White, 

which Mr. Machlin promised to deliver."] 



IX. 

"Knoxville, Oct. 10th, 1803, in the Evening. 
"Sir, — I am again perplexed with your scurrilous and 
poltroon language. You now pretend you want an in- 
terview in this neighborhood this evening, or to-morrow 
morning, and all this great readiness, after you had been so 



GEN. ANDEEW JACKSON. 



145 



repeatedly iuformed that I would not attempt a thing of 
the kind within the state of Tennessee. I have constantly 
informed you I would cheerfully wait on you in any other 
quarter, and that you had nothing to do but name the place 
and you should be accommodated. I am now constrained 
to tell you that your conduct during the whole of your pre- 
tended bravery, shows you to be a pitiful poltroon and cow- 
ard, for your propositions are such as you and every other 
person of common understanding do well know is out of 
my power to accede to, especially you a Judge ! ! There- 
fore the whole tenor of your pretended readiness is intended 
for making nothing more than a cowardly evasion. Now, 
Sir, if you wish the interview accept the proposal I made 
j'ou and let us prepare for the campaign. 

" I have a friend to attend me. I shall not receive an- 
other letter from you, as I deem you a coward. 

" John Sevier. 

" Hon. A. Jacksox." 



"X. 

" Knoxville, Ma. Rawlincs, Octr. llth, 1803, 7..30 p.m. 

" Sir, — I am just informed by a confidential friend that 
you have been staling this evening that you have been 
always and are now ready to meet me at any point on the 
Virginia line. This, Sir, was not the language you made 
use of to my friend Capt. Andrew White, when he waited 
upon J'OU last evening in consequence of your note that 
squinted at that object, and stated that you had a friend to 
attend you, and requested me to prepare for the campaign. 

" It was then answered by you that you could not then 
go, and not before Saturday next, and this too after you 
had named Mr. Robertson's in the State of Virginia, to 
which my friend agreed and told you I was ready to set out. 
Under existing circumstances the above information of 
your readiuess is the only reason operating with me again 
to trouble you with another note. And now, Sir, that the 
thing may be well understood, and a final end put to all 
such ideas, & that you may have it your power if so dis- 
posed to render me that satisfaction I have been so in vain 
trying to obtain I have to request that you will imme- 
diately with your friend set out with me and mine, to Mr. 
Robertson's near the Cumberland Gap in the State of Vir- 
ginia, there to render me that satisfaction required of you 
by my note of the 2d inst. I have directed my friend 
Capt. A. White to require of you to state in writing under- 
neath this signature, that you will meet me at the above 
place and that you will sign the same. From my informa- 
tion of your expression, I have no doubt (if real) but you 
will be ready to set out on the morning of the 12th inst., 
and we can reach the wished-for point the same evening. 

" Recollect, sir, I have come to your terms as to the place, 
and the injured has the right to name the time. I there- 
fore call upon you to meet me between this and Thursday 
evening next ; the hour you may name yourself. If this 
is too short I will extend it to your own time. 

" I have just to remark that it is high time the thing 
should be put an end to, and I do require of you to state 
a time on this piece of paper, that you will meet me for the 
purpose before mentioned. The Virginia line has lately 
been your stand ; to prevent further evasion I have come 
19 



to that proposition ; I hope you will come to mine with 
respect to time or forever after hold your peace. 

" It has been stated to me that you have avowed this 
evening that the place was your only objection to your 
meeting me. You named to my friend last evening that 
prosecutions were talked of The surest method to avoid 
and prevent that is an eaily and secret interview. 

" If you wish to keep a copy of this my friend will give 
you one and attest the same, with your answer in writing. 
Time is precious with me ; nothing ^detains me from my 
family but waiting on you for an accommodation of this 
business, and I have instructed my friend to have such an 
answer as will be final. I am sir, &o., &o. 

" Andrew Jackson. 

" Governor John Sevieu.'' 

[Memorandum by Gen. Jackson, endorsed:] 

" BIr. White, my friend, reported as follows: ' I carried 
this letter this morning and presented it to him, and after 
looking at the back of it refused to open it, saying he would 
not read it. I insisted that he would ; he said he would 
have nothing to do with the Judge or any of his Notes (or 
words to that efi'ect). I then told him the Judge was about 
to start home, and as it had been stated to him yesterday 
evening by some of his friends, that you said you were 
always ready and was now ready to see him. I told him 
that the contents were, that he was about to take his leave 
of Knoxville and that he would now, or at your own time, 
see you at your favorite spot ; he utterly refused, &c., &c., 
&c.' " 

With this the correspondence terminated. 

Gen. Jackson published his " advertisement" as threat- 
ened. It was somewhat diflferent from the one he advised 
the Governor of his intention to publish, but the purport is 
the same : 

"FOR THE PUBLIC. 

" Those of the Honorable members of the Legislature 
and other citizens who were present on the first day of this 
instant in the Town of Knoxville will recollect the ungen- 
tlemanly and unprovoked attack made by his Excellency 
John Sevier, Governor of the State of Tennessee, on me — 
How he Panted for combat when armed with a cutlass and 
I with a cain — His Excellency in perfect Health, I just re- 
covering from a severe illness ! They will also recollect his 
Gasconading Expressions and his repeated darings for me 
to invite him to the field of Honor. 

" To all wiiom shall see these presents Greeting — Know 

ye that I, Andrew Jackson, do pronounce, Publish, and 

declare to the world, that his Excellency John Sevier, Esq., 

Governor, Captain-General, and Commander-in-chief of the 

Land and Naval forces of the State of Tennessee, is a base 

coward and poltroon — he will basely insult but has not the 

courage to repair the Wound. 

" Andrew Jackson." 

When we reflect that these mutual charges of cowardice 
were exchanged between men of unquestionable courage— 
the Hero of King's Mountain and the Hero of New Or- 
leans—the absurdity of yielding to ill-regulated passion is 
made ludicrously manifest. The " advertisement" is as in- 
credible as would have been the " posting" of Agamemnon 



116 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



by Achilles on the walls of Troy. Governor Sevier, by bis 
hasty and intemperate s^peech, placed himself in a seriously 
false position, of which his insulted and fiery opponent took 
prompt advantage. He escaped the predicament rather 
awkwardly it must be admitted. 

But to the sequel. Gen. Jackson, almost despairing of 
" satisfaction" and extremely disgusted, started, with a 
single friend, for South West Point, entertaining a vague 
hope that his published denunciations of the Governor as 
a poltroon might force him to keep his appointment there. 
After waiting for two days beyond the time fixed, and the 
Governor not appearing, he decided to return to Knosville 
and seek a street-fight, if no other means of redress were 
afibrded him. Wiiat now happened I relate upon the au- 
thority of Maj. Henry Lee, a brother, I believe, of the late 
Gen. Robert E. Lee, for many years an inmate of the 
Hermitage, and who began a " Life of Jackson" while there, 
which remains incomplete. I quote from the MS. : 

" The general and his friend (Dr. Vandyke) had not 
proceeded more than a mile on their way when they met 
the Governor, escorted by about twenty persons. Jackson 
had a note prepared reciting his grievances, and demanding 
redress, which he directed Dr. Vandyke to advance with 
and deliver. The Governor refused to receive it, and the 
doctor brought it back. Jackson rode with a brace of pis- 
tols and had a cane in his hand, and the Governor, who 
likewise had pistols, wore his sword. Being irritated at 
his contemptuous treatment, and resenting the injuries for 
which he was denied the promised satisfaction, he resolved 
at all hazards to have redress, and advancing to within about 
a hundred yards of the Governor, with a measured pace, 
like a knight in the lists he put spurs to his horse, and 
with cane in place of a lance rapidly charged upon him. 
The Governor, secure in the number of his attendants, did 
not expect so bold an onset, aud dismounting in some con- 
fusion is reported to have trod upon his sword, and was left 
unprepared for resistance. Ilis friends now interfered, and 
by them Jackson was induced to discontinue his attack. 
A cessation of hostilities being effected, the parties rode 
on some miles together, and the unpleasant affair termi- 
nated." 

Immediately after these events a communication appeared 
in a Nashville paper over the signature " A Citizen of 
Knox County," in which Gen. Jackson's course in the 
aifair was severely arraigned, whilst that of Governor Sevier 
was as strongly defended. The general suspected the au- 
thor of the publication to be Mr. William Maclin, then 
Secretary of State, and the gentleman who was intrusted 
with the delivery of one of Governor Sevier's communica- 
tions to him during their hostile correspondence in Knox- 
ville. The suspicion being strongly upon his mind, he 
determined to see Maclin about it. With this view, and 
in company with Maj. Tatum, of the army, who was to 
witness whatever conversation might ensue, he hunted 
Maclin up. The following is the major's account of the 
meeting : 

"On Friday last, as well as I can remember," states the 
major, " Andrew Jackson, Esq., requested me to walk with 



him and evidence a conversation he intended to have with 
William Maclin, Esq., Secretary of State, concerning a 
publication that had made its appearance in the Nashville 
Gazette, under the signature of' A Citizen of Knox County.' 
A conversation accordingly took place the same day in Mr. 
Thomas Talbott's back yard, which was carried on with 
some warmth on both sides. Mr. Maclin acknowledged 
the delivery of the piece to the printer by request of Gov- 
ernor Sevier, but denied any knowledge of the author. 
Judge Jackson insisted that as he had brought the piece 
to the printer he, BIr. Maclin, should be considered by him 
as the author, as, if he, Mr. Maclin, did not wish to be so 
considered, it was improper for him to bring the piece to 
the printer without being able to name who was the author. 
In exoneration of himself Mr. Maclin reiterated his assertion 
of having no knowledge of who the author was. Judge 
Jackson replied that he was a rascal, or a damned rascal, 
I do not remember which, to deliver such a paper and pre- 
tend not to know the author. Mr. Maclin replied that he 
was no more a rascal than the judge, upon which reply the 
judge struck Mr. Maclin with a cane which he had in his 
hand, who upon receiving the .stroke wheeled around and 
went briskly seven or eight yards and made search for a 
weapon to return the assault, as it appeared to me. Judge 
Jackson then drew a sword from his cane, which I then 
supposed, by the judge's not advancing immediately, was 
only intended as a defensive preparation against any weapon 
which Mr. JIaclin should proeure to return the assault 
with. Mr. Maclin, in his apparent search of a weapon, 
discovered and took up a brick-bat, which he threw at 
the judge with such violence as I believe any other person 
would have done in a similar case. The bat was fended off 
by the judge's left hand. BIr. Maclin then ran off, and 
the judge, taking his sword in his left hand and the scab- 
bard part in his right, ran after him a few yards and then 
threw the scabbard with violence after Mr. Maclin, which, 
I believe, hit him. Mr. Maclin then caught up another 
brick-bat, but whether he threw it or not I cannot recol- 
lect. 

" At tliis period Mr. Maclin was on one side of Judge 
Talbott's kitchen and the judge on the other. Some ex- 
pressions of heat took place at this time which I cannot 
recollect, but I remember that Mr. Maclin charged the 
judge with drawing upon him as a naked man. This 
charge was as persistently denied by the judge as being 
with any view of attacking him unarmed. I believe Blr. 
Maclin thought his charge well grounded, but I, as a by- 
stander, and fully convinced from the manner in which 
that circumstance took place, and the conduct of the judge 
after the sword was drawn, that it was merely in defense, 
and this opinion I am the more fully convinced of from 
two circumstances : first, the judge not pursuing Mr. Blae- 
lin with the drawn sword when he appeared to be, and I 
feel sure was, in dread of such a weapon ; the other is the 
judge's changing the sword and taking the sheath or scab- 
bard part of the cane in his right hand before he even 
pursued Mr. Maclin. 

" Given under my hand this 8th day of November, 
1803. 

" H. Tatum." 



GEN. ANDREW JACKSON. 



147 



The spectacle of a judge of the " Superior Court of Law 
and Equity" crossing liis sword witli flying '' Briuk Eatts," 
in a Icitciu'u yard, about an anonymous newspaper article, 
must have been edifying indeed! But the judge as un- 
dauntedly faced far more dangerous missiles, in a less in- 
glorious warfare, before a dozen years had elapsed. 

Gen. Jackson was as tenacious of the last word as he 
was at the final blow. Through his friend, W. D. Ander- 
son, Esq., he replied at length, in the same paper, to the 
communication made in Governor Sevier's behalf. There 
is little in it of interest beyond a summary of the facts 
(with sarcastic comments) which I have already related in 
detail. 

The charge against Governor Sevier of complicity with 
the North Carolina land-frauds was disproved, or at least so 
explained that it did not prevent his re-election. He sub- 
sequently served as a Representative in Congress, and was 
a member of that body at the time of (he battle of New 
Orleans. On the receipt of the news at Washington he 
wrote thus to one of his sons : 

" The Orleans mail has arrived with the news of Jack- 
son's success in repulsing the enemy, which has occasioned 
much rejoicing in this place; and we have received as many 
congratulations as though we had been in the action. . . . 
Our army from Tennessee is more talked of than half the 
world besides." 

A curious commentary upon Gen. Jackson's judicial 
career, and the character of the people with whom he was 
so prominently identified, is suggested by the fact that 
although it was known that while holding his court he had 
challenged the Governor of the State, and that a duel be- 
tween them was imminent, he found time between the dis- 
charge of his official duties and the attention necessary to 
be given to an " affair of honor" to write the annexed re- 
spouse to an address, numerously signed, from members of 
the Legislature, remonstrating against his declared inten- 
tion to resign his seat upon the bench : 

" K.N-O.KVILLE, Oct. 7, 1803. 

"Gen. George Rutledge and Col. John Tipton. 

" Genxlejien, — The address presented to mo of the 
5th instant by you, for and on behalf of yourselves and 
others of your honorable body subscribers to the same, ex- 
pressive of entire confidence (in me) and approbation of 
my official acts, is truly pleasing and grateful to me, — and 
permit me through you to reply, that next to an approving 
conscience is the approbation of my country, — but partic- 
ularly gratifying when that entire confidence and approba- 
tion is expressed by the representatives of a free people, 
chosen by the free suffrages of their fellow-citizens, and 
selected for their patriotism, wisdom, and virtues. 

" True it was, that long since I had come to a determina- 
tion to resign my seat in the judiciary and retire to domestic 
ease, there to regain my health and repair a broken consti- 
tution. This resolution I thought was unalterable, but 
being warned by you that from my continuance in ofiice 
under existing circumstances public good might result, I 
abandon for the present my resolution and obey the call of 
so respectable a part of my fellow-citizens, as the dictates 
of duty to a grateful country. 



" Retirement to private life has been for some time to 
me a very desirable event, and the present period at which 
I intended to retire anxiously waited for. But you have 
said my further services as a judge would be useful. When 
my services are thus called for they belong to my country, 
and your voice is obeyed. I shall continue to hold the 
office for the space of two years longer, if health will per- 
mit me to perform the duties thereof, during which period 
of time I shall endeavor to merit a continuation of your 
approbation and coufidence and that of our common coun- 
try, the greatest and highest reward to a virtuous and 
grateful mind. 

" Accept, gentlemen, yourselves, and present to the 
honorable body you represent, assurances of my high 
consideration and respect. 

" Andrew Jackson." 

He did not serve two years longer, as he proposed, his 
health continuing to fail and his position becoming daily 
more irksome and embarrassing. He resigned in July, 
1804, and never held civil employment again until his ap- 
pointment as Governor of Florida in 1821. 

Two and a half years after the occurrences I have nar- 
rated, Mr. Charles Dickinson fell at the hands of Gen. 
Jackson in a duel for the same offense that he so persist- 
ently sought a meeting with Governor Sevier, although its 
immediate occasion was difl'erently assigned. Dickinson 
had spoken disrespectfully of Mrs. Jackson. 

DUEL WITH DICKINSON. 

The duel between Gen. Jackson and Mr. Charles Dick- 
inson occurred in 1806. The newspapers of that date are 
full of the correspondence. Mr. Dickinson was a -young 
lawyer residing in Nashville, respectably connected, but 
somewhat dissipated in his habits. He was a son-in-law of 
Capt. Joseph Erwin. The quarrel between them arose 
from some disparaging remarks made by Dickinson respect- 
ing Mrs. Jackson, which were repeated in a very insulting 
manner in the hearing of Mrs. Jackson herself at one of 
the races in Nashville. Of course the insult highly in- 
censed Gen. Jackson, but he was nevertheless anxious to 
avoid a personal difficulty, and to this end called upon Capt. 
Erwin and desired him to remonstrate with his son-in-law, 
as lie was confident Dickinson was urged on to this course 
by his enemies. It soon appeared that a man by the name 
of Thomas Swann, a young lawyer in Nashville, a Mary- 
lander by birth, as was also Dickinson, but lately from Vir- 
ginia, was making himself officious in the affair. Dickin- 
son and his father-in-law, Capt. Erwin, had matched 
" Plough-Boy" against Gen. Jackson's famous horse "Tru.x- 
ton" in a stake of two thousand dollars, with a forfeit of 
ei"ht hundred dollars, and had lost the race. The stake 
and forfeit were to be paid in cash notes on the days of the 
race. The backers of " Plough-Boy" paid the forfeit, but 
it was reported that the notes in which the forfeit was paid 
were different from those specified in the articles of the 
race. Swann made himself busy in circulating the story, 
and in giving Gen. Jackson as his authority. Gen. Jack- 
son, on hearing it, denounced Swann to Dickinson as a 
" d d liar." Swann demanded an apology. " The 



148 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



harshness of the expression," he wrote to the general, " has 
deeply wounded my feelings. It is language to which I 
am a stranger, which no man who is acquainted with my 
character would venture to apply to me, and which, should 
the information of Mr. Dickinson be correct, I shall be 
under the necessity of taking proper notice of" 

General acknowledged the receipt of the letter, and 
answered as follows : 

" Was it not," he replied, " for the attention due a stranger, 
taking into view its tenor and style, I should not notice it. 
Had the information you have received from Mr. Dickinson 
stated a direct application of harsh language to yoii ; had 
not Mr. Dickinson been applied to by me to bring you for- 
ward when your name was mentioned, which he declined ; 
had I not the next morning had a conversation with you on 
the same subject ; and, lastly, did not your letter hold forth 
a threat of ' proper notice,' — I should give your letter a di- 
rect answer. ... I never wantonly sport with the feelings 
of innocence, nor am I ever awed into measures. If in- 
cautiously I inflict a wound, I always hasten to remove it ; 
if offense is taken where none is ofiered or intended, it gives 
me no pain. If a tale is listened to many daj'S after the 
discourse should have taken place, I always leave the 
person to judge of the motives that induced the informa- 
tion, and leave them to draw their own conclusions and 
act accordingly. There are certain traits that always ac- 
company the gentleman and man of truth. The moment 
he hears harsh expressions applied to a friend he will im- 
mediately communicate it that explanation may take place, 
when the base poltroon and coward li/ tale-bearer will always 
act in the hachgroitnd. You can apply the latter to Mr. 
Dickinson. I write it for his eye and emphatically intend 
it for him. . . . When the conversation dropped between 
Mr. Dickinson and myself I thought it was at an end. As 
he wishes to blow the coal, I am ready to light it to a blaze 
that it may be consumed at once and finally extinguished. 
Mr. Dickinson has given you the information, the subject of 
your letter. In return, and in justice to him, I request 
you to show him this. I set out this morning for South- 
west Point. I will return at a short day, and at all times 
I hold myself answerable for any of my conduct ; and 
should anything herein contained give Mr. Dickinson the 
spleen, I will furnish him with an anodyne as soon as I 
return." 

This letter brought about an interview between the gen- 
eral and Swann. An angry conversation was had. Swann 
expressed his determination to have " satisfaction." The 
general answered that if he (Swann) challenged him he 
would cane him. Swann retorted that if he attempted to 
do that he would instantly kiU him. The challenge was 
duly sent. It is a unique sample of dueling literature. 
" Think not," is the text of the cartel, "that I am to be 
intimidated by your threats. No power terrestrial shall 
prevent the settled purpose of my soul. The statement I 
have made in respect to the notes is substantially correct. 
The torrent of abusive language with which you have as- 
sailed me is such as every gentleman should blush to 
hear. Your menace I set at defiance ; and I now demand 
of you that reparation which one gentleman is entitled 
to receive from another. My friend, the bearer of this, 



is authorized to make complete arrangements in the field 
of honor." 

Gen. Jackson kept his word and publicly caned Mr. 
Swann, nor did he suffer the instant death of which he 
was admonished for that performance. 

The letter to Swann, so pointedly and severely alluding 
to Dickinson as instigating the former in his course, was 
duly shown to the latter, as Jackson had requested. He 
immediately wrote the general, reviewing the whole con- 
troversy, and acquitting himself of any blame or responsi- 
bility in the matter. His letter concluded as follows : " As 
to the word coicard, I think it as applicable to yourself as 
any one I know, and I shall be very glad when an opportu- 
nity serves to know in what manner you give your ano- 
dynes, and I hope you will take payment in one of my 
most moderate cathartics." 

The terms of the meeting between Gen. Jackson and 
Mr. Dickinson were : Distance, eight paces, or twenty-four 
feet ; the parties to stand facing each other, with their 
pistols held perpendicularly downwards ; when " ready," 
the single word " fire" to be given ; they were then to fire 
as they pleased ; but should either do so before the word, 
the seconds were pledged to shoot him down. 

Jackson and his friend. Gen. Thomas Overton, had re- 
flected very gravely over these conditions, and had decided 
to receive Dickinson's fire first. They relied, as Jackson's 
only chance for safety, upon the remarkable thinness of his 
person, which was unknown to his antagonist, and a loosely- 
fitting coat that tended still further to deceive the accu- 
racy of Dickinson's aim, for the latter declared and, it is 
said, wagered that he would hit Jackson near a certain 
button, at a spot directly over his heart. Jackson heard 
and believed this. 

The men were placed in position and the word given. 
Dickinson fired instantly, and precisely where he had every 
reason to suppose Jackson's heart to be, but missed. His 
bullet struck the breast-bone and broke two of the general's 
ribs, but failed to bring him down. " Erect and grim as 
fate he stood," says Parton, " his teeth clenched, raising his 
pistol. Overton glanced at Dickinson. Amazed at the un- 
wonted failure of his aim, and apparently appalled at the 
awful figure and face before him, he had unconsciously 
recoiled a pace or two. . . . ' Back to the mark, sir,' he 
shrieked, with his hand upon his pistol. Dickinson recov- 
ered his composure, stepped forward to the peg, and stood 
with his eyes averted from his antagonist. . . . Gen. Jack- 
son took deliberate aim and pulled the trigger. The pistol 
neither snapped nor went off. He looked at the trigger, 
and discovered that it had stopped at half-cock. He drew 
it back to its place and took aim a second time. He fired. 
Dickinson's face blanched ; ho reeled ; his friends rushed 
towards him, caught him in their arms, and gently seated 
him on the ground, leaning against a bush. His trousers 
reddened. They stripped off his clothes. The blood was 
gushing from his side in a torrent. And, alas ! here is the 
ball, but above the opposite hip, just under the skin. It 
had passed through the body just below the ribs." 

The general and his friends immediately left the field, 
and repaired to the house where he had spent the previous 
night. Here his wound was carefully dressed. Dickinson 



GEN. ANDREW JACKSON. 



149 



survived for twenty hours, and died in great agony. Jack- 
son's injury was more serious tlian he liad apprehended, 
and on his return home it confined him to the house for a 
fortnight. It fiilsely healed, and gave him trouble as long 
as he lived. The hemorrhages from the lungs, which sev- 
eral times during his life reduced him to death's door, were 
the effects of Dickinson's bullet. In the opinion of his 
physicians, it finally killed him, although he lived to an 
advanced age. 

The father-in-law of Dickinson, Capt. Erwin, charged 
Gen. Jackson with unfairness in recocking his pistol after 
its failures to go ofifin the first attemptJo fire. He claimed 
that there was a " snap," which should have been consid- 
ered a " fire." The charge was repeated by Dickinson's 
friends, and much exasperated the general. The seconds 
of the parties. Gen. Overton and Dr. Catlett, united in 
a card certifying that " every circumstance in the affair was 
agreeable to the impressions" themselves and their prin- 
ciples " were under." General Jackson procured several 
additional certificates to the same effect. Mr. George Kid- 
ley, a highly respectable citizen of Tennessee, stated that a 
few days after the duel he met with Mr. Corben Lee, a 
friend of Dickinson, who was present on the ground and 
with him when he expired. In talking of the affair, Mr. 
Lee admitted that Gen. Jackson " behaved with a great 
deal of honor on the occasion, for which he should always 
respect him." Capt. Blorrison, in 182-1, certified that 
subsequent to the duel Dr. Catlett— Dickinson's second — 
descended the river with him ; that during the passage 
down the river he frequently conversed with him upon the 
subject of the duel. " He gave me," he says, " a detailed 
account of the rise, pi'ogress, and fatal termination of the 
dispute, and uniformly declared to me that the fight was 
fairly and honorably conducted. . . . On no occasion did 
he ever give a different version of the affair. ... I was also 
acquainted with Gen. Overton, the friend of Gen. Jackson 
on the occasion. Not long before his death I called to see him 
and found him ill in bed. In the course of conversation 
he mentioned the duel between Gen. Jackson and Dickin- 
son and the various rumors that had been put in circula- 
tion. He spoke particularly in reference to a report that 
Gen. Jackson had snapped his pistol at Dickinson, and 
pronounced it with much vehemence, rising up in his bed 
when he spoke, a positive falsehood, and affirmed most 
solemnly that the affair was honorably conducted, no unfair 
advantage having been taken, or sought to be taken, by 
Gen. Jackson." 

Sir. Edward Ward certified " to the world, and particu- 
larly to all whom it may concern," that he had for twenty 
years lived a near neighbor of Gen. Jackson and of Gen. 
Thomas Overton until the death of the latter ; that they were 
in the habits of friendship and neighborly intercourse, and 
never were more so than about the time of the duel ; that 
Gen. Overton had soon after its occurrence, while visiting 
his house, minutely described it to him. He represented 
Gen. Jackson as having acted with cool deliberation and 
with the utmost propriety. Not one word did he hear from 
him about the snapping of the general's pistol. He stated 
that Dickinson fired very quickly when the word was 
given, and that Gen. Jackson immediately after the fire 



crossed his breast with his left arm and hand (being 
wounded through the lung), leveled his pistol, and fired. 

A like statement was also made by Gen. Coffee and 
Maj. Purdy, which completed the general's exoneration 
from the imputation of unfairness. 

Some admonitory letters were at this time written to 
Gen. Jackson by his friends. Col. W. P. Anderson, after- 
wards a member of his military staff', and whose resignation 
made room for the appointment of Col. Thomas H. Benton, 
wrote him under date of Nashville, June 13, 1806: 

" General Jackson : My dearest friend : Had you not 
better send out after Doctor Dickson to-morrow when you 
come here, to the end that he may be present at some of 
your intended interviews? Such men as he, Dan. McGa- 
vock Randall, Capt. Ward, Thos. Stewart, Capt. Colemain, 
and Robt. White ought also to be in hearing. For God's 
sake, my dear friend, use no hot or rash measures ! I well 
know you can, when necessary, govern yourself into calm- 
ness and cool deliberation. Now is the time for you to do 
so. You see it is improper for you to challenge any of 
those people, or persecutors of yours. You are tied down 
to defensive measures alone. Some of them would not be 
too good to prosecute you at law. There is one of this 
lamentable group, T. S. [Swann evidently], that you ought 
not to notice more than the meanest reptile that crawls on 
the ground. 

" It was indispensably necessary from your situation and 
difference with this and that rascal that you [should] fight. 
You have done so, and the champion and man of highest 
and best standing among them has fallen. Be it so. Your 
course is plain. Do get yr friends together & advise with 
them. This is right particularly as seeking a fight with 
anybody ; but only to defend yr honor & feelings, and to 
vindicate principle." 

Judge Overton wrote from Jonesboro', Sept. 12, 1806 : 

" De.\R General, — This day week a report arrived 
here that you and Swann had fought ; that both fell, Swann 
shot through the heart, of which he died in six minutes, and 
you through the head, from which instant death ensued. 

" Though I did not believe it, great uneasiness arose, 
knowing the rascals' conspiracy, of which Swann is a part. 
You have several warm friends here, and if you knew the 
uneasiness they suffered and their impressions, I am sure it 
would have some effect. Not only on this occasion, but 
before, the opinion of your sensible friends, of whom you 
have many, was unanimously that notldng can justify your 
fighting Sicann or any of the j^ioneers of this dirty hand. 

" I do not know that there is much danger of any of 
these flies infesting you — through fear tho' — yet their will 
is good, and this you may in a measure know, from the re- 
ports that are industriously circulated. I repeat it again. 
General, the respect you owe to the opinion of your friends, 
the duties you owe to your family, and to the world, forbid 
the idea of your putting yourself upon a footing with boys, 
especially when they are made the instruments of others. 
To use an Irish bull, if it was me I should to eternity feel 
mean to be killed by one of these puppies. Your friends 
would have to lament your loss, though not able to justify 
the occasion of it. 



150 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



" No man, not even your worst enemies, doubt your per- 
sonal courage, and you would gain much more by not no- 
ticing anything that these people may say, than otherwise. 
Be assured that their slander can do you no harm among 
your friends. 

" These observations, you know, come from a friend who 
has not only thought maturely upon the subject, but one 
who has consulted the feelings and opinions of many judi- 
cious men of honor. Should you be assaulted by any of 
the younger or inferior gang, repel it with a stick, &c. 
Those of stability and standing in society you will call upon, 
should proper occasion occur, in a proper manner. But 
never, never, my dear sir, hart the feelings of your friends 
by putting yourself on a level with loi/s, inslninients — mere 
tools of others, doing yourself no honor, perhaps losing j'our 
life with one of them ; and their enmity is bitter enough 
to even hire it done, if they could get hands. Besides the 
mortification of your friends, you might in this way deprive 
yourself of that life which ought to be preserved for better 
purposes, among which is the chance (upon some proper 
occasion, which hereafter, by patience, may come) of chas- 
tising in a proper manner the prompters behind the curtain. 

" Should any diflBculty arise, may I ask you as a friend, 
before you do anything, to consult your friends ? Patience, 
deliberation and courage, will surmount all difficulties. 

" I am, yr. friend, Jno : OvERTON. 

"Ge.v'l Jackson." 

The venerable Gen. Robertson also wrote Gen. Jackson 
a very sensible letter, which no doubt had a strong influ- 
ence in checking the impetuosity of his temper and bring- 
ing him to more calm and sober reflection on the subject of 
dueling. Public opinion generally turned in his favor as 
the hidden facts of the aff;ur came to light; and although 
the better portion of the community' could not but condemn 
the morality of his conduct, yet all admired the unexam- 
pled nerve he had exhibited in the duel, and when this 
quality had opportunity for its legitimate and proper dis- 
play in the defense of his country, as the leader of one of 
its armies, criticism ceased, and he became, and remained 
until death, the idol of his fellow-citizens. 

It was a peculiarity of General Jackson that he rarely 
alluded to his personal difficulties when once settled. In 
all his intimacy with Amos Kendall he never but once re- 
ferred to his duel with Dickinson, and that was after he had 
retired from the Presidency, when he mentioned in a letter 
that he would send him the correspondence relating to it, 
to aid in the preparation of his biography, upon which 
Kendall was engaged. He was equally reserved with the 
elder Blair, another of his closest friends. It became, 
through some circumstance, a topic of conversation between 
them on one occasion. Jackson dismissed it with the single 
remark that he would have killed Dickinson had he (Dick- 
inson) shot him through the brain. 

The editor of the " Jackson Papers," recently published 
in the Cincinnati Commercial, says, — 

" I have felt some curiosity in inquiring into the history 
of this matter to learn the fate of Swann, whose luckless 
intermeddling with Jackson's and Dickinson'saffairs brought 
the duel about. In response to inquiries recently addressed 



to Col. Willoughby Williams, of Arkansas, I have been fur^ ' 
nished with the following information. It; is written from I 
Nashville : 

" ' Mr. Swann must have left Nashville about the year 
1809, which was the year of my first visit to Nashville, as 
I knew but little of him after that time. Mr. Charles 
Dickinson came from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and 
I think Mr. Swann came from the same county. Mr. Isaac 
Erwin, the brother-in-law of Charles Dickinson, and myself, 
married daughters of Captain John Nichols, who was a 
friend of Dickinson in that unfortunate affiiir. 

" ' I have often been at the grave of Mr. Dickinson, and 
was present fifty years ago when his son had it inclosed 
with a cedar fence. I was there on yesterday and found 
the tomb, which is made of stone used at that day for such 
purposes. The tomb is made of side and end stone about 
three feet high, and a large stone slab on the top. There 
is no inscription on it. It stands as square and perfect as 
when placed there. A grove of trees has grown up around 
it. No other grave is near. It is in an open lot near a 
large spring on the farm owned at that time by Captain Jo- 
seph Erwin, the father-in-law of Dickinson.' 

" Mr. Samuel D. Morgan, who incloses me this letter, 
adds : ' I know nothing personally of the duel, as I was at 
the time a mere child. I was, when a school-boy, quite in- 
timate in General Jackson's family, but in all the time I 
am sure I never heard him make the slightest allusion to 
this or any other of his quarrelsome aflfairs.' " 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

PUBLIC LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JACKSOKT. 

How He was Nominated for the Presidency — Major Lewis' Narrativ:e 
— Tlie Great Race of 1S24 — J.ackson'd Defeat with a Large Plural- 
ity — Ilis Election in 182S — Death of Mrs. Jackson — Characteris- 
tics of His Groat Statesmanship — Second Election and Administra- 
tion — Fae-Simile of His "Writing — His Character and Abilities — 
His Last Hours — His Death — Monuments at the Hermitage. 

The manner in which Gen. Jackson was nominated for 
the Presidency is related by Maj. William B. Lewis, one 
of the chief actors in the events which he describes. The 
matter will be of especial interest to the people of this 
county, inasmuch as Maj. Lewis was a prominent and well- 
known citizen, a life-long friend of Gen. Jackson's, and his 
most confidential adviser in all his domestic and political 
aifairs. Maj. Lewis was a gentleman of leisure, residing 
on a fine estate between Nashville and the Hermitage. His 
house was the place at which the particular friends of Gen. 
Jackson, and often the general himself, were accustomed to 
meet and hold those political councils out of which grew 
the series of events resulting in Jackson's election to the 
Senate in 1823, and to the Presidency in 1828. The de- 
votion of Maj. Lewis to Gen. Jackson appears to have 
been untainted by any motives of emolument or self-inter- 
est, he being a man of fortune and personally modest and 



PUBLIC LIFE AND CHARACTER OP JACKSON. 



151 



unaspirinii;. Tlie labor whicli he devoted tlirougb many 
years to the one object of securing Gen. Jackson's election 
was a labor of love, and was inspired by a strong desire to see 
his great friend honored by the highest place in the gift of a 
grateful nation, which he had so richly merited by his emi- 
nent and patriotic services to his country. When this ob- 
ject was accomplished, Maj. Lewis accompanied Gen. Jack- 
son to Washington, and lived with him in his private 
apartments in the Presidential mansion. Maj. Lewis relates 
as follows the indubitable events as they occurred under his 
own eye, and many of them at his own suggestion : 

MAJ. LEWIS' NARRATIVE. 

" When Gen. Jackson was fighting the battles of his 
country and acquiring for himself and it imperishable 
glory, he never once thought, as I verily believe, of reach- 
I ing the Presidency. He did not dream of such a thing. 
The idea never entered his imagination. All he aimed at 
or desired at the time was military renown acquired by pa- 
triotic services. This he prized far above all civil fame, and 
docs now, if I know anything of the feelings of his heart. 
He was naturally and essentially a military man, — full of 
ardor, of indomitable courage ; possessing the rare quality 
of inspiring every man about iiim with feelings as enthu- 
siastic and dauntless as his own ; quick to conceive and as 
prompt to execute ; vigilant and of untiring industry ; and, 
in addition to all these high and noble qualities, ho was 
endowed with a sound judgment and discriminating mind. 
In fact, he had all the requisites of a great military com- 
mander, and, with the same theatre to act upon, he would 
not, in my opinion, have been inferior to any of the great 
of either ancient or modern times. This you may consider 
extravagant, but I assure you I do firmly and conscien- 
tiously believe that by nature he was not, as a military 
man, inferior to either Alexander, Julius Cffisar, or Napo- 
leon Bonaparte, and, had he occupied the place of either 
under like circumstances, would not have been less success- 
ful or distinguished. 

" With these feelings and views, thirsting for military 
fame, and ambitious of being distinguished as a great com- 
mander, is at unreasonable to suppose that civil honors were 
but little coveted or cared for by him ? No, my friend. He 
did not even dream of the high civic destiny that awaited 
him, and which was to be the crowning glory of his life and 
character. The first suggestion of that sort came from 
Kentucky, and was made in the summer of 1815 by an 
officer who was under his command and assisted in the de- 
fense of New Orleans. (Mr. Edward Livingston, too, 
about this time suggested the same thing.) The letter of 
this ofiicer was addressed to a third person, a mutual friend, 
who inclosed it to Gen. Jackson, as was undoubtedly ex- 
pected by the writer. In this letter it was proposed that 
he should be forthwith brought out as a candidate ; but 
the general laughed at the idea, and returning the letter to 
his friend, begged that nothing further might either be said 
or done in relation to the matter. The proposition was too 
absurd, he said, to be entertained for a moment. In fact, 
nothing further was thought or said, as I believe, upon the 
subject of his being a candidate, until about the close of Mr. 
Monroe's first term. Thus began and thus ended the first 



movement in favor of bringing out Gen. Jackson for the 
Presidency. Col. Burr, I am well assured, had no agency in 
this, for it occurred some three months before the date of his 
letter to Governor Alston ; nor was it put in motion by any 
combination of militant Federalists and anti-Jefl'ersonians. 

" As long as Gen. Jackson remained in the military ser- 
vice of the country, little was said about bringing him out 
for the Presidency. Having been appointed Governor of 
Florida by the President of the United States, he resigned 
his commission in the army about the 1st of June, 1821, 
and repaired forthwith to Pensacola, to receive the Territory 
from the Spanish authorities. After organizing a Territorial 
government and putting it in operation, he withdrew from 
all public employment and returned to Tennessee, where 
he expected to spend the rest of his life as a private 
citizen. Nor, indeed, was it believed by his friends that 
they would be blest with his society very long, as his health 
was at that time, and had been for six or seven years pre- 
vious, very feeble, and his constitution apparently exhausted 
and broken down. No .sooner, however, had he become a 
private citizen, and had set himself down once more upon 
his own beautiful estate, the Hermitage, than the eyes of 
his fellow-citizens were turned towards him, as having emi- 
nently entitled himself, by his brilliant and patriotic zervices, 
to the highest honors within the gift of a free and enlight- 
ened people. 

" In Tennessee, and particularly at Nashville, his friends 
began now to speak of him as a candidate, and in good 
earnest to take the necessary steps to place his name promi- 
nently before the country. It is true that some four or five 
candidates were already in the field ; but so confident were 
they of Gen. Jackson's strength and popularity with the 
people, on account of his great public services, that they 
had no fear for the result. Tbey not only, therefore, began 
to speak out upon the subject, but to make their wishes 
and intentions known through the public journals. The 
first demonstration of this latter method of supporting him 
was made in January, 1822, in one of the Nashville papers. 
Soon afterwards the editor of the Nashville Gazette, Col. 
Wilson, took the field openly and boldly for the general as 
his candidate for the Presidency. The proposition was 
cordially responded to by the people of Tennessee, and was 
also well received in other States, particularly so in tlio 
Democratic and patriotic State of Penn.sylvania. The in- 
quiry now was. In what way shall his name be presented to 
the nation? The most imposing manner of bringing him 
forward and presenting him to the other States of the 
Union, it was finally agreed, would be by the Legislature 
of his own State. This would not only give weight to the 
nomination, it was believed, but would show to the whole 
country that we were in earnest. It was determined, there- 
fore, that the necessary steps should be taken to bring him 
forward at the next session of the Legislature. 

" In these preliminary movements, it appears to me, you 
will be scarcely able to perceive any agency either on the 
part of Col. Burr or the ' militant Federalists,' of whom 
so much is said. Nor had the officers of the army, whom 
he also represents as taking an active and leading part, any- 
thing to do with them. The truth is, they were the vol- 
untary and spontaneous acts of his Tennessee friends, 



152 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



without the suggestions or promptings of any person or 
persons outside of the State. 

"About this time, spring of 1822, I left home on a 
visit to North Carolina to see the family of my fother-in- 
law, Governor Montfort Stokes, who was then a senator of 
Congress. The Governor had always belonged to the 
Democratic party, and was one of its prominent and most 
influential leaders. His friendship and political support 
were, therefore, considered a matter of importance by those 
who were seeking favors at the hands of the people. What 
were his predilections at that time in relation to the Presi- 
dential aspirants I know not ; but, as you may well sup- 
pose, I felt anxious to enlist him on the side of Gen. 
Jackson. He had not returned from Washington at the 
time I reached his residence, but arrived soon afterwards. 
During my continuance at his house I had frequent con- 
versations with hira upon political subjects, and found him 
a warm personal friend and admirer of Gen. Jackson ; but 
he gave not the slightest intimation that he preferred him 
for the Presidency. This occasioned mo some uneasiness, 
for I thought it a matter of very great importance, as it 
regarded the general's success in North Carolina, that he 
should have the support of the Governor. I determined, 
therefore, to have a full and frank conversation with him 
before I left upon the subject, and it was not long before I 
had an opportunity of doing so, and learning his opinion 
and views without reserve. He frankly remarked to me 
that so little had as yet been said about Gen. Jackson as a 
candidate, he had not supposed it was seriously intended 
to run him, and asked me if such was really the intention 
of his friends. 

"' Uiidouhfedli/,^ 1 repVied, and added that the Legisla- 
ture of Tennessee would certainly nominate him at the 
nest session. 

" ' What support do his friends expect him to get,' he 
inquired, ' if nominated ?' 

" I answered, ' They expect him to be supported by the 
toliole country.' 

" ' Then,' he ficetiously replied, ' he will certainly be 
elected.' 

" Assuming then a graver air and tone, he said to me 
that he had known Gen. Jackson from boyhood, he having 
read law with his brother when quite a youth, and that 
there was no living man he so much admired ; but being 
already committed to the support of Mr. Calhoun, he could 
not advocate his election. This was very unwelcome news 
to me, bat I cannot say that it was altogether unexpected, 
for I was led to anticipate something of the sort from his 
silence as regarded his preference in my previous conversa- 
tion with him. 

" I then remarked, ' But suppose Mr. Calhoun should 
not be a candidate, cannot you support the general as your 
next choice ?' 

" ' Yes,' he promptly replied, ' with great pleasure,' but 
added that, at the same time, he had no reason to believe 
that anything could or would occur to prevent his being a 
candidate. 

" Under such circumstances this was all I had a right to 
expect or ask, and I parted with the Governor, when about 
to leave for Tennessee, fully satisfied that, in case Mr. Cal- 



houn should not be a candidate, he would go for Gen. ! 
Jackson. In this I was not mistaken. The moment Mr. 
Calhoun was withdrawn by his Pennsylvania friends the ' 
Governor rallied upon the general, and supported him with ' 
great energy and zeal. Having now the support of both Gen. 
Polk and Governor Stokes, the two leaders, I may say, of 
the Federal and Democratic parties in North Carolina, his 
friends became confident of being able to carry the State 
for him. They were not mistaken ; its vote was given to 
him by a large majority. 

" I returned to Nashville about the 1st of June, and 
found the friends of the general in high spirits and san- 
guine of success. Indeed, this feeling was not confined to 
Nashville ; it pervaded the whole State. Under this state 
of things the Legislature met, and in a few days thereafter, 
the 20th of July, 1822, adopted a preamble and resolutions 
which placed the general before the country as a legitimate 
candidate for the Presidency. Being now formally nomi- 
nated, his friends in every part of the Union entered into 
the contest with increased vigor and energy. But few of 
the Federalists, however, took part in it till after the pub- 
lication in May, 1824, of the general's celebrated letters to 
Mr. Monroe. Indeed, but few of them, or any, knew of 
their existence until then, although they, it has been alleged, 
had won their hearts as early as 1815. I should, however, 
except Gen. William Polk, to whom I showed the letter of 
the 12th of November, 1816, in the autumn of 1823, and 
perhaps John Quincy Adams also, to whom Mr. Monroe, I 
have no doubt, showed both letters, which accounts, to my 
mind at least, for his having sustained the general in his 
Seminole campaign with so much ability and zeal in his 
dispatch to our minister at Madrid. 

" The general being now fairly out as a candidate, it was 
considered indispensable, in order to make his success the 
more certain, that the Congressional caucus should be broken 
down. This was an engine of great political power, and 
had been used by the politicians of the country for twenty 
years in manufacturing Presidents, and unless it could be 
destroyed it would be difficult to overcome its influence 
upon those who had long looked upon its nominees as the 
only legitimate party candidates. With a view, to accom- 
plish this object. Judges Overton and Hay wood, both able and 
distinguished lawyers, opened a heavy and effective fire upon 
it in a series of well-written numbers which were published 
in the Nashville papers. These, with the attacks made 
upon it in other quarters, added to Gen. Jackson's great 
personal popularity, contributed greatly, doubtless, to the 
overthrow of that renowned personage ' King Caucus,' as 
it was then derisively called. It is true he mounted his 
throne again in the winter of 1823-24, and nominated as 
Jlr. Monroe's successor William H. Crawford ; but His 
Majesty had become powerless, and his nominee, for the 
first time, was badly beaten. This was the last time he 
ascended the throne, having died soon after of the wounds 
he received in the campaign of 1824, and has never been 
heard of since. Not even his ghost made its appearance 
in the campaign of 1828. It strikes me that you will be 
equally at a loss to perceive in all this any agency either of 
Col. Burr, his militant Federalists, or anti-Jeffersonians. 

" As Tennessee was almost unanimous for Gen. Jackson, 



PUBLIC LIFE AND CHARACTEE OP JACKSON. 



153 



it might have been supposed that his friends would have 
had little or no trouble in that State after his nomination. 
Such, however, was not the fact. Col. John Williams had 
been a senator from our State in Congress for eight 3'ears, 
and as his term of service would expire on the 3d of March, 
1823, the Legislature, which met in October of that year, 
had to elect a new senator. Col. Williams was a candidate 
for re-election, but being a personal and political enemy of 
Gen. Jackson, it was determined, if possible, to defeat him 
unless he would pledge himself to the support of tlie general 
for the Presidency. This he refused to do, having already 
engaged to support Jlr. Crawford. The general's friends 
had no alternative left them but to beat him, and this was 
no easy task. East Tennessee claimed the senator, and the 
colonel was a great favorite with the people of that end of 
the State. Besides, with the view of strengthening him- 
self in other sections, soon after the elections in August 
were over, he mounted his horse and rode through the 
whole State, calling on the members-elect to the Legisla- 
ture, and obtaining promises from most of them to vote 
for him. They should not have thus committed themselves, 
but having done so the greater part of them were disposed 
to redeem their pledge, though admitting they had done 
wrong. The most devoted and zealous of the general's 
friends were determined, however, to leave no stone un- 
turned to defeat his election. Several persons were .spoken 
of as opposing candidates, but none of them could obtain, 
it was ascertained, the requisite number of votes. The 
general's old friend, Johnny Rhea, could come the nearest, 
but he lacked three votes. This was a very unpleasant 
state of things. To elect a bitter personal enemy of Gen. 
Jackson, and who was known to be in favor of Mr. Craw- 
ford for the Presidency, would have a most injurious effect, 
it was believed, upon his prospects. Notwithstanding he 
had been nominated by the Legislature some fifteen months 
before, it was apprehended, if an enemy of his should be 
sent to the Senate, it would be difficult to make the other 
States believe that Tennessee was in earnest in her support 
of him. It would certainly have the appearance of great 
inconsistency, and well calculated to nullify the effect of 
his nomination. 

" This could not be permitted, and it was resolved at all 
hazards to defeat the election of Col. Williams. It became 
necessary now to play a bold and decisive game. As no- 
body else could be found to beat the colonel, it was proposed 
to beat him with the general himseJf. This having been 
made known produced great uneasiness and alarm among 
the more timid members, from an apprehension that even 
he could not be elected, but Blr. Eaton and myself, who 
were on the ground, took upon ourselves the responsibility 
of the step, and insisted on his being nominated to the 
Legislature as a candidate for the Senate. We came to 
the conclusion that if the general must be politically sac- 
rificed it mattered little in what way it was done, whether 
in being defeated himself in the election of a United States 
senator, or by the election of his bitter enemy. But I had 
no fear of his being defeated. I did not believe it possible 
that a majority of the members would be willing to take 
upon themselves the responsibility of voting against him. 
He was accordingly nominated to the Legislature by Maj. 
20 



Maney, a highly respectable member from Williamson 
County, and he was elected, as I had anticipated, by quite 
a large majority. Had he been beaten it might possibly 
have destroyed, or at least injured, his prospects for the 
Presidency, but it was believed that his defeat would not be 
more blasting in its effects than the election of Col. Wil- 
liams under all the circumstances of the case. 

" These are the reasons which induced the friends of 
Gen. Jackson to send him to the United States Senate in 
the winter of 1823-24, which was thought by many of his 
friends at the time to have been rash and impolitic. The 
general himself was far from desiring it, but there was no 
help for it, and he submitted with a good grace. He was 
a soldier, and knew how to obey as well as to command." 

And so Gen. Jackson was at once a senator and a candi- 
date for the Presidency. Only twenty-five members of the 
Legislature ventured to vote against him for the senator- 
ship ; and such was the power of his name in Tennessee 
that of the twenty-five but three were re-elected to the next 
Legislature. It is worthy of note that while Gen. Jack- 
son was in the Senate this time he voted for the abolition 
of imprisonment for debt. 

In the Presidential campaign of 1824 there were four 
candidates in the field, viz. : Gen. Jackson, William H. 
Crawford, of South Carolina, Henry Clay, of Kentucky, 
and John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts. Gen. Jack- 
son was the gahiing candidate, and no doubt would have 
secured a clear majority had the canvass been prolonged a 
few weeks. He had the largest popular vote, the greatest 
number of electoral votes, and the vote of the greatest 
number of States. But there was no choice of President 
by the people. The election was carried into the House of 
Representatives, and through the influence of Mr. Clay 
was given to John Quincy Adams, Mr. Clay being made 
Secretary of State. 

This result, however, did not dampen the ardor of the 
friends of Gen. Jackson ; on the contrary, they saw in the 
splendid race which he had made the precursor of certain 
victory the next term. He resigned his place in the Senate 
and was welcomed home in the summer of 1825. In Oc- 
tober of the same year the Legislature renominated him, 
with only three dissenting voices. Louisiana, by her Legis- 
lature, invited him to New Orleans to attend the anniversary 
of his great victory of the 8th of January. His reception 
was the grandest ovation ever witnessed in the history of our 
country, and roused the enthusiasm of the entire South- 
west, while it awakened a new discussion of his merits and 
claims throughout all the other portions of the Union. 
The multitudes who were hurrahing for Jackson increased 
every day, but the tongue of slander was not silent. The 
partisans of Adams, and the opposition press generally, 
began to pour out vials of calumny, but his friends took 
good care that the false and base aspersions of his enemies 
should be promptly and fully answered. It was at this 
time that the celebrated committee of citizens of Davidson 
County, stigmatized by their opponents as the " White- 
washing Committee," was formed for the purpose of vindi- 
cating the character of Gen. Jackson, which was to be 
done by the publication of truth iu tlie place of falsehood 



154 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



and slander. The committee was organized at the house of 
Maj. William B. Lewis, and consisted of John Overton, 
Kobert C. Foster, George W. Campbell, William L. Brown, 
John Catron, Robert Whyte, Thomas Claiborne, Joseph 
Phillips, Daniel Graham, William B. Lewis, Jesse Whar- 
ton, Edward Ward, Alfred Balch, Felix Robertson, John 
Shelby, Josiah Nichol, William White, and John McNairy, 
— a cohort of the most intellectual and reputable men in 
Tennessee, pledged to fight falsehood and calumny by the 
publication of truth and facts, and by these weapons alone 
to conquel'. The committee successfully and triumphantly 
vindicated their candidate. At the election in 1828 he re- 
ceived one hundred and seventy-eight electoral votes to Blr. 
Adams' eighty-three. 

In the midst of this triumph, and while the people of 
Nashville were preparing for a grand celebration of the 
election of their favorite candidate, a shadow fell upon the 
Hermitage which was never lifted during Gen. Jackson's 
life. 

DEATH OF MRS. JACKSON. 

The circumstances of this sad event are related by 
Parton, who learned the story from " Old Hannah," the 
faithful servant of Mrs. Jackson, in whose arms she breathed 
her last : 

" Wednesday morning, December 17th, all was going on 
as usual at the Hermitage. The general was in the fields at 
some distance from the house, and Mrs. Jackson, apparently 
in tolerable health, was occupied in her household duties. 
Old Hannah asked her to come into the kitcheu to give her 
opinion upon some article of food that was ia course of 
preparation. She performed the duty required of her and 
returned to her usual sitting-room, followed by Hannah. 
Suddenly she uttered a horrible shriek, placed her hands 
upon her heart, sank into a chair struggling for breath, and 
fell forward into Hannah's arms. There were only servants 
in the house, many of whom ran frantically in, uttering the 
loud lamentations with which Africans are wont to give 
vent to their feelings. The stricken lady was placed upon 
her bed, and while messengers hurried away for assistance 
Hannah employed the only remedy she knew to relieve the 
anguish of her mistress. ' I rubbed her side,' said the 
plain-spoken Hannah, ' till it was black and blue.' 

"No relief She writhed in agony. She fought for 
breath. The general came in alarmed beyond description. 
The doctor arrived. Mrs. A. J. Donelson hurried in from 
her house near by. The Hermitage was soon filled with 
relatives, friends, and servants. With short intervals of 
partial relief, Blrs. Jackson coQtinued to suft'er all that a 
woman could sutfer for the space of sixty hours, during 
which her husband never left her bedside for ten minutes. 
On Friday evening she was much better ; was almost free 
from pain, and breathed with far less difficulty. The first 
use, and, indeed, the only use, she made of her recovered 
speech was to protest to the general that she was quite well, 
and to implore him to go to another room and sleep, and 
by no means to allow her indisposition to prevent his at- 
tending the banquet on the 23d. She told him that the 
day of the banquet would be a very fatiguing one, and he 
must not permit his strength to be reduced by want of 
sleep. 



" Still, the general would not leave her ; he distrusted 
this sudden relief He feared it was the relief of torpor 
or exhaustion, and the more as the remedies proscribed by 
Dr. Hogg, the attending physician, had not produced their 
desired effect. Saturday and Sunday passed, and still she 
lay free from serious pain, but weak and listless ; the gen- 
eral still her watchful, constant, almost sleepless attendant. 

" On Monday evening, the evening before the 23d, her 
disease appeared to take a decided turn for the better, and 
she then so earnestly entreated the general to prepare for 
the fatigues of the morrow by having a night of undis- 
turbed sleep that he consented, at last, to go into an ad- 
joining room and lie down upon a sofa. The doctor was 
still in the house. Hannah and George were to sit up with 
their mistress. 

" At nine o'clock the general bade her good-night, went 
into the next room, and took off his coat, preparatory to 
lying down. He had been gone about five minutes. Mrs. 
Jackson was then for the first time removed from her bed, 
that it might be rearranged for the- night. While sitting 
iu a chair, supported in the arms of Hannah, she uttered 
a long, loud, inarticulate cry, which was immediately fol- 
lowed by a rattling noise in the throat. Her head fell for- 
ward upon Hannah's shoulder. She never spoke nor 
breathed again. 

" There was a wild rush into the room of husband, 
doctor, relatives, friends, servants. The general assisted to 
lay her upon the bed. ' Bleed her,' he cried. No blood 
flowed from her arm. ' Try the temple, doctor.' Two 
drops stained her cap, but no more flowed. 

" It was long before he could believe her dead. He 
looked eagerly into her face, as if still expecting to see 
signs of returning life. Her hands and feet grew cold. 
There could be no doubt then, and they prepared a table 
for laying her out. Willi a choking voice the general 
said, — 

" ' Spread four blankets upon it. If she comes to, she 
will lie so hard upon the table.' 

" He sat all night long in the room by her side, with his 
face in his hands, ' grieving,' said Hannah, and occasionally 
looking into the face and feeling the heart and pulse of the 
form so dear to him. Maj. Lewis, who had been immedi- 
ately sent for, arrived just before daylight, and found him 
still there, nearly speechless and wholly inconsolable. He 
sat in the room nearly all the next day, the picture of de- 
spair. It was only with great difiiculty that he was per- 
suaded to take a little cofi'ee. 

" And this was the way," concluded Hannah, "that old 
mistus died ; and we always say that when we lost her, we 
lost a mistus and a mother, too ; and more a mother than a 
mistus. And we say the same of old master; for he was 
more a father to us than a master, and many's the time 
we've wished him back again, to help us out of our 
troubles." 

The news of the sad event reached Nashville on the 
morning of the 23d, while the committee were busily en- 
gaged in preparations for the general's reception. The day 
appointed for the banquet was turned into a day of mourn- 
ing. All business was suspended by proclamation of the 
mayor, and the church-bells were tolled from one to two 



PUBLIC LIFE AND CHAllACTER OF JACKSON. 



155 



o'clock, — tlic hour of her funeral. It was in tlic midst of 
such grief that the President-elect prepared for his inaugu- 
ration, and hastened away to Washington to enter upon an 
administration beset with peculiar difficulties. We shall 
not attempt to follow him through his career of four years 
in the Presidential chair. It is enough to say that his ad- 
ministration was entirely successful ; that he restored the gov- 
ernment to the principles of Jefferson ; that he stayed the cor- 
rupt and unconstitutional expenditure of the public money, 
designed for ioterual improvements ; that he waged war 
upon that gigantic and overshadowing monopoly, the Bank 
of the United States ; that on the tariff question he stood 
between the two dangerous extremes of free trade and pro- 
liibition, and counseled moderation and compromise; that, 
in less than two years from the beginning of his adminis- 
tration, the trade to the West Indies, which had been lost 
by former mismanagement, was again opened to the United 
States on terms of reciprocity ; that, within the same 
period, treaties of the utmost importance and difficulty were 
negotiated with Denmark, Turkey, and France; and that 
the disputed boundary on the Eastern frontier was adjusted 
on terms of advantage to the United States. All this pres- 
tige had the administration gained, and hence it was easy 
in 1832 to secure the popular acceptance of his nomination 
for a second term. The result, however, astonished every- 
body. Not the most enthusiastic Jackson man anticipated 
a victory quite so overwhelming. Two hundred and eighty- 
eight was the whole number of electoral votes cast. Gen. 
Jackson received iico Imndred and nineteen, — seventy-four 
more than a majority.^ Blr. Clay, his antagonist, received 
only furty-nine votes. 

The second administration was characterized by the same 
energy and success which had marked the first. Some of 
the President's great measures, which had been inaugurated 
during the first four years, were carried out and consum- 
mated. The war on the United States Bank ended in the 
destruction of that infamous institution ; nullification was 
put down ; the nation was restored to honor and credit 
abroad ; harmony and peace prevailed with all foreign na- 
tions, and universal plenty and prosperity reigned at home. 

Gen. Jackson was, beyond all question, the most self- 
reliant chief magistrate this nation ever had. He marked 
out his own policy, and often acted contrary to the advice 
of his nearest friends and that of his Cabinet, in the face 
of the most formidable difiSoulties. " I take the responsi- 
bility," was his short method of settling such differences. 
And usually his own judgment pi-oved the better guide 
than that of his advisers. 

Attempts have been made to belittle the education of 
Gen. Jackson, and some have gone so far as to pronounce 
him "ignorant and unlettered." The imputation is absurd 
and entirely unfounded. Learned he was not, in the sense 
of being erudite, but his mind was a fountain of fresh, orig- 
inal ideas and thoughts, which found clear, forcible, and 
vigorous expression in language fitting and appropriate to 
his subjects. He could not only write well and fluently, 
but rapidly. Few men have had command of a vocabulary 
more pungent and forcible, and few have possessed in a 
higher degree the fiiculty of making themselves clearly 
understood. 



As an example of forcible and pungent rejoinder, we 
give a brief extract from Jackson's reply to an address of 
John Quincy Adams, delivered to the youth of Boston on 
the 7th of October, 184-1: 

" Who but a traitor to his country can appeal as Mr. 
Adams does to the youth of Boston in the close of his ad- 
dress ? ' Your trial is approaching. The spirit of freedom 
and the spirit of slavery are drawing together for the 
deadly conflict of arms. The annexation of Texas to this 
Union is the blast of the trumpet for a foreign, civil, ser- 
vile, and Indian war, of which the government of the 
United States, fallen into faithless hands, has already twice 
given the signal, — first, by a shameless treaty rejected by 
a virtuous Senate; and, again, by the glove of defiance 
hurled by the apostle of nullification at the avowed policy 
of the British empire peacefully to promote the extinction 
of slavery throughout the world. Young men of Boston, 
burnish your armor, prepare for the conflict; and I say to 
you, in the language of Galgacus to the ancient Britons, 
think of your forefathers, think of your posterity.' 

" What is this but delusion, or, what is worse, a direct 
appeal to arms to oppose the decision of the American 
people should it be favorable to the annexation of Texas to 
the United States ? 

" I may be blamed for spelling Mr. Erving's name 
wrong, but I trust I shall never deserve the shame of 
mistaking the path of duty where my country's rights are 
involved. I believed, from the disclosures made to me of 
the transactions of 1819, that Mr. Adams surrendered the 
interests of the United States when he took the Sabine 
River as the boundary between us and Spain, when he 
might have gone to the Colorado, if not to the Rio del 
Norte. Such was the natural inference from the facts 
stated by Mr. Erving ; and there is nothing in the account 
now given of the negotiation to alter this impression. The 
address, on the contrary, does not at all relieve Mr. Adams. 
It proves that he was then, as now, an alien to the true 
interests of his country ; but he had not then, as now, 
the pretext of co-operation with Great Britain in her 
peaceful endeavors to extinguish slavery throughout the 
world. 

" Is there an American patriot that can read the above 
extract, and other similar ones that may be taken from the 
address of this monarchist in disguise, without a feeling of 
horror? Grant that the thousands who think with me 
that the addition of Texas to our Union would be a na- 
tional benefit are in error. Are we to be deterred from the 
expression of our opinions by threats of armed opposition ? 
And is it in this manner that the peaceful policy of Great 
Britain is to be carried into execution, should the Ameri- 
can people decide that we are in error ? Or does Mr. Adams 
mean to insinuate that the will of Great Britain should be 
the law for American statesmen, and will be enforced at the 
point of the bayonet by those who descend from the patriots 
of our Revolution ? 

" Instead of going to British history for sentiments 
worthy of the republican youth of our country on an 
occasion so vitally affecting our national safety and honor, 
I would recommend those in Gen. Washington's Farewell 
Address, and particularly his warning to us to avoid entang- 



156 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ling alliances with foreign nations and whatever is calculated 
to create sectional or geographical parties at home." 

Gen. Jackson had his full share of commendable virtues 
and as many faults as other people. He was ardently ad- 
mired by his friends and grossly abused and misrepresented 
by bis enemies. One of his most characteristic letters ex- 
tant is a long and confidential communication to his friend, 
J. George Harris, which has never been published. It is 
written in a free, off-hand style, without an alteration, omis- 
sion, or erasure from beginning to end, remarkable for its 
general accuracy of diction and punctuation. It is of one 
hundred lines, closely written on three pages of a large 
sheet of old-fashioned letter-paper, the fourth page left 
blank for the address and seal, as it was before the days of 
envelopes and mucilage. It is dated at the Hermitage, 
Dec. 14, 1842, when he was seventy-five years of age, in 
the zenith of his political influence, and when his opinions 
upon all public questions were by all parties, and especially 
by his friends, sought with avidity. 

Mr. Harris was then, and had been for three or four 
years, the editor of the Nashville Union, which was re- 
garded throughout the country as correctly representing 
the opinions and principles of Gen. Jackson, which were 
often misrepresented by the opposition press. Through an 
almost daily correspondence with Mr. Harris these -misrep- 
resentations were corrected in the Union. 

In this case, soon after Vice-President Tyler succeeded 
to the Presidency, on the death of Gen. Harrison, and 



when Mr. Calhoun had been appointed Secretary of State, 
the rumor prevailed in all the administration papers that 
Gen. Jackson was not only in accord with Mr. Calhoun on 
the annexation of Texas, but that a final reconciliation of 
all their old disagreements had taken place, so that the 
former would no longer antagonize the aspirations of the 
latter for the next Democratic nomination for the Presi- 
dency. In the letter referred to, now before us, the old 
chief rises in his stirrups and says, " What ! I make con- 
cessions to Mr. Calhoun ? I never did, and, I assure you I 
never will. There is not one word of truth in the state- 
ment. I have not seen him since I left the executive 
chair." 

And then he proceeds to show that this attempt to 
draw him out and commit bim in favor of Mr. Calhoun 
before the people is precisely the same as that made eight 
years before to place him before the country as in favor of 
Judge White for the Presidency, before the Democratic 
National Convention had made its nomination. In both 
cases he acted according to his fixed determination not to 
interfere, either directly or indirectly, with the conventions, 
but to abide by their decisions and cordially support their 
nominees. And he instructs his friend, Mr. Harris, to ex- 
plain his position in tlie columns of the Union. The last 
half-page of the letter, personal and not private in its char- 
acter, is given below, as showing the accuracy of his style 
and orthography, which has sometimes been so shamefully 
misrepresented : 




PUBLIC LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JACKSON. 



157 



In his letter to Hon. Aaron V. Brown, dated at the 
Hermitage, Feb. 12, 181:3, Gen. Jaclcsoa laid the founda- 
tion of the great issue upon which Mr. Poll< was elected 
to the Presidency in 1844, — the annexation of Texas. We 
i\ regard this letter as an example of comprehensive and 
statesmanlike roasoning not unworthy of his great com- 
peers, Webster and Clay. It is too long to be quoted en- 
i tire, but we give the following paragraphs : 

" If, in a military point of view alone, the question be 
examined, it will be found to be most important to the 
United States to be in possession of that Territory. 

" Great Britain has already made treaties with Texas, 
and we know that far-seeing nation never omits a circum- 
stance in her extensive intercourse with the world which 
can be turned to account in increasing her military resources. 
May she not enter into- an alliance with Texas? and reserv- 
ing, as she doubtless will, the Northwestern boundary ques- 
tion as the cause of war with us whenever .she chooses to 
declare it, let us suppose that, as an ally with Texas, i^e 
are to fight her. Preparatory to such a movement, she 
sends her twenty thousand or thirty thousand men to 
Texas, organizes them on the Sabine, where her supplies 
and arms can be concentrated before we have even notice 
of her intentions, makes a lodgment on the Mississippi, 
excites the negroes to insurrection, the lower country falls, 
and with it New Orleans, and a servile war rages throughout 
the whole South and West. In the meanwhile, she is also 
moving an army along the Western frontier from Canada, 
which, in co-operation with the army from Texas, spreads 
ruin and havoc from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. 

" Who can estimate the national loss we may sustain 
before such a movement could be repelled with such forces 
as we could organize on short notice? 

" Remember that Texas borders upon us, on our west, 
to 42° of north latitude, and is our southern boundary to 
the Pacific. Remember, also, that if annexed to the United 
States our western boundary would be the Rio Grande, 
which is of itself a fortification, on account of its exten- 
sive, barren, and uninhabitable plains. With such a bar- 
rier on our west we are invincible. The whole European 
world could not in combination against us make an im- 
pression on our Union. Our population on the Pacific 
would rapidly increase, and soon be strong enough for the 
protection of our Western whalers, and, in the worst event, 
could always bo sustained by timely aids from the interme- 
diate country." 

In an oration delivered recently at the Nashville Centen- 
nial, Mr. Albert T. McNeal, of Bolivar, Tenn., brought 
out some excellent points res[iecting the character and 
personal qualities of Gen. Jackson. He said, " No 
grosser slander could be perpetrated of him than the 
assertion of some of his biographers that he was ignorant 
and illiterate, for he was always learned enough to control 
those around him, whether it were the dozens of a neigh- 
borhood or the millions of a nation, and his educational 
facilities and learning were always equal to the occasion, 
■whether he was. merely pleading the cause of a client in an 
obscure court-house or presenting the case of the American 
people in a message from the Presidential chair. . . . 

" When the war of 1812 came on with England and with 



the Indian tribes of the South and Southwest, and a leader 
was wanted, Andrew Jackson was the man among the men 
of that section deemed equal to the occasion, and a glorious 
history tells us how fully he fulfilled its demands and an- 
swered the purposes of his appointment as general of the 
army, first against the Indians and later against the British 
in the campaign of 1814-15, at New Orleans. 

" The history of Andrew Jackson contains no failures. 
He never failed. He always did what he was expected to 
do, and more. He never feared to undertake, and what he 
undertook he accomplished. 

" After his crowning triumph at New Orleans, which 
has made the 8th of January a day never to be forgotten 
by the American people, he next appears in the public ser- 
vice in the war against the Seminoles, and afterwards as 
Governor of the Territory of Florida, where, as was usual 
and peculiar in his whole career, he accomplished all that 
he was sent to do, doing nothing by halves; and wherever 
subjecting himself to critici-sm, the basis of complaint was 
never his hesitation to meet any emergency, or failure to 
accomplish his work, but rather that he was too willing to 
assume responsibility and accomplish work his superiors 
hesitated to formally assign him. 

"In 1823 the Legislature of Tennessee presented his 
name as a candidate for the Presidency, and elected him 
again to the United States Senate. 

" Receiving, in the election of 1824, more of the elec- 
toral vote and more of the popular vote than any other 
candidate, and clearly the choice of the people, he was 
defeated by the politicians. His active political life really 
began after this defeat in the House of Representatives, 
and lie never allowed the politicians to defeat him again. 

" Overwhelmingly elected President in 1828, and again 
in 1832, his career in civil life, in the highest position, 
accords perfectly with his career as a soldier, exhibiting 
greatness in all its roundness and power. Human great- 
ness certainly it was, but greatness nevertheless, and, 
judged by all human standards, of the first and rarest 
order, readily known and recognized from its very scarcity. 
Many men are called great; few are really so in the sense 
that Andrew Jackson was. . . . American history can 
point out no man with more of the elements and evidences 
of greatness than he. . . . 

" As a boy, resolute, brave, and self-reliant; as a young 
lawyer, seeking his fortune on the Western border, deter- 
mined, energetic, and aggressive. (Whether studious or 
not. is not material now, when we find he did his duty and 
kept always in the front.) 

" As a soldier, always victorious, with a completeness un- 
paralleled, at least on this continent. As a business man, 
thoroughly successful. As a statesman and politician, 
equally so, whether acting with or against the tide of popu- 
lar opinion. As a man and citizen, among those who knew 
him most intimately, as much their acknowledged leader as 
of the populace who looked on him as a hero from afar. 

" He knew himself and his own capabilities, and knew 
thoroughly well the men with whom he had to deal, and 
understood perfectly the genius and character of the Ameri- 
can people. And they understood him and knew him for 
their leader and representative. 



158 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



" He controlled himself when he wished to do so, wliat- 
cver has been said to the contrary, for no man could liave 
such enduring and permanent control over others who was 
not able to control himself. A man who knows himself 
and others can always control himself and others, and thus 
his knowledge becomes power. He possessed that rare and 
heroic courage, conjoined with strong and determined will, 
which is rarely to be met with and hard to define, and, 
when joined with that knowledge which is power, makes 
any man great. 

" It was such a courage as never shrank from danger, 
but rather went to meet it ; never feared responsibility, but 
invited and assumed it ; never sought to share the burden 
of it with others, but was ever ready and willing to bear it 
alone, as a leader should, — wearing no mask, but facing con- 
sequences with steady nerve and unquailing eye, frankly 
and boldly in the broad light of day. 

"No man had bitterer enemies than he, but his worst 
enemy never accused him of dishonesty or insincerity. 
Always sincere and honest himself, and intensely loyal to 
his friends, hypocrisy or disloyalty to friendship was to him 
an unpardonable sin. 

" While always tender and true (even to the verge of 
sentiment for a man intensely practical as he was) to those 
who loved him, he yet was the sternest knight to a mortal 
foe that ever laid lance in rest. 

" The faults were due much to bis time and surround- 
ings ; liis virtues cannot be too highly estimated now, for, 
such as (hey were, they are now the greatest need of Amer- 
ican public men, — individual energy, inflexible decision, 
straightforward sincerity, unflinching courage, stainless 
truth. 

" Uniting steadiness of purpose and firmness of nerve 
with a personal and moral courage almost unparalleled in 
the pages of history, he always dared do that he thought 
was right to do. There were no cowardly hesitations to 
annoy him, and no fear of consequences appalled him. 
While a man of the people, understanding them, and under- 
stood by them, yet he never feared to ilice the people, or to 
oppose public sentiment when be believed it wrong. 

" Whether we look on him as the young prisoner of thir- 
teen years who would receive a sabre out before he would 
black the boots of an enemy ; or in early manhood on the 
Tennessee border, amid the dangers and difiiculties of our 
early history ; or as a military chieftain, in a day without 
railroad or telegraph, when responsible position required 
firm, decided, and independent action ; or as President, in 
his war with the United States Bank or his veto of the 
Maysville bill, — we find the same traits of character, ever 
fixed and prominent as the nature of the man ; the heart 
. ever daring, the will never bending, and the iron hand and 
nerve that never faltered. Possessing remarkable knowledge 
of men and the clearest insight into all phases of human 
character, he knew on what friend.s he could rely, and at- 
tached them to him with hooks of steel, returning their 
attachment with an unwavering loyalty and strength." 

Gen. Jackson was not unmindful of the religious duties 
which he owed to his Creator. From his childhood be had 
revered Christianity, and often dwelt with grateful emotions 
on the tender and prayerful solicitude of liis pious mother. 



during his boyhood, for his spiritual welfare. These feel- 
ings ripened later in life into a positive religious interest, 
which manifested itself in reverence for the Sabbath and 
regular attendance upon church .services. He had caused 
a little chapel to be erected near the Hermitage, which was 
his favorite resort on Sunday as long as his health would 
permit. Here he was often seen, — not in pride and pomp, 
like titled dignitaries of tlie Old World, but as a plain unas- 
suming citizen, bowing with his neighborhood circle in deep 
humility before the little altar which he had reared, and 
sincerely partaking of the sacred emblems of faith. He 
fostered that little church with a father's care and protec- 
tion, and one of his last wishes was that it might ever be 
sustained as a place of worship. 

In his last will and testament he said, " I bequeath my 
body to the dust whence it came, and my soul to God who 
gave it, hoping for a happy immortality through the aton- 
ing merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the 
world. My desire is that my body be buried by the side of 
my dear departed wife, in the garden of the Hermitage, in 
the vault there prepared." 

His tomb at the Hermitage bears the simple inscription : 

"GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON, 
Boi-n March 15, 1707, 
Died June 8, 18-15." 

The remains of Mrs. Jackson lie in the corner of the 
Hermitage garden, next those cff her husband, in a tomb 
prepared by him. It resembles in appearance an open sum- 
mer-house, — a small white dome supported by pillars of 
white marble. The tablet that covers the remains of Mrs. 
Jackson bears the following inscription : 

_ "Here lies tlie remains of Mrs. Rachel Jackson, wife of President 
Jackson, who died the 22d of December, 1828, aged 61. Her face was 
fair, her person pleasing, her temper amiable, her heart kind; she 
delighted in relieving the wants of her fellow-creatures, and cultivated 
that divine pleasure by the most liberal and unpretending methods; 
to the poor she was a benefactor; to the rich an example; to the 
wretched a comforter; to the prosperous an ornament; her pity went 
hand in hand with her benevolence, and she thanked her Creator for 
being permitted to do good. A being so gentle and so virtuous slan- 
der might wound, but could not dishonor. Even death, when ho tore 
her from the arms of her husband, could but transport her to the 
bosom of her God." 

The other monuments in the latter cluster of graves are 
inscribed as follows : 

"ANDREW JACKSON, 

Adopted son of Gen. Andrew Jackson. 

Died at the Hermitage, April 17, 1865, in the 57th year of his age."- 

"SAMUEL JACKSON, 

Son of Andrew and Sarah Jackson. 

Born at the Hermitage June 7, 1837. Died September 29, 1863, of 

wounds received at the battle of Chickamauga." 

" THOMAS, 

Infant son of Andrew and Sarah Jackson." 

"ROBERT ARMSTRONG JACKSON, 
Who died Nov. 11, 1843, aged 4 months, 23 days. 

" R. E. W. EARL, 

"Artist, Friend and Companion of Gen. Andrew Jackson, who died 

at the Hermitage, 16th of Sept., 1837." 



JAMES K. POLK. 



159 



"MRS. MARIA ADAMS, 
Boi-n in Philadelphia July 23, 1S05. Died June 2S, 1S77." 

The last mentioned was a sister of Mrs. Andrew Jackson, 
widow of the adopted sou of Gen. Jackson, who is still 
liviu"; at an advanced aM at the Hermitage. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



JAMES K. POLK. 



His Ancestors — Early Life — Marriage — Politics — Entrance into Pub- 
lic Life — Review of His Career as Member of Congress — Speaker 
of the House — Governor of Tennessee — President of the United 
States — "Polk Place" in Nashville — Reminiscences of Mrs. Polk. 

James Knox Polk, eleventh President of the United 
States, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His progenitors, 
Col. Thomas and Ezekiel Polk, the latter of whom was 
his grandfather, were among the early settlers of Mecklen- 
burg Co., N. C, in 1735, and took a prominent part in the 
" Mecklenburg Declaration" of May 20, 1775. Ezekiel 
Polk's son, Samuel, who married Jane Knox, and was a 
farmer of Mecklenburg County, was the father of the sub- 
ject of this memoir. The latter was the eldest son of a 
family of six sons and four daughters, and was born in 
Mecklenburg Co., N. C, on the 2d of November, 1795. 

In 1806, Samuel Polk, with his wife and children, and 
soon after followed by most of the members of the Polk 
family, emigrated to the wilderness of Tennessee, and set- 
tled in what is now Maury County. Here in the hard toil 
of a new farm James K. Polk spent the early years of his 
childhood and his youth. His father, adding the pursuit 
of a surveyor to that of a farmer, gradually increased in 
wealth until he became one of the leading men of that por- 
tion of Middle Tennessee. His mother was a superior 
woman of strong practical sense and earnest piety. She 
brought up her children to habits of method, punctuality, 
and industry, and inspired them with lofty principles of 
morality. The foundation of Blr. Polk's education was laid 
at home and in the common schools, where he was a dili- 
gent student, evincing great desire and aptitude for learn- 
ing. Entering the Murfreesboro' Academy in 1813, he 
pursued his preparatory studies with an ardor rarely sur- 
passed, and in less than two and a half years, in the au- 
tumn of 1815, entered the sophomore class in the Univer- 
sity of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill. The traditions of 
his college days represent him as one of the most punctual 
and exemplary of scholars, never allowing himself to be ab- 
sent from a recitation or a religious service. He graduated 
in 1818 with the highest honors, being deemed the best 
scholar of his class, both in mathematics and the classics. 
He was then twenty-three years of age, with greatly im- 
paired health, from the assiduity of his mental application. 
After a suitable season of rest and recuperation, he entered 
the office of Hon. Felix Grundy, at Nashville, as a studont- 
at-law. Here the intimate acquaintance grew up between 
him and Gen. Jackson which ripened into the life-long 
friendship known to have existed between these two truly 



great men. The politics in which he had been educated, 
his father being an earnest Jeifersonian, had prepared iiim 
to sympathize heartily with the views and principles of 
which Gen. Jackson became the great leading exponent ; 
and to those he adhered steadily through life. 

As soon as he had finished his legal studies and been 
admitted to the bar, he returned to Columbia, the shire- 
town of Maury County, and opened an office. His success 
was rapid. Very .seldom has any young man commenced 
the practice of the law more thoroughly prepared to meet 
all its responsibilities. With rich stores of information, all 
his faculties well disciplined, system and order well devel- 
oped, and with habits of close and accurate reasoning, he 
rapidly gained business and won fame. His skill as a 
speaker was such that, after he entered politics, he was 
called the Napoleon of the stump. He was a man of un- 
blemished morals, genial and courteous in his bearing, of 
dignified and genteel deportment, and with that sympathy 
of nature in the joys and griefs of others which gave him 
hosts of substantial and abiding friends. 

In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected to the Legislature of 
Tennessee, and gave his voice strongly in that body for 
the election of Gen. Jackson to the Presidency of the 
United States. In his measures of policy he was a "strict 
constructionist," advocating the rights of the States against 
all the centralizing tendencies of the general government. 

In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah Chil- 
dress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn., a lady of beauty and of 
culture. Had some one then whispered to him that he 
was destined to become President of the United States, 
and that he should select for his companion one who would 
adorn that distinguished position, he could not have made 
a more fitting choice. The following anecdote is related 
of Mrs. Polk when, in 1848, she was lady of the White 
House. It should be remembered that Mr. Polk was a 
Democrat, and Mr. Clay a Whig, and that they had been 
rival candidates for the Presidency. There was a brilliant 
dinner-party at the President's. Henry Clay, as one of 
the most distinguished guests, was honored with a seat 
near Mrs. Polk, who as usual, by her courteous and affiible 
manner, won the admiration of all her guests. 

During the entertainment Mr. Clay turned to her and 
said, in those winning tones so peculiar to him, — 

" Madam, I must say that in my travels, wherever I 
have been, in all companies and among all parties, I have 
heard but one opinion of you. All agree in commending 
in the highest terms your excellent administration of the 
affairs of the White House. But," continued he, looking 
towards her husband, " as for that young gentleman there, 
I cannot say as much. There is some little difference of 
opinion in regard to the policy of Ids course." 

" Indeed !" said Mrs. Polk, " I am glad to hear that mi/ 
administration is popular; and in return for your compli- 
ment, I will say that if the country should elect a Whig 
nest fall, I know of no one whose elevation would please 
me more than that of Henry Clay. And I will assure 
you of one thing,^— if you do h.ave occasion to occupy the 
White House on the 4th of March next, it shall be sur- 
rendered to you in perfect order from garret to cellar." 

" Thank you, thank you !" exclaimed Mr. Ciay. " I am 



IGO 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



certain tliat- 



No more could be heard, such a burst 
of laughter followed Mrs. Polk's happy repartee. 

In the fall of 1S25, Mr. Polk was elected a member of 
Congress. The satisfaction which he gave his constituents 
may be inferred from the fact that for fourteen successive 
years, until 1839, he was continued in that office. He 
then voluntarily withdrew only that he might accept the 
gubernatorial chair of his own State. In Congress he was 
a laborious member and a frequent and popular speaker. 
Being in Congress when John Quincy Adams was Presi- 
dent, he warmly united himself with the opponents of the 
administration, and was soon regarded as the leader of the 
Jackson party in the House. The ibur years of Mr. Adams' 
administration passed away, and Gen. Jackson took the 
Presidential chair. Mr. Polk had now become a man of 
great influence in Congress, and was chairman of the most 
important committee, that of Ways and Moans. Elo- 
quently he sustained Gen. Jackson in all his measures, 
feeling for him the pride of a true Tennesseean. The 
eight years of Gen. Jackson's administration ended, giving 
place to his successor, Mr. Van Buren ; still Mr. Polk re- 
mained in the House, the advocate of that type of De- 
mocracy which those distinguished men upheld. 

During five sessions of Congress Mr. Polk was Speaker ' 
of the House. Strong passions were roused and stormy 
scenes were witnessed, but Mr. Polk performed his arduous 
duties to very general satisfiiction, and a unanimous vote 
of thanks to him was passed by the House as he withdrew 
on the 4th of March, 1839. 

In his closing address he said, " When I look back to 
the period when I took my seat in this House, and then 
look around me for those who at that time were my asso- 
ciates here, I find but few, very few, remaining. But five 
members who were here with me fourteen years an-o con- 
tinue to be members of this body. My service here has 
been constant and laborious. I can perhaps say what few 
others, if any, can,— that I have not failed to attend the 
daily sittings of this House a single day since I have been 
a member of it, save on a single occasion, when prevented 
for a short time by indisposition. In my intercourse with 
the members of this body, when I occupied a place upon 
the floor, though occasionally engaged in debates upon 
interesting public questions and of an exciting character, 
it is a source of unmingled gratification to me to recur to 
the fact that on no occasion was there the slightest per- 
sonal or unpleasant collision with any of the members." 

Who does not envy such a record '? Eeturning home, 
Mr. Polk, after a very active campaign, was elected Gov- 
ernor of the State by a large majority, and took the oath 
of office at Nashville, Oct. 14, 1839. In 1841 his term 
of office expired, and he wiis again the candidate of the 
Democratic party. But, in the mean time, a wonderful 
political revolution had swept over the whole country. 
Martin Van Buren had lost his re-election, and Gen. 
Harrison had been called triumphantly to the Presidential 
chair. In Tennessee the Whig ticket had been carried by 
over twelve thousand majority. Under these circumstances 
the success of Mr. Polk was hopeless. Still, he canvassed 
the State with his Whig competitor, BIr. Jones, who ob- 
tained the election by a majority of three thousand. In 



1843 the same gentlemen were competitors for tlie governor- t 
ship, and again Mr. Polk was defeated. !' 

In 1844 the question of the annexation of Texas became 
national. Gen. Jackson had laid out the ground and shaped I 
the policy of the Democratic party in favor of the great | 
measure. It was very popular in the South and Southwest, 
and with the Democrats generally at the North, and had 
able advocates among leading journalists throughout the 
country. On this issue Mr. Polk was placed in nomination 
for the Presidency by the Democratic National Convention. 
He was elected by a majority in the popular vote of about 
forty thousand, and was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 
1845. The_ verdict of the country in favor of annexation 
exerted its influence upon Congress, so that the last act of 
the administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 3d of 
March, approving the annexation of Texas to the American 
Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas as one of her 
provinces, the Mexican minister at Washington, Mr. 
Almonte, immediately demanded his passport, and left the 
country, declaring the act of annexation to be an act of 
hostility to Blexico. 

This great measure, ably advocated by Mr. Poik in his 
first Presidential message, and adopted by Congress, though 
it cost the country a war with Mexico, added to the national 
domain not only Texas, but New Mexico and Upper and 
Lower California, — exclusive of Texas, eight hundred thou- 
sand square miles, an extent of territory equal to nine 
States of the size of New York. 

In justice to the memory of Mr. Polk it should be said 
that he regarded the annexation of Texas and the war with 
Mexico as entirely justifiable under the circumstances, as 
aff'ording protection to an independent people from a foreign 
usurpation which they were unwilling to submit to. His 
views upon this subject will be found set forth at large in 
his second annual message, in December, 1846. 

On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from office, 
having closed his term of service as President of the United 
States. The next day was Sunday. On the 5th Gen. 
Taylor was inaugurated as his successor. Mr. Polk rode 
to the Capitol in the same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and 
the same evening, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his re- 
turn to Tennessee. He was honored with splendid ovations 
on his way, at Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, and New 
Orleans, and at Nashville, where he had previously pur- 
chased the beautiful residence in the heart of the city, 
known as Polk Place. 

He was then but fifty-four years of age. He had ever 
been strictly temperate in his habits, and his health was 
good. With an ample fortune, a choice library, a cultivated 
mind, and domestic ties of the dearest nature, it seemed as 
if long years of tranquillity and happiness were before him. 
But the cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping 
up the valley of the Mississippi. President Polk steamed 
up the river from New Orleans. On board the boat he 
perceived the premonitory symptoms of the dread disease. 
When he reached his home his system was much debili- 
tated. A personal friend gives the following account of 
his last hours : 

" Having reached Nashville, he gave himself up to the 




1^ 




/^i 









^y^/>:;>^ 



nspi/n^Tiitd lfl''S.Er"rnay(rSrfi.B. 



JAMES K. POLK. 



IGl 



improvement of his grounds, and was seen every day about 
his dwelling aiding and directing the workmen he had em- 
ployed, now overlooking a carpenter, now giving instruction 
to a gardener, often attended by Mrs. Polk, whose exqui- 
site taste constituted the element of every improvement. 
It is not a fortnight since I saw him on the kwn, directing 
some men who were removing decayed cedars. I was 
struck with his erect and healthful bearing and the active 
energy of his manner, which gave promise of a long life. 
He seemed in full health. The next day being rainy, he 
remained within, and began to arrange his large library. 
The labor of reaching books from the floor and placing 
them on the shelves brought on fatigue and slight fever, 
which the next day assumed the character of disease in the 
form of chronic diarrhoea. 

" For the first three days his fi lends felt no alarm ; but 
the disease bafiiing the skill of his physicians. Dr. Hay, 
his brother-in-law and family physician for twenty years, 
was sent for from Columbia. But the skill and experience 
of this gentleman, aided by the highest medical talent, 
proved of no avail. Mr. Polk continued gradually to sink 
from day to day. The disease was checked upon him four 
days before his death ; but his constitution was so weak- 
ened tliat there did not remain recuperative energy enough 
in the system for healthy reaction. He sank away so 
slowly and insensibly that the heavy doath-respirations 
commenced eight hours before he died. He died without 
a struggle, simply ceasing to breathe, as when deep and 
quiet sleep falls upon a weary man. About half an hour 
preceding his death, his venerable mother entered the room 
and offered up a beautiful prayer to the King of kings and 
Lord of lords, committing the soul of her son to the holy 
keeping." 

His death occurred on the 15th of June, 1849, in the 
fifty-fourth year of his age. His funeral was attended the 
following day with every demonstration of respect. His 
remains rest in a tomb in the grounds of the home mansion, 
at the corner of Vine and Union Streets, in the city of 
Nashville, where his venerable widow still resides at the age 
of seventy-seven years. It will be fitting to give a few remi- 
niscences here of one so honored and esteemed, in connec- 
tion with this brief sketch of her distinguished husband. 

Mrs. Polk is the daughter of Capt. Joel Childress, of 
Rutherford County. At the age of nineteen she was 
married to Mr. Polk, then a young member of the Tonnes- 
see Legislature. When he went to Congress, in 1825, she 
accompanied him, and was his constant companion during 
the eighteen years of their residence in the city of Wash- 
ington, with the exception of ono winter. She was regarded 
as one of the most regal and accomplished ladies that ever 
graced the White House, — stately, beautiful, gifted in social 
intercourse, and apt and brilliant at repartee. She also 
possessed a mind of no ordinary endowments, both natural 
and acquired. Educated at a Moravian school and reared 
in the Presbyterian Church, her discipline had been too 
severe for anything like trifling or frivolous display. She 
dressed plainly, save at her receptions, when her beauty was 
almost regal. But richly or plainly attired, she was always 
modest and commanding. Surrounded generally by home 
and foreign celebrities in their costly costumes, their wives 
21 



gorgeous in silks and satins and blazing with jewels, and by 
oificers of the army and navy, she stood during their many 
levees by the side of her husband, in liis iron-gray hair, 
welcoming with a charming grace and cordiality the gay 
and brilliant visitors. An English lady, Mrs. Maury, in 
her book entitled " An English Woman in America," speaks 
in the most flattering terms of Mrs. Polk's faultless man- 
ners, her natural ease, her literary taste, and her brilliant 
repartee. IMrs. Polk was imbued with strict though not 
narrow principles. She held aloof from cards and dancing, 
and never allowed these prejudices to be overruled during 
her many years' sojourn at Washington. That city was her 
social school. She mingled with the gay life at the nation's 
capital, and saw and heard and treasured what was trans- 
piring around her. 

Scenes of gayety, however, were ended with Mr. Polk's 
death. His widow, though yet in the prime of her life, be- 
took herself to her peaceful Nashville homo, hallowed by 
sweet memories, where she was surrounded by all she held 
most dear on earth. Within view of her library-windows 
is a plain monument that marks the resting-place of one 
who served his country well. " James K. Polk" is the 
simple inscription. The es-Prcsident's study remains an- 
other sacred memento. There still is the chair he occu- 
pied, the desk he wrote at over thirty years ago. Nor 
has the public exhausted its sympathy and afl'ection for 
the lonely inmate of this mansion. For many years 
the Legislature of Tennessee was in the habit of calling 
upon Mrs. Polk in a body on the first of every year, 
the highest compliment ever paid by State authorities to 
a lady. Various military companies have at odd times 
paid lier marked respect, and during the Centennial at 
Philadelphia she was one of the distinguished few favored 
with a special official invitation to attend the Exhibition, 
and a palace-oar was placed at her disposal by the president 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, an honor, on account of her 
advanced years, the lady was obliged to decline. 

At the Nashville Centennial, in 1880, every possible 
demonstration of respect was shown her. All the military 
companies, the Mexican veterans, and many distinguished 
individuals called upon her at Polk Place. It has been a 
custom for many years for all civic, ecclesiastical, and judi- 
cial bodies, such as synods, conferences, and members of the 
Supreme Court, to visit Mrs. Polk at her residence, and the 
members of the American Scientific Association, which 
convened here in 1878, adjourned for the purpose of pay- 
ing her a formal visit in a body. 

Mrs. Polk never had any children. She adopted one of 
her nieces, Sarah Polk Jetton, several years ago, who subse- 
quently was united in marriage to Mr. George W. Hall, of 
Nashville. They have a daughter, Sadie, who will proba- 
bly fall heir to most of Mrs. Polk's estate. These four 
constitute the family at Polk Place. 



162 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

GEBT. SAM HOUSTON. 

His Birthplace and Early Life— Sketch by Col. WiUoughby Williams 
— Houston as a Clerk and Indian Agent — Ilis Career in Congress 
and as Governor — i\larriage and Separation from his Wife — Life 
among the Indians — His Military Career in Texas — He becomes 
President of the Republic and United States Senator after its Ad- 
mission as a State into the Union — His Second Marriage and Fam- 
ily—His Death. 

The following iftteresting sketch of one of the most re- 
markable men of our day is copied from the Washington 
Sundai/ Gazette. It was written by Col. WiUoughby Wil- 
liams, late of Nashville, an intimate personal friend, who 
was better acquainted with the illustrious hero than per- 
haps any other living man. As Col. Williams begins his 
sketch with his first recollections of Gen. Houston in 1811, 
we will precede his narrative with a few facts relating to 
his early life and parentage. 

Gen. Houston was born in Rockbridge Co., Va., on the 
2d of March, 1793. He was descended from a Scotch- 
Irish family, who emigrated from the north of Ireland to 
Pennsylvania, and thence to Virginia, towards the close of 
the last century. His father served iu the Revolutionary 
war, where he was brigade inspector, and upon his death, 
in 1807, his widow removed with her family to Blount Co., 
Tenn. Sam was then a lad of fourteen years of age, and 
about this time was adopted into the Cherokee Nation and 
became clerk to a trader. 

Col. Williams' sketch proceeds as follows : " My earliest 
recollections of Gen. Houston date back to 1811, at King- 
ston, Roane Co., Tenn. He was a clerk at the time in the 
store of Mr. Sheffy. My mother, in her widowhood, was 
living about three miles from Kingston. I was thirteen 
years of age, and Mr. Houston was five years my senior. 
The line of the Cherokee country was about three miles 
south of Kingston, the Holston River being the boundary. 
The Indian trade being much valued, his services were 
highly appreciated from the fact that he spoke with fluency 
the Cherokee language. He was especially kind to me, and 
much of my time was spent in his company. He remained 
in the capacity of clerk until after the declaration of the 
war of 1812. At that time the United States were recruit- 
ing troops at Kingston for the war. Lieut. William Ar- 
nold, of the Thirty-ninth Regiment of Regulars, was sent 
to Kingston on recruiting service. The whole population 
had caught the war fever, and intense interest prevailed. 

The manner of enlisting at that day was to parade the 
streets with drum and fife, with a sergeant in command. 
Silver dollars were placed on the head of the drum, and, as 
a token of enlistment, the volunteer stepped up and took a 
dollar, which was his bounty ; he was then forthwith 
marched to the barracks and uniformed. The late Robert 
H. M'Ewen, of Nashville, cousin to Gen. Houston, and my- 
self were standing together on the street, and saw Houston 
take Ms dollar from the drum and enlist as a private iu the 
year 1813. He was taken immediately to the barracks, 
dressed as a soldier, and appointed the same day as a ser- 
geant. Soon after this Lieut. Arnold received thirty-nine 
soldiers, and was ordered to send them forth to join the 



troops marching to the Creek war, under the command 
of Gen. John Williams, of Knoxville, who commanded 
this regiment of regulars in person at the battle of the 
Horseshoe, and afterwards became a distinguished senator 
in Congress from Tennessee. Soon after Houston left 
Kingston, his friends applied to President Madison for his 
promotion, who commissioned him an ensign. The com- 
mission was promptly sent, and reached him before the 
battle of the Horseshoe. 

At that battle he mounted the Indian defenses with colors 
in hand, and was wounded by a barbed arrow in the thigh. 
A soldier, whom he ordered to extract it by main ibrce, 
made several inefi'ectual efforts, and only succeeded under 
a threat by Houston to kill him unless he pulled it out. He 
was carried back, suffering intensely from the wound, which 
had been much lacerated. His indomitable will led him 
immediately back into the fight, when he was soon wounded 
by two balls in his right shoulder. His intrepid spirit dis- 
played on this occasion won for him the lasting regard of 
Gen. Jackson. Disabled from further service, he was sent 
back to Kingston with the sick and wounded. Robert H. 
M'Ewen and myself met him some distance from Kingston, 
on a litter supported by two horses. He was greatly ema- 
ciated, suffering at the same time from his wounds and the 
measles. We took him to the house of his relative, Squire 
John M'Ewen, brother of R. H. M'Ewen, where he re- 
mained for some time, and from thence he went to the 
house of his mother, in Blount County. After this battle 
he received the appointment of lieutenant for his gallantry. 
After the restoration of peace he was appointed sub-agent 
of the Cherokee Nation under Return J. Meigs, who was 
agent, the agency being on the bank of the Hiawassee, 
near where the railroad between Knoxville and Chattanooga 
crosses, the spot where the remains of Governor Bl'Minn 
and Return J. Meigs lie buried, both having been agents 
of the Indian nation. 

"While in the capacity of sub-agent, a controversy arose 
between himself and Mr. Calhoun, Secretary of War, which 
caused his removal about the year 1818. Soon after this 
he came to Nashville and commenced the study of law with 
Hon. James Trimble, father of John Trimble, of this city, 
and obtained license to practice after six or eight months 
study.* At (he first meeting of the Legislature he was 
elected attorney-general of this district over some distin- 
guished lawyers as competitors, and in 1821 he was elected 
major-general of the militia of this division of the State, 
and in 1S23 was elected to Congress and re-elected in 
1825. 

" While a member of Congress he preferred some charges 
against the postmaster here, who, it was understood, would 
hold him personally responsible on his return home. The 
matter was public, and great excitement existed among the 
friends of both parties, and rumors were afloat that a duel 
would follow. Col. John Smith, a noted duelist living in 
Missouri, arrived in the city, and it was understood he 
would be the bearer of the challenge to Houston. It was 
believed that Col. Bl'Gregor, who was the second of Gen. 



■■■•' The record of the County Court shows that he was admitted in 
1S19. 



GEN. SAM HOUSTON. 



163 



Houston, would refuse to accept the challenge through the 
hauds of Col. Smith for reasons which he explained. This 
caused some excitement among the friends of Gen. Hous- 
ton, as they expected a difficulty to occur between M'Gregor 
and Smith, because of the refusal to accept the challenge 
if borne by Smith, he being well known as a desperate 
man. 

" It was anticipated that the challenge would be deliv- 
ered at the Nashville Inn, where Gen. Houston was stop- 
ping that afternoon, and all were on the lookout for the 
movements of Smith. He was soon seen, about where 
now stands the Hicks china-store, walking in the direction 
of the Nashville Inn, and the friends of both parties hur- 
ried to the inn, where the meeting was to take place. Maj. 
Philip Campbell, a gallant soldier in the Creek war, and a 
warm personal friend of Gen. Houston, with ten or fifteen 
other Houston men, made their appearance at the inn, 
prepared to take part, as it was expected there would be a 
fight when M'Gregor refused to accept a challenge borne 
by Smith. The challenge was presented by Smith to 
M'Gregor in front of the door of the Nashville Inn with 
these words : ' I have a communication from Col. Irwin to 
Gen. Houston, which I now hand you, sir,' extending his 
hand with the challenge. M'Gregor replied, ' I can re- 
ceive no communication through your hands from Col. 
Irwin,' and the paper dropped on the pavement before 
them. Col. Smith then returned to his quarters, walking 
down the public square, the same route by which he ap- 
proached the place of meeting. 

" The crowd rushed into the hall of the inn where Gen. 
Houston was standing, greatly relieved that there was no 
fight between M'Gregor and Smith. Gen. William White, 
a brave and chivalric gentleman, remarked that he did not 
' think the proper courtesy had been extended to Col. Smith.' 
Houston heard the remark, and said to him, ' If you, sir, 
have any grievances, I will give you any satisfaction you 
may demand.' Gen. White replied, ' I have nothing to do 
with your difficulty, but I presume to know what is due 
from one gentleman to another.' This ended their conver- 
sation. The nest day it was rumored on the streets that 
Gen. Houston had ' backed down' Gen. White. When it 
reached the ear of the gallant White, through some evil- 
minded person, he resented the imputation by sending a 
challenge to Gen. Houston, who readily accepted. Eobert 
C. Foster, a prominent citizen of Davidson County and 
preserver of the peace, came to town and heard the rumor. 
He expected the fight, and immediately had a warrant 
issued for the arrest of both parties, which was placed in 
the hands of Joseph W. Horton, the sheriff of this county 
at that time. 

" Mr. Horton requested me to accompany him next morn- 
ing to the residence of Gen. White to make the arrest. 
White was then living four or five miles north of the Cum- 
berland River. Declining the request of Mr. Horton, I 
immediately went to Houston's room and found that he had 
heard, late in the afternoon, of the warrant for the arrest of 
both himself and Gen. AVhite. Tiiat evening he left the 
city and passed by the Hermitage on his way to the home 
of Jimmy Dry Sanders, in Sumner County. The next day 
he sent a mcssenirer to learn what had been done with 



White, and to notify him that he would be in Kentucky 
on a certain day to offer him any redress he might desire. 
White met him according to appointment, and they fought 
a duel at sunrise. White was thought to be mortally 
wounded, but recovered. On the evening of the fight a 
large crowd was assembled at the inn to hear the news of 
the duel, among them Gen. Jackson. While waiting in 
great expectation a personal friend of Gen. Houston, and a 
noted character, John G. Anderson, who had gone up to 
witness the fight, was seen coming in full speed over the 
bridge, and soon announced that Houston was safe and 
White mortally wounded. 

" After Houston's term in Congress expired he was elected 
Governor of Tennessee, successor to Gen. William Carroll. 
During his Governorship he married Miss Allen, who 
was a member of a large and influential family in Sumner 
and Smith Counties. Gen. Carroll, after being out of ofiice 
two years, was again eligible, and declared himself again a 
candidate in opposition to Houston. The first meeting of 
Houston and Carroll in the canvass occurred at Cockrell's 
Spring, in the month of April, at a battalion muster. I 
was at that time sheriff of the county and colonel of the 
militia, and, at the request of Houston, drilled the regiment 
on that day. He desired me to fully acquaint myself with 
the popular sentiment, and communicate it to him after the 
speaking, which I did, affording him much gratification. 
He left the muster-ground Saturday afternoon for the city, 
and I accompanied him as far as the residence of Mr. John 
Boyd, in sight of the city, and then returned to my own 
home, leaving him in high spirits. I went into the city 
Monday morning early, and while registering my name at 
the Nashville Inn, the late Daniel F. Carter, who was at the 
time clerk of the hotel, said to me, ' Have you heard the 
news?' I replied, ' No. What news?' He replied, ' Gen. 
Houston and wife have separated, and she has returned to 
her father's home.' I was greatly shocked, having never 
suspected any cause for separation. Asking where Gen. 
Houston could be found, BIr. Carter replied that he was in 
his room, but could not be seen. I went immediately to 
his room and found him in company with Dr. Shelby. He 
was deeply mortified and refused to explain the matter. I 
left him with Dr. Shelby a few minutes, and went to the 
court-house on business. When I returned I said to him, 
' You must explain this sad occurrence to us, else you will 
sacrifice your friends and yourself.' He replied, ' I can 
make no explanation. I exonerate this lady fully, and do 
not justify myself. I am a ruined man ; will exile myself, 
and now ask you to take my resignation to the Secretary of 
State.' I replied, ' You must not think of it,' when he 
again said, ' It is my fixed determination, and my enemies, 
when I am gone, will be too magnanimous to censure my 
friends.' Seeing his determination, I took his resignation 
to the Secretary of State, who received it. The following 
morning he went in disguise to the steamboat, accompanied 
by Dr. Shelby and myself. He wrote me afterwards that 
lie was not- recognized until he reached Napoleon, at the 
mouth of the Arkansas River, where he met a friend, of 
whom he exacted a promise not to make him known. He 
went up the river to Fort Smith, thence to the Cherokee 
Nation to his old friend Jolly, a noted Indian whom he knew 



1G4 



HIS'JORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



when sub-agent. He remained in the nation some time, 
and on one occasion passed through Nashville with a dele- 
gation of Indians, on their way to Washington, in the full 
garb of a Cherokee. From the nation he went to Texas 
and settled at St. Augustine, commencing there the practice 
of law with John Dunn, of this county, son of Michael C. 
Dunn, and there remained until the breaking out of the 
Texas revolution. He soon raised an army, and was made 
commander-in-chief of the Texas army, and at the battle of 
San Jacinto captured Santa Anna, President of Mexico, 
which closed the war. He sent Santa Anna and Gen. Am- 
brose as his prisoners through Nashville, on their way to 
Washington, under the charge of Col. George W. Ilooley, 
formerly of Nashville. Gen. Houston was then made pres- 
ident of the Republic of Texas, and, after its annexation, 
was senator in Congress from that State, then was made 
Governor, and at the commencement of the war was opposed 
to secession and rebellion, was deposed by the Legislature, 
and soon after died. Some years previous to his death he 
professed the Christian religion and became a consistent 
member of the Baptist Church." 

To this interesting sketch we add a few notes. The 
wound which Gen. Houston received at the battle of the 
Horseshoe was a very dangerous one, and nearly cost him 
his life. In April, 1816, he sailed for New York, where 
he remained several weeks, and, with health somewhat im- 
proved, returned to Tennessee by the way of Washington. 
He was stationed in Nashville, Jan. 1, 1817. In Novem- 
ber of the same year he was appointed sub-agent for the 
Indians, and being called to Washington on business con- 
nected with the agency, he resigned his position as lieuten- 
ant in the regular army March 1, 1818, returned to Ten- 
nessee, and settled in Nashville. 

We find in a notice we have seen of Gen. Houston the 
following personal description : " Gen. Houston stood six feet 
six inches in his socks, was of fine contour, a remarkably 
stout, well-proportioned man, and of commanding and gal- 
lant bearing ; had a large, long head and face, and his fine 
features were lit up by large, eagle-looking eyes ; possessed 
a wonderful recollection of persons and names, a fine ad- 
dress and courtly manners, and a magnetism approaching 
to that of Gen. Jackson. He enjoyed unbounded popularity 
among men, and was a great favorite witli the ladies." 

During the trip alluded to through Nashville to Wash- 
ington with some of the Cherokee chiefs, in 1832, he was 
upon a mission which he had undertaken to the govern- 
ment in behalf of the Cherokees, to relieve them from the 
wrong and injustice of the traders and agents, and he suc- 
ceeded in having five of them put out of oiSce.* 

In a letter to his father-in-law, written shortly after his 
separation from his wife Eliza, Gen. Houston explained the 
cause of that event : " She was cold to me, and I thought 
did not love me ; she owns that such was one cause of my 
unhappiness. You can think how unhappy I was, united 
to a woman who did not love me." In the same letter he 
fully vindicates her character for virtue : " If mortal man 
had dared to charge my wife, or say aught against her 
virtue, I would have slain him." 

* American Cyclopffidia. 



He afterwards married an estimable woman in Texas, 
whom he left a widow at his death with seven children, 
none of whom had attained their majority. He died at 
Huntsville, Texas, in June, 1803, aged seventy-three years. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE MEXICAN "WAE, 1846-47. 

Causes of the AVar — Uow it was Cegun — Part talvcn in it bj Soldiers 
of Tennessee and Davidson County — Campaigns and Battles — Com- 
panies in tlie Tliird Tennessee — First Tennessee — Colonel, after- 
wards Governor William B. Camj^bell — His Gallant Military Con- 
duct and Important Civil Services. 

The causes which led to the Mexican war were largely 
due to the spirit of adventure and military prowess of citi- 
zens of Tennessee, displayed in accomplishing the independ- 
ence of Texas in 1836. Many of these adventurers were 
from Davidson County, the most prominent of whom, and 
one to whom has been accorded the largest share in that 
result, being Gen. Samuel Houston, who had won great dis- 
tinction in the Creek war, and besides representing Tennes- 
see in Congress had been her chief magistrate in 1827. 
He early espoused the cause of the Texan revolution, and 
his military talents soon placed him at the head of the 
army. His connection with this movement soon brought 
to his standard a large number of his old comrades and 
friends in Tennessee, by whose aid he won the important 
battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, in which the 
Mexican army was destroyed and the Mexican President, 
Santa Anna, was taken prisoner. 

On the admission of Texas into the American Union in 
1845, Gen. Zachary Taylor was ordered to Corpus Christi, 
at the mouth of the Neuces, to protect the frontier from a 
threatened Mexican invasion. As Blexioo still claimed the 
right of sovereignty over Texas, and particularly that part 
included between the Rio Grande and the Neuces, as be- 
longing to the State of Tamaulipas, Gen. Taylor remained 
at that point until the 8th of March, 1846, awaiting the 
result of negotiations between the two governments, which 
proving unsatisfactory, he made a general forward move- 
ment on that date and occupied Point Isabel, near the 
mouth of the Rio Grande. He soon after advanced to a 
point opposite Matamoras, where he erected a work after- 
wards called Fort Brown. On his arrival here Gen. Am- 
pudia, commanding the Jlexican forces, addressed him a 
letter, in which he required him to withdraw beyond the 
Neuces or take the consequences, to which, of course, he 
paid no attention. Some effort having been made against 
his line of communications by the Jlexican cavalry, he re- 
turned with his main force to Point Isabel, leaving a gar- 
rison in the fort. After his departure a heavy bombard- 
ment was opened on the fort, during which the commander, 
Maj. Brown, was killed. On the 7th of Slay, Gen. Taylor 
started on his return with two thousand three hundred 
regulars and Texas Rangers for the relief of the garrison, 
and on the Sth encountered Gen. Ampudia with a consider- 
able force drawn up on the plateau of Palo Alto to dispute 



THE MEXICAN WAR, 1816-47. 



165 



his advance. An engagement ensued mostly with artillery, 
ending in the retreat of the Mexicans with the loss of six 
hundred men killed, wounded, and missing. The Ameri- 
can loss was six killed and forty-four wounded. On the 
9th a still larger force, now amounting to six thousand men, 
was found posted in a ravine at Resaca de la Palma, and 
was overthrown with a loss of one thousand men, the 
American loss being one hundred and ten. Thus began 
the Mexican war. 

Hostilities having been anticipated, many companies had 
already been organized in Tennessee, and when Governor 
Aaron V. Brown issued his cull for two regiments of in- 
fiuitry and one of cavalry, amounting in all to twenty-eight 
liundred volunteers, such was the military spirit of the 
volunteer State that over thirty thousand of her citizens 
applied to be received into the service. Two companies 
from Davidson were accepted on account of their previous 
organization and excellence in drill. These were the Nash- 
ville Blues, commanded by Capt. B. F. Cheatham, and the 
Harrison Guards, commanded by Capt. Robert C. Foster 
(3d). These companies entered the First Tennessee Regi- 
ment, which rendezvoused at the Nashville race-course, 
and organized on the 3d day of June, 181G, by the election 
of Capt. "William B. Campbell, of Smith County, colonel ; 
Capt. Samuel R. Anderson, of Sumner, lieutenant-colonel ; 
Richard Alexander, of Smith, first major; and Robert 
Farquharson, of Lincoln, second major. First Lieut. Adol- 
pbus Human, of the Harrison Guards, was appointed ad- 
jutant; Dr. MoPhail surgeon; and W. D. Dorris assistant 
surgeon. Before leaving for the stirring theatre of war 
an interesting and memorable ceremony was performed in 
the beautiful grounds of the Nashville Female Academy, 
consisting of the presentation of a beautiful banner by the 
young ladies of the graduating class to the regiment, bear- 
ing this inscription, " Weeping in solitude for the fallen 
brave is better than the presence of men too timid to strike 
for their country." The regiment was composed of twelve 
companies, and had an aggregate of one thousand and forty 
men. Its embarkation in steamers for New Orleans on the 
4 th and 5th of June was witnessed by a vast throng of 
friends and kindred, who came from every part of Middle 
Tennessee and lined the banks of the Cumberland for 
miles. Embarking at New Orleans in three sailing-vessels, 
on the ITtli of June, the regiment reached Brazos or San- 
tiago July the 7th, and on arriving on the Rio Grande was 
put in the brigade of Gen. Quitman. Disease and death 
from climatic causes soon made such havoc in its ranks 
that when the requisition came on the 29 th of August at 
Camargo for five hundred men for the march on Monterey, 
the necessary complement was difficult to fill. A number 
of the sick were here discharged and sent back to their 
homes. A reorganization was now made reducing the 
number of companies to ten, and the regiment with the 
First Mississippi Rifles, Col. Jefferson Davis, formed into 
a brigade under Gen. Quitman. The march for Monterey 
was taken up on the 7th of September, and the brigade 
arrived in sight of its walls on the 19th, encamping in the 
beautiful grove of St. Domingo, five miles from the city, 
where the entire American army, six thousand strong, was 
collected. On the next day (Sunday) great activity pre- 



vailed, betokening that the American general was not wanting 
in those necessary qualities of the commander, — enterprise 
and decision ; litters were prepared for the wounded, sug- 
gestive of blood-spilling, and reoonnoissanees made by the 
general officers and the engineers. A battery of ten-inch 
mortars and twenty-four-pounders was established within 
one half-mile of the enemy's works. On the 21st the bat- 
tery opened fire on the walls of the city, and the various 
regiments moved up to their chosen positions. The morn- 
ing was beautiful, and the lofty peaks of the Sierra Madre 
were outlined against the bluest of skies. 

At the base of the mountain occupying a plateau lay the 
city, divided by the San Juan. On the east stood the 
citadel of Taneria and the Block Fort, and on the west the 
stronghold known as the Bishop's Palace. The plan of 
operations was to attack the Bishop's Palace, the securing 
of which would command the city, while the left wing was 
to make a diversion and strike as opportunity was given. 
One company of the First Tennessee was left to guard the 
camp, while the rest, three hundred and fifty strong, marched 
down the road and filed to the left with its left in front, fol- 
lowing the shallow ravines to reach its position. On com- 
ing opposite Fort Taneria sharp volleys of musketry and 
the deep roar of artillery told that the work had begun 
sooner than was expected. The Seventh Regulars had 
dashed forward, and being badly cut up, had the discretion 
to retire a short distance and make a detour under shelter 
further to the left. At the first sound of conflict in their 
vicinity the men of the First Tennessee became crazed 
with an ungovernable ardor to go forward and mingle in the 
fray, as is very commonly the ease with high-strung fellows 
on entering their first battle. It took but a few minutes 
for them to arrive on the scene. Their baptisin was bloody. 
In the mad excitement of the moment they rushed tumult- 
ously forward without halting to form line of battle, pre- 
senting a living lance-head against the grim wall whence 
flashed a score of cannon and thousands of small-arms. 
As the column still left in front poured over a ridge and 
started down the slope, a round shot striking in the soft 
stone a short distance off rose and, raking the rear of Com- 
pany K's line, tore and gashed a fearful gap in Company I, 
cutting off legs, arms, and heads to the number of a round 
dozen. That was like the pictures of war they had seen 
in books (and rarely seen outside of books), a mere incident 
common to every battle, and the brave fellows pressed on 
and soon came under the range of the musketry from the 
walls and tops of houses. At eighty yards some one had 
the discretion to give the order to fire, and the Mexican 
heads, which until then had showed thickly along the walls, 
disappeared under cover, and from that time on escopets 
only where visible firing wildly and at random. This alone 
saved the column from utter annihilation. The men now 
halted and opened a rapid fire, and as that from the walls 
began to slacken, an impetuous rush was made, theparipets 
were gained, and the beautiful gift of the Tennessee girls 
was the first to float on the battlements of Monterey. 
Out of the three hundred and fifty who had accomplished 
the perilous feat of placing it there, one hundred and five 
had fallen. The city capitulated on the 25th, the Mexi- 
can army being allowed to march off with a single light 



166 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



battery. An armistice of four months followed, and on the 
14th of December the regiment set out for Tampico, four 
hundred miles to the southward, to join in Gen. Scott's 
movement against Vera Cruz. On March 1st, eight com- 
panies embarked at Tampico ; on the 5th arrived at Anton 
Lizardo. The landing was effected at the harbor of Saori- 
ficio, four miles below Vera Cruz, in surf-boats on the 9th, 
and preparations were made at once for the erection of bat- 
teries. A detail from the Harrison Guards was put under 
charge of Capt. Robert E. Lee, of the engineers, and was 
conducted by him to a point within half a mile of the 
walls of the city, where unobserved the site of the celebrated 
marine battery was laid out. The batteries opened on the 
22d and fired until the 27th ; on the 29th the city sur- 
rendered, with its strong castle of San Juan de Ulloa, to 
an army of ten thousand Americans. During the invest- 
ment the First and Second Tennessee had a spirited little 
affair at the Madeline Bridge on the 2Cth, which though 
strongly barricaded was carried by a dash with the loss of 
only two or three killed. April the 9th Scott's army took up 
the line of march via the National Road for the city of 
Mexico, and Plan Rio, in the vicinity of Cerro Gordo, was 
reached on the 12th. On the 18th the assault was made 
on each wing, the Tennesseeans being on the left. The 
strong city fell at a blow. Fortune favored the First Ten- 
nessee, but its fellow, the Second, suffered terribly while 
entangled in the thorny chapparal in front of a strong for- 
tress. On the 20tli the victorious army started for Jalapa. 
Here Gen. Scott issued an order for the return and dis- 
charge of the regiment, its term of enlistment being nearly 
out, and its numbers fearfully reduced by disease and battle. 
It soon after was embarked at Vera Cruz with an aggre- 
gate of three hundred and one, and on reaching Now Or- 
leans was honorably discharged. 

co:uPAisriES in the third Tennessee. 

Gen. Scott having lost heavily by battle and disease 
in reaching the city of Mexico, the government called upon 
the Governor of Tennessee for two more regiments. Upon 
the requisition being made known, Capt. B. F. Cheatham, 
late commander of the Nashville Blues in the First Ten- 
nessee, set to work with characteristic energy, and in a short 
time had raised a regiment, to the command of which he 
was unanimously elected. Two of the companies were 
from Davidson, respectively under the command of Capts. 
W. R. Bradfute and Daniel S. Trigg. The regiment was 
mustered into the service October the 8th, 1847. On its 
arrival at Vera Cruz it was formed into a brigade, with the 
Third Indiana, Col. Joseph H. Lane, and the Fourth Ten- 
nessee, Col. Waterhouse. Col. Cheatham being the senior 
ofl&cer was assigned to the command, and ordered to convey a 
heavy train of wagons and pack mules to the city of Mexico. 
This he successfully accomplished by the 8th of December, 
without the aid of infantry or cavalry. The Third Ten- 
nessee did not become engaged in action with the enemy, 
but it won the reputation of being the best drilled and dis- 
ciplined volunteer regiment in the service. 

The display of energy and military aptitude by Col. 
Cheatham in the Mexican war were but the foretokenings 
of the splendid reputation he was to win a few years later 



on a broader field, and in a mightier contest, as a major- \ 
general in the service of the Confederate States. | 

The First Tennessee Regiment was composed in part of ' 
soldiers from Davidson County, and was commanded by Col. '< 
William Bowen Campbell, afterwards Governor. He was i 
a native of Tennessee, — a home-bred, a self-made, genuine i 
Tennessee American, of the type of Washington. He de- '• 
serves a high place in the gallery of the " worthies" of Ten- 
nessee. It is not an easy matter to draw and sketch his 
life, or to appreciate him. He was a solid and not a sur- 
face man. It requires more time and thought, reflection and 
patience to appreciate such a man than is ordinarily given 
to the subject. 

He filled and performed the duties of a lawyer, attorney- 
general, judge, congressman, soldier. Governor of his State, 
and citizen and man. While living and acting he was re- 
spected and esteemed by every man ; and by all who knew 
him and were brought near to him his character was felt. 
Respect and esteem followed ; it was not and could not 
be withheld. He was a well-developed man, physically, 
morally, and mentally, and a noble specimen of manhood. 
In stature he was six feet high, finely formed, deep chested, 
broad shouldered, with a well-formed head, well set on his 
shoulders, his hair of light brown, eyes of a light blue, 
benevolent and expressive. Standing on his feet, upright 
and erect, yet easy and free ; a man in whom one might and 
would confide, and feel he would certainly do to trust in peace 
and war. He was warm, genial, and eminently social. His 
voice smooth, of moderate tone, rather low than loud, a soft, 
persuasive, friendly voice ; yet there were in his firm face, 
eye, air, and bearing and form great strength and power, 
capable of passion, energy, and wrath ; one whom it were 
dangerous to arouse ; one who could and would and did 
command when the occasion required it ; one who could 
face the cannon's mouth with perfect presence of mind and 
self-control. 

Pie needed no paper or parchment to attest his stock or 
his ancestry ; he was of the real royal blood of the Anglo- 
American best — of the true lineage of the Anglo-Saxon. 
Of Virginia descent, of that hardy, brave, enterprising 
people that had crossed the mountains and settled in South- 
western Virginia, then a wilderness, and made their homes 
in Washington County, adjoining East Tennessee. Of a 
family connection which was distinguished for its courage 
and manhood in the war of independence, and had given 
three soldiers and heroes to the battle of King's Mountain, 
and subsequently a chief magistrate — Governor David 
Campbell — to Virginia. He was born Feb. 1, 1807, with- 
in twelve miles of the present site of Nashville. He in- 
herited from his Campbell ancestry a sensitive temperament, 
and from the Bowens a large magnanimity both of soul 
and mind. He was related, through his paternal grand- 
mother, to Gen. William Campbell, one of the heroes of 
King's Mountain. His grandfather, David Campbell, from 
whom Campbell's Station, in East Tennessee, took its name, 
took part in that engagement as a soldier in Col. William 
Campbell's regiment. Through his mother he was related 
to Lieut. Recce Bowen, of the same regiment, who in that 
engagement, while in a hazardous position, fell, pierced in 
the breast by a rifle-ball, and almost instantly expired. 




y^?^:^^ ^^^-^^^-^^'^^^■^^'-'^^^ 



THE MEXICAN WAR, 1846-47. 



167 



From these three different ancestral lines there mot in his 
veins the blood of those hardy patriots who turned the tide 
of American defeat, and gave to indepencence the morning 
of its day long delayed. 

His father, David Campbell, a plain former, brought up 
his family to industry, economy, and good morals. His 
mother, Catherine Bowen Campbell, was a remarkable 
woman of the old school, industrious, pious, and patriotic. 
Eeared in the midst of Revolutionary traditions and the 
alarms of Indian warfare, patriotism was with her a passion. 
With few books at her command, she in girlhood stored 
her memory with a few of the best. To her latest years 
down to fourscore the mention of any deed of heroism 
brought from her well-stored memory apt poetical responses 
garnered from Scott, Burns, Campbell, and Moore. A 
love of truth and of country she transmitted in intense 
form to her son. 

He himself told this anecdote of his mother " in the 
day that tried men's souls" to a few friends, tears trickling 
down his manly cheeks. He had been all of his life a 
" national man," and had been baptized on the field of 
battle under the old flag ; was a soldier and a good and 
true one, and a man of weight and influence throughout 
the whole State. He was tendered the command of the 
Tennessee forces in aid of the Rebellion. It was urged 
upon him. He declined. His declination was published 
and well known. Being told of this she said, " William, 
I was proud of you at Monterey ; I was proud of you 
when the people elected you Governor, but I am now 
prouder of you than ever since you refused to fight against 
the flag of your country." 

Having been brought up on the farm, one of a large 
family, and having his own living to earn and character 
to form, Campbell adopted the calling of the law, and 
arose to eminence and distinction in the region of country 
in which he lived. He began the practice of law at Car- 
thage, Tenn., and was married to Miss Fanny I. Owen, 
daughter of Dr. John Owen, in 1835. His ability as a 
lawyer was the ability of common sense, knowledge of life 
and men and affairs, private and public. It was substantial 
justice : " What was right between man and man." 

His first appearance in public life was in thi3 capacity of 
attorney-general in the year 1833. In 1835 he was elected 
to the Legislature. In 1836 he resigned, and as captain 
led a company in the Florida war, where he distinguished 
himself for his kindness and gallantry. In 1837, 1830, 
and 1841 he was elected to Congress, the last time without 
opposition. During these years in Congress he served on 
the important Committees on Claims, Territories, and Mili- 
tary Affairs. His speeches in Congress show a thorough 
acquaintance with the subject to which he addressed him- 
self, and his views were expressed with great clearness and 
energy. With fine natural talents sedulously cultivated, 
his modesty prevented their frequent and general display 
which his friends desired. 

At the close of his term in Congress, in 1843, he retired 
from polities. In 1846 he was elected colonel of the First 
Tennessee Regiment of Volunteers in the war with Rlesico. 
In this position he acquired great reputation, thrilling the 
nation with his chivalrous and sallant bearinsi in battle. 



He fought at Vera Cruz, Madaline Bridge, Ccrro Gordo, 
and Blonterey, where his command to charge took the form 
of " Boys, follow me !" giving to Tennessee heroism one 
of its historic phrases. Of this charge at Monterey, where 
he and his regiment took first honors, he himself wrote : 
" My regiment went early into action on the morning of 
September 21st, and was ordered to sustain some regulars 
who were said to be attacking a fort at one end of the city. 
When I arrived within point-blank musket-shot of the fort 
no regulars were visible. They had filed to the left and 
taken shelter behind some houses, and had gotten into the 
outskirts of the town, so that my command was left ex- 
posed to the most severe discharge of artillery and mus- 
ketry that was ever poured upon a line of volunteers. They 
bore the fire with wonderful courage, and were brought to 
the charge in a few minutes, and rushed upon the fort and 
took it at the point of the bayonet. It was most gallantly 
done. The Blississippi regiment sustained mine most gal- 
lantly in the charge." This charge is regarded as the most 
remarkable feat performed by volunteers in that war. 

His gallant conduct at the head of his regiment won for 
that unsurpassed body of troops the sobriquet of " The 
Bloody First." On his return from Blexico he became one 
of the Circuit Court judges of the State, and held a place 
upon the bench for several years, was respected and es- 
teemed as a firm, impartial, just judge, and administered 
and enforced the laws to the full satisfaction of the bar and 
the public. 

In 1851 he was by acclamation nominated as the Whig 
candidate for Governor, the position being urged upon him 
on the ground that he was the only man in his party who 
could make a successful canvass. Upon his nomination, 
Hon. Meredith P. Gentry, who had served with him in the 
Legislature and many years in CoDgre.ss, said, "Although 
Tennessee is rich in noble sons, yet, in my opinion, she has 
not within her broad limits a nobler son than William B. 
Campbell. In integrity and honor, in fidelity and truth, in 
courage and patriotism, in all that constitutes a high, noble, 
and manly character he has no superior." In his accept- 
ance of the nomination he gave the key to his political 
foith, saying, " I accept, with a pledge to my friends of a 
heart devoted to the union of these United States, and to 
the honor and prosperity of my native State." He was 
elected over Governor Trousdale, the most popular and in- 
fluential man of his party at the time. 

He is known in the history of the State as a soldier ; as 
an officer of perfect courage, discipline, and skill, both loved 
and feared by his men. After Jackson, he was Tennessee's 
best soldier. As brave as Jackson himself, he was always 
self-controlled and insensible of danger. 

In political life he was distinguished as a plain, sensible, 
" honest public man," of great moderation and sincerity, a 
conservative. He was not a Democrat, but a conservative, 
a Whig in the best sense of that historical name. lie was 
not an orator, or a politician in its usual or bad sense. He 
was plain, sensible, sincere in all his public speeches before 
the people, but cautious and prudent. He was not an 
office-seeker. He had a high self-respect and great pride of 
character ; set a high value upon the good-will and respect 
of his fellow-men ; was ambitious, and desired the approba- 



168 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



tion of the public ; was civil, courteous, and gracious in his 
intercourse with his fellow-citizens, and had something of 
the patrician in his character. His distinguishing trait of 
mind was understanding. He saw things as they really 
are ; knew men and life as it is ; knew the good and bad 
qualities of man as he is. His judgment was sound and 
safe. His moral sense was another distinguishing trait of 
character. In fact, he understood and had made Washing- 
ton his model, his ideal of the great and good and wise 
man, and was greatly influenced by his example in his own 
life ; and he was, therefore, in good faith a Union, a na- 
tional man ; an old-line Whig, incapable of change ; him- 
self personally courageous, but politically of a party in its 
belief wholly defensive. He lived and died a Whig. The 
Whig creed and its defensive spirit he would have perpetu- 
ated just as it was, without change, " for the Constitution 
and the Union just as it was." 

In 1S61 he opposed secession. His devotion to the 
Union and his far-seeing statesmanship are shown in a 
letter written by him March 16, 1861, in which he said, 
" But this Southern Confederacy can never become a first- 
rate power. It will never rise above the dignity of a 
third-rate power, and with no protection or guarantee 
from the great Northern government, and with no sym- 
pathy from the great powers of the earth, she, the South, 
must ever be a prey to other nations, and ever regarded 
with contempt by them. . . . But so sure as a big war 
occurs between the North and the South (and that it will 
occur so soon as all hope of reunion shall cease to exist 
no one seriously doubts) then will peace be made at the ex- 
pense of negro slavery. . . . The South has been duped 
and deceived by their leaders, and they may reap the whirl- 
wind before an adjustment. The whole move was wrong, 
and the South ought at once to retrace their steps. It will 
be ruinous to the South if they do not. I have done all I 
could to preserve the peace, to prevent war, and I shall 
continue my humble efforts to prevent a conflict. . . . 
But I have no hope that peace can be maintained very 
long. Many questions will soon arise that will bring about 
a conflict. I shall deeply regret to see such a result, but 
when it comes I shall be actuated by the same feelings 
which actuate you of the South, and shall stand by Ten- 
nessee and the Union." 

He thought that the result was settled in Tennessee by 
the election of February, 186) , but it was preordained other- 
wise. Suddenly the flames of war burst out in the Cotton 
States, and in a few weeks swept Tennessee as a prairie on 
fire. The general apathy under the influence of its execu- 
tive gave the last blow to Unionism in Tennessee. Union 
men and leaders were silenced. Terror ruled the hour. 
Governor Campbell was self-possessed, retained his presence 
of mind, and was immovable in his fidelity and allegiance 
to the national government. He, in the midst of this 
scene, found himself standing solitary and almost alone. 
Whatremedy was there for it just then ? None. What could 
any mortal man have done but possess himself in patience 
and await a day when honor and duty should return, and 
bring back " peace come to stay ?" Speaking of what was 
transpiring, Campbell said it must run out and exhaust 
itself; opposition just then at Nashville was useless; it was 



broken out and must run its course. He was silent and ' 
prudent, and immovably firm and self-possessed. The ! 
Union leaders stood appalled at the scenes transpiring, and 
yielded ; the people acquiesced at what seemed their fate ; ; 
his physical and moral courage stood him instead. A i 
man and soldier, a Union man, a Whig, his influence and ' 
weight were of moment to the Confederate authorities all 
powerful and controlling. He was tendered the command 
of all the forces raised and to be raised in Tennessee in aid 
of their cause. He declined firmly in terms of prudence, but 
immovably firm ; not from any motive or motives, under 
heaven, but from the principle of fidelity bound to duty, 
to his country, and the people among whom he lived, and 
whom he loved in his heart of hearts. In that day his eye 
and voice, which never falsify, indicated the state of his 
head and heart ; his eye was bright, his voice firm, his air, 
countenance, bearing, manner were those of one who knew 
that he was doing well in the line of duty. He returned 
to his 'home and remained in his family while the storm 
raged tempestuously around his dwelling and throughout the 
State. When, in February, 1862, the National army occu- 
pied Nashville and a military government was established, 
and a military governor was in possession of the capitol. 
Governor Campbell came to the seat of government at Nash- 
ville and gave his moral support to the United States govern- 
ment ; a commission of brigadier-general in United States 
army was sent to him, and he took the oath of olEoe under 
it, but shortly afterwards, for reasons deemed suflioient by 
him, he resigned, never having entered upon active service. 
He took an active part in the reorganization of the State 
government in 1865, and in the same year was again 
elected to the Congress of the United States. Under this 
election he performed his last public service, his death 
occurring suddenly at his residence Aug. 19, 1867. 

It will tiius be seen that he filled many high places of 
honor and responsibility. That he always discharged his 
duties with fidelity and ability is shown by the fact that 
he was never defeated when a candidate, and the oft-re- 
peated and long-continued, manifestations of public confi- 
dence and trust reposed in him. He was an honest, sincere 
patriot, and will be ever held in esteem as a " worthy" of 
Tennessee. 



CHAPTEK XXX. 

THE GKEAT CIVIL "WAK. 

Events jind Causes whicli led to its Inception — Loyalty to the Union 
in Tennessee — That feeling suddenly changed by the Policy of iho 
G-overnmcnt in Reinforcing Fort Sumter — Vote of Secession — 
Military Fame of Tennessee — Organization of Companies in David- 
son County — State Military Establishment. 

The success of the Republican party in electing Abra- 
ham Lincoln to the Presidency in November, 1860, was 
regarded by some of the slave-holding States as such a 
menace to their constitutional rights that by the 1st of 
February following seven of them had seceded from the 
Union. The possibility of a division of the Union had 
engaged the minds of the people of the United States for 



THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



169 



many jTcars, beginning Tvith the first introduction of the 
]uestioa of African slavery as an element in American 
politics. Never was a political question more thoroughly 
discussed in all of its bearings, and when a party, then 
regarded as hostile to the institution of slavery and bent on 
its final overthrow, succeeded in securing the chief magis- 
tracy and one branch of Congress, the people of the Cotton 
States deemed that argument was exhausted and that the 
time for action had arrived. The wisdom of this policy 
will not be discussed here, but its relation to events which 
shortly followed as affecting the remaining slave-holding 
Slates will be briefly considered. The waves of secession 
which swept seven States out of the Union broke against a 
solid barrier of adjoining States and were arrested. In 
fact, such was the feeling in one of them, Tennessee, that 
the question of calling a convention to consider the state 
of the country was defeated in February by a vote of over 
sixty thousand. The sentiment of her people, as expressed 
in this vote, was to take no step which would jeopardize 
a peaceful solution of the great questions at issue. She 
entered heartily into the scheme of a peace congress, through 
which it was hoped some constitutional guarantees could be 
adopted which would be the basis of reconciliation between 
the sections, and load to the return of the seceded States to 
the Union. This congress met, but failed of its purpose. 
During its session Mr. Chase, a member of Sir. Lincoln's 
cabinet and spokesman for his party, declared that the re- 
cent victory of the Republican party was not due to a mere 
accidental circumstance of the divisions of its opponents; 
that it would win victory after victory on its platform of 
hostility to the extension of African slavery ; that the fugi- 
tive slave act was a dead letter, and that the personal lib- 
erty acts passed by the various Northern Legislatures which 
nullified this law of Congress would never be repealed ; 
that the expression of the moral sense of a people on 
this question was a higher law than congressional enact- 
ments. In spite of the failure of this scheme, the people 
of Tennessee still did not despair of averting the calamities 
of fratricidal war, but through their General Assembly an- 
nounced a firm determination to await some overt act of 
oppression on her sister Southern States or upon herself 
before she would yield the Union ; at the same time asking 
the administration to refrain from any coercive measures 
which would provoke a conflict of arms. On this platform 
stood the powerful States of North Carolina, Virginia, 
Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas, whose united voices 
plead for peace. The immediate question upon which the 
issue of peace or war turned was the reinforcement and re- 
tention of Fort Sumter by the general government. This 
powerful battery stood within the harbor of Charleston, 
and could by its guns reach any part of the city. It was 
still being held for the government by Maj. Anderson ; but 
its evacuation had been demanded by the State of South 
Carolina, through the exercise of the right of eminent 
domain, which she claimed vested the title in herself after 
her separation from the Union. Gen. Scott, the com- 
mander-in-chief of the United States army, advised the 
administration, in view of the attitude of the Border slave- 
holding States, to evacuate the fort and trust to diplomacy 
for its recovery. Senator Stephen A. Douglass, and many 



other leading politicians at the North, urged the same view, 
and begged the administration to forego the collection of 
custom dues, a paltry sum in comparison with the cost of 
a great conflict. 

It was known to the country at this time that an attempt 
to provision and reinforce the place would provoke resist- 
ance, force the remaining Southern States to throw ofi' their 
neutrality, and inaugurate a civil war. Under assurances 
of the administration that Sumter would be evacuated, the 
country breathed freer, and the advocates of secession in 
the Border States were awed into silence or put to a sharper 
defense of their policy. The feeling in these States was 
that the question would be submitted to a trial of diplo- 
macy and not of arms ; that the administration was ready 
to sacrifice any mere party feeling for the sake of a peace- 
ful solution of the question. Such was the attitude of 
these States when it was suddenly announced that a large 
fleet had left New York with two hundred and eighty-five 
guns and two thousand four hundred soldiers to forcibly 
enter Charleston harbor and reinforce Fort Sumter. On 
this information being communicated to the Confederate 
authorities, Gen. Beauregard was ordered to reduce the 
fort before the arrival of the fleet, which that oflSoer, after 
a bombardment of thirty-two hours, was enabled to accom- 
plish on the 13th of April. The news of this event shook 
the country like an earthquake. To the Border States it 
was a knell of despair for the Union. They felt that their 
loyal efforts for its maintenance against the strongest argu- 
ments of their brethren of the seceded States had been 
treated with contempt, insult, and perfidy, and that the 
blow had been struck before they could interpose their 
hands to arrest it. Under these circumstances their indig- 
nation knew no bounds, and when the administration called 
upon them the day after the fall of Fort Sumter to furnish 
soldiers for war against a people to whom they were bound 
by every tie of kindred, interest, and association, they flew 
to arms to resist what they regarded as a preconcerted at- 
tempt at the subjugation of the entire South. All of the 
Governors of the remaining slaveholding States, except 
Maryland, refused to issue the call for troops, alleging that 
the general government had no constitutional authority to 
coerce a State after the withdrawal of its delegated powers 
from the Union, as the Union was then understood. In 
the twinkling of an eye the feelings of the people of Ten- 
nessee towards the government had undergone an almost 
total change. The sixty thousand majority for the " Union" 
in the short space of less than three months had changed 
into a sixty thousand majority for " separation." Such, in 
brief, is the history of the movement which eventuated in 
the separation of Tennessee from the Union, the facts of 
which are verified by reference to the current files of the 
press of that day, and from the lips of living actors whose 
loyalty remained unshaken up to the very hour of conflict. 

At this time the military fame of Tennessjco was second 
to that of no State in the Union. She had won this fame, 
not from any adventitious circumstance or cast of fortune 
on some narrow field of conflict. On many hard-fought 
fields and in many conflicts she had won an enduring repu- 
tation for impetuous valor and chivalrie devotion to the call 
of public duty. For nearly a century her sons had led the 



170 



HISTOEY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



van of civilization in the Southwest, and they could justly 
claim an empire vast in extent and importance as mainly 
due to the exercise of their enterprise and valor. They 
had turned the tide of the Ilevolution at King's Mountain, 
wrested their own domain from the wilderness and the sav- 
age, thrown open the great States of Alabama, Mississippi, 
and Florida to peaceful occupation, saved Louisiana from the 
horrors of a foreign invasion, peopled Arkansas, and helped to 
wrench Texas from the grasp of Mexico, — an event which, a 
few years later, led through the Mexican war to the acqui- 
sition of the vast region stretching from Colorado to the 
Pacific Ocean. Truly, Tennessee had advanced the stand- 
ard of national greatness as few other States could claim. 
So, when she buckled on her armor again, it was evident that 
she would exert a mighty influence over the course and 
duration of the conflict, and so it proved in the end. Her 
sons, in taking sides for or against the Union as convictions 
of duty taught, upheld her honor and fame in a contest 
which tried their valor and fortitude to the last limit of 
human endurance. 

The military ardor of the people of Davidson County 
surpassed all previous exhibitions. Many of those who a 
day before had been strong for the Union were the first to 
raise the standard of resistance, and in a few weeks nearly 
forty companies of infantry, cavalry, and artillery were 
organized and ready to take the field for the South, in 
obedience to a call from Governor Isham G. Harris. The 
Legislature quickly convened and passed an act providing 
for a State military establishment. Under this act among 
the appointments from Davidson County were Samuel R. 
Anderson, who had been lieutenant-colonel of the First 
Tennessee in the Mexican war, as major-general, and Felix 
K. Zollioofier, who had been a captain in the Florida war, 
B. F. Cheatham, who had commanded first the Nashville 
Blues and afterwards the Third Tennessee, and R. C. Fos- 
ter (3d), who commanded the Harrison Guards in the 
Mexican war, as brigadier-generals. Ex-Governor Neill S. 
Brown and Gen. W. G. Harding wore on the military and 
financial board. Dr. Paul F. Eve was made surgeon-general. 

The tlieatre of the services of the Davidson County volun- 
teers reached, in the course of the war, from the Atlantic to 
the Jlississippi and from the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico. 
Our space will not allow more than a brief summary of the 
services of the various companies. An extended detail would 
embrace the history of the war in the West, which would be 
incompatible with the scope and design of this work. Jus- 
tice would require an extensive volume for the proper treat- 
ment of the subject. Again, where so many acted well 
their parts it has been deemed improper to single out indi- 
viduals for notice, except where such notice was obviously 
just. 



CHAPTER XXXL j 

THE COMPANIES IN THE FIRST TENNESSEE AND \ 
OTHER REGIMENTS AND BATTERIES. 

Companies C and G, Second Tennessee Regiment — Companies in tlie 
Eleventli Tennessee — Company G, Eigliteenth Tennessee — Com- 
panies in the Twentietli Tennessee — Company G, Fiftieth Tennes- 
see — In the Fifth Tennessee — In the First Tennessee Cavalry — In 
the Second Tennessee Cavalry — McCann's Cavalry — First Battal- 
ion Heavy Artillery — Porter's Battery — Company A, First Artil- 
lery — Baxter's Battery — Baker's Battery — Maney's Battery. 

In the organization of this regiment, on May the 3d, 
1861, two of the field-officers were from Davidson, Col. 
George Maney and Lieut.-Col. T. F. Sevier, and five com- 
panies, namely: Co. A, Rock City Guards, Capt. Joseph 
Vaulx, Jr. ; Co. B, Rock City Guards, Capt. James B. 
Craighead; Co. C, Rock City Guards, Capt. Robert C. 
Foster (4th) ; the Tennessee Riflemen (German), Capt. 
George Harsh ; and the Chattanooga Railroad Boys, Capt. 
J. S. Butler. At the reorganization at Corinth, in 1862, 
three other companies from Davidson were added to the 
regiment, being consolidated into one company under Capt. 
J. M. Fulcher and constituting Co. L. These were the 
companies of Capts. J. M. Hawkins, Robert Catties, and 
James Felts, up to that time known as Hawkins' battalion. 
Soon after its organization the First Tennessee repaired to 
Camp Cheatham, in Robertson County, where it became the 
recipient of a beautiful set of colors, presented by the grad- 
uating class of the Nashville Female Academy, through 
Miss Campbell, daughter of ex-Governor Campbell, whose 
regiment had received a similar honor from this institution in 
the Jlexican war. Some reverses having occurred to the 
Confederate arms in West Virginia, this regiment was sent 
thither and participated in the campaign of Gen. R. E. Lee 
as part of the brigade of Gen. Samuel R. Anderson, of 
Nashville. In January, 1862, it took part in Stonewall 
Jackson's expedition to Bath and Romney, seeing plenty 
of hard service, but not getting into any engagement of 
moment. In the spring it returned to the West, the left 
wing only reaching Corinth in time to take part in the bat- 
tle of Shiloh, the right wing, in which were the Davidson 
companies, being held at Decatur to guard the bridge at 
that place. Thereafter it remained a constituent part of 
the Army of Tennessee. As a part of Blaney's brigade, 
it was in Bragg's invasion of Kentucky and suffered a loss 
of nearly fifty per cent, at Perryville, where it drove the 
enemy from a very strong position, forcing him to abandon 
a number of guns. At Murfreesboro' it was heavily en- 
gaged against the enemy's centre, losing again severely. 
At Chickamauga, as part of Cheatham's division, it was 
compelled to bear the brunt of the Saturday's engagement, 
while Bragg's forces were being concentrated. It was not 
engaged on Sunday until late in the afternoon, when it 
joined in the general charge on the right, which ended the 
battle. On the disastrous field of Missionary Ridge it 
repelled an assault of the enemy and distinguished itself by 
a countercharge, in which it took more prisoners than it had 
men. On the Dalton campaign it did its full share of arduous 
service, performing its crowning feat of valor at Kenesaw 
Mountain, June 27th. On this occasion it occupied the point, 



THE COMPANIES IN THE FIRST TENNESS E REGIMENT, ETC. 



171 



(henceforward famous as the Dead Angle, with one hundred 
and eighty guns, fully one-half of the regiment being out 
of the trenches on the skirmish-line or back of the works 
engaged in various duties at the moment of attack. On 
account of the faulty location of the works, the enemy 
were enabled to mass a division of liis troops in close order 
within sixty yards of the line occupied by the First Ten- 
nessee without being observed, and when this heavy force 
suddenly advanced the occasion furnished one of the most 
critical periods in the history of the Army of Tennessee. 
The attack covered about two hundred yards in extent, 
taking in part of Maney's and Vaughan's brigades. Seven 
lines of battle were defeated in succession in front of the 
First Tennessee with appalling slaughter, their foremost dead 
resting against the works. Only the most determined 
pluck on the part of every individual saved the point from 
capture and the army from a probable disaster. 

In the action of July 22d,,on the right of Atlanta, the 
First Tennessee struck the enemy's works squarely, and al- 
though suffering heavily it succeeded in carrying them and 
capturing a number of prisoners, thus achieving a result 
with one line which their opponents, under more favorable 
conditions, were unable to accomplish at Kenesaw with seven 
lines. In the subsequent siege of Atlanta it did its full 
share of arduous service, ending in the ill-advised attack on 
Sherman's fortified lines at Jonesboro'. On Hood's advance 
into Tennessee it participated in the capture of Dalton and 
the affair at Spring Hill, on the eve of the battle of Frank- 
lin. In this battle it was unable to overcome the maiu line 
of the enemy's works, but it maintained its advanced position 
all through the terrible ordeal to which it was subjected 
until far in the night, when the retirement of the enemy 
put an end to the bloody butchery. In the first day's 
battle at Nashville, Dec. 15, 1864:, it held its works until 
withdrawn, late in the afternoon, to take up a new line, 
Cheatham's corps being transferred from the right to the 
left wing of the army. In the course of the second day's 
battle the unquenchable spirit of this regiment was finely 
illustrated in its recapture and maintenance of a line that 
had been lost on the extreme Confederate left by the giving 
way of a brigade. On the retreat from Tennessee it formed 
part of that immortal rear-guard which, by its valor at An- 
thony's Hill and Sugar Creek, saved the Army of Tennes- 
see from total destruction. Some of its members reached 
North Carolina in time to share in the battle of Benton- 
ville and see the sunlight of victory gild for the last time 
their tattered and war-worn banners. 

COMPANIES C AND G, SECOND TENNESSEE 
REGIMENT. 

In the Second Tennessee were two companies from David- 
son, C and G, commanded I'cspectively by Captains H. I. 
Cheney and John Earthman. The first was from Edgefield 
and the other from White's Creek. The regiment was or- 
ganized May 6th, and was known as Bates' Second Tennes- 
see. It started at once for Virginia, and was mustered into 
the Confederate service at Lynchburg. Soon after it reached 
the Potomac at Aquia Creek, and assisted in the defense 
of the batteries at that point, being thus the first Tennessee 
troops to engage in active hostilities. In June it participated 



in the Cane River expedition, planned to capture the Poto- 
mac flotilla, and assisted in the taking of three schooners. 
In passing from Union Mills on the right to the left of 
Beauregard's lines at Manassas, it sustained a heavy fire 
from the Federal batteries beyond Bull Run, but further 
than this was not seriously engaged. It assisted in erecting 
the batteries at Evansport, which blockaded the Potomac 
until the retreat on Richmond. Having re-enlisted in Feb- 
ruary, the men were on furlough during Johnson's retreat 
from Tennessee, but the battle of Shiloh being imminent, 
they volunteered to the number of three hundred for the 
occasion, and suffered terribly in the engagement of the 6th 
of April. On the 7th they rendered important services 
and participated actively in the repulse of the enemy in the 
afternoon at Shiloh Church, being the last regiment to leave 
that part of the field. Their losses in this battle amounted 
to thirty-nine per cent. 

In the invasion of Kentucky the regiment was in the 
brigade of Gen. Patrick Cleburne, and marched from Knox- 
ville with Gen. E. Kirby Smith's column, turning Cumber- 
land Gap, and being actively engaged at Richmond on the 
30th of August, where, in the three combats, it was almost 
annihilated, Capt. Newson, of Company C, being among the 
first victims. From this point it marched via Lexington 
to the vicinity of Covington, on the Ohio, and returning, 
was actively engaged in the battle of Perryville, October 
the 8th, where it had fifty wounded and none killed. In 
the battle of Murfreesboro', December 31st, it was actively 
engaged from sunrise until the middle of the afternoon, 
participating in six combats, the last of which was near 
the Nashville turnpike. Its losses in killed and wounded 
were severe. At Chickamauga the Second Tennessee was 
conspicuous for good conduct, capturing guns and prisoners 
in Cleburne's famous night charge. It was twice heavily 
engaged on the following day, its brigade (Polk's) being 
the first to carry the enemy's works, when it again captured 
guns and a number of prisoners. Its losses in this battle 
amounted to quite fifty per cent. In the battle of Mis- 
sionary Ridge it was not seriously engaged, but at Taylor's 
Ridge the following day it made a brilliant flank move- 
ment on the enemy's left at a critical moment and turned 
the tide of victory. In the Dalton campaign, besides al- 
most daily skirmishes, it was engaged at Resaca, Calhoun, 
Kingston (where it brought up the rear, being engaged for 
several hours with the advance of Sherman's army), Pump- 
kinvine Creek, Golgotha, and Kenesaw. After crossing 
the Chattahoochee the regiment was transferred to Smith's 
(Taylor's) brigade, Bates' division. On the 19th of July, at 
Peachtree Creek, the right wing of the regiment, including 
nearly all of Company C, was captured. It was engaged 
in the battle of the 22d of July and at Utoy Creek, Au- 
gust the 6th. At Jonesboro' it made a desperate assault 
on Sherman's works, but was repulsed with heavy loss. 
The Tennessee campaign followed, in which it fully shared, 
being engaged at Dalton, Decatur, Ala., Franklin, Overall's 
Creek, Murfreesboro', and in the last day's engagement at 
Nashville, where it was nearly annihilated by the flre of 
the enemy's batteries and the assault which fuliowed. The 
remnants still clung to the fortunes of the Confederacy and 
followed its flag on a long weary march to the Atlantic sea- 



172 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



board, where, on the 19th of March, 1865, at Bentonville, 
N. C, it again confronted its old adversary and entered into 
its last battle, numbering seventeen muskets. Here joining 
its line with that of its shattered fellow-regiments of the 
Army of Tennessee, it precipitated itself on the enemy's 
works, carrying two lines in rapid succession, and driving 
him in confusion for fully a mile. In the last charge Capt. 
W. H. Wilkerson, of Company G, fell a victim to his im- 
petuous valor, being probably the last sacrifice that Davidson 
County made to the terrible four years' war. 

ACKLIN EIFLES, COMPANY "A," FOURTH 
(THIETY-FOUKTH) TENNESSEE. 

This company was organized at Nashville, May the 7th, 
1861, and joined the Fourth Tennessee, Col. W. M. 
Churchwell, at Nashville. It participated in the battles of 
Tazewell, Cumberland Gap, and Big Spring, as a part of 
Eains' brigade. Being transferred to Maney's brigade shortly 
before the battle of Murfreesboro', it remained with that or- 
ganization until the end of the war, being engaged at Mur- 
freesboro', Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge. At the 
latter battle, Samuel Nicholson, of this company, had the 
colors of the regiment ; the staif being shot in two three 
times in quick succession, Nicholson still held his flag 
aloft, though he had been shot through the body and ad- 
vanced until he fell. As part of Maney's brigade it par- 
ticipated in the battles of Resaca and Kenesaw Mountain, 
rendering its full share in the repulses of the assault on the 
Dead Angle, June 27th. It was in various engagements, 
around Atlanta, including Jonesboro', being successful in 
capturing a line of works on the 22d of July. In the 
Tennessee campaign it was at the capture of Dalton, and 
was heavily engaged at Franklin. At Nashville it fought 
on the right on the first day, and on the left on the second 
day, where it was subjected to a heavy fire of the enemy's 
batteries. It formed part of the rear-guard on the retreat, 
allusion to which has already been made. It ended a career 
of most honorable services without a tarnish in the surren- 
der at Greensboro'. 

COMPANIES IN THE TENTH TENNESSEE. 

Davidson County was more numerously represented in 
the Tenth Tennessee than any of its organizations, its com- 
pliment in this regiment being eight full companies. It 
was familiarly known as the " Irish Regiment" on account 
of its heavy per cent, of men of this nationality, and it may 
be proper to add that it gloriously sustained the reputation 
of the Emerald Isle for steady and shining courage. At its 
organization two of its field-officers were from Davidson, — 
Col. Adolph Heiman and Lieut.-Col. Randal W. McGavock. 
Soon after entering into service it was sent to erect de- 
fenses on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, and the 
works at Fort Henry and Heiman, on the latter river, were 
principally the results of its labors. In the attack on Fort 
Henry by Commodore Foote's fleet all their previous labor 
was rendered nugatory by a series of disasters to the guns 
in the fort, which resulted in its surrender. The regiment 
escaped to Fort Donelson, where ten days later it was in- 
cluded in the surrender of the place, after having rendered 
the most signal services. On its return from prison it was 



reorganized at Clinton, Miss., in the autumn of 1862, re- 
taining the same field-officers. 

Soon after, Col. Heiman died, and Lieut.-Col. McGav- 
ock was elected to the vacancy. The regiment, after a tour 
to Coldwater, went to Vicksburg, and thence to Port Hud- 
son. As part of Gregg's brigade it bore a conspicuous and 
bloody part in the battle of Raymond, Miss., on the 12th of 
May, 1863, where less than three thousand Confederates 
held their ground for ten hours against five times their 
number.* After participating in the movements of Gen. 
Johnson for the relief of Vicksburg, it joined Bragg's army 
in September, in time to be actively engaged in the two 
days' battle of Chickamauga, where its brigade, in conjunc- 
tion with Fulton's (Bushrod Johnson's), was the first to 
break the massive lines of the enemy on the left on Sunday 
morning. Its losses were again heavy. Being soon after 
transferred to Bates' brigade, afterwards Tyler's and then 
Smith's, it played a conspicuoojs part in the battle of Mis- 
sionary Ridge, where this brigade received the credit from 
Gen. Bragg of saving the Army of Tennessee by its daunt- 
less bearing in covering the retreat across the Chicka- 
mauga. In the Dalton campaign it was engaged at Rocky 
Face, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw, the opening battles around 
Atlanta, at Utoy Creek, and Jonesboro'. Its after-history 
may be traced in the account already given of the compa- 
nies in the Second Tennessee. 

COMPANIES IN THE ELEVENTH TENNESSEE 
(COL. J. E. RAINS). 

Davidson furnished three companies to the Eleventh 
Tennessee, namely, the Hermitage Guards, Capt. J. E. 
Rains, the Beauregard Light Infontry, Capt. S. C. God- 
shall, and the Cheatham Rifles, Capt. J. R. McCown. This 
regiment, though early in the service and in the discharge 
of active and important duties in East Tennessee, first came 
under fire at the battle of Tazewell, Aug. 6, 1862 ; soon 
after it was engaged in prosecuting the siege of Cumber- 
land Gap, on the evacuation of which it advanced as far as 
Frankfort, Ky., and from this point covered, via Harrods- 
burg, Bragg's retreat from that State, during which it had 
several affairs with the enemy. At Murfreesboro' it fought 
in MoCown's division, where it was continuously engaged 
until late in the afternoon, and acquitted itself with great 
credit, having captured a battery at the first onslaught. In 
its last combat, near the Murfreesboro' pike. Gen. James 
E. Rains was instantly killed, falling in the midst of the 
regiment he had so long commanded. After this battle the 
Eleventh Tennessee became a part of Gen. Preston Smith's 
brigade, with which it remained for the rest of the war. 
At the battle of Chickamauga it took an active part in the 
night attack on the 19th of September, by which important 
positions were won, and on the 20th joined in the charge 
late in the afternoon which swept Thomas' corps from the 
field. At Missionary Ridge it was not heavily engaged. In 
the Dalton campaign its brigade held Resaca against a 
heavy force until the main army came upon the ground. 
At Kenesaw Mountain it held the right limb of the " Dead 



■•■' Col. McGavock fell in the thickest of the fight, while handling his 
regiment with superb sliill. 



THE COMPANIES IN THE FIRST TENNESSEE REGIMENT, ETC. 



173 



Angle" against the assault on the 27th of June, repulsing 
seven lines. The fighting here was almost hand to hand, 
and the slaughter of the assailants was sickening to con- 
template at the end of the assault. In the battle of the 
22d of July it drove the enemy out of his works, but was 
unable to hold them on account of the severe enfilade fire 
to which it was exposed. In the rest of this campaign, end- 
ing at Jonesboro', it was actively and continuously engaged. 
In the battle of Franklin it held the ditch of the main line 
of the enemy's works until he retreated, being unable on 
account of its losses to possess them entirely. In the first 
day's battle at Nashville it held its ground against all 
attacks, and on the second was not called upon to resist any 
direct attack, but was under a heavy fire of artillery and 
small-arms for the greater part of the day. It failed to 
reach North Carolina in time to take part in the battle of 
Bentonville, and ended its career of service to the Confed- 
eracy in the surrender at Greensboro'. 

COMPANY G, EIGHTEENTH TENNESSEE (COL. 
J. B. PALMER). 

This was the company of Capt. A. J. McWhirter, being 
principally made up in Edgefield. The regiment first saw 
service in the trying scenes of Fort Donelson, in which it 
fully participated and suffered. On its return from prison 
it became part of Palmer's brigade, and shared in the des- 
perate charge and repulse of Breckcnridgc's division, on 
the 2d of January, 1863, at Murfreesboro'. As part of 
Brown's brigade it fought in the centre at Chickamauga, 
losing heavily. It came out of the fiery furnace of Mis- 
sionary Ridge without tarnish. In the Dalton campaign 
it was engaged at Rocky Face, Resaca, New Hope Church, 
Dallas (where it suffered heavily), Kenesaw, in the open- 
ing battles around Atlanta, in the sortie of the 2Sth of 
July, and at Jonesboro'. In Hood's Tennessee campaign 
it bore its part in the ill-starred assault at Franklin, and was 
shortly after engaged in the second battle of Murfreesboro'. 
It formed part of the rear-guard in the retreat from Ten- 
nessee, and, following the fortunes of the Confederacy to 
North Carolina, covered itself with immortal glory at 
Bentonville, where, in connection with other regiments of 
Palmer's brigade, it broke through line after line of Sher- 
man's army, capturing hundreds of prisoners and wagons, 
and returning in safety after a five days' absence in liis 
rear. 

COMPANIES IN THE TWENTIETH TENNESSEE 
(COL. JOEL A. BATTLE). 

In this regiment were three full companies from David- 
son, viz , Capts. J. L. Rice's, "W. L. Foster's, and T. F. 
Dodson's, and a very respectable portion of Capt. Joel A. 
' Battle's company from Williamson. This regiment early 
saw service in the brigade of Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer in 
Southeastern Kentucky, firing its first gun at Barboursville. 
Soon after it was in the affair at Wild Cat. On the 19th 
of January, 18G2, in connection with the Fifteenth Mis- 
sissippi, it bore the brunt of the battle at Fishing Creek, 
and acquitted itself with distinguished honor, but suffered 
a heavy loss. At Shiloh it was constantly engaged for two 
days', and again suffered heavily. It took part in the de- 



fense of Vicksburg against the first bombardment, in June, 
1862, going thence on the expedition to Baton Rouge, La., 
where on the 5th of August the forces under Breckenridge 
won a brilliant but partial success. At the battle of Mur- 
freesboro' it did not become actually engaged until the 2d 
of January, when its impetuous valor carried it deeply into 
the opposing ranks, out of which it came at a fearful sac- 
rifice. On June 24, 1863, it contended with great odds at 
Hoover's Gap, now forming part of Bates' brigade. At 
Chickamauga it was heavily engaged, particularly on the 
last day, where the enemy's centre was broken. At Blis- 
sionary Ridge its brigade repulsed line after line, and only 
yielded its ground to a flank attack, and then not in dismay, 
for it rallied at the foot of the ridge and presented an 
unbroken front to the enemy until Bragg's army was safe 
beyond the Chickamauga. In the Dalton campaign it was 
engaged at Rocky Face, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw, the open- 
ing battles at Atlanta, at Utoy Creek, where it repulsed on 
the 6th of August a determined attack on its line and cap- 
tured three stands of colors, and at Jonesboro', where it 
made a desperate effort to retrieve the fortunes of the day 
in a bold attack upon a very strong position. In the Ten- 
nessee campaign it was engaged at Buzzard Roost, Ga., 
Decatur, Franklin, Overall's Creek, Murfreesboro', and 
Nashville, at which latter place it occupied the angle in 
Hood's line, of which mention has been made in another 
connection. It fought its last battle at Bentonville, N. C, 
when the setting sun of the Army of Tennessee came forth 
from the cloud and blazed in its most effulgent glory as it 
sank out of sight forever. 

One of the most pleasing episodes in the history of the 
Twentieth Tennessee, and which should have been men- 
tioned in its proper place, was its presentation wilh a flag 
made of the wedding-dress of Mrs. Gen. Breckenridge, at 
TuUahoma, in the spring of 1863. She desired it to be 
given to the bravest regiment in her husband's division, and 
this one was selected as the proper recipient of the distin- 
guished honor. 

[COMPANY G, FIFTIETH TENNESSEE. 

This company was partly raised in Davidson, twenty-five 
of its members, including its captain, Wilis Gould, and its 
thu'd lieutenant, Samuel Mays, Jr., being from this county. 
This regiment performed garrison duty at Fort Donelson 
during the operations against that place, and was included 
in the surrender. On its exchange it reorganized at Clin- 
ton, Miss., and became a part of Gregg's brigade. It was 
present at Sherman's attack on Chickasaw Bayou, and after 
passing through the bombardment of Port Hudson it ren- 
dered a valorous part on the hard-fought field of Raymond. 
As has been mentioned in connection with the history of 
the Tenth Tennessee, Gregg's brigade was actively engaged 
at Chickamauga on both days, and as part of Bushrod 
Johnson's division rendered most signal service in breaking 
Rosecrans' right wing at an early hour on the 20th. After 
this battle it became a part of Blaney's brigade, and was 
badly cut up in a daring charge on Sherman's lines at Mis- 
sionary Ridge. Its subsequent history is that of Maney's 
brigade, an account of which has already been given in a 
notice of the First Tennessee. 



1 



174 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



IN THE FIFTY-FIFTH TENNESSEE. 
In the Fifty-fifth Tennessee this county had one com- 
pany, that of Capt. Wyley M. Eecd. It had its baptism of 
fire in the terrible two days' contest at Shiloh, April Gth and 
7th. Shortly afterwards the regiment was consolidated 
■with the Forty-fourth Tennessee, and became a part of the 
brigade of Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson. It was heavily en- 
gaged at Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862, and at Murfrces- 
boro', on the 31st of December following, it bore a conspic- 
uous part in the action of Cleburne's division, having the 
honor, besides capturing guns, of penetrating deeper into 
the position of the enemy on the Blurfreesboro' and Nash- 
ville pike than any body of troops engaged. At Hoover's 
Gap it contended all day against the heavy odds of Rose- 
crans' advance, and on Bragg's retreat from Tennessee had a 
sharp aifair at Elk River. At Chickamauga, Johnson's 
brigade led the advance in crossing the river on the 18th 
of September, and on the 19th rendered important service 
in resisting a heavy attack, and, by an impetuous advance, 
in gaining over a mile of ground. On the 20th, in con- 
nection with Bragg's brigade, it was the first to make a 
decided impression on Rosecrans' heavy lines, capturing a 
battalion of artillery in an eager emulation with Longstreet's 
veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia. This brigade 
went with this officer on the campaign into East Tennessee, 
being engaged at Knoxville, Beau's Station, and other 
points during the succeeding winter. In the spring of 186-1 
it reached Petersburg, Va., in time to render most vital ser- 
vice at Walthall Junction, Drury's Bluif, and Swift Creek. 
In Grant's advance upon Petersburg it made such obstinate 
resistance that Lee's army was enabled to reach that city in 
time to save it from immediate capture, but at the cost of 
over fifty per cent, of its number. It was in the immedi- 
ate vicinity of the mine explosion at Petersburg, Va., and 
by its steady courage at a critical moment contributed 
greatly to the safety of the lines at that point. On the 
29th of September, 1864, by the exhibition of most shin- 
ing valor at Fort Gilmor, on the James River, it undoubt- 
edly saved Richmond from capture. AYhen Lee's lines were 
broken at Petersburg, it held its portion of the line to 
the last moment, repelling every assault made upon the fort 
and recapturing works lost by others. It laid down its 
arms at Appomattox, thus completing a long career of bril- 
liant service on a widely-extended field. 

COMPANIES IN THE FIEST TENNESSEE CAV- 
ALRY (COL. JAMES WHEELEK). 

In this regiment were two companies from Davidson, — 
the Barron Guards (Company C), Capt. E. E. Buchanan, 

and Company ■ , Capt. Ensly. They first came under 

fire as part of Gordon's battalion at Eastport, on the Ten- 
nessee River, in March, 1862, in an engagement with gun- 
- boats, where by their firm resistance they prevented a land- 
ing, though exposed for hours to the fire of heavy guns. 
They rendered a similar service a little later at Yellow 
Creek, and during the battle of Shiloh formed a corps of 
observation beyond Lick Creek. They were next engaged 
at Farmington. Soon after Gordon's and Bifile's battalions 
■were united, forming the First Tennessee Cavalry, of which 
Bifflc became colonel, who was shortly succeeded by Col. 



James Wheeler. In August this regiment made a raid 
into West Tennessee in the brigade of Gen. Frank Arm- 
strong, and was engaged at Bledon Station, Bolivar, and 
Britton's Lane, at which latter place the two Davidson 
County companies charged and captured two pieces of 
artillery. It was heavily engaged at luka, and brought on 
the attack at Corinth, Oct. 3, 1862. In the retreat from 
this place it performed important service as rear-guard, 
and fought at Coffeeville, Bliss. It participated in Van 
Dorn's expedition in Gen. Grant's rear, and was engaged at 
Holly Springs and Davis' Mills in December, 1862. It 
was engaged in the brilliant affairs of Thompson's Station 
and Brentwood, and was in action at Douglass' Church and 
Rover. 

In the great battle of Chickamauga and the subsequent 
pursuit it took an active part and rendered important ser- 
vice. Shortly after it was engaged in several affairs in 
Sweetwater Valley and at Strawberry Plains. During 
Wheeler's raid into Tennessee it bore a leading part, being 
engaged at McMinnville, Farmington, and other places. It 
also shared in the hard winter campaign of Gen. Wheeler 
in East Tennessee. In the Dalton campaign it was con- 
tinuously engaged. Company C, Capt. Thomas B. Wilson, 
being detached as escort to Maj.-Gen. Stevenson, acted from 
that time on with his division. It was in Hood's cam- 
paign into Tennessee, and was engaged at Nashville and in 
covering the retreat. The other company took an active 
part in the pursuit and dispersion of SIcCook's Cavalry at 
Newnan, Ga. The regiment composed a part of Gen. 
Wheeler's force on his raid into Northern Georgia and Ten- 
nessee, having numerous conflicts, and also took part in 
Forrest's raid shortly after, which resulted in the capture 
of Athens and Sulphur Trestle. On Sherman's march to 
Savannah it had frequent affairs with infantry and cavalry, 
the most notable of which were at Buckhead, Waynesboro', 
and Savannah. In the campaign through the Carolinas it 
found constant employment retarding Sherman's advance. 
At Fayettevillo, N. C, it distinguished itself in a bloody 
affair with a largely superior force of infantry. It fought 
also at Averj'sboro', Bentonville, and at Patterson's Mill, 
near Chapel Hill, where it fired its last shot, April 15, 
1865. 

COMPANIES IN THE SECOND TENNESSEE CAV- 
ALRY (COL. BARTEAU). 

Davidson furnished three companies to this regiment, 
namely, Capts. F. N. BIcNairy's, E. D. Payne's, and W. 
L. Harris'. They first entered the organization known as 
the First Tennessee Cavalry Battalion, of which Capt. F. 
N. McNairy was elected lieutenant-colonel, First Lieut. W. 
Hooper Harris succeeding to the command of his com- 
pany. For the first year of the war this battalion operated 
■n'ith the forces under Gen. Zollicoffer, on the Upper Cum- 
berland, taking part in the Wild Cat and other affairs in 
Kentucky. On the retreat from Tennessee in 1862 it 
operated along the •Tennessee, previous to the battle of 
Shiloh, watching the movements of Grant's forces, and 
having several collisions with his advance, particularly at 
Pittsburg Landing. On the retreat from Corinth it had a 
brisk action with a Federal raiding column at Booneville, 



THE COMPANIES IN THE FIRST TENNESSEE EEGIMENT, ETC. 



1Y5 



Miss. Soon aftei- it was consolidated with Burnett's Ten- 
nessee Cavalry Battalion, forming the Second Tennessee 
(Col. Bartcau). 

The new regiment had its first engagement at Courtland, 
Ala., July 25, 18G2, where it made heavy captures in pris- 
oners. In August it was engaged at Medon's Station, Bol- 
ivar, and Britten's Lane, Tenn., at the latter place losing 
severely. In September it was in the attack on luka, and 
shortly after in that on Corinth. At Palo Alto a detach- 
ment had a smart action with a Kansas regiment, which it 
defeated. At Birmingham, Miss., April 25, 1863, it de- 
feated superior numbers and broke up an important expe- 
dition of the enemy. At Day's Springs, in July, it routed 
Col. Spencer's Alabama (Union) command, and captured 
its artillery. In the winter of 1864 it became a part of 
Forrest's command, with which it remained for the rest of 
the war, achieving the reputation of being one of the 
steadiest and most dashing of his regiments. It was en- 
gaged at Okalona, Pontotoc, and the various affairs of the 
West Tennessee expedition ending at Paducah, Ky. At 
Fort Pillow, April 12th, it led the assault, and was among 
the first to enter the works. At Brice's Cross-Roads it broke 
the enemy's lines at the first charge, and was never checked 
during the battle. It fought desperately at Ilarrisburg, and 
lost severely. At the Tallahatchie River it had another 
obstinate conflict on August the 12th, and on the 21st it 
was part of the column that dashed into Memphis. On 
Forrest's raid into Jliddle Tennessee it was warmly engaged 
at Athens, Sulphur Trestle, and Pulaski. It participated 
in the capture of the gunboats at Paris Landing, and in 
the destruction of the transports and stores at Johnson- 
ville. In Hood's operations in Tennessee it was fully en- 
gaged, being in action*at Murfrcesboro', Anthony's Hill, 
and Sugar Creek, besides a number of smaller affairs. Dur- 
ing Wilson's raid in 1865 it fought at Sipsey Swamp, Scotts- 
ville, and other points, and surrendered at Gainesville, 
May 10th. 

COMPANIES IN McCANN'S CAVALKY BAT- 
TALION. 

This was a partisan corps under the command of Maj. 
J. R. McCann, and was organized to operate within the 
enemy's lines for the purpose of procuring information of 
his movements, interrupting his commuuications, and cre- 
ating divisions of his force. The companies from David- 
son were Capt. William J. Bass', Hays Blackman's, Carter's, 
and Shaw's. The company of Capt. Thomas Perkins, from 
Williamson, had many men from this county. Some of 
these companies were in Morgan's brilliant raid into Ken- 
tucky in the summer of 1862. The battalion led the ad- 
vance in Wheeler's operations in the rear of Rosecrans in 
1862, and in the expedition to the Lower Cumberland in 
the winter of 1863, where it captured several transports. 
Shortly afterwards it captured three trains of cars and 
burnt several bridges in the vicinity of Lavergno. It was 
engaged in the actions at Snow Hill and JlcJIinnviile. On 
Bragg's retreat from Tennessee it took part in Morgan's 
daring expedition into Indiana and Oiiio. On Gen. Mor- 
gan's escape from prison it joined him in his last raid into 
Kentucky, and after his death became part of Duke"s 



brigade, and was in frequent actions in East Tennessee and 
Western Virginia. Tlie theatre of its operations being in 
rear of the enemy's lines, its career was full of danger and 
stirring excitements. One of its most excellent officers, 
Capt. William J. Bass, lost his life while on a daring scout 
in the immediate vicinity of Nashville. In such expedi- 
tions it was often enabled to render valuable services by 
furnishing timely information of the enemy's movements. 

FIRST BATTALION TENNESSEE HEAVY AR- 
TILLERY'. 

Davidson furnished two companies to this splendid corps, 
namely, the Nelson Artillery, Capt. Anglade, so named in 
honor of Anson Nelson, Esq., the present treasurer of the 
city of Nashville, and a company under Capt. Stankinwitz, 
a gallant old Polish officer, who had served in several revolu- 
tions in Europe. This battalion was commanded successively 
by Lieut.-Col. (afterwards Maj.-Gen.) J. P. McCown, Lieut.- 
Col. (afterwards Lieut.-Gen.) A. P. Stewart, and Lieut.-Col. 
Andrew Jackson, the latter of Davidson County. The 
Nelson Artillery had its first engagement at Columbu.s, Ky., 
where it was attacked on several occasions by gunboats. On 
the evacuation of this place it again came under fire at 
Island No. 10, where after a protracted defense it was en- 
trapped and forced to surrender. In the mean time Stankin- 
witz's company had been taken at Fort Donelson, where 
it fought Commodore Foote's ironclads with light guns, but 
did good service. On release from prison both companies 
were assigned to the defense of Port Hudson, where they 
rendered brilliant service both on the water and land side 
during the long siege of that place, lasting from May 27 
to July 9, 1863. On the night of the 14th of March 
these two companies acquitted themselves with great credit 
in resisting the passage of Farragut's fleet, during which the 
sloop-of war " Mississippi" was fired and blown up ; only two 
of his vessels succeeded in passing, the rest being driven back 
more or less damaged. During the siege these two compa- 
nies suffered severely in killed and wounded, being under a 
constant fire of artillery and musketry. Their guns were 
frequently dismounted, and at length broken to pieces by 
the ponderous shot of the naval guns, which were taken 
ashore and placed in battery at short range. On July 9th 
the garrison surrendered, having held out five days later than 
that at Vicksburg. On release from parole the two com- 
panies were consolidated under Capt. J. A. Fisher, who 
had commanded the Nelson Artillery almost from the begin- 
ning of active service, and were placed on duty at Fort 
Morgan, when they were again fated to undergo the same 
ordeal of siege and capture which had marked their pre- 
vious experience. But here, as on other occasions, they bore 
themselves with such valor and fortitude as to win unstinted 
praise from those who were witnesses of their conduct. In 
the great naval fight on Aug. 5, 1864, in Mobile Bay, their 
guns were served with spirit and precision, but to no .avail 
towards preventing the pas.sage of Admiral Farragut's fleet. 
The garrison under Gen. Page surrendered on the 23d of 
August, and tiie two companies, including Col. Jackson, 
were again prisoners of war. However, some fragments 
were left which were gathered by Lieut. Dan Phillips, of 
the Nelson Artillery, on his return from prison in the spring, 



176 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



but not in time to render any furtlier service before tlie final 
surrender. 

PORTER'S BATTERY. 

This company was organized and placed in charge of 
Capt. Thomas K. Porter, one of the most skillful and effi- 
cient officers in the service. lie was a lieutenant in the 
United States navy, but had resigned his place when Ten- 
nessee, his native State, seceded from the Union. Under 
his excellent management the battery soon became profi- 
cient in drill and discipline, forming, in fact, a training- 
school for officers of the very best kind. It fired its first 
shot on the ill-fated field of Donelson, where it was tried 
severely, sufiered heavily, and acquitted itself with distin- 
guished honor ; Capt. Porter was terribly wounded, and for 
a long time disabled from service. On release from prison 
a part of the company was collected by Lieut. John W. 
Morton and stationed at Vicksburg for some time. It was 
thence transferred to the command of Gen. Forrest, and 
formed the nucleus of the company that afterwards became 
widely known as Morton's Battery. It was in Forrest's 
expedition to West Tennessee in the latter part of 1862, 
and on its return was engaged at Dover. Soon after it was 
in the decisive battle of Thompson's Station, and a little 
later a rifle section under Lieut. Tully Brown had a most 
spirited duel with heavy odds at Town Creek, Ala., while 
another section, under Lieut. A. BI. Gould, went on the 
Streight raid and was hotly engaged at Day's Gap, on said 
mountain. After engaging in several aiFairs in the neigh- 
borhood of Franklin and on the retreat from Tennessee the 
battery took part in the battle of Chickamauga, where it was 
enabled to replace its eight guns witii better pieces. Late 
in this year Morton's Battery went to North Mississippi 
with Forrest, and entered upon the most brilliant part of 
its career. Thenceforward it became a body upon which 
Forrest relied with the greatest confidence, and it partici- 
pated in most of the scenes of his eventful campaigns. 

Passing over its numerous actions in AVest Tennessee, 
we will pause to note that at Brice's Cross-Roads, in Mis- 
sissippi, June 10, 18G4, where it opened on the enemy at 
the distance of sixty yards, and by its impetuous charge 
and advance with the lines it contributed materially to 
the issue of the battle. At the battle of Harrisburg, the 
13th of July following, this battery fought with great des- 
peration and sufiered severely in men and horses. A sec- 
tion was in the memorable raid on Memphis in August. 
On the 2.3d of September, Morton's Battery played a bril- 
liant part in the taking of Athens, Ala., as also on the 
25th, at Sulphur Trestle, where its fire was terribly de- 
structive. On return from this expedition it rendered con- 
spicuous service in the capture of gunboats at Paris Landing, 
on the Tennessee, and in the destruction of the vast stores 
at Johnsonville. It soon after joined in Hood's movement 
into Tennessee, and by its fire reduced several blockhouses 
and redoubts on the railroad in the vicinity of Nashville. 
In the attack on Murfreesboro' its guns fought their way 
into the very heart of the town. On the retreat from 
Tennessee it rendered most signal service at Anthony's 
Hill and at Sugar Creek. After engaging in several affairs 
in opposing Wilson's raid in the spring of 1865, it was in- 



cluded in the surrender of Gen. Richard Taylor's forces at 
Gainesville, Ala., May 10th. 

COilPANY A, FIRST TENNESSEE AETILLERY. 
RUTLEDGE'S BATTERY. 

This company was organized by Capt. Arthur M. Rut- 
ledge, a graduate of West Point, and mustered into service 
on the 13th of May, 1861. It remained in the vicinity of 
Nashville until the 20th of July, when it was ordered to 
Manassas, Va., to take part in the impending battle at that 
place ; but the result had been determined by the time it 
reached Knoxville, where it remained until August 17th, 
when it was ordered to the neighborhood of Cumberlarid 
Gap. Here a detail of twenty men from the battery was 
sent out under Lieut. Falconnel, and succeeded in breaking 
up a Federal recruiting-party, capturing Capt. Kelsoe and 
three of his men. Early in September, a force of the 
enemy several thousand strong having advanced from Crab 
Orchard, Ky., Gen. ZollicofFer's brigade, to which the bat- 
tery was attached, advanced to Cumberland Ford, twelve 
miles beyond the Gap, and threw up works. The enemy 
having retired, Zollicofier's force advanced to Rock Castle 
or Wild Cat, where the enemy was found strongly posted, 
and a brisk engagement ensued on October 21st. The 
place being difficult of access, the guns were dismounted 
and carried by hand up the mountain to a point whence the 
enemy's battery was soon silenced. The assault failed, but 
the enemy retreated during the night. Shortly after, the bat- 
tery was increased to eight guns by the addition of two rifle 
pieces. In December it was in action at Waitsboro', Ky., 
on the Cumberland River, dispersing a camp of the enemy 
on the opposite bank. On the retreat from Fishing Creek 
six of the guns were left on accouiW; of want of transporta- 
tion across the river. The remaining section covered the 
crossing of the army to the south side. At Shiloh the 
battery was engaged on the 5th, 6th, and 7th of April. In 
the attack on the 6th, Rutledge's Battery rendered most 
signal service at a critical moment by going into a breach 
near Shiloh Church and turning the tide of battle on that 
part of the field by its obstinate bravery and splendid 
firing. But this result was achieved at a heavy cost, many 
of the men being killed and wounded, and nearly all of the 
guns disabled by the enemy's shot. At the expiration of 
their term of enlistment most of the men re-entered the 
service in jMcClung's Battery, while the rest bore them- 
selves with credit and good report in various organizations. 

BAXTER'S BATTERY. 
Tills battery was formed by a division of Monsarrat's 
Battery, which had been organized at Nashville early after 
the breaking out of hostilities. It was in the campaign on 
the upper Cumberland, under Zollicoffer, but was not en- 
gaged in action until August, 1862, firing its first shot at 
Battle Creek. Soon after, it performed a brilliant feat at 
Stevenson. Capt. Ed. Baxter having resigned, Lieut. 
Samuel Freeman succeeded to the command. Freeman's 
Battery was severely engaged on Ensly's farm, November 
5th, in a demonstration made by Gen. Forrest on Nashville. 
In Forrest's expedition to West Tennessee, in the latter 
part of the year 1862, it was in action at Lexington, Tren- 



MILITARY OPERATIONS IN DAVIDSON IN 1861-65. 



177 



ton, Rutherford Station, and Parker's Cross-Roads, where 
it fought with great daring and vigor. It was witli Wheeler 
in his Cumberland River raid, and took part in the capture 
of the gunboat " Slidell," and in the attack on Dover. It 
was next engaged at Thompson's Station, and shortly after 
at Brentwood. On April 10, 1863, the battery was sud- 
denly captured by the Fourth United States Regular Cav- 
alry at Douglass' Church, in the neighborhood of Franklin, 
and Capt. Freeman and Lieuts. Nathaniel Baxter and Hug- 
gins taken prisoners. During the retirement of the enemy 
from the field Capt. Freeman was killed, with a view to 
prevent his recapture, it is supposed. Lieut. Douglas then 
commanded the battery until the return of Lieut. Huggins 
from prison, when the latter was promoted to the captaincy. 
A section of the battery was engaged at Day's Gap during 
the Streight raid. On June 6th it was in action at Triune. 
It fired the opening shots at Chickamauga and was stoutly 
engaged for three days, losing nearly all of its horses on the 
19th, in an obstinate defense of its ground against a heavy 
attack of infantry. In October the battery was engaged at 
Charleston and Philadelphia, East Tenn., and in several af- 
fairs in Sweetwater Valley. In Longstreet's advance on 
Knoxville it was in action at Campbell's Station and at the 
siege of the former place ; also at Tazewell, Panther Springs, 
and Mossy Creek. Joined the Army of Tennessee in March, 
and was engaged at Dalton, Resaca, Cartersville, Konesaw 
Mountain, Chattahoochee River, Peach-Tree Creek, Deca- 
tur, and in the battle of the 22d of July. A section of 
the battery, under Lieut. Nathaniel Baxter, was in the pur- 
suit and capture of Stoneman, near Macon. In Wheeler's 
raid into Tennessee, in 1864, the battery became divided at 
Clinch River, and the section under Lieut. Baxter followed 
Gen. Williams and rendered most important service in the 
battle of Saltville, Va., October 2d. The other section, 
under Capt. Huggins, was engaged at Smyrna, Franklin, 
and Culhoka, and, on its return, near Rome, Ga. In op- 
posing Sherman's march to the sea it was in action near 
Macon and at Clinton, and took an active part in the de- 
fense of Savannah, where its trained gunners rendered very 
valuable services. In the campaign through South Caro- 
lina it was several times engaged. It surrendered its guns 
at Hillsboro', N. C., after a long career of brilliant and use- 
ful service. 

BAKER'S BATTERY. 

This company resulted from the division of Monsarratt's 
Battery, previously mentioned. It was successively known 
as Baker's, Brown's, and Surgstak's Battery. It first went 
into regular action at luka, Sept. 19 and 20, 1862. It 
was soon after engaged at Corinth, and on the retreat from 
this place the guns were so disabled at Davis' Bridge, on 
the Big Hatchce, that they were left on the field. The 
battery rendered good service at Chickasaw Bayou, Dec. 28 
and 29, 1862. Shortly after it sunk the first tug-boat and 
barges which attempted to run past Vicksburg. It fought 
also the " Queen of the West" and the " Indianola," at 
AVarrenton, and was engaged in the attack on the gunboats 
in Deer Creek. It played its part' in the defense of Vicks- 
burg during the great siege. It reappeared in action at 
Lookout Mountain, and was actively engaged at Missionary 
Ridge, as also in the retreat on Dalton. -It was now 
23 



blended with Barrett's Missouri Battery, and did its full 
share of arduous service in the Dalton campaign and in 
Gen. Hood's operations in Tennessee. 

MANEY'S BATTERY. 

On the organization of this company Capt. Frank 
Maney was appointed to command. It formed part of the 
force defending Port Donelson, and was among the first to 
be engaged. It occupied a salient in Col. Heimau's lino, 
which received a heavy assault on the 14th of February, 
and contributed very materially to the repulse, but at a 
heavy loss. It was actively engaged on the 15th, and on 
the report of the contemplated surrender most of the men 
escapc^d. Capt. Maney was taken prisoner, but shortly 
afterwards, having made his escape, he organized his com- 
pany, with several others, into a battalion of sharpshooters, 
which was attached to Maney's Brigade. This battalion 
was engaged at Perryviile, Murfreesboro', and Chicka- 
mauga, after which it was consolidated with the Fourth 
(Thirty-fourth) Tennessee, which in turn was consolidated 
with the First Tennessee. Its subsequent history is blended 
with that of these two regiments, which has already been 
given. 



CHAPTER XXXIL 

MILITARY OPEEATIOBTS IN DAVIDSON IN 
1861-65. 

Nashville the Base and Depot of Supplies — Fall of Fort Henrys 
Johnston's Headquarters at Edgefield — Surrender of Fort Donelson 
^Etfect of the News upon the City — Withdrawal of the Confeder- 
ate Troops — Arrival of the Federal Army under Gen. Buell — Nash- 
ville in Possession of the Federals — Attempt of Gen. Brecltinridge 
to Retalie it — Great Decisive Battle with Gen. Hood's Army — 
Plan of the Battle-ground. 

From the beginning to the end of the civil war David- 
son County was the site of military camps. At an early date 
Nashville, by its geographical position, became the base and 
depot of supply for an extensive region comprised between 
the upper and lower Cumberland. On the 14th of Sep- 
tember, 1861, Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston arrived at 
Nashville to take command of the Western Department. 
The neutrality of Kentucky having been set at naught a 
few days before by a simultaneous invasion by forces from 
each ai'my, he promptly determined to take possession of 
Bowling Green, which movement was accomplished on the 
18th, by Gen. S. B. Buckner, with four thousand men. 
This force was increased in the course of the year by the 
addition of about twenty thousand more troops, but was so 
disposed that it created the belief with the Federal com- 
manders that it amounted to at least thrice that number. 
This opinion was also shared by the general public at the 
South, and induced a sense of security that was to be rudely 
broken early in the coming year. On the 19th of January, 
1862, Gen. F. K. Zollicoffer, with two brigades of infantry, 
was defeated at Blill Springs, or Fishing Creek, Ky., 
and the upper Cumberland was in a great measure aban- 
doned. On the 6th of February, Fort Henry, on the 
Tennessee River, fell before an attack of gunboats under 



178 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Commodore Foote, and on the 13th Fort Donelson was prac- 
tically invested by a large land and naval force under 
Gen. U. S. Grant and Commodore Foote. On the same day 
Gen. Johnston having previously dispatched eight thou- 
sand troops under Gens. Floyd and Buckner to the assist- 
ance of Gen. Pillow at Fort Donelson, he retired with the 
remainder of his army, fourteen thousand strong, from 
Bowling Green, which was entered immediately by Gen. 
Buell. Having made his headquarters at Edgefield, oppo- 
site Nashville, Gen. Johnston awaited the result of opera- 
tions at Donelson, which he knew would decide his present 
tenure on Nashville and Middle Tennessee. At midnight 
on the 15th he received a dispatch from Gen. Pillow an- 
nouncing a " complete and glorious victory" won that day. 
The people had already been somewhat reassured by the 
announcement of the repulse of the Federal fleet on the 
13th, and these tidings filled them with the greatest exul- 
tation. Before daylight he received another dispatch that 
Gens. Pillow and Floyd had left on steamboats for Nash- 
ville, and that Donelson would capitulate that morning. 
The result when communicated to the public produced a 
revulsion a hundredfold more violent than that of the pre- 
vious reaction. As the tidings flew from street to street 
the wildest runiors followed in the wake, and a panic ensued 
which will long be a memorable event in the annals of 
Davidson County. In the terror and consternation of the 
hour the most extravagant and illogical reports found ready 
credence. It was announced by panic-stricken individuals 
that the Federal gunboats would reach the city before 
morning and lay it in ruins, and many citizens left on foot 
to escape the doom which seemed already foretokened. It 
was also expected that Buell would arrive in a short time 
and open his batteries on the place from across the river. 
Many persons, however, in the ebullition of their feelings, 
strongly urged that the city should be burned by the au- 
thorities, and the smoking ruins left as the only trophies 
of the invaders. 

Gen. Johnston early advised the Governor to remove the 
archives of the State, as it might be necessary to evacuate 
the city, under which suggestion the Legislature met tliat 
day and adjourned to convene in Memphis. The move- 
ment of troops to the south side of the river tended largely 
to exaggerate in the public mind, untutored to such scenes, 
a sense of the threatened danger, but Gen. Johnston in- 
formed Mayor Cheatham that he would make no stand 
which would involve the destruction of the city, and under 
these assurances, coupled with the fact that as the day wore 
ofi" no enemy had appeared, fears of immediate danger were 
in a great measure dissipated. During the night the First 
Missouri Infantry was detailed by Gen. Johnston to patrol 
the city and prevent any violent disturbances. 

A large amount of public stores was removed in the 
succeeding days, but vast quantities, amounting to millions 
of dollars in value, were distributed to the inhabitants or de- 
stroyed, Gen. Johnston having retired with the main force 
southward to Murfreesboro'. The splendid railroad and 
suspension bridges across the Cumberland were destroyed 
on Tuesday night, the first by fire and the latter by cutting 
the wires, their destruction having been adjudged necessary 
from a military point of view. Notwithstanding the terri- 



ble apprehensions of a speedy hostile approach, it was a 
week after the surrender of Fort Donelson before the ad- 
vance of Buell's army reached the river opposite Nashville, 
and the 25th before the gunboats and transports arrived. 
Gen. Buell, on establishing his headquarters in Edgefield 
on Monday evening, notified Blayor Cheatham that he 
would be pleased to receive him at eleven o'clock a.m., on 
Tuesday. At the appointed hour he received the mayor J 
and a committee of citizens, designated by the City Council, 
consisting of Messrs. James Woods, R. C. Foster, Russell 
Houston, William B. Lewis, John M. Lea, John S. Brien, 
James Whitworth, N. Hobson, John Hugh Smith, and 
John M. Bass. The meeting was satisfactory, and on his 
return the mayor issued a proclamation, assuring the in- 
habitants that they would be protected in person and prop- 
erty. Early on the morning of that day the Sixth Ohio 
had debarked from one of the transports and proceeded to 
the capitol, where the flag of the Guthrie Grays was hoisted, 
and Gen. Nelson look formal possession in the name of the 
United States. On the 5th of March Gen. Buell issued a 
proclamation confirming to all peaceable inhabitants their 
full rights of person and property, and forbidding any mo- 
lestation therewith by his .soldiers. 

From this time until the end of the war Nashville re- 
mained in Federal possession and l)ecamc one of the most 
important bases of military operations in the West, on which 
account it was well fortified and strongly garrisoned. On 
the return of Buell's army to Kentucky to meet Gen. 
Bragg's invasion, in the latter part of the summer of 1862, 
this and Dover were the only posts retained in the limits 
of Middle Tennessee. During the absence of the main 
body of the Federal army in Kentucky, several afiairs oc- 
curred in the limits of Davidson County that are worthy 
of notice. The first of these was the engagement at La- 
vergne, October 7th. Gen. S. R. Anderson being at that 
point with some Tennessee militia and newly-raised cavalry, 
and the Thirty-second Regiment of Alabama infantry. Gen. 
Negley, in command of the post at Nashville, dispatched a 
force of three thousand infantry, cavalry, and artillery, 
under Gen. Palmer, by a night march to attack them. The 
movement was so well conducted that Gen. Palmer was 
enabled to attack the Confederate camp from front and 
rear without warning. The militia and cavalry fled with- 
out resistance, but the regular infantry made a firm stand, 
in consequence of which they were surrounded, and over 
two hundred were killed, wounded, and captured. 

Gen. Breckenridge having assumed command at Mur- 
freesboro' shortly after this affair, he determined, in con- 
junction with the forces under Gen. Forrest and Col. John 
Morgan, to make a serious attempt for the recovery of 
Nashville. Thereupon, on the 5th of November, he ad- 
vanced rapidly on the city, with three thousand infantry 
and three thousand five hundred cavalry, and had driven in 
the outposts, when he countermanded the movement, under 
express instructions from Gen. Bragg, as he stated. The 
infantry, under Gen. Hansen, was withdrawn to Lavergne, 
but the cavalry, under Gen. Forrest on the south side of 
the river and Col. Morgan on the north, hovered around 
and became engaged in several spirited combats. In one 
of these, near Col. John Overton's, on the Franklin Pike, 



MILITARY OPERATIONS IN DAVIDSON IN 1861-65. 



179 



' Freeman's battery of flying artillery, from Nashville, ac- 
quitted itself with great credit in a duel with a Federal 
battery. Soon after. Gen. Rosecrans, who had replaced 
Gen. Buell in command, arrived with the main body of his 
army, and no further attempt was made to recover Nash- 

! ville until the advent of Gen. Hood, two years later. How- 

I ever, during the whole time of Federal occupation, David- 
son County was the theatre of numerous cavalry conflicts 

I under Gens. Wheeler, Forrest, and Morgan, the most notable 
of which was Gen. Wheeler's attack on Gen. Rosecrans' 
rear at Lavergne, Dec. 30, 1862, where the Federal loss 
was over one thousand killed, wounded, and missing, and 

I eight hundred wagons. 

About the 1st of December, 1864, the forlorn hope of a 
cause then fast tottering to its fall approached Nashville, 
and in sight of the city, dimly seen through the smoke of 
innumerable camp-fires, boldly flung down the gauntlet and 
dared its adversary to a conflict for the possession of Ten- 
nessee. The gage of battle was not at once accepted, but 
two weeks later the ordeal came. The Army of Tennessee, 
coming from a five months' grapple with Sherman in Geor- 
gia by a long, tortuous, and painful march over the moun- 
tains of Alabama, had won this point through the bloody 
gates of Franklin, where its flower was cut down in its eager 
ardor to overreach and bring to bay a retreating but des- 
perate foe. As it now faced the long angular lines of de- 
fense that lay between it and the coveted prize, it was but the 
remains of a once mighty host. Of its individual members 
there was scarce one who did not bear upon his body the 
scars of battle. In numbers it fell short of twenty thousand 
efiectives, while its equipment of clothing was totally in- 
adequate to the needs of a winter campaign ; many of the 
men were without shoes, and had their feet covered with rags 
or pieces of green hides obtained from the butcher's pen 
as a protection against the frozen and stony roads. Under 
such circumstances, to the casual observer it seemed but 
the mockery of an army, and its attitude that of the sheerest 
bravado. But four years of varying and shifting fortune 
had schooled it to a degree of endurance and hardihood 
that made it yet a formidable power on a field where the 
odds were not too greatly against it or circumstances would 
have inspired a reasonable hope of a victory. That it was 
so regarded by Gen. Thomas is a matter of history. He 
patiently waited, in spite of clamor, until he could gather 
all the forces in reach, and then he struck. 

The force under Gen. John B. Hood thus audaciously 
taking up line before Nashville, and laying siege to a place 
defended by thrioe its numbers, consisted of three army 
corps, Cheatham's, Lee's, and Stewart's, formed from right 
to left in the order named. Cheatham's right rested on 
the hills a short distance south of where the Nashville and 
Chattanooga Railroad crosses Brown's Creek, at a distance 
of less than three miles from the public square. A di- 
vision of Forrest's cavalry operated on that flank. Hood's 
line swept thence in a curve, his left resting on the Hills- 
boro' Pike. On taking up this line Hood dispatched Bu- 
ford's cavalry division and Morton's battery, under Forrest, 
to break up the blockhouses along the Nashville and Chat- 
tanooga Railroad. Blockhouse No. 1, after being battered 
by Morton's guns, surrendered on the 3d of December, ten 



of the garrison being killed, twenty wounded, and eighty 
made prisoners. On the 4th, Blockhouses No. 2 and No. 3 
were taken ; and on the 5th, No. 4 and a redoubt contain- 
ing two guns near Lavergne, making a total of prisoners of 
near three hundred and fifty. 

The Federal forces defending Nashville were the corps 
of Woods, Schofield, A. J. Smith, and Wilson (the lat- 
ter cavalry), the whole numbering about fifty-five thou- 
sand men, under the command of Maj.-Gen. George H. 
Thomas. On the 15th the Federal commander for the 
first time evinced his purpose to take the offensive. On 
this day he moved out his whole force and attacked each 
of Hood's flanks. The attack on the right flank, held by 
Cheatham's corps, was repulsed with much slaughter ; that 
on the left succeeded in turning Stewart's line and forcing 
him back about nightfall with the loss of thirty pieces of 
artillery. After night a new position was selected, to which 
the whole line was withdrawn, Cheatham's corps being 
transferred from the right to the left wing. The right of 
Hood's army now rested on Overton's Hill, beyond the 
Franklin Pike, whence his line extended without much de- 
flection to the Granny White Pike. From this point it 
diverged to the front through a field gradually rising to the 
apex of a high hill, about five hundred yards distant, where 
it made a sharp turn around its brow, conforming to its 
course, and bore back to the river along the crest of the 
ridge overlooking the Hillsboro' Pike, terminating in an- 
other curve, which brought it to rest again on the Granny 
White Pike at the gap, about three-fourths of a mile from 
its first intersection with that road, and nearly in rear of 
Gen. Hood's headquarters. Maj.-Gen. Bale's division 
formed the right of Cheatham's corps, and occupied the 
high hill above mentioned, now known as Shy's Hill, in 
honor of Col. Shy of the Twentieth Tennessee, who fell 
upon its summit. His division took up position after dark, 
replacing Kclor's brigade, which had already begun a line 
of works. It was soon ascertained that there was a grave 
error in locating the works, which had been placed back 
from five to ten yards from the crest of the hill, thus allow- 
ing no range of fire against an assaulting column. The 
hill was declivitous on the side next the enemy, thus allow- 
ing troops to be massed for an attack without encountering 
a fire from any quarter. Gen. Bale says in his ofiieial re- 
port that he remonstrated against this location of the works 
without being able to have it remedied. These facts are 
more minutely stated from the fact that Gen. Hood in his 
recently published narration of this battle imputes this 
placing of the line to the fault of the ofiicer in command 
and not to the engineer, meaning thereby that the former 
did not follow the stakes set up by the latter for his guid- 
ance. He is further led to underrate the exposed nature 
of this angle, judging from a map of the field in his book, 
which has been drawn without reference to accuracy, as the 
maps of Gen. Thomas and one recently made by Capt. S. 
W. Steele, C. S. Engineers, will show at a glance. 

When daylight came it was further discovered that the 
position by its projection to the front could be enfiladed by 
artillery and at several points taken in reverse, but the hot 
fire, opened on the place at an early hour by the enemy's 
skirmishers from the adjacent hills, prevented any efficient 



180 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



work being done towards obviating its glaring defects. For 
this reason no trees could be felled to form abattis. It 
was a hundredfold worse position than that at Cassville, 
Ga., which Gen. Hood declared to Gen. Johnston he could 
not hold a half-hour against an attack. It was ten o'clock 
A.M. before the Federal batteries were ready to open, but 
from that hour until half-past three P.M. they rained a 
storm of shot and shell on the hill, razing the works at 
several points to a level with the ground. In the mean 
time the enemy had advanced a heavy force against the 
Confederate right, which was repulsed with heavy slaughter 
by Holtzdaw's Alabama, Gibson's Louisiana, and Stovall's 
Georgia brigades of Clayton's division, and Peltus' brigade 
of Stevenson's division. At one p.m. a successful assault 
was made against the extreme left of the line, where it 
rested on the Granny White Pike. This part of the line 
was occupied by Govan's Arkansas brigade of Cleburne's 
division, which had been greatly reduced by losses, particu- 
larly at Franklin, and on this occasion was deployed as 
skirmishers, the only formation covering the Confederate 
left for over a half-mile. The ground, however, was 
quickly recovered by a charge of the First Tennessee under 
Col. Field, and hold until the retreat occurred. 

At half-past three P.M., a number of lines having massed 
under the hill in front of Bale's position, the artillery ceased 
firing, and the column began its assault. The point of the 
angle selected for theattack was held by Gen. T. B. Smith's 
brigade, being composed of the remnants of the Second, 
Tenth, Fifteenth, Twentieth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-seventh 
Tennessee, and Thirty-seventh Georgia regiments, and the 
Fourth Georgia battalion of sharpshooters. As the front 
line of assault came in view at the distance of a few paces, 
Smith's brigade rose and poured into it a deadly volley, cut- 
ting down all who were in sight. The rest of the assailants 
quickly fell back under the shelter of the hill, and the batte- 
ries poured an angry fire on the crest until the column was 
again formed for the assault, by which time Smith's men 
had reloaded and were ready for the charge. The second 
attack was repulsed with even greater slaughter than the 
first, and the batteries again poured an iron hail into the 
works of the defenders. The assailants again advanced in the 
most determined manner, and at this trial, though, greatly 
staggered, pressed up to and over the works. Gen. Bale, 
who had established his headquarters a few paces in rear of 
the angle, had gone along the line a few minutes before the 
charge and explained to the men that he had given them 
the post of danger and of honor, and that he wished them 
to hold it to the last extremity ; so when they found that 
they had no time to load after delivering their fire, they 
clubbed their empty muskets and fought until overwhelmed 
by the mere weight of numbers, their line having been re- 
duced to one rank by repeated extensions to the left and 
losses from the artillery fire. Of those in the breach few 
escaped. At this point fell one of the bravest oflBcers in 
'the army, Lieut. Thomas Shaw, of Co. C, Second Ten- 
nessee. He only yielded when pinned to the earth with 
a bayonet through his body, from the effects of which he 
died in a hospital in Nashville, whither he was borne in- 
stead of to his father's house on account of his refusal to 
take the oath of allegiance. At this success tjie entire Con- 



federate line abandoned its works and made a precipitate 
retreat over the high hills to the rear, abandoning all of the 
artillery which was in battery. The loss inflicted on the 
assaulting column by the three volleys fired must have been 
very heavy, as Col. McMillan, whose brigade led the charge^ 
used this fact as a justification for striking Gen. Smith, 
after he was disarmed, over the head with his sabre until 
he felled him to the ground. 

While the capture of this angle was a most gallant 
achievement on the part of the Federals and decisive of 
the battle, the strength of the place has been greatly over- 
rated by their historians, who have represented it as a for- 
midable and elaborate work, bristling with cannon and 
defended by heavy lines. This is a mistake. The defenses 
consisted of only a shallow ditch, and there were no guns 
which could be brought to bear upon the assaulting column ; 
the only guns, consisting of two pieces, were under the hill 
to the right. They were, however, not taken by a direct 
attack, and were fired into the backs of the Federals long 
after they had passed on in pursuit of the retreating infan- 
try. They were commanded by a heroic youth, Lieut. 
Alston, of Georgia, who carried his men out through a gap 
in the enemy's lines and rejoined his command at Franklin 
the next day. 

There was an engagement with the rear-guard under Gen. 
Clayton, a few miles from the battle-field, and this, with a 
cavalry affair the same evening, in which Gen. Rucker was 
wounded and captured, completes the list of engagements 
fought on the soil of Davidson County. 



CHAPTER XXXIIL 



MILITARY KOSTEKS. 

War of 1S12-14— Mexican War, 1S46— Civil War, 1861-65. 

WAR OF 1812-14. 

Roll of Capt. Robert Evans' company of mounted gunmen in Col. 
Robert H, Dyer's regiment, Coffee's brigade, from Sept. 28, 1814, to 
March 28, 1815: 



Robert Evans, capt. 
W. H. Bedford, 1st lieut. 
John Evans, 2d lieut. 
Joel Taylor, 3d lieut. 
Mason Richardson, cornet. 
Alexander Brown, Istsergt. 
Booker Richardson, 2d sergt. 
Benniah Bateman, 3d sergt. 
AVilliam Floyd, 4th sergt. 
William Stephenson, 5th sergt. 
John Reaves, 1st Corp. 
James Brannon, 2d corp. 
William Moring, 3d corp. 
Jesse Garland, 4th corp. 
William Ellis, 5th corp. 
Thomas McCollum, saddler. 
John H. Davies, farrier. 
Franci-s Slawter, blacksmith. 
Peter Weaver, trumpeter. 
Hodges, Robert. 
Johns, Joel. 
Wrenu, David, died Nov. 12, 

1S14. 
Parr, Joshua. 



Thompson, Sherrod. 
Huttun, Charles. 
Fowler, Willie. 
Shores, John. . 
Tillett, William. 
Crenshaw, Coi-nelius. 
Bateman, Hosea. 
Smith, Edward. 
Regian, Joel. 
Hamilton, David P. 
Biddix, Robert. 
HoUiday, Thomas. 
Long, Isaac. 
Hull, Willis. 
Lee, Herbert. 
Richardson, Henry. 
Demoss, William. 
Edwards, John. 
Craig, Alexander. 
Mays, William W. 
Gracy, John. 
Thornton, Thomas J. 
Thornton, John W. 
Cherry, Caleb. 




: c s. CAy. 

■^U. S .'CAV 

. CS S^/JPM/SH LIN£. 



1't tt BATTERIES- 



MAP OF THE BATTLE-FIELD IN FRONT OF NASHVILLE, TENN., 

Decem'ber 15 and 16, 1864. 

(Compiled from General Thomas' Map and recent reconnoisance, by S. W. Steele, Captain Engineers, C. S. A. 



Confederate States Army, commanded by General J. B. Hood: Lee's Corps, 4762; Stewart's Corps, S221 : 
Cheatham's Corps, 3467; Artillery, 1S47 ; Cavalry, 1700. Total of all arms, 16,697. 

United States forces, SS,000 strong, commanded by Major-General George H. Thomas. 



A— OVERTON'S HILL. 
LEE'S CORPS. 
1— Brantley's Mississippi Brigade. 
2— Clayton's Division. 
3— Stevenson's Division. 
4 — Ed. Johnson's Division. 

STEWART'S CORPS. 
S — Loring's Division. 
6— Walthall's Division. 



B— SHY'S HILL. 

CHEATHAM'S CORPS. 

7— Bate's Division. 

8— Lowry's (Cheatham's) Division. 

9 — Magiveny's Hill. 
lO — Govan's Brigade. 
11 — Cheatham's Gap. 
12— Cleburne's Division (Brig. -Gen. Jas. Smith). 




DR. EVERAND MEADE PATTERSON. 



Dr. Everand Meade Patterson was born in Frank- 
lin Co., Va., April 19, 1800; when a boy he went 
with his parents to Paris, Ky., where he received a 
collegiate education at Transylvania University. He 
graduated at the medical college at Lexington in 
1826, and soon after came to Davidson Co., Tenn., 
and commenced the practice of medicine, which he 
continued for twenty-five years, accumulating a 
handsome property. 

In 1850 he went to California, where he remained 
two years, when he returned, and from that time 
lived a retired life on a fine farm in the Eighth 
District until the war broke out. Dr. Patterson 
was a man of nerve and quick perception. What 
he did he did with all his might. When tlie war 
-came he raised a company of cavalry and went 
with them into the Confederate array. 

Dr. Patterson was twice married, — first to Mar- 
garet Fate, daughter of Joel Miller, of Jessamine 



Co., Ky., March 4, 1824. She lived but a short 
time, and the doctor married for his second wife Eliz- 
abeth Watson White, daughter of Thomas White, of 
Williamson Co., Tenn., Nov. 7, 1826. She was born 
in Halifax Co., Va. By his second marriage he had 
eight children, all of whom are dead except Jonas 
T. Patterson, who married a Miss Mclver, and Annie 
E., who married Maj. Robert H. Hill and lives on 
the old homestead. 

Dr. Patterson was a man of great energy, never 
considering any obstacle too great to overcome. He 
was a warm, true, and devoted friend. 

In politics he was a lifelong Democrat and a 
personal friend of Gen. Andrew Jackson. He 
hated to see the union of the States broken up, 
but, like many others, he united his fortunes with 
his beloved State, and right faithfully did he 
serve her until he fell at the battle of Murfreesboro', 
Tenn., .Jan. 3, 1863, at sixty-three years of age. 



MILITARY ROSTERS. 



181 



Gray, Deliverance. 
Tunniige, Thomas. 
Kenncy, Samuel, died 2d Feb- 
ruary, 1S15. 
Moore, William. 
Hodge, John W. 
Johns, Stephens, killed on 23d 

December, lSl-1. 
Page, Robert. 
Page, Giles. 
Rape, Jacob. 
Work, Samuel. 
Charter, William. 
Dill, Frederick. 
Boon, Bryant. 
Esom, John. 
Levi, Thomas. 
Densby, Daniel. 
Koberts, David. 
Jones, Lemuel. 
Jones, Isaac, 
Edney, Edmond. 
Davis, Joshua. 



Cartwright, Vinson, died 28th 

December, 1814. 
Johnson, Chatham. 
Balance, Abraham. 
Kelly, Charles. 
Mothershead, Simon. 
Stennett, Benjamin. 
Rape, Peter. 
Pack, Benjamin. 
- Sanders, George. 
Reaves, Jonathan. 
Thompson, William. 
Arnold, Hezekiah. 
Huggins, Reuben. 
Wrey, Isaac. 
Gallaway, William. 
Brady, James. 
Smith, Achilles. 
Heflin, James. 
Smith, William, killed on 23d 

December, 1814. 
Parsons, Benjamin P. 



MEXICAN WAR. 



ROLL OF THE HARRISON GUARDS, FIRST TENNESSEE IN- 
FANTRY (COL. W. B. CAMPBELL), 1846. 

Robert C. Foster (3d), capt. 
Adolphus Heiman, Ut lieut. and 
adjutant. 



George E. Maney, 2d lieut. 
Charles Davis, orderly sergt. 
J. W. McMurry, 2d sergt. 
J. Williams, 3d sergt. 
James McDaniel, 4th sergt. 
William MoCurdy, 1st corp. 
Fred. A. Gould, 2d corp. 
S. C. Godshall, 3d corp. 
R. W. Green, 4th corp. 
Austin, John. 
Anderson, AVagner J. 
Brown, L. T. 
Brown, Eli. 
Bowen, W. F. 
Bland, Joseph A. 
Butterworth, R. 
Birch, Charles D. 

Binkley, A. T. 

Byrnes, M. W. 

Cartwright, W. G. 

Champ, J. C. 

Clark, Charles. 

Cherry, J. 

Cofferman, A. 

Clinch, William. 

Clinard, Alexander. 

Collins, C. S. 

Collins, Thomas. 

Dean, F. A. L. 

Engles, Peter. 

Everett, J. J. 

Edmondson, C. J. 

Freeman, A. A. 

Flenigan, R. 

Graves, Henry. 

Hawkins, B. S. 

Hewton, C. Hare. 

Hallerman, J. G. 
Hallerman, S. C. 
Hayes, Davis. 
Hall, J. G. 
Harris, Moses B. 
Hamilton, L. F. 
Holland, W. H. 



Johnson, George J. 
Johnson, James H. 
Johnson, D. A. 
Kirk, J. H. 
King, James. ■ 
Lellyett, John. 
Lamb, A. L. 
Lucas, C. H. 
Lucas, S. B. 
Lowery, William. 
Morehead, R. R. 
Macey, S. N. 
Matlock, G. S. 
Mordy, William. 
McCann, J. R. 
May, H. 

Nichol, Josiah. 

Noel, B. N. 

Nicholson, W. W. 

Norvall, A. 

Nortrand, A. 

Owen, Joseph. 

Owen, James W. 

Owen, H. M. 

Patterson, J. J. 

Pirtle, Harvey. 

Pirtle, J. M. 

Pirtle, Obadiah. 

Plummer, H. B, 

Rains, J. C. 

Richardson, J. G. 

Reed, 6. W. 

Smith, H. 

Scantland, J. M. 

Simmons, T. P. D. 

Saunders, J. H. 

Stewart, G. F. 
Shelton, W. G. 
Turner, J. B. 
Tyer, J. 

Williams, W. H. D. 
Williams, Henry. 
White, B. F. 
Willis, R. D. 
Washington, T. G. 
Zachary, G. G. 



THE NASHVILLE BLUES, 
INFANTRY (COL. 

B. F. Cheatham, captain. 
W. R. Bradfute, 1st lieut. 

Eastman, 2d lieut. 

John L. Munroe, 1st sergt. 

AV. Dale, 2d sergt. 

W. M.White, 3d sergt. 

S. M. Putnam, 4th sergt. 

W. T. Willum, Ist corp. 

W. H. Harberton, 2d corp. 

G. Henk, 3d corp. 

James W. Hoffman, 4th corp. 

Adams, J. F. 

Arberry, A. M. 

Barley, J. R. 

Bransford, J. H. 

Brown, W. E. 

Barry, James. 

Bell, R. 

Bandy, Asa. 

Blunkall, P. H. 

Bullock, J. 

Brashear, A. 

Climer, John. 

Cloud, James. 

Cabler, W. D. 

Corbett, C. 

Collier, W. B. 

Curley, D. 

Curtis, J. J. 

Clark, F. B. . 

Cowden, James. 

Ellis, S. M. 

Elliston, AV. A. 

Frazier, G. A7. 

Priendsley, Thom.is. 

Forrest, AVilliam. 

Fitzgerald, AV. H. 

Gore, M. A. 

Gore, G. AV. 

Garrett, 0. 

Glenn, J. M. 

Graves, G. AV. 

Hanks, A. J. 

Hoffman, E. H 

Hoffman, AV. L. 
Haynes, J. L. 



FIRST TENNESSEE REGIMENT 
AV. B. CAMPBELL), 1840. 

Harrison, J. 
Jackson, AV. J. 
Jones, AV. B. 
King, J. M. 
Levy, Alexander. 
Martin, G. AV. 
Martin, J. D. 
McCrory, W. 
McHennen, AV. K. 
Murray, AV. J. 
Newborn, J. AV. 
Newsom, AV. B. 
Parish, Thomas' J. 
Paul, J. A. 

Power, James J. 

Pentecost, S. 

Pollock, D. 

Payne, R. S. 

Robertson, J. F. 

Read, James B. 

Reed, AV. G. 

Robertson, J. B. 

Saunders, John. 

Seng, Felix, 

Sherrill, J. B. 

Sherrill, A. W. 

Sherron, M. 

Spain, John. 

Saddler, D. S, 

Shelton, AV. 

Tucker,' A, 

Tucker, AV. 

Thomas, E. 

Tanksley, G. A, 

Turner, E. P. 

Talley, A. C. 

Warren, Joseph. 

AVilson, AVilliam. 

Walker, J. H. 

AVatkins, James. 

AVood, J. D. 

AVheeler, G. AV. 

AViUis, M. A. 

Wilson, G. AV. 

Y^oung, Jacob. 



LIST OF OFFICERS AND MEN OP COMPANY D, THIRD 
REGIMENT TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS, 1846. 



Daniel Trigg, capt. 
George W. Wilson, 1st lieut. 
Frank N. McNairy, 2d lieut. 
Lipscomb N. AValker, 2d lieut. 
Josiah H. Pitts, 1st sergt. 
John B. Hughes, 2d sergt. 
James R. McCombs, 3d sergt. 
AVilliam P. Woodall, 4th sergt. 
Alexander H. Irwin, 1st corp. 
Marcus A. AVillis, 2d corp. 
Andrew F. Martin, 3d corp. 

Mooney Roper, 4th corp. 
Armstrong, Jaraes. 

Ashton, John. 

Barthright, Robert B. 

Bolton, George.. 

Bolton, Benjamin. 

Bennett, Jacob. 

Burkitt, AVilliam. 

Bell, Hiram H. 

Birchett, Samuel P. 

Brown, Whitfield. 

Cartwright, Robert A. M. 



Childress, George AV. 
Cunningham, Francis. 
Dew, Thomas B. 
Dillerd, Edmund R. 
Estes, Stephen M. 
Edmondson, Pierce A. 
Ellis, Albert. 
Easley, Robert. 
Foster, James D. 
Fordney, Jacob. 
Garrett, William. 
Goodrich, Hiram. 
Goodall, Hardin. 
Holmes, George T. 
Haywood, Thomas J. 
Haywood, Robert W. 
Hudson, Samuel N. 
Hobson, AVilliam. 
Harper, AVilliam. 
Jones, Charles. 
Jones, Jesse. 
Jones, John. 
Johnson, Charles. 



182 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Johnson, Michael. 
Kelley, Harman. 
Litton, Richard J. 
Merritt, Marcus M. 
McCool, Nicholas. 
McGraw, James. 
Martin, John D. 
Nixon, Washington W. 
Patton, Matthew A. F. 
Powell, John. 
Pogue, Hiram. 
Plummer, Rufus M. 
Parham, William T. 
Ring, George P. 
Raiford, William. 
Smith, Joseph V. 
Smith, Major L. 
Simmons, Foster. 
\/Slinkerd, William. 
Shirley, William G. 
Terrill, James. 
Taylor, John A. 
Vowell, William. 
Wilkinson, Franklin J. 
Webb, Jordan. 



Wilson, Stephen. 
White, George. 
Wilson, James. 
Tearwood, Robert A. 
Walker, Gummerman H. 
Clark, James M. 
Cox, George W. 
Kirk, George M. 
Scott, James M. 
Higgerson, Samuel 0. 
Lockhart, Joseph D, 
HoIIiman, Samuel I. 
Whippetoe, William. 
Strickland, Jesse. 
Laughlin, Samuel H. 
King, James M. 
Headenglor, Worden P. C. 
Parrish, William H. 
Ragsdale, William N. 
Trantham, William A. 
Drumright, Green. 
Coble, George W. 
Pentecost, John. 
HoUiman, Granville. 



LIST OF OFFICERS AND MEN OF COMPANY H, THIRD 
REGIMENT TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS, 1S46. 



William R. Bradfute, capt. 

Burwell E, Snecd, 1st lieut. 

Jacob Young, 2d lieut. 

Robert L. Weakley, 2d lieut. 

James H. Page, 1st sergt. 

Dewitt C. Mussleraan, 2d sergt. 

David GrifEs, 3d sergt. 

John Mosley, 4th sergt. 

Isaac N. Bateman, 1st corp. 

William Horn, 2d corp. 

William H. Riddle, 3d corp. 

Andrews, James. 

Best, Phillip. 

Bonville, Alfred. 

Bonville, John. 

Booker, George. 

Chesser, Andrew. 

Clark, James L. 

Cook, George W. 

Coakley, Louis C. 

Curry, James H. 

Curry, Thomas J. 

Delaney, James. 

Edwards, John A. G. 

Fentriss, James. 

Ferrill, Brayzil. 

Fortier, Benjamin. 

Fouler, AVilliam C. 

Glasgow, William. 

Glimp, Wiley I. 

Gossett, Munroe. 

Graham, Samuel. 

Hamer, Johnson. 

Hale, Jefferson. 

Hatherway, Charles. 

Huggins, James H. 

Johnson, Daniel A. 

Jones, William B. 

Lannon, A. R. 

Lattemore, William H. 

Lovell, William. 

McCab, Doctor L. 

Mallery, Thomas. 

Mallery, William P. 

Malone, Solomon. 

Morris, John. 

Norman, William. 



Nuthill, William. 
Owen, Willinm D. 
Peay, William. 
Peeler, Franklin I. 
Reed, William G. 
Reeder, John M. 
Robe, William. 
Rowe, James W. 
Reader, Gasper. 
Satterfield, Levi. 
Scott, Samuel C. 
Shafer, Peter B. 
Sneed, James N. 
Spain, William H. 
Spillers, John. 
Tate, William B. 
Wilks, Alexander. 
Wood, Duncan C. 
Young, Mark. 
Bashan, William. 
Foster, Richard H. 
McKolver, William. 
Morris, Edward. 
Anderson, James F. 
Page, John R. S. 
Gibson, John B. 
Fielding, Thomas W. 
Canada, Thomas. 
Sykes, John. 
Ronan, Robert. 
Clendenning, Robert. 
Green, William Hord. 
Frank, Charles. 
Wiley, Willis. 
Kock, Madison W. 
Olfers, Gerhard. 
Boden, John. 
Scott, Frederick. 
Kirkpatrick, Robert. 
Birdsall, Louis H. 
Laws, Christopher. 
Chote, Joseph C. 
Morrison, John. 
Brown, William R. 
Hathaway, James, 
Moore, Thomas P. 



CIVIL WAR, 1861-65. 

COMPANY A (ROCK CITY GUARDS), FIRST TENNESSEE 

REGIMENT (COL. GEORGE MANEY), 1861. 
T. F. Sevier, oapt. ; elected lieut.-col. 1st Tenn. Regt., 1861. 
Joseph Vaulx, Jr., 1st lieut. ; elected capt. 1861 ; A. I. G., 1862. 
Thomas H. Malone, 2d lieut.; A. A. 6., 1862. 
W. D. Kelly (2d), bvt. capt., 1862; major, 1864. 
J. C. Malone, 1st sergt. ; col. cavalry, 1862. 
George A. Diggons, 2d sergt.; capt. 10th Tenn. Regt., 1861. 
Thomas B. Lanier, 3d sergt.; 1st lieut., 1861 ; killed at Perry vlUe. 
J. W. McWhirter, 4th sergt. 
A. H. Bradford, 5th sergt. 
W. B. Maney, corp. ; surgeon C. S. A., 1862, 
Samuel McCall, corp. 
James W. Nichol, corp. 
W. W, Prichard, corp. 
Harvey Adkins. 
J. D. Anthony. 
Richard Ashley. 
H, N. Barnard, killed at Chicka- 

mauga. 
J. H. Bankston. 
J. E. Barry. 
M. N. Brown. 
Aris Brown. 
J. W. Barnes. 

A. B. Brown. 

B. S. Bugg. 
J. W. Branch. 
William Baxter. 
Michael Burke. 
William M. Bryan. 
T. S. Briggs. 

A. Caldwell. 
D. G. Carter. 
J. Clarke. 
J. P. Crulcher. 
J. W. Coleman. 
J. H. Carson. 
G, Claiborne. 
Jerry L. Cooke, killed at Kenesaw 

Mountain. 

B. F. Carter. 

D. L. Demoss. 
L. Dunn. 
M. L. Dunn. 
Lee, Douglass, killed at Chicka- 

mauga. 
George W. Davidson. 
W. R. Elliston. 
W. H. Everett. 
H. C. Field, killed at Kenesaw 

Mountain. 

E. W. Ferris, killed at Kenesaw 

Mountain. 
J. W. Freeman. 
A. W. Fulgham. 
George Greigg. 
J. P. Gardner. 
T. T. Cartwright. 
R. W. Gillespie. 
R. E. Grizzard, 

F. M. Gary. 

C. E. Hardy, Ileut.-ool. Church- 

ill's Regt., July 3, 1861. 
A. W. Harris. 
T. 0. Harris, Jr. 
J. T. Henderson. 



W. C. Hutton. 

R. I. House. 

Van B. Holman. 

S. R. Jones. 

L. F. Joslin. 

W. H. Knight, killed at Mur- 
freesboro'. 

F. B. Kendrick, mortally woun- 
ded at Perryville. 

T. C. Lucas. 

J. L. Langley. 

H. H. Lee. 

J. C. March, 

William C. Martin. 

J. A. Murkin. 

B. J. McCarthy. 

L. H. McLemore, mortally woun- 
ded at Kenesaw Mountain. 

J. McManus. 

W. M. Newsom, killed at Mur- 
freesboro*. 

Jo. H. Nichol, killed at Atlanta. 

J. T. Patterson. 

Marsh P. Pinkard. 

W. H. H. Roys. 

W. B. Ross. 

J. K. Sloan. 

0. W. Sloan. 

Jabez Salmond. 

Jo. H. Sewell. 

J. B. Smith. 

J. L. Smith. 

Minor Smith. 

J. Spence, killed at Perryville. 

D. W. Sumner. 
R. E. Sumner. 
J. W. Sanders. 
J. W. Thomas. 
Dennis Tracey. 
Victor Vallette. 
G., E. Vallette. 
W. F. Williams. 
J. W. Walsh. 

W. P. Wadlington, killed at 

Chickamauga. 
R. A. Withers. 
J. H. Whiteman, 
J. E. Whitfield. 

E. T. Wiggin. 

J. R. Buist, surg. 1st Tenn. Regt. 
R. Darrington. 
A. G. Morrow. 



COMPANY C (ROCK CITY GUARDS), FIRST REGIMENT 
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS, CONFEDERATE STATES 
ARMY, 1861 to 1865. 
Capt. Robert C. Foster (4th), pro. to surgeon C. S. A., May, 1862, 
1st Lieut. R. B. Snowden, pro. to lieut. -col. in 1863. 



MILITARY ROSTERS. 



183 



2d Lieut. Tbomns B. Eastland, died March, 1S62. 

3d Lieut. J. F. Whelcss, elected capt. April 29, 1862; trans, to navy, 

1SC4. 
1st Sergt. J. Webb Smith, pro. to lieut. on Gen. Cheatham's staff, 1862. 
2d Sergt. Frauk Lord, disch. nt Camp Cheatham, 1861. 
3d Sergt. John Pearl, elected 2d lieut., 1862; disch. same year. 
4th Sergt. William H. Foster, trans, to Q.M. Dept., 1862. 
5th Sergt. James Allen, trans, to Topographical Dept., 1SG2. 
1st Corp. A. H. Brown, elected lieut. 1862; pro. to capt., 1864. 
2d. Corp. Steve McClure, killed at Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. 
3d Corp. J. B. Johnson, pro. to lieut.-col. ; died July, 1864. 
4th Corp. Wm. P. Prichard, present at surrender. 
Allen, George, killed at Dead Angle, June 27, 1864. 
Atkinson, Tillman, trans, to Q.M. Dept., 1861. 

Benton, , disch. 1861. 

Bland, William, disch. 1862. 

Brown, Nat., pro. to 1st sergt.; killed at Franklin, Tenn., November, 

1864. 
Barrow, George, killed with Gen. Morgan's command, 1864. 
Bertola, Peter, disch. 1862. 

Bennett, , disch. 1861. 

Burke, Bobert, killed at battle of Murfreesboro', Dec. 31, 1862. 

Carney, Jo., pro. to lieut.; killed at Atlanta, July 22, 1864. 

Carrigan, James, killed at Dead Angle, June 27, 1864. 

Cheatham, Robert A., trans, to Q.M. Dept., May, 1864. 

Coldwell, E. A,, wounded June 27, 1864. 

Campbell, Joseph, pro. to lieut,; killed, September, 1863, at Chicka- 

mauga. 
Cooper, Wise A., trans, to cavalry, August, 1862. 
Ellis, W. A., wounded at Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. 
Eakin, George, trans, to Q.M. Dept., May, 1862. 
Ewing, C. M., pro. to lieut. ; present at surrender. 
' Foster, Thomas H., sergt.-maj., trans, to Q.M, Dept., May, 1862. 
Foote, Rome, disch, 1862. 

Franklin, Berry, trans, to 4th Confederate, 1861. 
Foster, Toney, disch. 1862. 

Foster, Wilbur F., pro. to maj. Topographical Eng., December, 1861. 
Frierson, Robert P., pro. to lieut., June, 1862; present at surrender. 
Fizer, Robert, disch. September, 1861. 
Freeman, Robert, disch. July, 1862. 
Finn, Henry B., captured; died in prison at Nashville, December, 

1863. 
Gordon, Robert, trans, to cavalry, February, 1864, 
Gale, Joseph, disch. 1861. 

Griffin, , disch. 1862. 

Greer, Jack, disch. 1862. 

Gault, John, trans, to artillery, 1862. 

Gunn, James, trans, to Topographical Corps, 1862. 

HaiJey, John G., wounded at Nashville, December, 1864 ; captured. 

Hainey, Al., killed at Murfreesboro', Dec. 31, 1862. 

HeflFernan, W. T., detached with N. and C. Railroad Co., 1863, 

Hightower, R. R., wounded July 22, 1864. 

Hampton, George, pro. to lieut.; killed at Perryville, 1862. 

Henry, Robert, killed at Perryville, 1862. 

Hays, Denis, disch. July, 1862. 

Hough, Jo,, trans, to Q.M. Dept., May, 1862. 

Johns, W. N., present at surrender. 

Jones, Henry C, present at surrender. 

Jennings, James, pro. to sergt.-maj.; wounded at Nashville, 1864. 

Kirkman, James P., trans, to 10th Teonessee, 1861. 

Kennedy, 0, G., trans, to Q.M. Dept., 1861. 

Lamb, L., disch, December, 1861, 

Laurent, E. C, trans, to scouts, December, 1864, 

Louiseau, T. J., trans, to cavalry, July, 1863, 

Leonard, Ed,, killed at Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. 

Morrow, William, disch. May, 1862. 

Mays, H, C, wounded at Franklin, November, 1864. 

Mallory, Jo., present at surrender. 

McNairy, J. C, captured December, 1864. 

Morgan, F. H., disch. January, 1862. 

Morgan, B. W., killed accidentally, March, 1863. 

Mace, George, trans, to regimental band, July, 1861. 

Merritt, A. G., trans, to 21st Tennessee; pro. to lieut., 1862; present 

at surrender. 
Percy, Thomas G., killed near Atlanta, July 28, 1864. 



Percy, Jo. W., present at surrender. 

Phillips, Robert, disch. January, 1862. 

Phillips, Jo., trans, to artillery, November, 1861. 

Roberts, J). J., pro. to surgeon. May, 1862. 

Rozell, S. B,, trans, to cavalry, March, 1863. 

Rozell, R. B., present at surrender, 

Robinson, Samuel, wounded July 22, 1864; present at surrender. 

Ramage, H. C, killed June 23, 1864. 

Reamer, F. J., trans, to cavalry, February, 1863. 

Reed, Alexander, died at Nashville, December, 1861. 

Redd, W. P., unknown ; supposed to have been captured, August, 

1864. 
Seay, Samuel, wounded November, 1863. 

Steele, Thomas S., wounded July 22, 1864 ; present at surrender. 
Swann, Robert, wounded at Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862; disabled. 
Sloan, J. T., prisoner of war, December, 1864. 
Stonelake, G. W., prisoner of war, June 23, 1864. 
Shane, John, trans, to 4th Confederate, April, 1862. 
Shane, Jo., disch. January, 1864. 

Shockley, , disch. March, 1862. 

Sledge, Robert, unknown; probably captured, August, 1862, 

Southgate, W, R., died of wounds, 1864. 

Spain, A. B., disch, 1862. 

Smith, Ed,, disch. 1862. 

Stockell, Charles, trans. 1861. 

Stoddard, H., disch. 1862. 

Sharp, G. W., unknown. 

Swabb, Jo., died 1862. 

Sanford, , unknown. 

Vannoy, Mace, trans. 1863. 

Wills, W., trans. 1863. 

Williams, Jack, trans. 1861, 

Zimmerman, Fred., prisoner, August, 1864. 

Van, Eastland, trans. 1861. 

Morton, John W,, trans, to artillery, 1861. 

Stone, , trans. 1861. 

COMPANY C, CUMBERLAND RIFLES, SECOND TEN- 
NESSEE (COL. W. B. BATE). 



Hampton J. Cheney, capt. ; pro. 
to major on staff, 1862. 

George T. Nelson, 1st lieut. 

James J. Newsom, 2d lieut.; pro. 
to 1st lieut. and capt. in 
1862, and killed at Rich- 
mond, Ky. 

Watson Weakley, 3d lieut. 

Wyley J. Scruggs, 1st sergt. 

Thomas P. Weakley, 2d sergt.; 
pro, to major on staff. 

W. C. Coltart, 2d sergt. 

Aratia Hudson, 4th sergt, 

Allen, Matt. W., private. 

Allen, Andrew J., private, color- 
bearer, and ensign. 

Adeance, Thomas, 

Burton, Alfred M. 

Burton, Samuel. 

Bowling, Warner. 

Butler, Isaac. 

Campbell, Thomas T. 

Camp, George A. 

Carlisle, Samuel. 

Cameron, James D. 

Campbell, James. 

Craddock, James, died in service. 

Craig, W. S. 

Clark, George. 

Cuzzart, Jesse. 

Cowarden, Henry. 

Cunningham, Tim L. 

Dortch, William D., died in ser- 
vice. 

Davis, Charles. 



Davis, Jesse, died in service. 

Ferriss, John C, color-bearer; 
capt. of cavalry in 1863. 

Farmer, Eugene. 

Gee, Leonidas. 

Gee, Quint R. 

Grizzard, Ambrose J. 

Grizzard, Major T. 

Hale, James M., died of wounds. 

Hillman, Isaac M. 

Hunter, James C, died in service. 

Hutchinson, AVilliam. 

Hambliu, John A. 

Hamblin, Jo. C. 

Hamblin, J. Polk. 

Jones, John M. 

Jordan, George A. 

Kirkpatrick, George. 

Kirkwood, William. 

Kurtz, James H. 

Kuntz, Leo. 

Lanier, Henry. 

Litton, George S., 2d lieut. in 
1862, 1st lieut. in 1863. 

Lassiter, Fred. 

Lowery, William. 

Mulloy, Thomas J. 

Mulloy, Daniel, died at Murfrees- 
boro'* 

Matthews, Henry C. 

McKenuie, Beverly R. 

Myers, John. 

McFerrin, John P. 

McFerrin, T. Sumner, 

McFerrin, James W. 



184 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Menees, Henry B. 

Morrow, John. 

Moore, Hugh. 

Matthews, R. 

Matthias, George, killed at Chick- 

amauga. 
Matthias, Joseph. 
McKennie, V. 
NichoUs, Milton A. 
NichoUs, William C. 
Fatten, David. 
Payne, Reuben R. 
Perdue, Wm. H., died of wounds 

at Chickamauga. 
Perdue, Albert E. 
Petway, Hinohey. 
Pike, James A. 
Reese, William P. 
Ridge, Hiram. 
Robb, Philip. 
Roscoe, Luther. 
Robertson, Thomas, killed 22d 

July, 1S64, at Atlanta. 
Sloan, James C. 
Shaw, Thomas C, 2d lieut. in 

1S62 ; killed with b.iyonet at 

battle of Nashville, 1S64. 
Shultz, Louis. 
Spidell, Benjamin F. 

CAPT. FULCHER'S COMPANY 
NESSEE VOLUNTEERS, 
Capt. Joseph W. Fulcher. 

1st Lieut. George C.Richards, re- 
signed Sept. to, 1863. 
2d Lieut. James Phillips. 

3d Lieut. P. H. Blunkall, killed 
at Dalton, Ga., Miiy 6. 1S64. 

IstSergt. R. A. E.allowe, killed at 
Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1S62. 

2d Sergt. G. A. Reddick. 

3d Sergt. W. H. Allen, pro. to 1st 
sergeant Sept. 10, 1863. 

4th Sergt. G. C. MeKinney, pro. 
to 1st lieutenant Sept. 10, 
1863. 

5th Sergt. W. W. Baughn, died at 
Chattanooga, Sept., 1862. 

1st Corp. T. C. Cobb, pro. to 3d 
lieutenant, Sept. 10, 1863. 

2d Corp. J. C. Smith. 

3d Corp. J. S. Beadle. 

4th Corp. J. F. Miller. 

Binkley, A. T., killed at Mission- 
ary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1S63. 

Boyd, Samuel. 

Carter, G. G. 

Carroll, Peter. 

Cobb, M. D., died in service, 
February, 1862. 

Coleman, D. C. 

Coleman, John. 
.Colly, Ranee. 

Coltharp, .John. 

Cothran, John. 

Cutter, Oliver. 

Day, Elisha. 

Dennis, C. 

Demonbreun, J. B., killed at Mis- 
sionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863. 

Duckworth, W. H. 

Durham, James, killed at battle 
of Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. 

Dowd, John. 

Erwin, Tom. 



Sproul, Henry S. 

Snow, James C. 

Smith, Eugene R. 

Stratton, William D. 

Tavernon, Peter, killed at Chiek- 
amauga. 

Temple, Frank. 

Temple, Charles. 

Talley, Hutoher, died in service. 

Townsend, Thomas E. 

Terrell, Jerry, died of wounds at 
Shiloh. 

Williams, John R. 

Williams, Cyrus E., died in ser- 
vice. 

Weakley, Olin. 

White, Wm. R., died of wounds. 

White, George. 

Wright, James. 

Webb, Thomas B. 

Wagoner, Wiley B. 

Win ham, Edward L. 

Winham, Elisha. 

■Warmock, Thomas J. 

Williams, Joseph. 

Yeatman, Eugene, capt. in 1S62. 

Yeart, Peter T. 

Zonane, AVilliam. 

Zimmerman, Richard. 

(L), FIRST REGIMENT TEN- 
COL. GEORGE MANEY. 

Erwin, William E., killed at bat- 
tle of Murfreesboro*, Dec. 31, 
1862. 

Felts, W. C, killed at battle of 
Franklin, Nov. 30, 1864. 

Fly, J. W. 

Forbes, J. J. 

French, G. B. 

Garret, B. F. 

Gee, James W. 

Gillem, C. S. 

Gollaher, Ed. 

Gosset, James. 

Gosset, Robert. 

Harrison, Thomas. 

Holloway, Jack. 

Hobbs, Hiram. 

Hooper, J. N. 

Howard, John. 

Laurent, E. L. 

Luster, W. J. 

Magaw, S. H., killed atKenesaw, 
June 27, 1S64. 

Martin, James. 

Martin, William. 

Martin, J. J., killed at Atlanta, 
July 22, 1864. 

Minor, T. J. 

Mullen, John, killed near Mis- 
sionary Ridge, Nov. 26, 1863. 

McGaughan, Pat. 

McGinnis, Miles. 

McCool, David, killed at battle of 
Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. 

McCay, Mat., killed at battle of 
Fr,anklin, Nov. 30, 1864. 

Newborn, Jo. 

Newell, John M. 

Osborn, J. C. 

Owen, A. R. 

Rawls, Monroe, killed at Atlanta, 

July 22, 1864. 
Rawls, Wesley. 



Redick, J. M. 

Roy, John, killed at battle of 

Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. 
Reagan, W. H. 
Ross, James. 
Ross, William. 
Smith, Alex. 

Smith, Samuel, died Feb., 1863. 
Smith, D. G. 
Savely, H. T. 
Spain, William, killed at battle of 

Murfreesboro', Deo. 3t,-1862. 
Stevenson, C. C. 
Sullivan, Owen. 
Scruggs, Ed. 
Scott, R. C. 



Sturdivant, J. N. 

Tucker, Alfred. 

Vines, Mack. 

Waller, B. L. 

Waller, M. G. 

W.atkins, William. 

Watson, I. N. 

Watson, John. 

Watson, A. M. 

Wright, J. J., died in service. 

Williams, Henry. 

Wilson, Jo. 

Williford, W. F. 

Whittemore, A. V. 

Yeargin, W. A. 

Yeargin, J. A. 



COMPANY B (ROCK CITY GUARDS), FIRST TENNESSEE, 
COL. MANEY. 

Jo. W. Davis. 

George Driver, died of wounds 



Capt. James B. Craighead, res. in 
November, 1861. 

1st Lieut. John Patterson, killed 
at Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862; 
pro. to lieut. -col. in 1862. 

2d Lieut. Jo. H. Vanleer. 

3d Lieut. William J. Pryor. 

1st Sergt. John W. Carter, killed 
at Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. 

2d Sergt. Joe B. O'Bryan, pro. 
to A. Q. M., 1862. 

3d Sergt. M. B. Pilcher, pro. to 
A. Q. M., 1862. 

4th Sergt. D. J. Dismukes. 

6th Sergt. B. P. Steele, pro. to 
capt. at Corinth; disabled at 
Perryville, Ky., 1862. 

1st Corp. E. R. Spurrier, pro. to 
3d lieut. 

2d Corp. Samuel M. Allen, killed 
near Memphis, 1S64, 

3d Corp. N. F. Webb. 

4th Corp. James R. Buckner. 

Alexander Allison, Jr., pro. to 
ordnance officer Maney's 
brigade. 

John J. Atkeisson. 

Samuel E. Buckner, killed at 
Shiloh, 1862. 

Jo. W. Brown. 

Ferd. Berry, died at Knoxville, 
March, 1862. 

W. W. Bayless, pro. to 1st lieut. 
cavalry. 

J. C. Barrow. 

J. A. Bruce, killed in railroad ac- 
cident in Virginia, 1863. 

Montgomery Baxter. 

Charles H. Buster, killed at Per- 
ryville, Oct. S, 1862. 

Baker Boyd, pro. to lieut. in Ken- 
tucky regiment; killed at 
Port Hudson, 1863. 

John D. Blakley, pro. to 2d lieut. ; 
killed at Perryville, Ky., Oct. 
8, 1862. 

Samuel C. Carrier. 

Theodore Cooley, app. lieut. in 
Alabama regiment, 1863. 

Charles B. Cooley, disabled at 
Perryville, Oct. S, 1862. 

David V. Cullcy, missing at Per- 
ryville, Oct. S, 1862. 

Charles L.Davis, pro. to 3d lieut. ; 
killed at Perryville, Oct. 8, 
1862. 



received at Perryville, Oct. 
8, 1»62. 
AVilliam 0. Driver, disabled at 
Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862. 
James H. Dismukes, died in ser- 
vice, November, 1861. 
David Dance. 

E. Ellis, killed with Morgan's 
command in Kentucky, 1864. 
Robert M. Erwin. 
Frank P. Elliott. 
Jesse Ely. 
W. A. English, killed near Adairs- 

ville, Ga., May, 1864. 
J. M. Eastman. 
Felix D. Fuller. 
S. A. Frazer, killed at Perryville, 

Ky., Oct. 8, 1862. 
Thomas Gibson, pro. to adjt. 10th 

Regt. Tenn. 
A. R. Greig, pro. to 1st lieut. for 

gallantry. 
G. W. Goodrich. 

A. J. Goodbar, killed at Perry- 
ville, Oct. 8, 1862. 
George W. Gleaves. 
Felix J. Hicks, killed at Tupelo, 

Miss., 1864. 
J. M. Halfacre, killed near Pu- 
laski, 1864. 
Garret Hardcastle. 
James M. Hern. 
And. J. Hooper, pro. to capt, 

cavalry. 
Robert S. Hamilton, killed at 
Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862. 
Robert W. Hendricks. 
Henry Hoge. 
George W. Harrison. 
Robert C. Handley. 
Alexander H. Irvine, killed at 
Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862. 
Ed. H. James, killed in Western 

Tennessee in 1865. 
A. R. Jones, pro. to assistant 

surgeon. 
Henry C. Jackson. 
Samuel B. Kirkpatrick. 
J. D. Kirkpatrick, pro. to capt. 

cavalry. 
Richard C. Keeble. 
James A. Kiddel. 
George Keelings, died at Grand 
Junction In May, 1862. 



MILITARY ROSTERS. 



185 



Joshua K. Luck, killed near 
Waverly, Tenn., in 1S64. 

A. n. Lee. 

A. H. Lawrence. 

George W. Lanier. 

T. H. Mancy, pro. to 1st lieut., 
Co. B. 

P. H. Manlore, pro. to 2d lieut., 
Co. B. 

W. A. Mayo, pro. to capt. 6-itli 
Tenn. Regt. 

A. B. Moore, killed at Perryville, 
; Ky., Oct. S, 1S62. 

Joseph McNish, killed at Perry- 
ville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862. 

W. K. McCall. 

W. H. McFerran. 

Joseph M. Mayson, pro. to lieut. 
artillery. 

I, H. Myers, killed at Perryrille, 
Ky., Oct. 8, 1862. 

J. Edgar Nichol. 

James Patterson. 

Frank Porterfield. 

J. W. Pyle. 

Walter S. Ryall. 

W. P. Rutland. 

Samuel S. Roberts. 

S. B. Shearon, disabled at Perry- 
ville, Oct. S, 1862. 



Morgan Smith, killed at Perry- 
ville, Oct. S, 1862. 

J. R. P. Smith, killed at Perry- 
ville, Oct. 8, 1862. 

William S. Sawrie, brev. capt. 
Arkansas regiment. 

Samuel B. Stockard. 

Thomas C. Shapard, died in Geor- 
gia in lS6i. 

M. B. Toney. 

John 0. Trcanor. 

J. Miller Turner. 

Charles A. Thompson. 

L. D. Terry. 

Frank C. Usher. 

John F. Vaught, killed in Ten- 
nessee in 186.3. 

James M. Whitesides, 

D. F. Wright, pro. to surg. C. S. A. 

G. E. Wharton, killed at Perry- 
ville, Oct. 8, 1S62. 

S. S. Wharton. 

J. Rice Wilson. 

J, D. Winston, pro. to lieut. ar- 
tillery. 

John M. Wherry, killed at Per- 
ryville, Oct. 8, 1S62. 

A. D. Wallace. 

James H. Wilkes, pro. A. Q. M. 

H. T. Yeatman. 



CAPT. SAMUEL C. GODSHALL'S COMPANY (G), ELEAfENTH 
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER REGIxMBNT, JAMES E. RAINS 
COLONEL COMMANDING. 



Samuel C. Godshall, capt. 
Samuel D. Niehol, 1st lieut. 
Matthew Devaney,-'-' 2d lieut. 
John E. Chandler, 3d lieut. 
James G. Stevens, 1st sergt. ; 

capt. in 1863. 
Horatio Witty, 2d sergt. 
Richard S. Smith, 3d sergt. 
Moses P. Corder, 4th sergt. ; 3d 

lieut., 1862. 
Darius N. Rawly, 1st corp. 
Michael J. Lawlor, 2d corp. 
Henry H. Goodwin, 3d corp. 
Yeatman Anderson, 4th corp. 
Anderson, John W. 
Baker, James. 
Brown, William F. 
Bryant, James F. 
Browning, William J. 
Brooks, Milton 0. 
Boughies, Victor. 
Black, William A. 
^"Conley, Austin. 
^•=Clahissey, John. 
Corlis, Patrick. 
Crocker, Jacob. 
Conlin, Edward. 
Cavenaugh, James. 
Dunn, Edward. 
Daugherty, George R. 
Dickens, Isaac W. 
Dickens, Thomas. 
Dalton, W. W. 
Duke, John C. 
•i-Fitzmorris, Patrick. 
Flynn, John. 
«-Ford, Matthew W. 
Ford, B. F. L. 
Fletcher, W. J. 



Gough, Patrick. 

Guthrie, Rogers. 

Green, Michael. 

Green, Robert AV. 

Guy, John F. 

vGlenn, John. 

Glenn, Patrick, 

Howe, Peter. 

Hansbury, John. 

■^■"Hurley, Jeremiah. 

Hall, Joseph J. 

Harlow, John. 

Harrison, Eugene. 

^■"Helpin, Lawrence, 

■i-"Harrigan, Timothy. 

Irwin, Thomas, 2d lieut. in 1862. 

^"'"Johnson, James. 

"-■■•'Joyce, Richard. 

Kelley, Jeremiah. 

Lundy, Thomas. 

Lark, William. 

Lyons, Jeremiah. 

^■'Mahoney, John. 

^=-Mahouey, James. 

S'Miller, Wilson D. 

"Maury, John. 

Mitchell, John W. 

Martin, John W. 

•■'■■Merritt, James. 

'•■■Moynahan, Patrick. 

Moriarty, Patrick. 

McNutt, Alex. D. 

McCarty, William. 

McNamara, Patrick. 

McBride, James. 

McMahan, Bryan. 

McAnally, Michael. 

Nelson, Moses, 1st lieut. 1862. 

«0rms, John. 



O'Neill,- Michael. 
Perry, Thomas. 
Pitts, Lewis. 
Parrish, Robert A. 
Puckett, Andrew A. 
■■•■-Rich, Peter. 
Rhodes, Robert. 
Shortle, Thomas. 
Smith, Elias A. 
Stevens, William. 
Savage, James, 
Sheridan, John. 



Sullivan, Timothy. 
"^'Sevier, James. 
*Tracy, Thomas. 
Treanor, James. 
Williams, E. L. 
^■Wood, James. 
Wetmore, W. C. S. 
Wetmore, Oldham. 
Walsh, Patrick. 
Whalon, John. 
Wilson, Aubrey. 
Ward, John A. 



COMPANY G, FIFTEENTH TENNESSEE 

Wills, Gould.t capt. 

Samuel Mays, Jr., 3d lieut. ; pro. 

to captaincy in 1862. 
A. J. Shelton, 1st sergt.; died of 

wounds at Jonesboro* ; pro. 

to 3d lieut., 1863. 
H. L. W. Joslin, corp. ; killed at 

Marietta, Ga. ; pro. to 2d 

lieut. in 1802. 
J. B. Co.\', corp. ; pro. to 3d lieut. 

in 1862. 
William Davis. 
Green Duke, died. 
John Gallagher. 
J. K. Halstead. 



G. W. Hanna. 

H. H. Horn. 

Thomas Hutton. 

L. F. Joslin, pro. to lstlieut.,18fi2. 

C. B. Lovell. 

Allen Mays, died. 

Dock Mays, died at Dalton. 

Mastin Pegram. 

John Price. 

II. K. O'Brien. 

William Sherron. 

James Smith. 

L. A. Taylor, died. 

George Taylor, died. 

W. W. Thompson. 



■ Killed in battle. 



COMPANY G (CAPT. A. J. McWHIRTER'S) OF EIGHTEENTH 
REGIMENT TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS, ARMY OF CON- 
FEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA. 
Mustered into service May 31, 1861, Col. J. B. Palmer commanding. 

A. J. McWhirter, capt. ; declined to run at reorganization of company 

at J.xckson, Miss., Sept. 26, 1S62 ; afterwards appointed to of- 
fice in Commissary Department. 
J. Shelby Williams, 1st lieut.; pro. to asst. adjt.-gen. on Gen. S. R. 

Anderson's staff, in Virginia, December, 1861. 
W. G. Davis, 2d lieut. ; declined to run for office at reorganization, 

Sept. 26, 1862. 
Richard R. Hyde, 3d lieut. ; declined to run at reorganization ; since 

dead. 
John M. Douglass, orderly; appointed to adjt. of regiment, Sept. 26, 

1862; killed at battle of Powder Spring Road, near Marietta, 

Ga. 
Joseph B. Matthews, 2d sergt. ; elected to 1st lieut. at reorganization ; 

pro. to capt., Jan. 2, 1863, at battle of Murfreesboro'. 
Theo. P. Hamlin, .Sd sergt. ; elected to 2d lieut. at reorganization ; pro. 

to 1st lieut., Jan. 2, 1863 ; afterwards served as asst. ordnance 

sergt. of regiment; since dead. 
» Richard B. Stubbs, 4th sergt. 
Orman Duke, oth sergt. 

A. H. Warren, 1st Corp.; pro. to wagonmaster, 18C2. 
John L. Young, 2d corp. 
Jack Dick, 3d corp. 
William H. Bradford, 4th Corp.; captured July 30, 1864, in front of 

Atlanta. 
Abshin, Calvin. 
Allen, Benjiimin F. 
Anderson, Richard. 
Abernathy, Henry. 
Abernathy, Felix A. 

Bainbridge, William, pro. to hospital steward, Oct. 19, 1861. 
Bell, Robert. 
Bell, .Joshua. 

Barnes, George, disch. Oct. 14, 1362, 
Bloodworth, Bedford, disch. Oct. 14, 1862, 
Bird, W. F. 

Barham, Robert H., detailed to Capt. Porter's artillery company, 
Dec. 5, 1861. 



t Killed in personal encounter with Gen. Forrest, at Columbia, Tenn. 



24 



186 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



BrowE, George A., appointed 3d sergt. ; afterwards trans, to Sappers 


Raulsfon, John R., disch. 


Oct 


12, 


1861. ;, 


and Miners. 


Ralph, Andrew. 








Briggs, William F. 


Robertson, Green B., trar 


s. to Ca 


pt. J. Mimm's cavalry (fmpany 


Briggs, George, wounded at battle of Powder Spring Road, near 


Nov. 18, 1861. 








Marietta, Ga., from whicli he died in hospital. 


Shuster, William H. 








Barge, Thomas F. 


Saddler, John, disch. Oct. 


li, 


1862 


; over age. 


Cato, William R., pro. to brevet 2d lieut., March 10, 1S63 ; wounded 


Simjdvins, Albert C. 








and captured, July 30, 1S64 j afterwards died in hospital at 


Smith, William J. 








Chattanooga from wounds. 


Stovall, Terry. 








Cooper, George W., pro. to 2d sergt., Sept. 26, 1862. 


Sickfrcd, William F., wounded by 


cannon-shot in leg at Fort Donel- 


Carney, Joseph E. 


son, from which ho 


died at home. 


Carney, John, pro. to 5th sergt. 


Smith, John W. 








Crocker, S.andford, elected sergt., Sept. 26, 1S62. 


Stubbs, D. Webb, elected 


to h 


revet 2d lieut., Sept. 26, 1862; pro. to 


Curtis, William F. M. 


2d lieut, Jan. 2, 1.863. 






Crellum, Jesse. 


Simpkins, W. Frank. 








Clatterbough, William E. 


Taylor, Lewis G. 








Carter, Baylie. 


Tarvcr, Byrd, disch. 1864 








Carter, William C. 


Walker, John W., pro. to 


orderly, Sept. 20, 1862; died in hospital at 


Cnllnm, Elisha. 


Newnan, Ga., March 3, 


1864 




Dick, John, elected to capt. of company, Sept. 26, 1862; killed at 


Wetmore, Julian, disch. J 


uly. 


1861 




Murfreesboro', Jan. 2, 1863. 


Warmouth, AVilliam. 








Dee!, James B., died at home, Nov. 16, 1861. 


Webber, John H., disch. Nov. 


19, 


861. 


Dozier, Jesse, disch. Nov. 8, 1862. 


Young, John. 








Edmunds, Wm. A., captured on Missionary Ridge and died in prison. 


Young, Henry H. 








Ealey, Thomas. 


Graves, John B. 








Foster, Charles, pro. to sergt. of Sappers and Miners Coqjo. 


Kelly, John. 








Goodwin, Willi.im D. 


Lewis, John. 








Goodwin, James A. 


Young, James L. 








Goff, James M., disch. Oct. 14, 1862 ; over age. 


Cullum, Elisha G. 








Gladden, Dempsey, killed at Murfreesboro', Jan. 2, 1862. 


Pomcroy, Alexander. 








Garner, William F. 


Brunson, Joseph. 








Garland, Jack. 










Holt, C. M. 


COMPANY A, TWENTIETH 


TENNESSEE REGIMENT. 


Holt, William H. 


AY. L. Foster, capt. 






Harrison, B. P. 


Higginbotbam, Benjamin. 


Bailie Peyton, 1st lieut. ; killed at 


Hanly, Timothy. 


Hughes, John. 


Fishing Creek, 1802. 






Ham, A. 


Hayne, Thomas, trans, to Capt. Porter's artillery company. 


Albert E. Roberts, 2d lieut 


; ca 


pt. 


Hite, James H. 


Hanner, John A., died in hospital, May 6, 1863. 


in 1862. 






Hill, W. M. 


Hale, Jefferson, disch. Sept. 12, 1861. 


W. E. Demoss, 3d lieut. 






Higgins, Valentine. 


Hale, James. 


Orville Ewing, 1st sergt. 






Hogan, J. W. 


Hester, Lycurgus, killed at Murfreesboro', Dec. 31, 1S62. 


Alloway, 01. 






Hobbs, Henry, killed atShiloh. 


Hester, Baylu, escaped from prison, and reported for duty at reor- 


Allen, John B. 






Hull, Robert. 


ganization. 


Alford, Cornelius M. 






Hamilton, Henry. 


Hawkins, Philleman, disch. Oct. 14, 1862. 


Ames, Robert. 






Jacobs, William J. 


Hawkins, Isham, disch. Oct. 14, lS62j over age. 


Barry, Ran. 






Kahn, Julius, killed at Chicka- 


Hewlet, William F., disch. Nov. 19, 1861. 


Baker, W. T. 






mauga. 


James, Henry F., disch. December, 1861 ; afterwards died. 


Baker, F. M., killed at Rodgers- 


Kennedy, William J, 


Jones, John M., pro. to Corp., Sept. 26, 1862 ; afterwards to sergt. 


ville, Tenn. 






Kuhn, L. 


Jones, John. 


Brady, James. 






Lowry, A. W. 


Kennedy, Henry S. 


Bradford, John. 






Lewis, Abe. 


Maser, Willi.im, died Dec. 30, 1861, in service. 


Bradford, Edward. 






Moss, Charles. 


Moriarty, John. 


Burch, Henry. 






Morris, A. J. 


Marshall, William H. 


Cato, Levi E., killed at 


M 


ur- 


Maugrom, John. 


Marshall, Henry H., pro. to chief mnsici.-vn. May, 1863. 


frecsboro'. 






McQuary, G. Washington. 


Marshall, James K., disch. Jan. 1, 1862, in consequence of spinal af- 


Cato, John. 






McAllister, William. 


fection. 


Cathey, Samuel. 






McNicholas, James. 


Moss, John, disoh. Sept. 10, 1863. 


Cathcy, John, killed. 






Newsom, John. 


McCarroll, William. 


Canadey, James M. 






Newsom, James D. 


McPhcrson, James. 


Chilcote, Thomas B. 






Nicholson, Nelson J. 


McKelly, William, died in prison. 


Cheek, Hardy. 






Owens, Barrel T. 


Miles, William. 


Craighead, W. B. 






Patterson, James E. 


Moke, Jacob, disch. Nov. 8, 1862. 


Claudy, Thomas A. 






Pentecost, W. H. 


McNeil, James. 


Dawson, John R. 






Porch, William T. 


McNeil, Hardee, Sr., disch. Oct. 26, 1862. 


Davidson, Thomas J. 






Porch, John H. 


McNeil, Hardee, Jr., killed in battle at Chiokamauga, Sept. 19, 1863. 


Dix, Robert. 






Robertson, Henry, killed at Egypt 


McCarroll, Alexander. 


Ewin, W. G. 






Station, Miss. 


Morgan, A. B. 


Elliott, Levy T. 






Robinson, William J. 


Meadows, Robert. 


Evans, W. W. 






Richardson, Turner G. 


Meadows, Richard, 


Frazier, John H. 






Russell, John H. 


Meadows, Temple. 


Frazier, Thomas, 






Rutland, James A. 


O'Shea, John, disch. Oct. 14, 1862; old age. 


Frazier, William B. 






Shute, William W. 


Patterson, Moses, trans, to cavalry, and killed in a skirmish on Stone 


Frazier, Joel B. 






Shute, Abe. 


River in 1863. 


Grier, J. S. 






Sneed, Thomas H. 


Palmer, William, died Dec. 3, 1861, in service. 


Grier, John. 






Spencer, J. W. 


Pomcroy, William. 


Graves, Henry. 






Stephens, William C. 



MILITARY ROSTERS. 



187 



Stcrens, AVilliam Henry. 


Waldron, Patrick, missing in 


Anderson, Parker. 




Jones, William. 


Stevenson, John B. 


front at Chickamauga. 


Arnold, John. 




Jones, W. L. 


Swift, Edward, killed at Kene- 


Williams, AVilliam A. 


Bankston, M. C. 




Johnson, John. 


saw jMountaiu. 


Wiles, W. A. 


Barker, Melvin. 




Kleiser, J. K. 


Stewart, F. M, 


Work, J. W. 


Bird, W. A. 




Kicser, Ale.xander. 


Schlesiuger, Henry. 


Wolf, H. F. 


Bradley, Thomas. 




Lovell, William T. 


i Turner, A. G. 

i 


Wynn, A. Jackson. 


Bright, Green B. 
Bradley, Pat. 




Marshall, Frederick. 
Mowry, Marshall. 


! COMPANY C, TWENTIETH 


TENNESSEE REGIMENT. 


Bradley, Thomas. 




Murkin, H. A. 


i Capt. J. L. Kice. 


John Filtz. 


Butler, J. AV. 




Murphy, Timothy, 


1st Lieut. M. N. Cox, died in 


J. Woods Greenfield, pro. to 2d 


Bolton, William. 




Mager, James A, 


prison. 


lieut. at reorganization. 


Burt, W. T. 




Marcell, Edward. 


2d Lieut. J. C. Thompson, after- 


Alfred Gregory, pro. to 3d lieut. 


Brantley, J. H. 




Mayse, Williams. 


wards pro. and made adjt.- 


at reorganization. 


Bedoliug, Thomas. 




Musgrove, Henry. 


gen. of Stuart's diyision. 


A. C. Goss. 


Bolton, J. T. 




Musgrove, Joseph. 


3d Lieut. A. D. McNairy, com- 


T. J. Goss. 


Corbett, P. H. 




Munhart, Eugene. 


mander of McNairy's scouts. 


C. Johnson. 


Corbctt, John T. 




Mitchell, James. 


1st Sergt. E. E. Gray, disabled by 


J. B. James. 


Connally, Martin. 




McNamara, Edward N. 


wounds at Fishing Creeli. 


H. K. Jones. 


Chadwell, James. 




McCandless, T. H. B. 


2d Sergt. A. E. McLaughlin. 


W. H. Jones. 


Crudon, Daniel M. 




McCandless, W. L. 


3d Sergt. J. W. Thomas, pro. to 


B. B. Knight. 


Crudon, C. M. 




Nestor, Patrick. 


adjt. of regiment. 


T. B. Hollister, killed at Chicka- 


Cook, James. 




Nicholson, Samuel. 


4th Sergt. J. R. Ellis. 


mauga. 


Dennis, Thomas J. 




Pentecost, Abram. 


1st Corp. J. W. Shumate, after- 


Joe Hunt. 


Donahue, Martin. 




Phillips, Charles P. 


wards 3d lieut. 


W. R. Harris. 


Duff, Bufus K. 




Ridge, Patrick. 


2d Corp. A. V. Brown. 


G. W. Hood, killed at Shiloh. 


Dunn, John T. 




Ridge, Coleman. 


3d Corp. J. T. Bland. 


L. Horton, killed at Atlanta, 22d 


Donahue, Patrick. 




Ridge, John. 


4th Corp. E. B. Johnson. 


July, 1864. 


Edrington, B. M. 




Rice, Charles. 


K.V. Allison, killed at Jonosboro'. 


H. Clay Lucas, pro. to capt. at 


Farley, James. 




Rosenburger, Henry. 


John Andrews. 


reorganization. 


Freeman, D. 




Sanford, Charles. 


J. E. Austin. 


J. W. Mitchell, killed at Mission 


Gee, William K. 




Stearm.an, Frank. 


J. W. Baker. 


Ridge. 


Gorman, Thomas. 




Southgate, M. 


Thomas J. Bigley. 


William McLaughlin, killed at 


Goodwin, J. A. 




Saddler, K. 


J. S. Baxter. 


Shiloh. 


Gotbard, Henry. 




Sullivan, P. 


J. W. Barnes. 


\f. F. Mize. 


Gunn, Lyman C. 




Stout, A. J. 


G. W. B.arnes, killed at Mur- 


W. S. Matlock. 


Harrington, Philip. 




Shay, Henry, 


freesboro'. 


P. N. Matlock. 


Higginbotham, William. 




Smith, John. 


J. H. Burnett. 


A. D. Montgomery. 


Hilliard, H. 




Stevenson, J. 


T. S. Brown. 


John Mclnturff. 


Holfadock, H. 




Thompson, Hampton. 


T. F. Brown. 


F. S. Menier. 


llowell, James P. 




Turner, James C. 


Samuel Blair. 


J. B. Puckett. 


Hopkins, J. L. 




AVebber, Frederick. 


Samuel Bugg. 


S. D. Peal. 


Houston, J. M. 




Wade, Patrick. 


Abe Bostick, trans, and killed in 


W. H. Park. 


Hill, W. 




Watkins, Spencer. 


■ Virginia. 


J. W. Rawley, made 1st lieut. at 


Ireland, Henry C. 




West, Claiborne. 


Litton Bostick, afterwards made 


reorganization. 


Irwin, James. 






staff-officer and killed at At- 


W. H. Roberts. 












HERMTTAfiB GUARDS. 


lanta, July 22, 1864. 


George Roberts. 








Samuel Card, killed at Murfrees- 


Hardin Russell. 


James E. Rains, capt.; 


elected 


Dillon, Pat. 


boro'. 


H. Stephens. 


col. of Eleventh Te 


nnesseo 


Davidson, S. A. 


J. D. Caldwell. 


J. B. Stephens. 


and appointed brig.-gen. ; 


Eagin, James. 


J. D. Callender, killed at Hoo- 


S. M. Stone. 


killed at Murfreesboro', Dec. 


Eagin, Mike. 


Ter*s Gap. 


M. T. Smith. 


31, 1862. 




Elliott, James. 


James L. Cooper, afterwards pro. 


John Savage,. killed at Resaca. 


John E. Binns, 1st lieut 


; capt. 


Fields, James. 


to aid by Gen. Tyler. 


E. B. Shields, killed at Fishing 


in 1S6I; maj. 1864. 




Fields, Samuel. 


Tom Collins. 


Creek. 


B. W. MeCann, 2d lieut. 




Fitzpatrick, . 


J. B. Collins. 


W. D. Simpson. 


Howell Webb, 3d lieut; 


adjt. in 


Fitzgerald, James. 


W. Dennison. 


J. C. Shumate. 


1861 ; maj. in 1861. 




Freeman, Samuel. 


J. V. Dennison. 


T. W. Shumate, afterwards made 


Anderson, Christopher. 




Ferris, Martin. 


T. J. Dailey. 


3d lieut. 


Barry, William. 




Gilman, Thomas. 


W. L. Dun. 


E. A. Sanders. 


Beech, Thomas, 3d lieut. 


; killed 


Gilman, Joseph. 


G. W. Davis. 


E. E. Watson. 


at Franklin. 




Harrison, Tobe. 


M. S. Elkin. 


George Watson, killed at Mur- 


Burns, William. 




Heverin, nugh,2d lieut. in 1862; 


E. Ewing, pro. to staff duty and 


freesboro'. 


• Bowers, W. B. 




1st lieut. in 1864. 


killed at Murfreesboro*. 


R. Watson. 


Bumpass, Abraham, killed at 


Hundley, Lafayette, 3d lieut. in 


J. C. Filtz. 




Lost Mountain, Ga. 
Bryant, Thomas. 




1862. 
Hennessey, Michael. 


ACKLIN RIFLES, COMPANY A 


, FOURTH (THIRTY-FOURTH) 


Bryant, Ephraim. 




Hudson, David. 


TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS. 


Burnett, Thomas. 




Hough, John. 


Leslie T. Hardy, capt. 


Horace M. Houston, 4th sergt. 


Branch, . 




Haslam, William, elected to lieu- 


Edward L. Marcell, 1st lieut. 


John Ryan, .'ith sergt. 


Cohen, Pat. 




tenancy in Fells' company. 


James W. Terry, 2d lieut. 


Thomas Benjamin, 1st corp. 


Crawford, Charles. 




Hutchinson, William. 


Charles S. Petro, 3d lieut. 


Michael W. Fitzpatrick, 2d corp. 


Corbett, Joseph. 




Johnson, James. 


A. N. M. Hopkins, 1st sergt. 


Thomas B. Fitzwilliams, 3d corp. 


Crawford, John. 




Johnson, Peter. 


Henry J. Wilkins, 2d sergt. 


M. N. Barnes, 4th corp. 


Clarke, James. 




Kirby, Richard. 


William L. Jones, 3d sergt. 


Ardinger, H. L. 


Conley, John. 




Keys, James. 



188 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Kyle, William. 






Robinson, Henry, killed at Egypt, 


C. Walter Brown, 2d lieut. 


Hamill, L. 


Larkin, William. 






Miss. 




E. D. Hicks, 3d lieut.; 1st lieut. 


Hamill, A. C. 


MeDaniel, Alexander, 


1st 


lieut. 


Smith, Thomas, kiUed in 


Ken- 


andadjt. 1861. 


Hope, R. K. 


in 1S61. 






tucky. 




G. H. Morton, 1st sergt. ; capt. 


Haile, George E. 


Miller, H. C. 






Smith, Augustus. 




and lieut.-col., 1862. 


Hancock, G. D. 


McElroy, John. 






Stewart, Michael, died of wounds. 


William Roberts, 2d sergt. 


Hollowell, B. F. 


Manley, Pat. 






Stewart, Robert. 




William 0. Maxey, 3d sergt. 


Jackson, Andrew. 


Manley, Frank. 






Sutton, Joseph, killed at 


Mur- 


William Britton, 4th sergt. 


Joplin, Thomas. 


Manley, James. 






freesboro'. 




J. R. Brane, 1st corp. 


Kimbro, Thomas. 


Miller, A. 






Shea, John. 




A. A. Miliron, 2d corp. ; killed. 


Martin, C. C, killed. 


Menefee, James, killed at Frank- 


Stout, Anderson. 




J. M. Shutc, 3d corp. 


Marshall, E. S. 


lin. 






Shavers, William. 




W. J. Craighead, 4th corp. ; 


Morris, R. E. K., killed. 


Moore, James. 






Sword, James. 




killed. 


Matthews, S. 6. 


McConnell, Joseph. 






Sword, William. 




John Bender, bugler. 


Marchbanks, Charles. 


Mason, Francis. 






Shaffer, Joseph L. 




Andrew Winfrey, bugler. 


Nolan, M. D. A. 


McCloud, N. A. 






Sykes, Robert. 




Henry Edmondson, farrier. 


Natoher, W. K., died. 


McLaughlin, Alexander. 




Sloan, James L. 




T. Ferguson, smith. 


Puckett, James. 


McLendon, J. C. 






Scrivener, John. 




Atkinson, T. C, lieut. in 1S62. 


Paul, James A. 


Miller, Ed. 
Norman, Henry. 






Scrivener, Alexander. 
Weaver, James. 




Abbay, R. H. 
Anderson, J. S. 


Payne, A. B. 
Quinn, W. J. 


Price, T. G. 

Pearl, Ed. 






Welsh, Michael. 
Wells, Lawrence. 




Aiken, George, died. 
Adams, R. H. 


Ridley, J. L. 
Ridley, G. C. 


Reddick, J. B. 






Willard, William, killed at Joncs- 


Bolton, Alexander. 


Sykes, Jesse W. 


Robinson, Jack, killed 


at J 


oncs- 


boro'. 




Bush, G. W. 


Steele, J. W. 


boro'. 






Weaver, Charles. 




Brien, W. A. 


Smith, Nat. 


Reynolds, John. 






Ward, Hugh. 




Buchanan, J. R. 


Smith, J. M. 


COMPANY B (SHELBY DRAGOONS), FIRST BATTALION 
TENNESSEE CAVALRY (LIEUT.-COL. F. N. McNAIRY), 1861. 


Bennington, Thomas. 
Crawford, Scott. 
Curran, Pat. 


Smith, P., lieut. in 1862. 

Smithwick, , 

Shields, John. 



W. L. Horn, capt. 

Louis M. Gorby, 1st lieut. 

W. W. Calvert, 2d lieut. 

W. H. Craft, 3d lieut. 

P. Cniger, 1st sergt. 

Nick Oswell, 2d sergt. 

J. C. Pickett, 3d sergt. 

J. Frankland, 1st corp. 

E. H. Horn, 2d corp. 

H. C. Singleton, 3d corp., q.m. 

sergt. 
Richard Polk, 4th corp. 
James Tate, ensign. 
E. C. Johnson, bugler. 
Frank Atilla, instructor in sabre 

drill. 
Armstrong, Eli. 
Bowman, James. 
Bowles, W. E. 
Bowles, Thomas. 
Brookes, E. 
Breedlove, Starr. 
Cantrell, William H. 
Carpenter, AVilliam. 
Cash, Jeff. 
Cooke, J. E. 
Figg, R. M. 
Ford, T. 

Franklin, James. 
Graves, John. 
Green, J. 

Hager, B. 6., hospital steward. 
Hook, Isaac N. 
Horn, F. W., q.m. 
Hundley, R. P. 
Hays, Mike P. 
Henry, J. P. 
Jackson, J. P. 
Johnson, Lafayette. 
Johnson, W. Tt-. 
Kenner, John. 
Kittle, Richard. 



Kelly, Pat. 
Little, David. 
Morton, S. W. 
Mehrenstien, Moses. 
Mann, G. W. 
Miller, Aug. 
Mahoncy, John. 
Meyer, John. 
Mahan, Mike. 
McKnight, W. G. 
McNicholson, R. 
Nellan, M. 
Newbern, Thomas. 
O'Brien, John. 
O'Donnell, John. 
Overstreet, J. L. 
O'Hara, Roderick. 
Overb?e, Coleman. 
Patton, F. 
Powers, Pat. 
Runnells, E. 
Rhodes, D. C. 
Rhodes, William. 
Rhodes, M. 
Singleton, A. J. 
Spillers, Lafayette. 
Stull, J. 
Sutton, J. J. 
Squares, Charles. 
Stevenson, James F. 
Searls, Charles. 
Sulliv,an, Pat. 
Tarpley, Robert. 
Thompson, S. 
Webb, James P. 
AVilson, Wallace. 
■ Woodruff, John. 
Wyatt, Thomas. 
Wright, H. 
Whitley, Horatio. 
Yates, Thomas. 
Zachary, Wash. 



CAPTAIN F. N. McNAIRY'S CAVALRY COMPANY. 
F. N. McNairy, capt. ; lieut.-col. W. Hooper Harris, 1st lieut. ; 
in 1861 ; killed in 1863. capt. in 1S61. 



Clark, Charles. 
Curran, J. M. 
Campbell, Jo. 
Dashiell, G. W. 
Dodd, B. P. 
Edmondson, W. A., 

Ferguson, . 

French, A. H. 
Grisham, W. J. 

Griffin, . 

Graves, W. H. 
Guthrie, W. 



missing. 



Saffaraus, T. W. 
Smith, E. M. 
Shilcut, T. H. 
Tate, Zack. 

Tucker, . 

Thomas, George. 
Treanor, J. D. 
Vaughn, J. H. 
Vaughn, J. T. 
Williams, N. B. 
Porch, W. H. 
Hendricks, A. P. 



BARROW GUARDS, GORDON'S BATTALION, AFTERWARDS 
COMPANY C, COL. JAMES T. WHEELER'S FIRST REGI- 
MENT TENNESSEE CAVALRY. 

J. B. Carter, 



Capt. E. E. Buchanan. 

1st Lieut. S. Y. Caldwell. 

2d Lieut. W. S. Hawkins. 

3d Lieut. John Greer. 

1st Sergt. Thomas B. Wilson; 

elected 2d lieut. in 1863, and 

capt. in 1864. 
2d Sergt. J. Polk Dabbs. 
3d Sergt. Al. Page. 
4th Sergt. W. S. Hite. 
1st Corp. Marcius Aldrich ; elected 

1st lieut. in 1864. 
2d Corp. John S. Blain. 
3d Corp. G. S. Stanfield; elected 

3d lieut. in 1862. 
4th Corp. Jas. R. Greer. 
Chaplain J. H. He'ssey. 
Thomas J. Aldrich. 
Frank Anderson. 
James F. Binns. 
James 0. Blain. 
Peter M. Blain. 
James J. Blair. 
John W. Blair. 
John Bridges. 
William Butler. 
A. H. Brent. 
W. S. Briggs. 
Thomas A. Bryan, 
Robert Brown. 



H. M. Carter. 

John 0. Carmack. 

Robert N. Carmack. 

James B. Cobler. 

E. F. Capps. 

Thomas Chambers, died in 

1863. 
Robert Carroll, died in 1862. 
N. D. Carson. 
T. W. Davis. 
William Dibb. 
R. T. Dickinson. 
John I. Eason. 
William E. Estes. 
John A. Fitzhugh, elected 4th 

sergt. in 1863. 
William T. Goodwin. 
Reuben Goodrich. 

A. P. Graves. 
J. A. J. Greer. 

B. K. Greer. 
William Greer. 
E. J. Greer. 

J. D. Greer. 
William Henry. 
James Hendricks. 
H. M. HoIIister. 
N. B. Howlett. 
Jos. Hudgins. 



MILITARY KOSTBRS. 



189 



Thomas ^Y. Jones, elected 3d 

sergt. in 1S62. 
James W. Jones. 
C. S. Harris. 
E. C. Hays, elected 3d licut. in 

1SG3. 
Henry Heiss, elected 2d lieut. in 

1S64, and adjt. 
John W. Hill. 
John 0. Herbert. 
T. L. Kernell. 
George A. Kinney. 
M. A. Lovell. 
William C. May. 
John Massey, Sr. 
John Massey, Jr. 
Pleas. McLendon. 
"William McDeaman. 
Robert Moss. 
William C. Myers. 



James S. Milligan. 
0. F. Owen. 
Peter D. Owen. 
Jesse Rieves. 
Logan Kozzell. 
William Sadler. 
William M. Stanfield. 
John Smith. 
William B. Stewart. 
E. J. Still. 
William Sturdivant. 
Thomas L. Taylor. 
A. W. Vaughan. 
J. E. Wade. 
John Waller. 
J. W. Walton. 
J. L. Williams. 
0. F. Williams. 
T. B. Williams. 
Thomas Wyles. 



CAPTAIN PAYNE'S COMPANY, FIRST BATTALION TEN- 
NESSEE CAVALRY (LIEUT.-COL. F. N. McNAIRY), 1861. 

Houston, J. D. 



Edwin D. Payne, capt. 
R. G. Petway, 1st lieut. 
J. B. Ryan, 2d lieut, 
J. W. Birdwell, 3d lieut. 
W. R, Dawson, 1st sergt. 
W. H. Smith, 2d sergt. 
J. M. Bevill, 3d sergt. 
J. A. Hickman, 4th sergt 
T, L. Knote, 5th sergt. 
E. R. Walker, 1st corp. 
S. H. Petty, 2d corp. 
W. J. Sales, 3d corp. 
J. H. Buokner, 4th corp. 
C. Johnson, farrier. 
S. Moratta, bugler. 
G. W. Cozatt, bugler. 
Anderson, Alex. 
Armstrong, H. C. 
Adams, G. W. 
Alexander, J. D. 
Blackwell, J. W. 
Bledso, C. P. 
Bradley, H. C. 
Bradley, William. 
Blair, S. S. 
Brien, W. A. 
Caldwell, J. R. 
Carlisle, W. G. 
Comperry, R. J. 
Corler, William. 
Cavender, J. C. 
Cayce, F. J. 
Dobbs, J. R. 
Drane, Thomas. 
Duncan, J. H. 
Forehand, Thomas. 
Fox, Thomas. 
Glasco, C. L. 
Good, G. H. 



Hunter, William. 
Haynes, J. C. 
Head, Robert. 
Hutchinson, W. B. 
Hester, J. W. 
Hill, J. B. 
Horbring, J. 
Hays, E. C. 
Heiss, Henry. 
Handy, G. M. 
Handy, D. S. 
Hickle, G. R. H. 
Jones, Joseph. 
Jones, J. M. 
Knott, R. S. 
Kirkpatrick, J. W. 
Marks, W. P. 
Mayfield, W. 
McCartney, L. W. 
Nelson, N. R. 
Polk, J. A. 
Pendergrast, James. 
Petty, J. M. 
Rhodes, J. B. 
Ring, A. N. 
Richardson, J. R, 
Robertson, J. A. 
Smith, W. B. 
Steele, E. F. 
Skeggs, C. H. 
Underwood, F. J. 
Williams, A. J. 
Whittey, D. J. 
White, Edward. 
Washburn, J. M. 
Woods, N. 
West, E. M. ■ 



THE NELSON 

J. G. Anglade, capt. 

J. J. McDaniel, 1st lieut. 

James A. Fisher, 1st lieut. ; capt. 

in 1S62. 
B. F. Nichol, 2d lieut. 
Thomas L. Bransford, 2d lieut. ; 

1st lieut. in 1S62. 
James Lahey, ord. sergt. 

A. G. Goodlett, 1st sergt. 

B. F. Woodward, 23 sergt. 



ARTILLERY. 

Thomas B. Cooke, 3d sergt.; 2d 
lieut. in 1862 ; killed at Port 
Hudson, 1863. 

John W. Lindsay, 4th sergt. 

D. D. Phillips, 6th sergt.; 2d lieut. 
in 1S62. 

Andrews, P. T., 4th sergt. 

Aekler, James. 

Brennon, John. 

Bains, Thomas. 



Burns, James. 
Barrett, John. 
Barker, William. 
Clanoy, Thomas S. 
Clancy, Pat. 
Claney, Martin. 
Cavender, J. H. 
Cavender, S. AV. 
Cavender, Jo. W. 
Cavender, Si. 
Cavender, William, 
Cox, John. 
Creech, Williams. 
Coually, Thomas. 
Conally, John. 
Connors, Mike. 
Durin, Daniel. 
Dougherty, William. 
Don oho, Pat. 
Donally, Mark. 
Davis, William, 2d corp. 
Fhirity, John. 
Fahey, Pat. 
Finnigan, Barney. 
Fleming, Mike. 
Faulkner, Thomas. 
Fagan, John. 
Fletcher, A. H. 
Fisher, Constant. 
Gannon, Austin. 
Gannon, Thomas. 
Gillam, Pat. 
Gillard, Alexander. 
Gillard, William. 
Higgins, Pat. 
Hide, John. 
Hughes, A. J. 
Hission, Mike. 
Hatley, W. J. 
Hinnon, James, 
Hussey, L. 
Johnston, William. 
Leonard, John (1st). 
Leonard, John (2d). 
Lally, Thomas. 
Lyons, Mike. 
James, James. 
James, John. 
James, William. 
McDonald, Edward. 



McCuc, Mike. 

McGco, Hugh. 

McCaslin, B. F. 

McKelly, William. 

Mulvcrhill, Mike. 

Murphy, Mike. 

Murphy, Pat. 

Malloy, John. 

March, M. D. 

Noon, Pat. 

Noon, John. 

Newell, Pat. 

Neeley, W. J. 

Phelps, A. J. 

Riley, Thomas (1st). 

Riley, Thomas (2d). 

Rose, C. G. 

Sharon, E. S. 

Sullivan, Philip. 

Sullivan, Tim. 

Sweeney, Pat. 

Taylor, John F. 

Taylor, W. M. 

Taylor, John A. 

Taylor, W. G. 

Thompson, William, 5th corp. 

Tarpley, Ed. 

Varalle, John. 

Williams, William. 

Whorley, Con. 

Sanders, Jesse, 1st corp. 

Tarpley, R. B., 5th sergt. 

Nunn, Hiram, 3d corp. 

Bell, George. 

Burchem, E. F. 

Burchem, J. D. 

Covenonder, K. 

Cooper, William. 

Chumley, D. 

Dewire, Daniel. 

Greer, William. 

Hull, John. 

Hall, John. 

James, AVilliam. 

Joslin, W. B. 

Lewis, Randle. 

Morrissey, Thomas. 

Moss, Amos. 

Nails, Thomas. 



CAPT. ENSLEY'S COMPANY OF CAVALRY, COMPANY D 
(CAPT. LEONARD HOOPER'S COMPANY). 
Edward L. Ensley, capt. ; died in Brown, William. 



1862. 
Hiram F. Banks, 1st lieut. 
Blackman H. Rains, 2d lieut. 
George C. Wilson, 2d lieut. 
John S. Sh.acklett, 1st sergt. 
William B. Rains, 2d sergt. 
James Alexander, 3d sergt. 
Charles E. Yeatman, 4th sergt. 
William J. Potter, 1st corp. 
John B. Whitsett, 2d corp. 
Sherman W. Hope, 3d corp. 
Andrew J. Baker, 4th corp. 
Benjamin F. Cook, 1st bugler. 
Jacob Milliron, 2d bugler. 
John E. Baker, farrier. 
Alexander, William P. 
Allen, James 0. 
Allen, James. 
Allen, William N. 
Albra, H. 
Anderson, Joseph R. 



Cluid, Lemuel B. 

Caragan, Hiram H. 

Cantrell, James S. 

Dawson, Marquis. 

Daniels, William. 

Estes, Robert P. 

Fudge, Jacob. 

Gates, J. 

Grizzard, William H. 

Gee, Marcellus M. 

Haley, Richard T. 

Hamblin, Benjamin F. 

Kite, L. 

Hays, James V. 

Hall, Green H. 

Hooper, Leonard K., capt. in 

18G2. 
Hall, Ralph R. 
Haley, John C. 
Jord.an, Richard W 
Jordan, Newton. 



190 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Latimore, John H. 
Montgomery, William. 

Marshall, . 

Owen, Andrew J, 

Owen, Dudley. 

Owen, William, 

Osment, John. 

Ogilvie, Benton H. 

Pollock, John E. 

Rains, Kufus P., died in 1863. 

Robb, Samuel C. 

KoUer, George. 



Shacklett, Ridgeway D. 
Soott, Shelton F., killed at Pump- 
kin-Vine Creek, Ga., 1864. 
Stokes, William J. 
Searcy, William W. 
Thompson, Charles W. 
Vaughn, James D. 
Williams, William D. 
AVatkins, Thomas D. 
Williams, Osbern. 
Whitsett, Samuel P. 
Young, John. 



CAPT. FELTS' COMPANY OF TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS. 



James W. Felts, capt. 

John Haslam, 1st lieut. 

William H. Haslam, 2d lieut. 

James Campbell, 2d lieut. 

H. B. Martin, Ist sergt. 

Sohn Leach, 2d sergt. 

James Haslam, 3d sergt. 

E. Hawkins, 4th sergt. 

A. Boyt, 5th sergt. 

John Copass, 1st corp. 

James Walker, 2d corp. 

Isaac Andrews, 3d corp. 

John King, 4th corp. 

Bruce, M. L. 

Bennett, Arch. 

Boyt, M. 

Bradley, John. 

Biggs, John, 

Binkley, A. T. 

Colly, Ranee. 

Chatham, James. 

Copass, N. R. 

Copass, William. 

Cobern, William. 

Copeland, Andy. 

Cobb, T. C. 

Clinard, S. 

Carter, G. G. 

Clinard, W. H. 

Cobb, M. D. 

Clinard, W. N. 

Carter, E. B. 

Campbell, Thomas. 

Call, H. 

Darks, Jo. 

Demonbreun, J. B. 

Dickson, J. W. 

Forbes, J. J. 

Felts, C. R. 

Felts, J. M. 

Felts, W. C. 

Felts, J. W. 

Fisk, D. L. 

Graham, J. R. 

Gollagha, Edwin. 

Gossett, James. 

Gossett, Robert. 

Haslam, Polk. 

Hawkins, Thomas. 

Hulett, W. T. 

Hulett, Louis. 



Hudgens, A. L. 
Hudgens, J. T. 
Hooper, J. N. 
Hudgens, T. B. 
Hudgens, J. Z. 
Hyde, J. W. 
Hinekle, W. B. 
Harris, A. J. 
Ingram, M. V. 
Kimpkicn, AYilliam. 
Knight, W. C. 
Logan, T. B. 
JIaguire, Sam. 
McCoy, Mat. 
Mosby, J. N. 
MeCool, Davis. 
Martin, P. P. 
Murphy, B. T. 
Martin, G. G. 
Martin, J. E. 
Perry, Louis. 
Patton, Jack. 
Porter, S. T. 
Parker, J. W. 
Parker, D. K. 
Perry, West. 
Petty, S. H. 
Petty, S. E. 
Raymer, W. R. 
Rawls, J. S. 
Rawls, J. M. 
Ross, George. 
Redick, L. B. 
Redick, James. 
Smith, Elisha. 
Smith, Elijah. 
Soott, H. L. 
Simmons, Jesse. 
Simpkins, Jo. 
Vine, B. M. 
Westmoreland, R. 
Wilson, R. 
Wilson, J. W., Sr. 
Wilson, J. W., Jr. 
Wilson, George. 
Wilson, Jo. 
Wilson, W. R. 
Wootton, J. B. W. 
Wattson, J. B. 
Williams, H. 
Welles, James. 



CAPT. HAWKINS' COMPANY OF TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS. 

Anth. Allen, 4fh sergt. 



James M. Hawkins, capt. 
A. S. Camp, 1st lieut. 
George C. Richards, 2d lieut. 
J. W. Fulcher, 3d lieut. 
W. H. Allen, 1st sergt. 
P. H. Blenkall, 2d sergt. 
W. H. Perry, 3d sergt. 



John M. Cross, 6th sergt. 
John Stewart, 1st corp. 
W. B. Walwork, 2d corp. 
Eph Conley, 3d corp. 
W. W. Baughn, 4th corp. 
Andrews, E. G. 



Burke, Tom. 
Burke, Peter. 
Byers, S. C. 
Brown, S. C. 
Burges, J. N. 
Ballowe, R. A. 
Brown, W. R. 
Bailey, F. G. 
Conley, Ed. 
Conley, J. A. 
Conley, Joseph. 
Carroll, Peter. 
Conger, C. H. 
Coleman, John. 
Coleman, D. C. 
Cassidy, T. D. 
Carney, William. 
Corbitt, S. R. 
Calthrop, John. 
Clinton, R. H. 
Carrington, Thomas. 
Durham, John. 
Durham, James. 
Donnivan, John. 
Dice, G. 
Davis, J. B. 
Davis, J. W. 
Duckworth, William. 
Erwin, Tom. 
Erwin, W. E. 
Forrest, James T. 
Finnegan, John. 
Fly, John W. 
French, G. B. 
Garrett, M. A. 
Garrett, B. F. 
Gibson, H. A. 
Granlowe, D. 
Guillam, C. S. 
Gilreath, T. 0. 
Harrison, G. 
Hart, J. L. 
Halligan, James. 
Horn, M. 
Hobbs, J. M. 
Jackson, John. 
Jackson, H. 
Jones, W. L. 
Johnson, C. 
Johnson, R. H. 

CAPT. CATTLES' COMPANY 

R. F. Catties, capt. 

C. W. Peden, 1st lieut. 

N. J. DodsoD, 2d lieut. 

William Saffin, 2d lieut. 

W. A. Yeargin, 1st sergt, 

J. A. Yeargin, 2d sergt. 

J. S. Beadles, 3d sergt. 

M. G. Waller, 4th sergt. 

J. P. Wadkins, 5th sergt. 

J. J. Phillips, 1st Corp. 

J. F. Miller, 2d eorp. 

T. J. Waggoner,,3d corp. 

G. W. Lendon, 4th Corp. 

Adams, J. C. 

Bethel, W. R. 

Bernal, J. V. 

Barclay, Thomas. 

Boyd, Samuel. 

Brown, A. G. 

Bruce, G. W. 

Cook, Thomas. 

Crook, L. D. 

Cohen, H. 



Kaleer, D. 

Kelley, B. 

Long, F. 

Lipscomb, M. 

Lovell, R. H. 

Lewis, F. M. 

Moran, M. 

Mulverhill, John. 

Moore, Sam. 

Moore, George. 

Martin, James. 

Martin, William. 

McGaughan, Pat. 

McGinnis, M. 

McKinney, G. 

Maddox, W. D. 

Myers, J. F. 

Myers, H. J. 

Mulloy, A. 

Newell, J. M. 

Owens, A. 

Phelps, A. C. 

Rauey, John W. 

Register, John. 

Register, A. J. 

Riley, Phil. 

Roddick, 6. A. 

Ryan, Pat. 

Rawles, W. G. 

Ruth, R. 

Rice, J. H. 

Robinson, S. 

Sullivan, 0. 

Sloan, William. 

Sharp, D. F. 

Stephenson, F. T. 

Stephenson, C. C. 

Simpson, G. 

Stevens, A. G. 

Sturdivant, J. N. 

Serds, H. A. 

Saffin, Wm., 1st sergt., disch. 

Sykes, Joseph P., cadet, trans. 

Tucker, T. G. 

Tucker, J. F. 

Tarkinton, W. J. 

Taylor, John. 

Taber, S. T., musician, trans. 

Weaver, J. H. 

Wright, J. J. 

OF TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS. 
Cutter, Oliver. 
Davis, C. F. 
Davis, James. 
Dalton, G. W. 
Dennis, C. 
Daniels, D. K. 
Dowd, John. 
Eubanks, W. 
Ettelson, M. 
Ewing, R. P. 
Fowler, Thomas. 
Guthrie, J. N. 
Grubbs, J. W. 
Guy, L. Y. 
Gower, L. D. 
Gattin, J. G. 
Gee, James W. 
Grigg, Thomas. 
Harrison, Thomas. 
Hodge, R. F. 
Ledbetter, L. 
Ledbetter, A. 
Laurent, E. L, 



MILITAEY KOSTERS. 



191 



Livingston, S. 

Luster, IV. J. 

Magavr, S. H. 
MoClarin, J. C. 
MoPherson, T. J. 

McGinncss, G. ^V. 
Minor, T. J. 

Newbern, James, 

O'Neol, John M. 

Osborn, J. C. 

Pitts, AVilliam. 

Eeagin?, W. H. 

Roy, John. 

Ross, G. B. 

Ross, William. 

Kosenthall, W. 

Schneider, P. 

Spain, William. 

Scott, R. C. 

Scott, W. H. 

Scott, J. J. 

PORTER'S 

Thomas K. Porter, capt., chief 
art. Stewart's div., and ex- 
ecutive officer to the C. S. 
Steamer "Florida ;" wounded 
severely through thigh. 

L. Hutchinson, Istlieut. ; wound- 
ed through neck. 

J. AV. Morton, 1st lieut. ; capt. 
Morton's Battery in 1863, 
and chief art. Forrest's cav. 
corps. 

W. R. Culbertson, 2d lieut. 

J. L. Burt, 2d lieut. 

Frank McGuire, ord. sergt. 

George W. Holmes, q m. sergt. 

T. S. Sale, sergt.; wn'd slightly. 

Jos. W. Yeatman, sergt. 

W. H. Wilkinson, sergt. 

H. C. Ross, sergt. j made ord. 
officer Hardie's art., 1864. 

H. W. Hunter, sergt. 

B. Bannister, sergt. 

A. D. Stewart, corp. 

William Green, corp. 

Peter Lynch, corp. 

Pat, Murray, corp. ; wounded 
slightly in neck. 

Pat. Flaherty, corp. 

Z. Connally, corp. 

George G. Henon, corp. 

Pat. Hoben, corp, 

W. E. Holden, corp. 

A. B. Fall, Corp.; killed at Fort 
Donelson. 

Barney Barnes, farrier. 

John S. Parker, wheelwright, 

P. N. Richardson, saddler. 

W. D. Madden, blacksmith. 

Max, Gcnning, wheelwright. 

Adams, John. 

Anderson, William. 

Bnrk, Martin. 

Burk, Thomas, 

Bird, John T, 

Berryman, James. 

Berryman, Thomas. 

Bagwell, Stephen. 

Brown, Thomas T. 

Bryance, James, 

Bryance, James H, 

Buchanan, L, 

Brown, J. AV. 

Conally, Anthony. 



• Scott, R. M. 
Scruggs, Ed. 
Sanders, W. T. 
Smith, J. H. H. 
Smith, Alex. 
Smith, D. G. 
Samuels, John, 
Saverly, H. T. 
Thomas, AV. AV, 
Tindal, J. R. 
T.anksley, J. A. 
Tucker, Alfred. 
AVilliford, W. F, 
Waller, B. L. 
AYalker, Andrew. 
AVadkins, AV. F. 
Watson, A. M. 
AVatson, John. 
Watson, W. F, 
Whittamore, A. V, 

BATTERY. 
Clisham, Martin. 
Cook, Mike. 
Condrey, Pat, 
Crane, Pat, 
Conally, Ed, 
Carroll, Ben, 
Carr, John. 
Cady, John. 
Dodson, J. J. 
Dowd, Ed. 
Boharty, James. 
Flahey, Alike, 
Flaherty. Pat, 
Fenal, Mike, 
Fisher, John. 
Flanigan, Charles. 
Galling, B. F. 
Grady, Ed. 
Hart, John, 
HoUinsworth, J, 
Holden, AV, E. 
Hall, James. 
Harrison, William. 
Haney, M.artin, 
Henessee, Pat. 
Holden, Israel. 
Higgins, Ed. 
Jobe, AVilliam C, 
Johnson, H. F. 
Kennedy, Saunders. 
Kyne, Pat (No. 1), killed at Fort 

Donelson. 
Kyne, Pat (No, 2). 
King, Ed. 
Lynch, Peter. 
Laughlin, J. C, 
May, John. 
Masters, Charles. 
Monan, Pat. 
Mathews, W, H, 
McGrath, Thomas, 
McKeen, Andrew. 
Morrison, Coleman. 
McCue, Daniel. 
McCue, Pat. 
McDermot, Mike. 
MoDermot, Pat, 
Monahan, Pat, 
Malorey, Mike. 
Milan, Mike. 
Moharty, Ed. 
MoDonough, Thomas, 
Nolen, Thomas, 



Nic, Pat, 
Norton, Martin. 
Nipper, Ambrose. 
O'Mally, Pat. 
Ohano, AA''ilIiam, 
Pharrey, Pat. 
Prater, Columbus. 
Plue, Nolen. 
Roach, P. 
Ridge, Michael. 
Smotherman, James. 
Solomon, George B, 
Shoat, Sheldon. 
Smith, Kinchem. 
Turnbro, Ambrose. 
Thompson, J. L. 
Welsh, Pat, 
AVelsh, G. AV. 
AVest, R. D, 
AA'illiams, James, 
AVhittenden, James, 
Walters, Roger. 
Welsh, Thomas, 



Welsh, Mike, killed at Fort 

Donelson, 
Judge, Thomas, 
Haverday, Jos, 
Palmer, Frank, 
Zboinskie, Louis, 
Smitbson, Sidney, 
Haynes, Thomas. 
Sutton, Stanford, 
Cohinn, Pat. 
Smith, Thomas, 
Hawkins, J, 
Lewis, Caldwell. 
Nunley, Jerry. 
Nunley, Arch. 
Burras, S. F. 
Underwood, Reid. 
Watson, Madison. 
Watson, Isaac, 
Wigginton, Samuel, 
Newton, Henry, 
O'Neil, Dennis. 



DETAILS TO PORTER'S BATTERY FROM BROWN'S AND 

PALMER'S BRIGADES. 

Cowan, J. V. Garland, S. J. 

Holt, H. Thomas, Childs, G. AV. 

Puckett, A. C. Hickman, J. D. 

Gunn, William. Hubble, T. C. 

Brown, D. C. Bass, J. M. 

Morgan, . Barb am, R. A. 

Beall, J. M. Kiger, AV. C. 

Pilkerton, U. L. Allen, J. AV. 

Milliken, J. M. Allen, Samuel. 

Pope, A. J. Hutehcraft, . 

Strickland, B. J, Copland, A, 

Rainey, F, J, Giving, Max. 

Ray, F. M, Patton, AV, 

Holt, James, Wilson, , 

Edington, H. L. AV. Bradbury, •. 

Cane, AVilliam. Merryman, J. 

Hubbard, R. M. Hampton, Jasper, 

Tailor, W, T. , Wooton, A, AV, 
Pinkerton, L, B, 

OFFICERS OF MORTON'S BATTERY, 

John W. Morton, capt, G. Tully Brown, 2d lieut. 



T. Saunders Sale, 1st lieut, 

BAXTER'S BATTERY 
Edmund Baxter, capt. 
Samuel Freeman, 1st lieut. 

Reorganization at 
Edmund D. Baxter, capt. 
Samuel Freeman, 1st lieut. 
Amariah L. Huggins, 2d lieut, 
Edwin H. Douglas, 3d lieut. 
AV. P. Ferris, 1st sergt. 
Nathaniel Baxter, Jr., 2d sergt. 
Robert A. Allison, gun sergt, 
William S, Newsom, gun aergt, 
James Porter, gun sergt. 
James Schuster, gun sergt. ; died 

of wounds, 1864. 
L. F. Charlton, q.m. sergt. 
J. T. Huggins, com. sergt. 
J. Bailey Higgins, bugler; died 

of wounds, 1864. 
Baker, John. 
Bell, John. 
Binkley, J. Wesley, 
Buchanan, Alexander. 
Burnett, John. 



Joseph M. Mason, 2d lieut. 

(FLYING ARTILLERY). 
Brown J. Trimble, 2d lieut. 
G. W, Evans, surgeon. 

Corinth, May, 1862, 
Brown, G. W, 
Clordy, Ed, 
Dixon, John, 
Dowd, Peter. 
Douglas, Byrd, Jr. 
Douglas, Hugh Bright. 
Estes, John. 
Farron, John. 
Gray, John. 
Hanofin, Maurice. 
Marshall, Elihu. 
Sanders, Abner, 
Sanders, Parham. 
Shelton, Henry. 
Sullivan, John. 
Wade, John. 
Watson, AVilliam P, 
Wist, James, 
Wright, H, C. 
AVright, Reese, 



192 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



COMPANY A, FIRST TENNESSEE ARTILLERY. 


Do2;ier, Albert. 
Elliott, John M. 




Moran, Patrick, killed in battle. 
Marberry, Joseph H. 


A. M. Rutledge, oapt., promoted 


Dick Dalton, artificer, died in 


Elliott, William. 




Moss, E. M. 


maj.of infantry Polk's stafF, 


army. 


Ewing, William L., appointed 


Maney, Hardy. 


died 1875. 


Florence Dugan, artificer. 


Corp., capt. of cavalry. 


McAdams, James. 


E. P. Faleonnet, 1st lieut., raised 


John A. McMaster, artificer, 


French, M. 




McAdams, James D. 


battalion cavalry, maj. com- 


killed in battle. 


Fulghum, John. 




McQuary, G. Washington, sergt. 


manding. 


J. D. Kerrigan, artificer. 


Fulghum, J. A., killed at Vicks- 


McCaffrey, Hugh. 


Mark S. Cookrill, 2d lieut., ap- 


James Webb, artificer. 


burg. Miss. 




McCormick, John. 


pointed 2d lieut. artillery C. 


J. O'Rea, artificer. 


Forehand, John. 




McCormick, Daniel. 


S. A., ordnance duty. 


J. F. M. Turner, 1st bugler. 


Gross, Adam H. 




McHale, P. 


Joseph E. Harris, 3d lieut., left 


killed in battle. 


Goodwin, John. 




McNamara, F. 


service capt. of artillery, died 


Alexander, John F., sergt. Mc- 


Griffin, John. 




McGuire, Matthew. 


in Europe. 


Clung's Battery. 


Gray, L. M. 




MoGuire, Edward. 


J. C. Wheeler, 4th lieut., capt. of 


Austin, John S. 


Grills, Robert. 




Netherland, Hugh. 


infantry, Florida brigade. 


Allen, James R., killed in battle. 


Galam, Corum. 




Nedham, Daniel. 


George E. Purvis, sergt.-major. 


Allen, John N. 


Haley, Patrick, killed 


at Mo- 


Nagle, Patrick. 


pro. 5th lieut. of battery. 


Allen, George. 


bile. 




Naughton, M. 


Evander Mclver, q.m. sergt., 


Breen, Daniel. 


Haley, John, killed in battle. 


O'Niel, William, 


capt. infantry on ord. duty. 


Broderick, Timothy. 


Haley, Michael. 




P.adden, M. 


S. L. Finley, com. sergt., killed 


Bogle, Thomas. 


Hall, J. M. 




Phenis, M. J. 


at Nashville, Dec. 31, 1S61. 


Brushingham, M. 


Hall, L. D. 




Peebles, Uriah, 1st lieut. cavalry. 


Frank Johnson, sergt., major in- 


Burke, J. M. 


Hennessy, Michael, killed 


in bat- 


Perry, James J., wounded at 


fantry, Miss. Vols. 


Bragg, B. 


tie. 




Shiloh ; disabled for life. 


George W. Trabue, sergt., ap- 


Ballowe, Thomas W., Corp., trans- 


Hennessy, John. 




Perry, John W. 


pointed supt. of telegraphy, 


ferred to cavalry as sergt. of 


Hennessy, Patrick. 




Renfro, John, appointed artificer; 


Army of Tenn. 


artillery. 


Hill, J. H. 




transferred to cavalry. 


J. B. Lang, sergt., appointed 


Bunn, William. 


Huston, Menifee. 




Riley, Frank. 


sergt. of ordnance. 


Becker, Dr. 0., surg., died in ser- 


Hubbard, Robert, app. 


corp.; 


Rook, Thomas C. 


C. C. Bellsnyder, sergt., 1st lieut. 


vice. 


joined cavalry. 




Reynolds, Robert. 


of cavalry, died in service. 


Diggers, J. R. 


Hadley, John S., app. 


corp. ; 


Satterfield, Hosea. 


James Iladley, sergt., transferred 


Biggers, D. A. 


joined cavalry. 




Sheehey, John. 


to cavalry, A. T. 


Bowers, Joseph, wounded at 


Hooper, J. Rusty. 




Sullivan, F. 


J. P. Humphreys, guidon, joined 


Franklin; died of wound. 


Hooper, J. Medicus. 




Sullivan, Henry. 


cavalry, A. T., 1st lieut. 


Cullom, Dr. J. H., sergt. in Mc- 


Hooper, George W., died 


in hos- 


Sasser, Steven. 


Ferdinand Hadley, Corp., 1st 


Clung's Battery. 


pital. 




Sasser, Thomas, died of wounds 


lieut. artillery, with cavalry. 


Conway, L.arry, killed at Mobile. 


Humphleet, Thomas. 




at Shiloh. 


Henry Duffin, Corp., killed in 


Crossgrove, T. 


Humphleet, J. Harvey. 




Sheers, T. M. 


West Tenn. 


Conway, T. John. 


Humphleet, H. Howell. 




Sheridan, Henry, 


Alfred Hagly, Corp., died in 


Clark, J. 


Humphleet, J. Henry. 




Swann, S. C. 


prison. 


Coyne, B. 


Humphleet, M.-idison. 




Smith, C. B. 


James Nelson, corp., killed at 


Cannon, M. J. 


Jones, T. Zeke, killed in 


battle. 


Smith, W. C, 


Port Hudson. 


Cowan, W. 


Joyce, Michael. 




Smith, William J. 


Kich.ird Murray, Corp., killed at 


Curley, J. W. 


Jean, J. L. 




Sugg, J. J, 


Port Hudson. 


Carter, Samuel. 


Jordon, J. M., promoted 


Corp. 


Sutlifi-, B. F. 


A. P. Moore, .porp., killed at Ben- 


Chapman, D. B. 


Jones, J. Newton. 




Tierney, J. 


tonville, N. C. 


Claunoh, W. 


Keafe, J. T. 




Triber, E. P., missing at Cum- 


Joseph H. Hough, Corp., q.-m. 


Currin, Jamea. 


Kelly, John. 




berland Ford. 


sergt., Atlanta, Ga. 


CloustoD, Dick, appointed corp. 


Keating, Patrick. 




Tierney, Thomas. 


Bradford Nichol, Corp., major of 


and capt. in cavalry. 


Kerby, Thomas. 




Royster, Ned. D. 


artillery, C.S. A. 


Carter, J. D., discharged. 


Leonard, T. 




Vick, Milton. 


Harry D. Martin, Corp., Lieut.- 


Cook, James L. 


Looney, M. 




Winn, Jack. 


Gen. Polk's escort. 


Darby, Christopher. 


Lyon, David. 




Wells, James W. 


W. H. McLemore, Corp., 1st lieut. 


Derry, M. 


Lovell, D. R., killed in service. 


White, J. C. 


McClung's Battery. 


Downey, Patrick. 


Mack, Patsey. 




Wilson, A. 


Sylvanus Avery, Corp., died in 


Delanty, J. M. 


Martin, Patrick. 




Work, W. L., wounded at Shi- 


service. 


Dobbs, William. 


Murray, John, promoted 


corp. ; 


loh. 


J. H. Lunsden, Corp., killed in 


Devore, J. W., died in prison. 


killed in battle. 




Work, Robert, wounded at Shi- 


battle. 


Davidson, J. D. 


Monteville, Joseph. 




loh ; died in prison. 


A. S. Smith, bugler. 


Davis, John. 


Moran, John. 




Teaden, John. 



CITY OH^ NASPIYILLE. 



[Cities do not spring up by clianoe. Without exaggeration, tliey 
are the highest result of both divine and human design and sldll to 
be found on this terraqueous globe. Their sites are prepared by na- 
ture, the divine Hand, and improved by man's exercise of all his 
faculties through many successive generations. Cities are centres of 
power, religion, art, science, culture, and commerce. Their names 
have become typical of all that adorns and elevates the human race, 
as ■well as of that which occasionally degrades man beneath the beast. 
Dififerent elements unite and combine to give cities pre-eminence in 
renown or influence. Sometimes a single characteristic places a city 
on a pedestal. Geneva, the world over, is a synonym for intellect and 
liberty ; Florence and Munich are but other names for art. — Dr. J, 
Berriex Lixdsley.] 

GEOGEAPHICAL SITUATION. 

The city of Nashville, Tonn., is situated on the left bank 
of the Cumberland Eiver, two hundred miles above its 
mouth, about thirty-three miles south of the Kentucky 
State line, and eighty-two miles north of the State line of 
Alabama, in latitude 36° 10' north, and longitude 86° 49' 
west of Greenwich. It is almost in the exact geographical 
centre of Davidson County, of which it is the county-seat. 

A chain or circlet of beautiful conical hills stretches in 
a curve from the river above to the river below the city, 
which thus lies bounded on the north and northwest by the 
winding Cumberland, and on its southern and southwestern 
front by a rampart of hills, " now famous in history and 
still bearing the stamp and sign-manual of war in its many 
crumbling breastworks." 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The site of the city of Nashville is divided into four 
natural sections, which may be designated as the eastern, 
the middle, the northwestern, and the southwestern. These 
are separated by the valleys of the small streams known by 
the local names of Lick Branch and Wilson's Spring 
Branch, which take their rise in the chain of hills south- 
ward of the city, and, flowing northeastwardly, enter the 
Cumberland a little more than a mile apart. The city is 
thus topographically divided into three ridges or spurs, ex- 
tending from the main ridge in its rear, each having for its 
termination a rocky bluff abutting" upon the river. The 
first, or eastern division, comprises that section of the city 
usually designated as South Nashville, and is bounded on 
its eastern slope by the valley of Brown's Creek, a stream 
which rises about seven miles south of the city, flows north- 
wardly, and, passing very near the city limits, bends away 
to the northeast, and empties into the Cumberland River at 
a point two miles above the city. On the northward this 
section is bounded by Wilson's Spring Branch. The high- 
land between the two has its beginning in a nearly vertical 
rock-bluff upon the river bank, upon the summit of whicli 
25 



is located the reservoir of the city water-works, the top of 
its walls being one hundred and seventy-seven feet above 
low water-mark in the river. Thence slightly undulating, 
the crest of the ridge stretches away towards the southwest 
until, at a point one mile from the river, it rises suddenly 
into a conc-.shaped eminence, known as St. Cloud Hill, the 
summit of which is two hundred and fifty-eight feet above 
low-water mark. Upon this hill Fort Negley was built dur- 
ing the occupation of Nashville, in the civil war, by the 
United States army. 

Thence half a mile farther on, after passing a low gap 
through which the Franklin turnpike passes, this spur or 
ridge unites with the main circlet of hills south of the city, 
in the eminence known as Currey's, or Meridian Hill, the 
crest of which is two hundred and ninety-one feet above 
low water. Upon this point Fort Morton was built. Its 
twin eminence, Kirkpatriek Hill, three hundred yards 
southwardly, is three hundred and sixteen feet above low 
water, and was the site of Fort Casino. 

The second, or middle division, is bounded on the south- 
east by the valley of Wilson's Spring Branch, and on the 
northwest and west by the valley of Lick Branch. The 
highland between these valleys, commencing in a rock bluff 
one hundred and twenty-five feet above low water, at the 
eastern side of the public square, and from which the sus- 
pension-bridge crosses to East Nashville (late Edgefield), 
extends southwestwardly, nearly on a level, about five hun- 
dred yards, when it ascends rapidly, and finds its crowning 
eminence at Capitol Hill, two thousand three hundred feet 
distant from the river, and one hundred and ninety-one feet 
above low water. Upon this hill is built the State Capitol, 
its lower platform one hundred and ninety-one feet, its main 
platform two hundred feet, and the crest of its roof two 
hundred and eighty-two feet, respectively, above low water. 
From Capitol Hill the ground descends rapidly towards 
Lick Branch, on the north and west, but the crest of the 
spur follows a southerly direction along the line of Spruce 
Street, at an average elevation of one hundred and twenty 
feet abovo low water, for nearly a mile, then gradually 
ascends and unites with the main ridge on Currey's Hill, at 
the same point as the eastern division. 

The third, or northwestern division, embraces all the ter- 
ritory northwestward from the valley of Lick Branch, and 
lying altogether within the encircling bend of the Cumber- 
land lliver. A rocky bluff, seventy-five feet high, fronts 
the river on the east, but bends away from the river, 
shortly, below the city limits, and, retaining to a great ex- 
tent its precipitous character, leaves a stretch of bottom- 
land between its bas3 and the river bank, averaging nearly 
a mile in width entirely around the bend, from the city 

193 



194 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



limits to the point where the circlet of hills reaches the 
river, near Clifton. Between this wide bottom-land and 
the valley of Lick Brancli the surface of the country is 
elevated, rolling, and beautiful in its undulating variety, — 
elevated generally from eighty to one hundred feet above 
low water, and rising occasionally into high points, as at St. 
Cecelia Academy, one hundred and sixty-five feet, and at 
Fisk University, one hundred and fifty-four feet, above low 
water. This division is finally bounded on the southwest 
by the chain of hills extending from Clifton to the Char- 
lotte turnpike. Fort Gillem was formerly built upon the 
site now occupied by Jubilee Hall of the Fisk University. 

" The fourth, or southwestern section, comprises all that 
area which lies between the two prongs of Lick Branch, one 
of which, taking its rise near the State Fair Grounds, is 
known as Cockrill's Spring Branch, and the other, rising 
near the eminence known as Currey's Hill, runs nearly 
parallel with the river, and unites with Cockrill's Spring 
Branch at a point nearly due west of the Capitol. The teri- 
ritory thus bounded is undulating, intersected by numerous 
tributaries of one or the other of the two streams mentioned, 
and rises at first gradually and then more rapidly to the 
chain of hills extending from Currey's Hill to the Charlotte 
turnpike. The summits of these hills have an elevation 
ranging from two hundred and twenty to three hundred and 
eighty feet above low water, and they are separated by 
numerous lower points or gaps, through which the different 
turnpikes and the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 
Railroads are built. Many prominent points are com- 
prised within this area, — one just outside the city limits, 
where Fort Houston was built, one hundred and seventy- 
eight feet above low water ; another occupied by Vanderbilt 
University, the highest point in those grounds being two 
hundred and five feet above low water. 

" Thus are briefly described the salient topographical 
characteristics of Nashville and its immediate vicinity. By 
describing more particularly the valleys herein mentioned, 
a clearer understanding can be had of their relation to the 
city. The valley of Lick Branch is a nearly level area, 
about one-half a mile wide at its broadest point, and 
narrowing to three hundred yards wide at the junction with 
Cockrill's Spring Branch, nearly one mile from the river. 
Its average elevation is thirty-two feet above low water, 
back as far as the crossing of Spruce Street, from which 
point it rises to forty-seven feet at the junction of Cock- 
rill's Spring Branch, and still more rapidly thence to the 
head of both branches. As the difference between low 
water, herein referred to, and extreme high water, is fifty- 
seven feet, it will be seen that at time of high freshets the 
valley of the Lick Branch is covered to a depth, at the 
junction of Cockrill's Spring Branch, of ten feet, and thence 
ranging to twenty-five feet deep at the lower points. This 
extreme height has been reached but once since Nashville 
has been known as a locality, — to wit, — in 1847. A height 
only five feet less, however, has been reached frequently. 
The valley of Wilson's Spring Branch, which is about one- 
quarter of a mile wide a short distance above its mouth, 
and one hundred yards wide half a mile from the river, 
rises gradually from an elevation of thirty-nine feet above 
low water, at its widest point, to fifty-seven feet above low 



water half a mile from the river. This valley, therefore, 
has been flooded to a depth ranging from eighteen feet to 
nothing half a mile back. It is therefore evident that at a 
time of extreme high water there are two wide inlets or 
bays from the river, one of which is half a mile long, the 
other over one mile, which separate the first, second, and 
third divisions of the city from each other."* 

That portion of the vicinity of Nashville on the east side 
of the Cumberland River (lately the thriving city of Edge- 
field, now annexed to Nashville) is in its southern portion 
delightfully situated upon grounds which rise gradually east- 
ward and culminate in an eminence two hundred feet above 
low water at a distance of a mile and a quarter from the 
river. The northern portion is situated upon less elevated 
and rolling ground, which extends back far beyond the city 
limits, and finally rises into a series of hills whose general 
course is northwestwardly from the river. These two sec- 
tions are separated by the valley of a stream which rises 
about three and a half miles from the river, flows south- 
westwardly, and discharges into the river above the railroad 
bridge. The valley of this stream is about two hundred 
yards wide, and is covered by high water to a depth of 
twelve or fifteen feet within the limits of the city. 

ORIGINAL OCCUPATION. 

Very large tribes of Indians must have occupied the 
country around Nashville for many miles, and possibly for 
several hundred years previous to the seventeenth century. 
This is attested by the numerous places of interment for 
the dead, covering several acres in each place. An im- 
mense " buryingground" was on Harpeth River, another 
at the mouth of Stone's River (not many miles from the 
city), another in what is now North Edgefield, just across 
the Cumberland, another in what is now North Nashville, 
and still another in and around the Sulphur Spring bottoms 
in the city. In fact, at almost every lasting spring graves 
can be found all over this section of country. 

So far as we know, the Suwanee or Shawnee tribe were 
the original possessors of the soil, but were driven out by 
the Chickasaws and Cherokees, who made it a hunting- 
ground for all the tribes until the whites came and took 
possession. 

From 1710 to 1770 the place was occupied as a French 
trading-post. The name of the first French trader, who 
came here in 1710, probably from New Orleans, is not 
known. He had his cabin or trading-post near the river, a 
little north of the Lick Branch. Living with him was a 
lad about fourteen years of age, named Charles Charleville, 
who eventually succeeded the Frenchman in business, and 
who died at the age of eighty-four. Ramsey says that 
Charleville came from Crozat's colony at New Orleans in 
171-1, and traded with the Shawnees then inhabiting the 
country upon the Cumberland River. About this period the 
Cherokees and Chickasaws expelled the Shawnees from their 
numerous villages upon the lower Cumberland. In 1760, 
or soon after the fall of Quebec, came Timothy Demon- 
breun, a French trader, who remained at the Bluff, or 
French Lick, for many years after the place was settled 

» Report of the Board of Health, 1877. 



CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



195 



by Americans, and died here in 1826, at a good old age. 
Demonbreun brought his family with him, and, it is said, 
quite a large number of traders and voyagevrs. His de- 
scendants still reside in Nashville, and have in their posses- 
sion the old watch and gun which he carried in the seige 
of Quebec, where he was a soldier under Montcalm in that 
memorable defeat which decided the fate of the French 
colonics in North America. The tradition in the family is 
to the effect that after the battle of Quebec, in which he 
was severely wounded, he came to the French town of Kas- 
kaskia, in what was then the " Illinois Country," and from 
that place with a hunting-party in boats or pirogues, made 
his way up the Ohio and Cumberland Eivers to the well- 
known French Lick, where he established himself in trade 
with the Indians. The family of Demonbreun was there- 
fore the first European family that ever occupied the site of 
Nashville. Abating all mythical traditions, more or less of 
which have been naturally associated with one who adven- 
tured into this region at so early a period, there are facts 
enough to warrant the conclusion that the Demonbreuns 
were here in advance of the first American settlers from 
fifteen to twenty years. One of the streets of Nashville is 
named in honor of the venerable Timothy. 

PIEST AMERICAN SETTLERS. 

In 1779, Cap t. James Robertson, with two or three hun- 
dred followers, left Watauga, or the" Holston Country," for 
the purpose of making a settlement at the French Lick, 
the site on which the beautiful city of Nashville now stands. 
The company brought with them a good deal of stock, 
both horses and cattle. Their route lay through Kentucky, 
and, as there were no roads and the snows were heavy and 
the weather unusually inclement, they had a tedious and 
difficult journey, and did not arrive at the French Lick 
until the latter part of December, 1779. Indeed, that 
winter was extremely severe, — so much so that its equal in 
this respect had never been known by the oldest people and 
has never since been experienced in this country. The 
company drove their stock over the Cumberland River on 
the ice, and, pitching their camp on the bluff, began, the 
first settlement of Nashville by Americans. 

Capt. John Donelson's party, from the settlements in 
East Tennessee, arrived in the spring of 1780. A few 
rude cabins wore built where the city now stands, whilst 
others were erected in the vicinity. Necessity soon com- 
pelled them to erect forts, and the principal one was built 
at the foot of Church Street, near the upper wharf, because 
here a large, bold spring gushed out from the bluff. This 
post was agreed upon as the headquarters of the settle- 
ment, and the name Nashborough was given to it in honor of 
Gen. Francis Nash, of North Carolina, who was mortally 
wounded at the battle of Germantown, October, 1777. 
Gen. Nash was early engaged in resistance to acts of tyr- 
anny in North Carolina. In 1771 he was a captain in the 
band of "Regulators." On the 21th of August, 1775, he 
was appointed by the Congress of North Carolina one of 
the committee to prepare a plan for the regulation, peace, 
and safety of the province. Governor Martin, having fled 
from his costly palace, had taken refuge on board an armed 
vessel, whence he was issuing his insulting and inflamma- 



tory orders, and, the province being practically divested of 
its chief magistrate, upon the committee devolved the duty 
of proposing a form of government to meet the exigencies 
of the occasion. The Congress of North Carolina, on 
the 1st of September, 1775, conferred upon Capt. Nash 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the first regiment of the 
Continental line, and at Germantown, where he fell, bravely 
fighting for independence, he was in command as brigadier- 
general. It is worthy of remark that both Nash and Da- 
vidson were patriots of the same State, both holding the 
same rank, and both falling in engagements which were 
successful to the American arms. Their names are there- 
fore worthily associated in the metropolis and the metropol- 
itan county of Tennessee. 

ERECTION OF THE TOWN OF NASHVILLE. 

The act of North Carolina erecting the town of Nashville 
begins as follows : 

" Be it enacted by the General Assemhly of the State of 
North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the author- 
ity of the same, That the directors or trustees hereafter ap- 
pointed, or a majority of them, shall, so soon as may be 
after the passing of this act, cause two hundred acres of 
land, situate on the south side of the Cumberland River, at 
a place called the Bluff, adjacent to the French Lick, in 
which said Lick shall not be included, to be laid off in lots 
of one acre each, with convenient streets, lanes, and alleys, 
reserving four acres for the purpose of erecting public 
buildings, on which land, so laid off according to the direc- 
tions of this act, is hereby constituted, erected, and estab- 
lished a town, and shall be known and called Nashville, 
in memory of the patriotic and brave Gen. Nash." 

This act was approved at the April session, 1784. It 
appointed Samuel Barton, Thomas Molloy, Daniel Smith, 
James Shaw, and Isaac Lindsay directors or trustees, and 
Samuel Burden treasurer, of the town. The directors pro- 
ceeded to lay ofi' the prescribed two hundred acres into lots 
of one acre each, and to make a map or plat of the same ; 
and on a day appointed the lots were drawn by ballot, each 
subscriber taking the number or numbers drawn, upon each 
of which the sum of four pounds was required to be paid by 
the treasurer into the hands of Ephraim McLean, Andrew 
Ewing, and Jonathan Drake, to be applied to the purpose of 
building a court-house, prison, and stocks, upon the before- 
reserved lots, for the benefit of Davidson County. 

Mr. Burden gave bonds to the County Court in the sura 
of one thousand pounds for the faithful discharge of his 
duties as treasurer. The trustees had power to fill all va- 
cancies causod by death or resignation by the appointment 
of successors from among any of the freeholders of the 
town. 

This act was amended in April, 1796. Howell Tatum, 
Richard Cross, William Tate, and William Black were ap- 
pointed additional trustees. A district jail and stocks 
for the district of Mero were authorized. The trustees 
were empowered to " lay off a Water Street, to begin at 
the upper boundary-line of the town, and extend down the 
river a direct course till it intersects the cross street leading 
through the lower part of the public square, and from the 
lower line of said town to the upper end of lot No. 8." 



196 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



The land between this street and the river was to be laid 
out and sold for the purpose of building the district jail 
and stocks for the district of Mero. The town was au- 
thorized to execute a deed to the Methodists, who had 
erected a meeting-house on the public square, and also to 
lay off suitable lots on the same for other denominations. 

ORIGINAL SUFvVETS AND MAPS. 

The first survey of lots in the town was made by Thomas 
Molloy (for whom Blolloy Street is named) in 1784, accord- 
ing to the provision of the above act. The original copy of 
the survey was lost, and Molloy made another survey in 
1789 for Hon. John Overton, a copy of which is now in 
the archives of the Tennessee Historical Society. 

The oldest map of the vicinity of Nashville now extant 
is the BIcGavock map, which we publish on another page. 
It was made by David McGavock, a surveyor and large 
land-owner in this vicinity, in 1786, and is a fine specimen 
of the draughtsman's art for that early day. David McGav- 
ock was a son of James McGavock, Sr., a prominent and 
influential citizen of Wythe Co., Va., of which he was a 
magistrate and sheriff, sustained a very high character for 
probity and benevolence, and where he died in July, 1812, 
aged eighty-four years. Two of his sons, David and Ran- 
dal McGavock, emigrated to Nashville at an early day- 
David, who was a civil engineer and land-surveyor, arrived 
a few years after the first cabins had been built on the 
Bluff, with means at his command to purchase the most de- 
sirable lands he could find for his father and himself His 
first purchase was a tract of nine hundred and sixty acres 
lying north of the Sulphur Spring and extending down the 
river to McGavock's ferry, made for and in the name of 
his father, James McGavock, Sr. His nest purchase was 
six hundred and forty acres, now partly covered by North 
Edgefield, bought for himself in his own name. He then 
purchased six hundred and forty acres more, lying next 
north of Edgefield, for his father. The map, of which we 
give a reduced but exact sketch on the next page, showing 
Nashville and its surroundings at that early period, was 
made by himself as surveyor in August, 178G, and sent to 
his father in Virginia, where it remained in keeping of mem- 
bers of the family in Wythe County until May, 1880, the 
centennial anniversary of Nashville. It is now in the pos- 
session of Mrs. Dr. Van S. Lindsley, of Nashville, a great- 
granddaughter of David McGavock, by whose courtesy we 
have been permitted to make a copy for publication. 

The more than two thousand acres around Nashville so 
well selected by David for his father and himself all became 
the property of David McGavock ultimately by purchase 
and inheritance, and were by him left to his sons, James, 
John, Francis, Lysander, Hugh, Randal, David, — and Sally, 
who married Joseph L. Ewing. He never moved across 
the river to his own first purchase, but built him a house 
at McGavock's Spring, near the cotton-factory of North 
Nashville, on the tract belonging to his father, embracing 
all the land on which the northern section of the city stands. 

FIRST COURT-HOUSE AND JAIL. 

We find in the County Court records the following entry : 
" The court fixed on a place for building the court-house 



and prison, agreeing that in the present situation of the 
settlement they be at Nashborough ; to be built, at the 
public expense, of hewed logs. The court-house to be 
eighteen feet square, with a shade of twelve feet on one 
side of the house, with benches, bar, and table for the use 
of the court. The prison to be of square-hewed logs, a 
foot square ; both with loft and floor, except the same shall 
be built on a rock." This entry was made in 1783, but no 
court-house and jail had yet been built when the act laying 
out the town was passed in April, 1784; hence we infer that 
the buildings were not erected according to the first plan ; 
and we have no evidence that they were according to the 
second. Col. A. W. Johnson, in a note before the writer, 
says, " A stone house on the square was used for a court- 
house and for a free church and public meetings. The first 
court-house was built in 1803, on the square, and two have 
been built near the same spot since then. The first jail was 
a one-story log house on the square, about twenty by thirty 
fset in size, and a whipping-post and pillory near by it." 

INITIAL EVENTS. 

In the summer of 1780, Robert Gilkie sickened and died, 
and was the first man of the American settlers who died a 
natural death. Philip Conrad was killed by a tree fiilling 
on him, near the junction of Cherry and Demonbreun 
Streets, the same summer. 

Capt. James Lieper was the first man married in the set- 
tlement, and his was the first wedding west of the Cumber- 
land Mountains. The ceremony was performed by Col. 
Robertson, who was at the head of the Government of the 
Notables, in the summer of 1780. No spirits were used 
on the occasion, although there was a feast and dancing. 
The great delicacy for the ladies was roasting-ears, while 
the men ate dried meat, buffalo tongues, and Venison. The 
following note respecting Capt. James Lieper has just been 
received, and, coming from a reliable source, we publish it 
in this connection : " Capt. Lieper was second in command 
to Col. Robertson, and at the attack upon the fort at the 
Bluff, in 1781, a council of war was held, at which Lieper 
was in fiivor of going out to fight the Indians, while Rob- 
ertson's advice was to stand on the defensive. Lieper was 
shot through the body on the 2d of April, 1781, and died 
a few days afterwards. He married Susan Drake, a sister 
of Benjamin, John, and Jonathan Drake, signers of the 
' Articles of Association,' and had one child, Sarah, who 
married Alexander Smith in 1790. She was the mother 
of Benjamin Drake Smith, now residing on Cherry Street, 
in Nashville. Miss Susan Drake was therefore the first 
lady married in the settlement." 

The first male child born in Nashville was Felix Robert- 
son, whose birth occurred on the 11th of January, 1781. 
He was an eminent physician, was mayor of the city in 
1818, and also in 1827 and 1828. 

Col. Richard Boyd, a son of John Boyd, who came to 
Nashville with the Donelson party, is claimed to have been 
the first male child born in Nashville, — ^born, it is said, on 
the boat the same night his parents arrived. His birth is 
set down in the family Bible — and no doubt correctly — as 
occurring on the 15th of April, 1780 ; but this was when 
the party were down about the mouth of Red River, and 




Photo, by Avmstrnn;,', Nnslivil 




^jg.-^^<^ 




CITY OF NASHVILLE 



197 



nine days before they reaolicd Nashville. The journal of 
Col. John Donclson, kept by himself throughout that entire 
expedition, says, — 

" Monday, April 2-lth. — This day we arrived at our 
journey's end at the Big Salt Lick, where we had the 
pleasure of finding Capt. Robertson and his company." 

Going back in the journal to the 15th — the date assigned 
for the birth of Col. Boyd — we find the company were 
down about the mouth of the Red River ; hence Col. Boyd 
must have been born on the way to Nashville, and not at 
the landing, nine days later than the recorded date of his 
birth. These facts will serve to reconcile what has appeared 
to be a contradiction, and, at the same time, leave the almost 
universally accepted tradition that Dr. Felix Robcrtsoq was 
the first male child born in Nashville unshaken. It is a 
matter of little consequence, except as establishing a his- 
torical fact. 

The first physician made his appearance in 1785, in the 
person of John Sappington, who compounded pills, cover- 
ing them with mystery and a coat of sugar, and they were 
extensively used and known as " Sappington's pills." They 
had a wonderful reputation. Lardner Clark, " merchant 
and ordinary-keeper," was the first man to open a dry-goods 
store in Nashville, which he did in 1786. His stock of 
goods was purchased in Philadelphia, packed on ten horses, 
and came through the State of Virginia, East Tennessee, 
and part of Kentucky. Mr. Clark's goods consisted of 
cheap calicoes, unbleached linens, and coarse woolens ; and 
lie combined liquor-selling and tavern-keeping with his dry- 
goods operations. Wearing apparel, until then, was com- 
posed almost entirely of dressed skins. Other licensed 
taverns were soon opened, and rates of charges for food and 
spirituous liquors were established by law. 

In 17S7 the twenty-six one-acre lots which had been 
sold for four pounds each, North Carolina currency, were 
taxed at one dollar, — total twenty-six dollars. This was the 
first assessment of real estate. 

In 1788 the Constitution of the United States, which 
had been adopted by ten States, was voted upon by this 
settlement and almost unanimously rejected. In 1789, 
North Carolina adopted the Constitution. The State of 
Franklin arose in East Tennessee, and then expired, and all 
wheeled into line as members of the confederacy of States. 

Jan. 12, 1789, Andrew Jackson was admitted as an at- 
torney-at-law, and was appointed attorney-general in 1790. 

In 1796 the first church was erected in Nashville, on the 
public square, near the court-house, jail, and stocks. It was 
known as the I^Iethodist church, and was torn down or 
removed in 1807 or 1808. 

In 1796 or 1797, Thomas Bailey, an Englishman, reached 
Nashville from Natchez, passing through these Western wilds 
on a tour of observation. After returning home he wrote 
an account of his journey, and in speaking of Nashville 
and the early settlers, he mentioned the fact that he saw 
more wheeled vehicles here than any one could have sup- 
posed in such a new, wild settlement. He said the early 
settlers wore strong-minded as well as strong-bodied, and 
capable of carrying on a government of their own, if need 
be. He said they were becoming wealthy, and were rapidly 
improving in education, manners, and dress. Mr. Bailey 



was afterwards the first president of the Royal Astronomical 
Society of London. 

In May, 1798, three dashing young Frenchmen arrived 
in Nashville, who attracted a good deal of attention and 
afforded the greatest joy to old Mons. Demonbreun. They 
were brothers, sons of the Duke of Orleans, and the eldest 
was subsequently known as Louis Philippe, King of France. 
They left here in a canoe, proceeding down the Cumberland 
River to the French settlements in Louisiana. 

In 1801 the town was placed under the government of 
an intendant and six commissioners, and a law was passed 
by the General Assembly at Knoxville to authorize them to 
build a market-house. The building erected was twenty 
by forty feet in dimensions. Water Street was laid out 
and opened this year. 

In 1802 there were but four brick buildings in Nash- 
ville, — viz., the market-house on the public square, twenty 
by forty feet ; Hynes' corner, a one-story, where Hugh 
Douglass now owns ; a one-story, corner of square, where 
the Burns Block now is, and occupied by William Withcrall ; 
and a one-story on Market Street, occupied by Joseph Mc- 
Kain, and afterwards by John and Alexander Craighead. 
A large proportion of the private houses and stores were 
built of cedar logs and weatherboarded. Where the Nash- 
ville Inn stood was a frame hou.se owned by William 'T. 
Lewis, and kept as a tavern by Isham A. Parker, and after- 
wards by Clayton Talbot and others. A frame house on 
the north side of the square, where the Ensley Block now 
is, was owned and kept by Thomas Talbot for many years. 
The Bell Tavern, on the west side of the square, near the 
corner of College Street, was kept by Thomas Childress, E. 
Buford, and others. On the east side of the square, a stone 
house where Berry & Demovillc kept so many years was 
kept as a tavern by William Roper. Capt. John Gordon, 
the noted brave commander of the spies under Gen. Jack- 
son in the Indian wars, kept* a hotel on the west side of 
JIarket Street, near the square. He was the father-in-law 
of Gen. Zollicoffer, and father of Boylin and Powhatan 
Gordon. 

MANUFACTURERS IN 1S02. 

George Poyser, cotton-.spinning factory, succeeded by 
Isaac Allen ; James and Isaac W. Titler, coppersmiths ; 
David C. Snow, tinsmith ; Jesse Collins, cotton-gins ; John 
& Thomas Detherage, cabinet furniture ; William Sicntz, 
boots and shoes ; Robert Smiley and James Condon, tailors ; 
William Y. Probart, ready-made clothing; Peter Bass, 
tanyard ; William Sneed, E. W. Brookshirc, and Temple, 
Gaines & Co., carpenters; Thomas Shackleford, Solomon 
Clark, and Lard, brickmasons ; Ellis Madox, black- 
smith ; William Carroll, nail-factory; John and Thomas 
Williamson, saddlers; Joseph T. Elliston, silversmith; 
Joseph Engleman, butcher ; Samuel Chapman, stonemason; 
Egbert Raworth, silversmith. 

MERCANTILE FIRMS. 
King, Carson & King, King, Trigg & Richardson, Picker- 
ing & Waller, Stump, Rapier & Turner, Goodwin & 
Walker, Hickman & Childress, John & Alexander Craig- 
head, John P. Erwin & Co., Joseph & Robert Woods, 
Witherall & Yeatman, William Black & Co., James Stewart 



198 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



& Co., Brahan & Atwood, Thomas Deaderick & Co., Pit- 
way &. Cantrell, Andrew Ilynes & Co., Joseph BlcKain & 
Co., George & Jacob Shall, Robert Stothart & Co., E. S. 
Hall. 

OTHER EAKLX SETTLERS. 

Robert B. Currey, postmaster ; G. M. Deaderick, John 
Overton, John Dickerson, Jenkin Whiteside, Dr. John 
Newman, Dr. Felix Robertson, Dr. May, Martin Armstrong, 
John C. BIcLemore, Robert Searcey, Bennet Searcey, Ster- 
ling, Eldridge, and James Robertson, William Chandler, 
Dr. Wheaton, Timothy Deraontbreun, Richard Cross, Wil- 
liam Lytle, Dr. Roger B. Sappington, Dr. Watkins. 

In 1803 the number of inhabitants was from one 
thousand to twelve hundred. The principal business was 
done on Market Street and the public square. There was 
but one house on Water Street and Market Street each, 
and occupied respectively by Col. Richard Boyd and Dr. 
Daniel Wheaton, between Church and Broad Streets. At 
the end of Church Street, on the river bank, was a stone 
house or fort, probably the first built in Nashville. Also 
a large stone house on the public square, used at an early 
day as a court-house and church, etc., but for a fort wher 
first built. 

The engraving on the nest page will give a good idea 
of the town in 1804. 

John C. McLemore was a clerk in the surveyor's oflSce 
of Martin Armstrong, and became the largest land-owner 
in the State, with the exception, possibly, of William 
Polk. He was a fine-looking, intelligent, thoroughgoing 
i business man, and owned land all over the State. Fort 
Pickering, below Memphis, was once his property. He 
died poor in California several years ago. His possessions 
were too large, it is said, to bo successfully managed. He 
was a universal favorite with his fellow-men. 

In 1806 the trustees of Cumberland College sold out in 
lots a large portion of the land of said college, extending 
from the centre of Broad Street south to the farm of 
Richard Cross, and in 1807 laid the corner-stone of the 
college, which is now one wing of the medical college of 
Vanderbilt University. The first president of Cumberland 
College was a man of brilliant mind and a great scholar, — 
viz.. Dr. Jos. Priestly, — and held in grateful remembrance 
by all who had the good fortune in his day to come under 
his instruction as a teacher and lecturer. His whole raind 
was bent on instilling into the minds of his students the 
most liberal education, many of them being very prominent 
in their day and generation, — viz. : Hons. John Bell, Cave 
" Johnson, E. H. Foster, R. C. Foster, and William B. Tur- 
ley, of Tennessee ; Richard Walthal, of Alabama ; ex-Gov- 
ernor Edward White, of Louisiana ; and others. 

The first race-course in or near Nashville was on the 
" land of Richard Cross, in about what is now the centre of 
South Nashville, where Gen. Jackson ran his noted horses 
President, Vice-President, Truxton, etc. 

A terrible flood in the Cumberland River (the highest 
this century) occurred in 1808, sweeping houses, fences, 
stock, etc., oiF all low-lands, hundreds rendered homeless, 
and fleeing to the high-lands for safety. The next highest 
freshet was in 1847. 



INCORPORATION OF THE CITY. 

The town of Nashville was incorporated in 1806, and 
the following officers were elected : Joseph Coleman, Mayor; 
John Anderson, Recorder ; John Deatheredge, High Con- 
stable ; and James Hennan, George BI. Deaderick, John 
Dickinson, Robert Searcy, Jos. T. Elliston, and James 
King, Aldermen. 

We give below a full list of the mayors, recorders, and 
postmasters who have served to the present time. 

MAYORS OF NASHVILLE. 

1806-8. — Joseph Coleman. 

1809-10.— Benjamin J. Bradford. 

1811-13.— William Tait. 

1814-16.— Joseph T. Elliston. 

1817.— Stephen Cantrell, Jr. 

1818. — Felix Robertson. 

1819.— Thomas Crutcher. 

1820. — James Condon. 

1821.— John P. Endin. 

1822-23.— Robert B. Currey. 

1824.- Randal McGavock. 

1825-26.— Wilkins Tannehill. 

1827-28.- Felix Robertson. 

1 829-32.— William Armstrong. 

1833.— John M. Bass. 

1834.— John P. Erwin. 

183.5-36.— William Nichol. 

1837-38.— Henry Hollingsworth. 

1839-40.— Charles C. Trabue. 

1841.— Samuel V. D. Stout. 

1842.— Thomas B. Coleman. 

1843-44.— Powhatan W. Maxey. 

1845. — John Hugh Smith. 

1846.— John A. Goodlett. 

1847-48.— Alexander Allison. 

1849.— John M. Lea. 

1850-52.— John Hugh Smith. 

1853.— Williamson H. Horn. 

1854-55. — Robert B. Castleman. ^ 

1856. — Andrew Anderson. 

1857. — John A. McEwen. 

1858.— Randal W. McGavock. 

1859.— S. N. Hollingsworth. 

1860-61.— Richard B. Cheatham. 

1862-64. — John Hugh Smith, elected by the city coun- 
cil, who were appointed by Andrew Johnson, military 
governor. 

1865-66.— W. Matt. Brown. 

1867-68.— A. E. Alden. 

1869. — John M. Bass, receiver part of the year. 

18G9-71.— Kindred J. Morris. 

1872-73.— Thomas A. Kercheval. 

1874.— Morton B. Howell. 

1875-80.— Thomas A. Kercheval. 

RECORDERS. 

1806-16. — John Anderson. 
1817-18.— Moses Norvell. 
1819-23.— Joseph Norvell. 




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■William Nichol died at his residence on the Lebanon pike, six 
miles from the city of Nashville, on Nov. 23, 1S78. His death 
was sudden ; his life was a long and useful one. He was born at Ab- 
ingdon, State of Virginia, in 1800. His father, Josiah Nichol. was 
for long years a citizen of Nashville. A self-made man. a well-known 
merchant of solid worth, who became and was the president of the 
United States Bank at Nashville for many years, and until it ceased 
to exist, Josiah Nichol was one of Nashville's "worthies," — industrious, 
diligent in his calling, of rare good eomraon sense and sound judg- 
ment, — an honest man. There was no man who knew him that did 
not respect and esteem him. He was a real, genuine man, and no 
sham. 

He brought up his son William Nichol to industry, diligence, and 
work. In early life, having served an apprenticeship under his father, 
he at the early age of sixteen went into the dry-goods business as a 
partner of Joseph Vaulx. which continued until 1825, in which 
year he was married to Miss Julia Lytle. daughter of William 
Lytle, of Rutherford County, sister of the wife of Hon. Ephraim H. 
Foster. 

Col. Foster was a senator, lawyer, and statesman, and exceedingly 
popular with the people of Tennessee. Both Mrs. Foster and Mrs. 
Nichol were remarkable and rare housewives, and persons of great 
energy and business talent, and true helpmates to their husbands. 

Immediately after Mr. Nichol's mariage he went into the general 
commission business, and speedily formed a partnership with Harry R. 
W. Hill, who afterwards took into the firm Mr. Porterfield. In the 
fall of 1825 they nwned the steamer " De AVitt Clinton,"' and sub- 
sequently built the steamer '* Nashville'' and a " lighter" to bring up 
goods from Harpeth Shoals, called the "Talleyrand." The enterprise 
was remarkably successful, and was known throughout the county 
for its high character and credit. The firm was dissolved in 18."3, 
and Harry Hill went to New Orleans, became a member of the house 
of Dick & Hill, greatly increased his estate, and died. William 
Nichol became secretary of an insurance company, in which he con- 
tinued until the establishment, by the State, of the Bank of Tennes- 
see, when he was made its first president. He invested his estate, 
made by his own skill and, judgment and business talent, in Nashville 
city property, and in a large farm and tract of land with improve- 
ments of great value, dwelling-house, etc., on the Lebanon pike, the 
late residence of Mr. Jo. Clay; here for the remainder of his life he 
made his family residence, and lived in a liberal and hospitable style 
and reared a large family of children, giving to each all the advan- 
tages of education the country could afford. He also invested his 
capital in a cotton plantation and large tracts of land in Arkansas, on 
the Arkansas River, which yielded him for many successive years a 
princely income, where he settled his son Josiah on a cotton planta- 
tion, and then his son Alexander, where he is now residing and plant- 



ing cotton. At the beginning of the war his estate was estimated at 
one million dollars. 

Mr. Nichol retained his "mental and moral faculties," though far 
advanced in years and feeble in body, up to the time of his death, — 
so much so that he wrote deeds a short time before his death and made, 
in his own handwriting, a complicated f<i8t nu'//, disposing of his large 
estate as he desired to do, doing equal justice to his children. His 
wife survives him, and he leaves her well and liberally provided for. 
He, like Jnmes Woods, John M. Bass, William J. Philips, Josiah 
and John Nichol, Jacob McGavock, John Harding, Thomas Harding, 
Samuel Morgan, and many others whom the writer could enumerate, 
representative men of this society and community, benefactors in their 
day and generation, will be remembered and live in the history of 
Nashville and Davidson County. 

One of Mr. Nichol's public-spirited acts — known to the writer — 
was the part he took in aiding and obtaining for the city of Nashville 
the location of the seat of government in 1S43. He was at the time 
mayor of Nashville. There was great difficulty in getting the Legis- 
lature, then in session, to locate the Capitol at Is^ashville. Other rival 
places f<»r the seat offered sites for the Capitol building. It was 
thought it would aid in its location at Nashville to offer a site for the 
Capitol building, and would jirobably be decisive. Accordingly, the 
writer knows that Mr. Nichol suggested and became active in obtain- 
ing and offering such site, free of cost, to the State. He and others 
contracted with George W. Campbell for the purchase of" Capitol Hill," 
made themselves personally responsible for the purchase money, the 
sum of thirty thousand dollars, and offered it as a site, and the seat of 
government was located at Nashville. The city authorities afterwards 
assumed and paid the consideration or purchase money, and relieved 
the public-spirited citizens who had made themselves personally 
responsible. 

Mr. Nichol was for many years president of the Bank of Tennes- 
see, assisted in disposing of the bonds of the Slate issued in part of 
its capital, and administered its affairs with skill and judgment. 

His services were regarded as of high value to the bank in its 
earlier days. He and Mr. Henry Ewing, the cashier of the bank, 
were regarded as altogether trustworthy and capable, and had the full 
confidence of the country for honesty and ability. The bank, under 
the skill and judgment of its president and cashier, was a success. 

Mr. Nichol's character was without a stain or blemish. He was a 
kind husband, and had fall confidence in his wife's good sense and 
judgment, a generous father, a kind neighbor and citizen, and a 
humane master, firm and gentle. 

He was punctual in his business transactions, and had great pride 
of character, never seeking popularity, but set a high value on the 
good-will and respect of bis friends and the public at large. The 
character of an "honest" man was fully accorded to him. 



CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



199 



1824-25.— J. K. Kane. 

1826-27.— Eli Talbot. 

1828-38.— E. Dibrell. 

1839-49.— William Garrett. 

1850.— AVilliam H. Woodward. 

1851-56.— Egbert A. Raworth. 

1857-00.— William A. Glenn. 

October, 1861, to April, 1862.— Charles M. Ilajs. 

April to October, 1862-64.— William Shane. 

1865.— W. H. Wilkinson. 

1866.— Robert C. Foster (3d). 

1867-68.— William Mills. 

1869-71.— Thomas J. llaile. 

1872-80.- Sinnett A. Duling. 

POSTMASTERS. 

The following is an official list of the postmasters of 
Nashville, the office having been established April 1, 1796 : 

John Gordon, appointed April 1, 1796. 

William Stothart, appointed Oct. 1, 1797. 

Robert Stothart, appointed July 1, 1802. 

Robert B. Currcy, appointed June 8, 1811. 

John P. Erwin, appointed April 10, 1826. 

Robert Armstrong, appointed March 16, 1829. 

Leonard P. Cheatham, appointed March 15, 1845. 

John Shelby, appointed March 19, 1849. 

Samuel R. Anderson, appointed March 23, 1853. 

William D. McNish, appointed March 23, 180 1. 

The office was discontinued June 11, 1861. It was re- 
established March 20, 1862. 

John Lellyett, appointed Blarch 20, 1862. 

Adrian V. S. Lindsley, appointed June 12, 1802. 

Bowling Embry, appointed April 20, 1807. 

Enos Hopkins, appointed May 5, 1809. 

William F. Prosser, appointed March 31, 1871. 

Herman W. Hasslock, appointed Feb. 12, 1874. 

William P. Jones, appointed May 22, 1877, who is the 
present incumbent. 

RECOLLECTIONS OP NASHVILLE.* 

Nashville in the year 1809 did not contain a populat!en 
of more than two thousand persons. None but professional 
men and merchants lived in the town ; most of the popula- 
tion of the county at that day lived in the country. The 
principal business of the town was confined to Market 
Street and the south side of the public square. Mr. 
Josiah Nichol occupied the corner where the Burns Block 
now stands, and owned several houses next to this corner, 
both on Market and the square. Mr. Thomas Ramsey 
occupied the opposite corner. Next to him, Alexander 
Porter. Then Thomas Kirkman, who afterwards moved 
to the west side of the .square, between Cedar and Deaderick, 
then known as " Cheap-Side." Thomas G. Bradford had 
a printing-office near this, and published the Nasliv'dle 
Clarion. Thomas Easton, editor of the Imjmrtial Review, 
lived near. George W. Boyd owned the property from 
there to the corner on Water Street, and owned what was 
known as Boyd's Tavern, which stood where Berry & 

•s By Col. "Willoughbj 'Wmiams. 



Demoville formerly kept a drug-store. The county jail 
was back of Boyd's Tavern, on Water Street. 

On the east side of the public square was the post-office, 
Robert B. Currey being postmaster, appointed by Mr. Jef- 
ferson ; retained his office until removed by President 
Adams in 1826. 

This office was situated on the opposite side of an alley, 
which separated him from Talbot's Hotel, which stood on 
the ground now occupied by the Ensley Block. Talbot's 
Hotel is where the bloody fight took place between Gen. 
Jackson and Jesse and Tom Benton, which created most 
intense excitement. 

The Commodore Perry Inn was the next house, and was 
situated where the Methodist Publishing House now stands, 
the public square descending gradually from this point to 
Water Street ; the cut in the bluff for the bridge was not 
then made. Northeast of the public square at this point 
was the office of the old Nashville Wliig newspaper, edited 
and owned by McLean & Tunstall. Col. BleLean, one of 
the editors, is still living near Memphis, and his memory 
of old events is more vivid than any man's in the State. 
He is now in his eighty-sixth year, with intellect unim- 
paired by age. In 1816, McLean & Tunstall sold out their 
paper to Moses and Joseph Norvell. 

Mr. Thomas Crutcher, the treasurer of the State, had 
his office next, and then the old Nashville Inn, which ex- 
tended to the corner of Market Street and the square. 
Col. Andrew Hynes owned the property next to the inn 
on this street north, and had a copper still and tin manufac- 
tory, where he manufactured stills for the whole country. 
Joseph B. Knowles superintended the business, and after- 
wards became his partner. Opposite the Nashville Inn 
Col. Hynes had his office. The first house on Market 
Street north, below, was built by Dr. Hennen, who moved 
at an early day to New Orleans, and who was the great- 
grandfather of Gen. John B. Hood's children. Dr. Felix 
Robertson studied medicine with Dr. Hennen. Dr. Hennen 
had several daughters, one of whom married Lieut. Yates 
of the regular army, who was stationed at the garrison at 
Southwest Point, in Roane Co., East Tenn., at the junc- 
tion of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers, the Cherokee 
Nation of Indians occupying the south side of the Ten- 
nessee Rivers, opposite to this garrison. 

Judge Van Dyke, of East Tennessee, was born at this 
place, his father being surgeon of the garrison. To this 
garrison Lieut. Yates took his wife and there treated her 
so cruelly that she returned to Nashville and filed a peti- 
tion for a divorce. Aaron Burr, who was at that time build- 
ing boats on Stone's River, appeared in the court-house, 
made a speech in her favor, and secured the divorce. Gen. 
Braham, who married the daughter of Col. Robert Weakly, 
was captain of that garrison, and Gen. Robert Purdy, after- 
wards marshal of the State, was lieutenant of the same 
garrison. Nest to the corner, going west, on the public 
square, Hyues and Fletcher had a store-house. Joseph T. 
Elliston also owned a house here. Then the old " Bell 
Tavern," kept by Thomas Childress, a brother of John 
Childress. David McGavock, register of the land-office, 
had an office beyond the tavern. Mr. John H. Smith, an 
old merchant, lived north of the corner on that side of the 



200 



niSTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



street. Dr. May, an eminent surgeon, and John E. Beck, 
a prominent lawyer of that day, who married the daughter 
of Gen. James Robertson, lived in this vicinity. 

On the corner of Cedar Street and the square lived Mr. 
Caldwell, a merchant, who had a residence and store near 
together. He was the father of Mrs. James Erwin. West 
of this corner, on Cedar Street, Henry Dickinson, a prom- 
inent lawyer and collector, lived ; he married the daughter 
of Capt. William Lytle, of Murfreesboro'. As his widow 
she afterwards married Ephraim H. Foster, who also lived 
here. Next to Dickinson lived Robert Smiley, the father 
of Gen. T. T. Smiley, of Nashville, a clever Christian gen- 
tleman, and one of the best citizens of the town, who owned 
to the corner of Cherry Street. 

On the opposite corner of the square and Cedar Street 
from Caldwell's is where Gen. William Carroll first opened 
a nail-store, 'the first of that article, in kegs, brought to 
Nashville from Pittsburgh. 

Mr. John Baird, a prominent merchant, had a store and 
dwelling on that square, and also owned the property on 
Cedar Street opposite Foster and Smiley's. George Jlichael 
Deaderick had a dwelling at the head of Deaderick Street, 
back from the square. He was president of the first 
Nashville Bank, which was established about the year 1810, 
and located on the corner of Union and College, where 
Mr. Marr now lives. After the opening of Deaderick 
Street, some years after this time, there were several storc- 
liouses put up south, and were occupied by Shall & Bitchett, 
Stephen Cantrell, and Robert Anderson, who was killed in 
a duel by Thomas Yeatman in 1817, who lived a few doors 
south of him and was also a merchant. Wiley Barrow 
built a house opposite these stores, on the corner of the 
public square which was known as Barrow's Corner. 

East of.him William Lytic had a store in 1809, his store 
being on the corner of the square at that time. Next to 
him Thomas Deaderick had a store; then came James Jack- 
son, a brother-in-law of Thomas Kirkman, who erected the 
fine store-house now owned by the heirs of the late Joseph 
Vaulx. East of him was Robert Farquarharson ; then 
John Nichol ; then Josiah Nichol, whose property extended 
to the corner. 

Down Market Street, south, were several business houses; 
among them, at the mouth of Union Street, was where 
Peter Bass, the father of John M. Bass, kept a leather- 
store, where he sold and delivered leather, he having a 
large tanyard, known as Bass' Tannery. Adjoining him 
was John EUiston, a silversmith, whose daughter the Rev. 
A. L. P. Green married. Farther down, on the alley lead- 
ing to College, Duncan Robertson, the most benevolent 
man that ever lived in Nashville, had a book-store. And 
next, below the alley, was "Black Bob's Tavern," which 
in the years 1806 and 1807 was a prominent tavern. There 
were no other business houses between that and Broad 
Street. On the opposite side of Market Street, up to the 
square, were several business houses ; among them were 
James Gordon and Addison East, a brother of Judge 
East. 

The principal population of Nashville in 1S09 lay north 
of the public square, towards the Sulphur Spring, on 
Water, Market, College, and Cherry Streets. 



On College Street, south of Barrow's Corner and Union 
Street, Joseph T. EUiston, a silversmith, owned a liouse, 
which was afterwards occupied by Matthew D. Quinn, a 
merchant and Methodist minister, and also a son-in-law of 
Joseph T. EUiston. Union Street had not been opened 
from College to Market at that time. On the corner -of 
Union and College Streets, Dr. Robertson erected a two- 
story brick house, on what was called ground-rent for 
ninety-nine years, the property belonging to John Childress. 
South of that, on Marr's Corner, was the old Nashville 
Bank, of which institution John Anderson was cashier 
and George M. Deaderick president. 

There were no other buildings from College to Cherry 
on Union, except Jenkin Whiteside's office, which stood a 
few doors from the corner, on Cherry Street. This was 
not Gen. Jackson's ofiice, as some one has stated in this 
latter day. The next house on College Street was George 
Poizor's, who owned the property on the alley south to 
Church Street, where he had a cotton-spinning manufactory 
run by horse-power. 

The first building south of that on College Street was 
where Mrs. Robertson lived, a log house which is still 
standing. Mrs. Robertson was the widow of James Rob- 
ertson's brother, Elijah Robertson, and was very wealthy 
in lands. She was the mother of Blrs. John Childress, 
Mrs. Washington R. Hannum, and Eldridge B. and Stir- 
ling R. Robertson, prominent men, who afterwards moved 
to Giles County. This same Stirling R. Robertson ob- 
tained a grant from the Mexican government for lands in 
Texas, on the Brazos River, where he settled a colony, 
which is known as Robertson's Colony to this day. Here 
he lived and died. There was no other house between 
that and Broad Street. Oq the opposite side from the 
bank, going south, was a brick house. South of that, 
Thomas Masterson owned a brick dwelling-house. The 
property between Wood's Alley and Church Street was a 
vacant block owned by William Lytle. There was a still- 
house at the mouth of Church Street from which a large 
spring flowed, owned by William Boyd, the father of John 
and Dick Boyd, who was familiarly known as " King Boyd" 
at that day. IMaj. John Boyd was one of the early sheriffs 
of Davidson County and a prominent man. Col. Dick 
Boyd lived in a frame house on the southeast corner of 
Market and Church Streets, this being the only house be- 
tween Church and Broad. All this property belonged to 
Dr. Wheaton, whose son, Stirling R. Wheaton, sold the 
above-mentioned property before he became of age to Ad- 
dison East; afterwards he brought suit and plead the 
" infant law," thereby causing long litigation, which almost 
destroyed Mr. East's usefulness as a man. East finally 
gained the suit. The first important building on this 
property was a warehouse built by Thomas Yeatman north 
of the corner of Broad and Water Streets, on the river, at 
a point above overflow. 

Now back to Cedar Street, on the square. 

From Cedar to Cherry, Henry Dickinson (afterwards 
Ephraim H. Foster's) and Robert Smiley lived. North 
on Cherry Street, to the Judge McNairy line, there were 
several buildings, one occupied by Andrew Morrison. 
Judge McNairy sold one hundred acres of land to White- 





Photo, by Armstrong, Nashville, 



a^^<;^AZ^ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



201 



side and Bulcli, which embraced the territory between his 
residence and town, on what is now Line Street. East 
from Cedar on Cherry was the office of Robert Searcy and 
John C. jMcLemore, John C. McLemore being surveyor- 
genera!, and Robert Searcy a lawyer and clerk of the Fed- 
eral Court. Deaderick Street was not opened at that time. 
There was no other building until you came to Josiah 
Nichol's residence, which was south of Union Street, a fine 
frame house, built by Joseph Coleman. The nest buildings 
were some frame tenements, on the corner of Cherry and 
Church Streets, where the Maxwell House now stands. 
South of Church Street the first .building was where Maj. 
Thomas Claiborne lived, in a house built by James King, 
the former husband of jMrs. Claiborne. Some years after- 
wards Dr. Robertson built a brick residence south of that. 
There was no other building from there to Broad Street on 
that side. On the east side of Cherry Street from Cedar 
Street was the ofiice of Jenkin Whiteside, east of the 
corner some few doors, on the corner of Deaderick. This 
was the only building from Cherry Street to College, on 
Union, except the bank. On the alley where the McGavock 
Block now stands, Patrick Bigley had a boot- and shoe- 
shop. There was no other building from that alley to 
Church Street. Below the corner where Demoville's 
drug-store now stands a Methodist church was erected ; a 
portion of the building still remains standing. The Rev. 
Mr. Douglas was presiding elder, and the Rev. Mr. Alad- 
din, the father of Drs. John and Tliomas Maddin, was the 
stationed minister. Here also the Rev. Mr. Bascom, a 
distinguished Methodist divine, preached and attracted a 
larn'e crowd. He was the first Methodist preacher seen in 
Nashville with a fashionable " frock-coat" and with a cigar 
in his mouth. Jlethodist ministers at that day were distin- 
guished by the " cut of their coats." He clothed his lan- 
guage in such an unusual style that the ladies, on going to 
Lear him, would ask for pocket-dictionaries to understand 
his big words. At this church, also, the great Moffatt held 
forth and produced a great revival. 

On the corner of Cherry and Church, William Lytle 
owned a residence, where he lived. Some few years after 
that, Alexander Porter built a fine brick residence a short 
distance from the street. The next was a large frame house 
on or near the corner of Cherry and Broad, where Felix 
Grundy lived when he first moved to Nashville. 

Between Cherry and Summer, on Cedar, were several 
houses pretty thickly populated. On the corner of Cherry 
and Cedar Dr. John Shelby lived. North on Summer 
Street towards the Sulphur Spring, near the railroad, were a 
good many cedar-log houses, some of which were still stand- 
ing a few years ago. The first building was erected some 
years after by John Nichol, on the corner of Union and 
Summer. The next and only building on that side of the 
street was William Tate's, a wealthy Scotch merchant, who 
lived in a frame residence opposite Col. Samuel D. Mor- 
gan's. He died of the " cold plague" in 1816, which 
disease was more destructive than the cholera at that day, 
thirteen members of one family of Gaines having died in 
one house. 

The next building was the Presbyterian church, wliich 
stood on the corner where the present church now is. the 
26 



Rev. Gideon Blackburn being the pastor. South of that, 
Alexander Richardson, a merchant, lived ; there was no 
other between that and Broad Street. On the west side of 
Summer Street, from Cedar to Union, there was no build- 
ing. Dr. Boyd McNairy owned a large block and built a 
fine brick residence, where he entertained all army officers 
and distinguished strangers. 'Twas here that Gen. La Fay- 
ette was received on his visit to Nashville. There was no 
other house between that and Church Street. The first 
fine brick house between Summer and Cherry on Church 
was the Masonic Hall, at the laying of the corner-stone of 
which John H. Eaton, a young lawyer, made a speech. 
Opposite the Masonic Hall, Nathan Ewing, the clerk of the 
County Court, lived, and owned the property from Cherry to 
the Presbyterian church. On the west side of Summer 
and Church Streets, Randal McGavock owned a large block, 
upon which there were one or two cedar-log houses. There 
was no other house to Broad, or from Summer to High, on 
that side of the street, this being a cedar-grove. 

From Cedar south on High Street, George Shall built 
the first house, a fine frame building, owned by the heirs 
of Joseph Knowles. Thomas H. Fletcher began a fine 
residence, sold to and finished by Mr. George Bell, a 
brother-in-law of Judge McNairy; it was afterwards the 
home of Joseph Woods, now occupied by G. M. Fogg and 
Mrs. William R. Elliston. The next house was built by 
Gon. William Carroll, on the corner of Union and High 
Streets. There was no other house on High Street to 
Church. Washington L. Hannum owned the entire block 
from the corner of High Street to the alley adjoining Mrs. 
John M. Hill, where he built a large brick house in the 
rear of the lot, having a large yard in front on Church 
Street, in which there was some statuary. A portion of 
this house is now occupied by Capt. Matthew B. Pilcher. 

The opposite side from High to Vine was vacant property 
belonging to George W. Campbell, on which he afterwards 
built a residence, where he lived after selling Capitol Hill 
to the corporation. On the east side of High Street, where 
Dr. Nichnl now lives, was a frame house ; no other building 
until you reach the corner of Union and High, where there 
was a small frame building ; no other to Church Street. Mr. 
James Suart, a merchant, lived on Church, owning the 
property, embracing the Episcopal church and Scott's Hotel, 
to the alley. His house was built in the rear of the lot, 
with a large yard in front. No other building to Broad 
Street. 

On Cedar Street, running west, George W. Campbell, 
who lived where the Capitol now stands, owned the entire 
block extending to the alley near George Shall's house. 

The first building on the east side of Vine Street from 
Cedar was built and owned by Dr. John Neumann (now 
owned by A. H. Lusk), the most prominent physician of 
that day. From his house to Church Street was vacant. 
The first building from Church Street on Vine, on the 
west side, was a brick building, owned by John Boyd, a 
painter. There was no building from there to the corner 
of Broad and Vine Streets; there Judge Robert Whyte 
owned a large block, where he lived. His dwelling at one time 
was the Methodist church. On the east corner of Vine 
Street, William Goodwin owned and lived ; there was no 



205 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



building from there to the coroer of Church Street. Some 
time afierwards Mr. Smith, a carpenter aftd painter, bou2:ht 
the corner of Vine and Church, for which he paid 
twenty-sis dollars a foot, fronting Church Street. Some 
years after 1809, Judge Felix Grundy built a residence 
where Mrs. James K. Polk now lives, he owning the en- 
tire block from Union to Church on Vine and Spruce 
Streets, and had an office near Col. Cole's residence. 
There I first met Francis B. Fogg, as clerk or student, a 
young lawyer from the North, in the year 1819 or 1820. 

There was no other building north of Church on Spruce 
Street ; the first and only house on that street south was 
a white frame house, which now stands near the Hume 
High School, belonging to the Irving heirs. The first 
brick building on the west side was the one now occupied 
by Mrs. Hetty McEwen. Mr. Paul Sliirley, a merchant 
of Nashville, built the first house on the southwest corner 
of Church and Spruce, where he lived. John C. McLemore 
built the first house on BIcLemore Street, on the west side, 
being the corner of McLemore and Broad. He bought and 
owned the entire property from there to Church Street back 
to the McNairy property, now the depot-ground, from 
Thomas Shackleford, a brickmason, and the flither of Judge 
Shackleford, where all the brick was made that was used at 
that time in Nashville. He was also a very prominent man. 
South of the custom-house, on Broad Street, embracing the 
custom-house and country near, was vacant ground belong- 
ing to Cumberland College, called the South Field, where 
the troops were reviewed by Gens. La Fayette and Jackson 
on the former's visit to Nashville, and on which ground a 
gallows was erected where several prisoners were hung ; 
among the number was a fellow by the name of Thornton. 
A vast crowd gathered to witness the execution. South of 
tjiis property, at " Mile-End," the home of Orville Ewing, 
Anthony Foster, the uncle of Ephraim II. Foster, lived. 
He was a very prominent man. 

On the south side of Broad Street, on the Wilson Spring 
Branch, Peter Bass, the father of John M. Bass, owned a 
large tannery, and the house where he lived and where 
John M. Bass was born still stands there. Peter Bass 
tanned leather on shares for the entire community, one-half 
for the other, the leather to be delivered twelve months 
after receiving the hides, either at the tanyard or the 
leather-.'itore on Market Street. Judge Robert Whyte 
owned the property from Bass' to Broad Street, bounded 
by Summer and Broad, a block of four acres in a cedar- 
grove, where he lived about the year 1802 or 1803. 

About the year 1816, Peter Bass and Thomas Shackle- 
ford, after selling all they could dispose of, moved to St. 
Louis by water. Being prominent men, a large crowd as- 
sembled at the wharf to see them start in barges down the 
river, Missouri being considered farther off then than Cali- 
fornia is now. "Wiley Barrow owned what was called Bar- 
row's Grove, a large tract of some hundred acres of land 
lying south of Broad Street, extending to the cemetery. 
East of him lay a tract of land belonging to Mr. Cross, 
adjoining the university and the Terrel Lewis land, whose 
land was bought by Blr. Campbell, the father of John W. 
Campbell, and was known as " Salt" Campbell, whose son, 
John W. Campbell, married the daughter of Alexander 



Porter, and who is the father of Gen. Alexander Campbell, 
of Jackson, Tenn. Cumberland College lay in the vicinity j 
of this land. The first president of this institution was'^ 
Dr. Priestly, at whose school most of the prominent men i 
of Tennessee were educated. At the laying of the corner- 
stone of this institution a gentleman by the name of "Wil- 
liam Chandler made a speech. Mr. Chandler was a Northern 
man, came to Nashville without employment, and proposed 
to do some painting about the first court-house ever built 
in Nashville. It was ascertained that he was a highly-cul- 
tivated gentleman, and he made this speech. I never knew 
what became of him. 

I now return to Cedar and Vine Streets. Cedar Street 
was the main road leading west from Nashville to Charlotte 
and all the country north of the Granny "White Pike to the 
Cumberland River, there being no other road leading west 1 
from Nashville between the Granny White Pike and Cedar 1 
Street. From Vine Street down to the foot of the hill 
west was thickly populated. At the foot of the hill Mrs, 
Knowles kept a noted hotel. 



MEN OF NASHVILLE AT AN EARLY DAY. 
Among the prominent lawyers of that day were Andrew 
Jackson, John Overton, John 3IcNairy, Howell Tatum, and 
John E. Beck, who married the daughter of Gen. Robert- 
son ; Bennet Searcy, who was afterwards elected judge of 
the Clarksville district, Robert Searcy, Stokely Donelson, 
Samuel Donelson, Jenkin Whiteside, Judge John Hay- 
ward, Robert Whyte, afterwards judge of the Supreme 
Court, Alfred Balch, AVilliam P. Anderson, William M. 
Cook, and Henry Dickinson. Soon afterwards came Oliver 
B. Hays, William Williams, and Jesse Wharton. John 
Dickinson was clerk of the Federal Court, a successful 
lawyer, and with whom Ephraim H. Foster studied law, 
and who afterwards married Dickinson's widow. James 
Trimble, a prominent lawyer from Knoxville, came from 
that section with a high reputation. He soon acquired a 
large practice, and was universally esteemed as an honest 
man and lawyer. He was elected to represent the county 
in 1817, when the Legislature met at Knoxville. The Hon. 
Felix Grundy, from Kentucky, came here about this time, 
with a high reputation as a criminal lawyer and the peer 
of Henry Clay, and whose fame as such extended through- 
out the South. Ho was called to Natchez to defend a great 
criminal case, where he met George Poindexter, the prose- 
cuting lawyer, and acquitted his man. At that day he was 
the most eloquent lawyer and the finest-looking man that 
ever graced the bar. His powers of appealing to the jury 
were beyond any ever witnessed before. Thomas H. Ben- 
ton was also a prominent lawyer in 1810. Maj. Thomas 
Claiborne came from Virginia, a lawyer, a man of fine ap- 
pearance, and a very fluent speaker and politician ; soon after- 
wards married the widow King. After that he was elected 
to Congress from this district, and represented the county 
in the Legislature. Soon afterwards Ephraim H. Foster 
came to the bar, a fine speaker, and one of the most popu- 
lar men ever in Davidson County. Henry Crab, a talented 
lawyer and afterwards judge of the Supreme Court. 
Nicholas P. Smith and John Marshall, from Franklin, at- 
tended this bar. William L. Brown and William A. Cook 







Photo. Ijy Armstrong, Nashville. 



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FoRMEFi RejidenceofM^ FRANK M^ GAVOCK. 
Prssbnt ResiDEncEOF H/s Daughter M"- ARCHER CHEATHAM. 

5 MILES V^'^ CF NAiriiri LLE OH niCHLAND PlhE. 



p 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



203 



also distinguished lawyers, one afterwards a chancellor and 
1 the other judge of the Supreme Court. Andrew Hays, a 
talented lawyer, and attorney-general for this district. 
George W. Gibbs, a proniiuent land-lawyer from Sparta, 
became a partner of Mr. Grundy. John Catron, a rather 
rough-and-tumble lawyer, from Overton County, came here 
soon after Mr. Gibbs; he soon acquired a large practice in 
all cases verging upon scandal in the courts, and by dint of 
hard study he became judge of the Supreme Court, and 
was afterwards transferred to the United States Supreme 
Court. Thomas Washington began the practice of law 
with humble pretensions, and by hard study and application 
became one of the leading members of the bar, whose 
briefs before the Supreme Court, which I have often heard 
him read to Judge Eobert Whyte, with whom he was a 
favorite, were the richest articles, replete with satire and 
criticisms of men and lawyers, and would be refreshing to 
the lawyers of the present day could they obtain possession 
of them. 

The most important litigation was in the Federal Court, 
presided over by Judge McNairy and Judge Todd. The 
jurors attending that court were some of the most prom- 
inent and intelligent men throughout the State, and it 
was a grand sight to witness a lawsuit, where Haywood and 
Whiteside were opposing lawyers, before such a jury, which 
often occupied the space of ten days or more. 

They were legal giants in body and mind. John Chil- 
dress was the marshal, and one of the most prominent and 
wealthy men at that day, and the devoted friend of Gen. 
Jackson. Kobert Searcy, whose home has been mentioned 
before, was clerk of the United States Court at Nashville 
many years, clerk to the commissioners of land claims of 
North Carolina, United States paymaster, etc. 

Edwin Hickman, the father of John P. Hickman and 
great-grandfather of young Hickman in the clerk's office, 
was killed on Duck River by the Indians, on his return 
from the Chickasaw bluffs, in 1785. Thomas P]aston edited 
a newspaper called the Impartial Review in 180G and 1807. 
Mr. Easton moved afterwards to Alabama, edited a paper 
in that State, and was brother-in-law to Governor Gayle, of 
Alabama. He was also the brother of William Easton, 
who married a Bliss Donelson, and the grandfather of Sirs. 
George Purvis, of Nashville. 

Among the prominent physicians of 1809 and before was 
Dr. Felix Robertson, who was the first white child born in 
Nashville. He studied medicine with Dr. Hennen, and had 
a fine practice as a physician. Dr. Hennen was the most 
prominent physician at that day. Dr. F. May, Dr. Wheaton, 
Dr. John Newnan, Dr. Boyd McNairy, Dr. Roger B. Sap- 
pington, and Dr. John Shelby. They were all prominent 
physicians at that time (1810). 

Among the prominent and substantial merchants of that 
day, 1809 and 1810, were Josiah Nichol, Thomas Ramsey, 
Alexander Porter, Thomas Kirkman, James Jackson, James 
Gordon, and William Tait. Some years afterwards Thomas 
Yeatman, an enterprising dry-goods merchant, came. Then 
Joseph and Robert Woods, who had been commission mer- 
chants at the mouth of the Cumberland, came to Nashville 
and established a commission-house on College Street, 
where the late James Woods had his office. The early ex- 



perience of these men as commission-merchants on the 
river, in receiving and forwarding goods of various kinds, 
gave them great advantage over all others, and they were 
very successful in their business, and held the confidence of 
the entire community. James Condon, a noted man, lived 
opposite tlieir warehouse. He was a tailor by trade, and 
once mayor of the city of Nashville, — an honest and inde- 
pendent man in his expressions against the perpetrators of 
vice and immorality. After this, and after 1820, Thomas 
Yeatman and Joseph and Robert Woods formed a partner- 
ship in the commission business, and built a warehouse on 
Water Street near Broad, owned several steamboats, doing 
a large business in receiving quantities of cotton and to- 
bacco. About this time Mr. Yeatman happened to be in 
Philadelphia. News came from Europe of a heavy advance 
in cotton. Mr. Yeatman on horseback beat the mail and 
express to Nashville, and bought all the cotton there at 
twelve and a half cents. His brother, Preston Yeatman, 
living in Huntsville, bought all there. Cotton soon ad- 
vanced to twenty-five cents a pound, by which Yeatman & 
Woods made a large fortune. They then sold out their 
warehouse and steamboats to the firm of Gordon, Norvell & 
Co., composed of James Gordon, Moses and Joe Nor- 
vell, and Robert T. and James Walker. Yeatman & Woods 
retired from business and went to banking, and commenced 
building the Cumberland Iron- Works. Yeatman afterwards 
died on board of a steamboat going to Pittsburgh with 
cholera. Thus ended the life of one of the boldest and 
most enterprising men that lived in Nashville, leaving an 
estate estimated to be worth five hundred thousand dollars. 
At that day there were no steamboats running, and "Ra- 
pier's barges" were the principal mode of transportation from 
Nashville to New Orleans. It required ninety days to make 
the trip, carrying the produce of the country to New Or- 
leans and returning with cofi"ee, sugar, and other groceries. 
There was also a line of keel-boats running from Nashville 
to the mouth of the Cumberland, which brought salt from 
the Ohio River, with goods purchased North. As this was 
the only method of transporting goods, save a land-route 
from Louisville, the cost of transportation from Philadelphia 
and Baltimore was ten dollars per hundred. 

PROGRESS OF THE CITY. 

The first book published in Nashville was entitled " Ten- 
nessee Justice ; the Duty and Authority of Justices of the 
Peace in the State of Tennessee. Compiled by John Hay- 
wood, Esq., Attorney-at-Law, Nashville, Tenn. Printed 
and sold by Thomas G. Bradford, 1810." The book con- 
tained three hundred and thirty duodecimo pages. In this 
book an advertisement is inserted saying that Thomas G. 
Bradford had lately published and had for sale at his print- 
ing-office a new edition of " Haywood's Revisal of the 
Constitution and Public Laws of Tennessee, ' a large vol- 
ume which was probably printed in 1809. A copy of this 
book was in the hands of Judge Nathaniel Baxter, which 
he received from his father, Jeremiah Baxter. Judge 
Baxter bequeathed the book to his son, Samuel Baxter, 
with the request to give it to his son, Perkins Baxter, in 
order to transmit it down through the Baxter fiimily. 

In 1810 the population was eleven hundred. The Legis- 



20-1 



IIISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



lature assembled here for the first time. It subsequently 
met in Blurfreesboro', Kingston, Knoxville, etc., until its 
final location in Nashville. 

In 1811 and 1812 a great many men volunteered for 
the war against Great Britain. Thomas G. Bradford 
printed in 1812 a book entitled " The Military Instructor," 
containing Baron Steuben's tactics. Four years afterwards 
" Clark's Miscellany, in Frose and Verse," was printed. 

In 1813 the celebrated fight between Jackson and Hays 
and the Bentons took place at the City Hotel. 

Geu. James Robertson, the old pioneer, died on the 1st 
of September, 1814, universally regretted. 

The volunteers from the Creek campaign returned in 
May, 1814, and a public dinner was given them at the 
Bell Tavern. Felix Grundy delivered an address of wel- 
come, which was responded to by Gen. Jackson on be- 
half of the volunteers. 

The Nashville Female Academy was incorporated in 
1816, and had a successful career from that period until 
1861, when the operations of the late war destroyed it. 
The Rev. Dr. C. D. Elliott was its honored conductor for 
many years previous to its cessation. Thousands of the 
best ladies in the South were graduates of this excellent 
institution. 

President Monroe arrived in Nashville on the 6th of 
June, 1819, and was the guest of Gen. Jackson, as was 
also Maj.-Gen. Edmund P. Gaines at that time. A public 
reception was given to the distinguished visitors, addresses 
of welcome, a public dinner, a ball, etc. Wilkins Taune- 
Lill made the address of welcome on behalf of the Masonic 
fraternity, Hon. John H. Eaton on behalf of the city, and 
Col. Williamson on behalf of the military. TJie President 
took his departure on the 11th, through Kentucky, accom- 
panied by Gen. Jackson as far as the residence of Col. 
Richard M. Johnson, in that State. 

The financial panic of 1819-20 caused the Farmers' and 
Mechanics' Bank to suspend specie payments on the 18th 
of June, 1819, which example was followed by the Nash- 
ville Bank on the 22d, and the Bank of the State of Ten- 
nessee on the 29th. The Legislature was convened at 
Murfreesboro' by Gov. MoMinn, and the Bank of the 
State of Tennessee was chartered, with a capital of one 
million of dollars, with a branch at Knoxville. 

A substantial and elegant bridge was built across the 
river from the northeast end of the square to the Gallatin 
Turnpike in 1822, at a cost of eighty-five thousand dollars. 
It was taken down in 1855 because it obstructed naviga- 
tion. It is said to have been the best bridge that ever 
spanned the Cumberland. 

In 1822 the city cemetery, on South Cherry Street, was 
opened for interments. The Sulphur Spring bottoms had 
been previously used as a burying-ground. 

InH823 the population was three thousand four hundred 
and sixty, and in 1830 five thousand five hundred and 
sixty-six. 

In 1825 there were from fifteen to twenty steamboats 
running from Nashville to New Orleans, Louisville, and 
Pittsburgh. 

Gen. La Fayette, son, and suite arrived here on the 4th 
of May, 1825, and were received with the greatest demon- 



strations of joy. An immense procession was formed, the 
streets were decorated with arches of evergreens, and 
patriotic mottoes were inscribed upon them. The general 
landed on the grounds of Maj. William B. Lewis, above 
the water-works, where Gen. Jackson and a number of citi- 
zens received him, and Governor Carroll addressed him in 
behalf of the State, tendering him a welcome to Tennessee. 
The procession, with the military, escorted him into the 
city, where Robert B. Currey, Esq., the mayor, addressed 
him in behalf of the city, and tendered him its freedom 
and hospitality. The joy of the people knew no bounds, 
and Gen. La Fayette ever after spoke of his reception in 
Nashville as one of the most pleasant events of his life. 
Ho was taken to the residence of Dr. Boyd McNairy, who 
threw open his doors to the distinguished visitor and his 
suite. The next day the general went to the Masonic Hall, 
where he received the ladies of Nashville in that polite and 
cordial manner for which he was remarkable. A public 
dinner was given him at the Nashville Inn, at which Gen. 
Jackson acted as president, assisted by George W. Campbell, 
Henry M. Rutledgc, John Somerville, and Felix Grundy 
as vice presidents. Our old friend, Timothy Demoubreunj 
was at this dinner, and was toasted by Col. Andrew Hynes 
as the patriarch of Tennessee and the first white man that 
settled in the country. Gen. La Fayette visited the Grand 
Lodge of Tennessee, the Royal Arch Chapter, and the Ma- 
sonic fraternity generally, and was welcomed by Wilkins Tan- 
nehill, Esq., as a friend and a brother. A collation was fur- 
nished on the .occasion, and all hands had a "good time" 
generally. Before his departure the general called on Mrs. 
Jackson, .Mrs. Littlefield (the daughter of his old com- 
panion and friend. Gen. Greene, of Revolutionary memory). 
Governor Carroll, Rev. Dr. Philip Lindsley, and others. 

La Fayette's whole stay at Nashville was a continued 
ovation. The military was drawn up in two lines, and Gen. 
Jackson took the arm of La Fayette and walked from one 
end of the line to the other. La Fayette shaking hands and 
receiving the congratulations of the citizens. Among them 
was one of his old comrades in arms, Maj. Blackman, who 
had fought with him at the battle of the Brandy wine, where 
both were wounded. They met and embraced, and many a 
tear was shed at the affecting scene. La Fayette then be- 
came the guest at the Hermitage during his stay, and upon 
his departure he presented Gen. Jackson with the pistols 
given him by Gen. Washington as the most worthy man in 
America to bear them. A splendid ball was given him, at 
which the elite of the city, headed by Jackson and Carroll, 
and prominent citizens participated. We subjoin one of 
the invitation cards. It is a very creditable piece of work 
for that daj'. The ornamental design, artistically engraved, 
. consists of an arch and columns. On one of the latter are 
the names of the following battles, in which Gen. La Fayette 
distinguished himself: Fort Moultrie, Chadd's Ford, James- 
town, Brandywine, Monmouth, Yorktown. The other 
column bears the names of Gen. Jackson's most famous 
victories : Talladega, Emuckfaw^, Eeatichopko, Horse-Shoe, 
Pensacola, and New Orleans. Above these are busts of the 
generals. Arranged along the arch are thirteen stars, rep- 
resenting the thirteen original States, and at the top of the 
arch the figures 76. Beneath this is the American eagle. 




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Tcr-ti^n <^''^'Z.^'f^. 



zX 



1 



CITY" OF NASHVILLE. 



205 



, holding in his beak a wreath of laurel over a bust of Wash- 
ington. The wording of the invitation is: 

" WELCO.VE, I.A FAYETTE. 

In honor of 

t. Gen. La F.aj'ette. 

[ Tou are respectfully invited to attend a ball in Nashville, on the 
|j third evening after the .arrival of Gen. La Fayette, or on the second, 
' should the arrival be on Friday. 



MANAGERS. 



E. II. Foster. 
S. B. JIarshall. 
J. Parrish. 
J. Souierville. 
B. McNairy. 
J. Stewart. 



A. MeCall. 
J. Waters. 
J. Vf. Overton. 
J. Phillips. 
J. Vaulx. 
A. Latnpie."' 



All the managers of this ball have passed away, Mr. 
Vaulx, the survivor, djing some months ago. 

A lady of this city who remembers Gen. La Fayette's 
visit says that flags and banners were hung across the street 
for the first time in Nashville. 

Over one million of dollars' worth of cotton was ex- 
ported from this port in 1825. Tlie Branch Bank of the 
United States was established in 1827. 

The city was divided oif into six wards in 1826. 

In 1829-30 the physicians commenced using quinine in 
fevers, and Dr. Felix Robertson has the credit of intro- 
ducing it here. 

The highest state of political excitement existed here in 
1832, on the subject of nullification. 

The city received a wonderful impetus in the way of 
business and progress in every department in 1830-32 
and part of 1833, checked then by the first visit of cholera 
to this city. 

Christ church was built in 1831-32, at a cost of only 
sixteen thousand dollars. The McKcndree church was 
built in 1832-33, and dedicated the last Sunday in 1833. 
The Cumberland Presbyterian church was dedicated in 
May, 1832. The first Catholic church, on the north side 
of Capitol Square, was built in 1830-31. Rev. Dr. Edgar 
was installed as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, 
Dec. 25, 1833, and was its pastor for nearly twenty-eight 
years. A Baptist Association was formed here in 1820. 

The Union Bank of Tennessee was chartered in 1832, 
and went into operation in 1833. The Planters' Bank was 
chartered in 1833, and went into operation in 183-t. The 
Tennessee Marine and Fire Insurance Company was char- 
tered by the Legislature in 1833, and its capital stock sub- 
scribed in twenty minutes, no person being allowed to 
subscribe over five thousand dollars of stock in his own 
name. The steamboat " Lady Jackson," of two hundred 
tons burthen, was built at the lower wharf and launched 
Aug. 4, 1832. The penitentiary was built by the State in 
1830-31. The lunatic asylum was built in 1833-34, south 
of Vauxhall Garden. Vauxhall Garden was a place of 
considerable resort for political meetings, social gatherings, 
etc., of the most respectable character. 

The First Baptist church was built in 1837. Rev. Dr. 
R. B. C. Howell was its pastor, and occupied that position 
over a quarter of a century. 

Duncan Robertson, who came to Nashville in 1806, died 



May 1, 1833, aged sixty-three years. He has the reputa- 
tion of having been the best man that ever lived in Nash- 
ville. '• In imitation of his Divine Master, he literally 
went about doing good." 

The convention to revise the constitution of the State 
met in Nashville on May 19, 1834. W. B. Cooper, the 
artist, painted the portrait of Hon. John McLean, of the 
United States Supreme Court, who was holding court here 
at the time. 

The steamer " John Randolph" was burnt at the wharf 
on the 16th of March, 1836. Three lives were lost and 
over two hundred thousand dollars' worth of goods was 
destroyed. This was one of the largest and finest boats in 
the trade, and was owned by J. and R. Yeatman & Co. 

Gen. Armstrong's brigade met an enthusiastic welcome 
on their return from the Florida campaign, Feb. 4, 1837. 

The House of Industry for Females was established in 
1837. About this time (date not known) the Sisters of 
Charity founded their hospital. 

The great financial revulsion of 1837 caused the banks 
to suspend specie payments, and a considerable depreciation 
in the price of real estate took place. A great many per- 
sons left the State, the majority for Texas, bankrupt. 

The Hon. John Catron received his appointment as one 
of the supreme judges of the United States in 1837. 

The Hon. Hugh Lawson White died at Knoxville on 
the 10th of April, 1840, and a public meeting was held 
here on the 15th to testify the respect of our people for 
his memory. He received the electoral vote of Tennessee 
in 1836 for President. He was one of the purest states- 
men this country has produced. 

Soon after the tornado at Natchez, in May, 1840, the 
citizens made contributions to the suflferers, and C. C. Tra- 
bue, mayor, forwarded them fifteen hundred dollars. 

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows made their first 
public parade on the 1st of June, 1840. 

The great Whig Convention was held on the 17th of 
August, 1840. Henry Clay was present, as well as many 
other distinguished visitors. 

The Hon. Felix Grundy, the best criminal lawyer in the 
Southwest, once United States senator, and attorney-gen- 
eral in Mr. Van Buren's cabinet, died at his residence in 
Nashville, on the 19th of December, 1840. 

A series of popular lectures was delivered in the Masonic 
Hall in the winter of 1840-41, under the auspices of a 
library society then in existence. The Rev. Dr. Philip 
Lindsley, the Rev. Dr. R. B. C. Howell, Prof Gerard 
Troost, Dr. Thomas R. Jennings, Prof Nathaniel Cross, 
Prof. J. Hamilton, Rev. Dr. John T. Edgar, Hon. Abram 
P. Maury, and others were the lecturers, and the course 
was remarkably successful. 

A large public meeting was held in April, 1841, in rela- 
tion to the death of Gen. Harrison. 

Ex-Governor Newton Cannon died in 1841, and his 
death was appropriately announced in all the courts, and a 
public meeting held, which fittingly expressed the sorrow 
of the community. 

The first daguerreotype likenesses taken in the city wore 
by an artist named Moore, who stopped at the Union Hall 
Hotel, in 1841, and had quite a run of custom. 



206 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Mr. Clayton, the celebrated aeronaut, made a successful 
balloon ascension on the 13th of November, 18il. 

The Morus multicaulis excitement raged in this section 
in 1840-42, and a silk-manufacturing company was estab- 
lished here, but subsequently failed. 

Ex-President Van Buren arrived here April 25, 1842, 
and the next day, in company with his traveling compan- 
ion, James K. Paulding, went out to the Hermitage to see 
Gen. Jackson. They all came into the city two days after- 
wards, and had a grand reception. A public dinner was 
offered and declined. Mr. Van Buren went from here to 
Colunibia to visit ex-Governor Polk. He returned and 
took his departure for Lexington to pay a visit to Henry 
Clay. 

The banks, which had suspended specie payments in 
1837, resumed in August, 1842. 

A shock of earthquake was felt on Wednesday night, 
Jan. 4, 1843, and another on the night of the 16th. 

Payne, Carroll, and Kirby, for the crime of murder, were 
hung on the commons, then south of the city (now in the 
Eighth Ward), Feb. 10, 1843. 

The 4th of July, 1843, was celebrated with unusual 
vigor and animation. 

Marshal Bertrand, of France, arrived on the 29th of Sep- 
tember, 1843. He was accompanied by his son. Napoleon 
Bertrand, and his aid, M. Mansoe. After visiting the 
Hermitage, the party partook of the hospitalities of Chief 
Justice Catron. They returned the visits of Governor 
Jones, Gen. Carroll, Gen. Armstrong, and C. C. Norvell, 
editor of the Nashville Whiff. 

The seat of government was permanently fixed at Nash- 
ville on the 7th of October, 1843, after a severe struggle 
in the Legislature. The city bought Campbell's Hill for 
the State-House, at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, and 
gave it to the State. 

Maj. Henry M. Rutledge, only son of Hon. Edward 
llutledge, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, died at the residence of his son-in-law, Hon. 
Francis B. Fogg, Jan. 20, 1844. The Legislature and all 
the courts then in session adjourned and participated in 
the funeral obsequies. 

" Thomas Crutcher, who had been a citizen here for half 
a century, died on the 8th of March, 1844, and had the 
largest funeral procession that had ever been seen in Nash- 
ville. He was a benevolent, good man, the best friend the 
Nashville Female Academy ever had, and in life had occu- 
pied several positions of trust and honor. William Mc- 
Neill, who had been a resident here for more than half a 
century, died on the 21st of the same month ; and on the 
next day Gen. William Carroll expired. He had lived 
here thirty-four years, twelve of which he was Governor 
of the State. His military services are well known to the 
country. The death of these old and esteemed citizens, 
following so closely one upon another, caused a profound 
sensation among the people, and the writer* well remembers 
that the morning after the death of Governor Carroll he 
went to Capitol Hill at daylight, for purposes of medita- 
tion, where he was soon joined by the memorable Eobert 



- Anson Nelson, Esq. 



Farquharson (himself an old resident), who spoke feel- 
ingly of the rapidity of Death's doings, and lamented the 
departure of friends who had been so long familiar to him- 
self and the people of the city. He mentioned many, 
many changes on these streets since he first came here, and 
remarked that ' You young men will see greater changes 
than those in half the time, but whether for the better or 
not is doubtful.' The conversation, though brief, made a 
strong impres.sion. On the 6th of April the mortal re- 
mains of Senator Porter, of Louisiana, arrived here for 
interment among his relatives." 

The Institution for the Instruction of the Blind went 
into operation early in 1844, the Rev. Dr. Edgar, the Rev. 
Dr. Howell, and the Rev. John T. Wheat acting as trustees 
under an appointment from the Governor. 

The corner-stone of the Second Presbyterian church 
was laid April 25, 1844. j 

The Presidential campaign of 1844 was characterized by j 
an excitement little less than that prevailing in 1840. 
Large meetings by both political parties were held, and 
most of the distinguished political speakers in the United 
States were here at one time or another during the cam- 
paign. 

The steamer " Belle of Clarksville," a Nashville boat, i 
was sunk in December, 1844, by which thirty-three lives 
were lost, principally deck-hands. The accident occurred 
near Old Town Landing, on the Mississippi River. For 
several years the merchants and business men of Nashville 
owned the largest and finest boats that floated on the bosom 
of the Mississippi. 

Hon. Thomas H. Fletcher, who had lived here from 
1809, died of apoplexy, alone in his office, on Sunday, 
Jan. 12, 1845. He was a successful lawyer and writer of 
ability. 

Col. Robert AVeakley, who had occupied many posts of 
honor in military and civil life, and who had arrived here 
before a single house had been built, died at his residence 
in this county, Feb. 3, 1845. 

In April, 1845, the citizens contributed nearly one thou- 
sand two hundred dollars for the relief of the sufferers by 
the great fire at Pittsburgh. 

Louis Philippe, King of France, sent the artist Healy 
to paint the portrait of Gen. Andrew Jackson. The por- 
trait was completed in May, 1845. 

Gen. Andrew Jackson died on Sunday evening, the 8th 
of June, 1845, and various meetings were held on the sub- 
ject. Gen. Samuel Houston, of Texas, arrived here the 
same day, but reached the Hermitage after the death of his 
distinguished and life long friend. His funeral was at- 
tended by an immense number of people. 

The corner-stone of the Capitol was laid with imposing 
Masonic ceremonies on the 4th of July, 1845. Hon. 
Edwin H. Ewing was the orator on the interesting occa- 
sion. William Strickland was the architect. The board 
of commissioners, of which the late Samuel D. Morgan 
was chairman, and who devoted a great deal of time per- 
sonally to the work and the purchase of material for its 
execution, received the appropriations made by the State 
from time to time, and faithfully accounted for every cent 
expended. The State required no security or bond from 




Plioto, by Av in strong, Nashville. 



ROBERT WEAKLEY. 



Robert Weakley, son of Robert Weakley, was born in 
Halifax Co., Va., July 20, 1764. He emigrated to Tennessee 
about the year 1785, bringing his entire patrimony with him ; 
it consisted of a horse and bridle and one and thrre-quarter 
dollars in monej'. 

He located first on White's Creek; afterwards removed to 
the place now known as the Chadwell residence, then called 
Lockland. He was a farmer with but limited education, but 
a man of quick perceptions, great courage, au Indian-fighter, 
and a soldier of the Revolution at the earlj' age of sixteen 
years. He was chosen a member of the Constitutional Con- 
vention convened to ratify the Federal Constitution of 1787, 
which fact, when his age is remembered, illustrates the stand- 
ing he held when but twenty-two years of age. He was 
chosen a member of Congress in 1809, and served one term. 

His bravery in the Indian fights secured him a colonel's 
commission Gen. Robertson divided the honors of leader- 
ship with him in some of the early Indian engagements. 

When this country had won peace he was occupied for 
many years as a land-survej'or, and improved his opportunity 
to secure choice selections of lands. He was at one time the 
owner of a very large landed property. 

Col. Weakley was a Democrat in politics, and wielded a 
powerful influence in his party. His personal magnetism was 
wonderful ; his eye was piercing and capable of great expres- 
sion ; he was strong in his likes and dislikes; he made firm 
friends as well as uncompromising enemies. His devotion to 
his friends involved him in heavy pecuniary losses. He was 
for several 3'ears a member of the Assembly, and from 1819 to 
1821, as also from 1823 to 1825, speaker of the State Senate. 
Before the State Constitution of 1834 he filled the oflBce of 



judge of the Quorum Court. He was a member of the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1834, his colleague being the late 
Francis B. Fogg. His last official duty was performed in this 
connection. 

Col. Weakley was a man of strong moral and religious 
convictions. His adherence to the true, the right, and the 
honorable commanded the respect of all good men, while his 
outspoken condemnation of dishonesty and trickery frequently 
involved him in personal difficulties. He took a deep interest 
in aspiring young men, aiding them generously with more 
than advice. His sympathies were with the Methodist 
Church, he being for the last twenty years of Ms life a mem- 
ber of the McKendree Church. 

Col. Weakley married Miss Jane Locke, a daughter of Gen. 
Matthew Locke, of Salisbury, N. C. She was not a professor 
of religion when she was married. The Methodist Church 
had a rule forbidding church members uniting in marriage 
with non-professors, and called the husband's attention to it, 
at which he took great ofliense. In the effort to conciliate 
him it was proposed to him to express his regret and no 
further action would be taken, but he proudly refused to do 
so, which led to his withdrawal from active association with 
the church for a number of years. 

There were born to Col. and Mrs. Weakley four children, — 
three daughters and one son. The eldest daughter, Mary, 
married Gen. John Brahan ; Miss Narcissa married the late 
Maj. John P. Hickman; Miss Jane married Maj. J. Lucien 
Brown, of Nashville; the son, Col. Robert L. Weakley, for 
many years resided in Rutherford County. 

Col. Robert Weakley died Feb. 4, 1845, in his eighty-first 
year. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



20'! 



her commissioner?, and no tliought of dishonesty, niis- 
mauagement, or negligent waste was entertained on either 
side. Col. Morgan at the time of his death had possession 
of the books containing an account of the expenditures for 
the entire worlc. 

Gen. Robert Armstrong, who had been postmaster in 
Nashville from 1829 to 1845, resigned that position, 
having been appointed consul to Liverpool by President 
Polk. 

John Somerville, who came to Nashville in 1799, and 
who had occupied various positions in the banks of the 
city, and especially as cashier of the Union Bank, died in 
April, 1846. 

The war with Mexico and a call for volunteers caused 
the organization of a great many military companies through 
all this section, not one-half of which could be received. 
The two military companies here were fortunate in being 
accepted, owing to their military training. Several of the 
Mexican veterans still survive, though a large number 
of those who first went were killed in battle or died from 
sickness. The living returned in June, 18-17. 

Maj. Joseph Norvell, who founded the Nashville Wliig 
in 1812 (in connection with his brother Moses Norvell), 
and who was for several years city treasurer and Past 
Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge, died on the 
7th of January, 1847. 

The sum of three thousand six hundred dollars was 
raised for the relief of the starving population of Ireland 
in the spring of 1847. 

On the 12th of October, 1847, a powder magazine, situ- 
ated west of Capitol Hill, was struck by lightning and ex- 
ploded, by which four persons were killed and twenty 
wounded. Fifty houses were demolished or rendered unfit 
for use, and the destruction of window-glass in the city and 
in the suburbs was immense. 

The first telegraphic dispatch received in Tennessee was 
in March, 1848, on Henry O'Reilly's line frotn Louisville 
to Nashville, and Mr. O'Reilly sent his compliments to the 
people of Tennessee among the first dispatches. 

On the 14th of September, 1848, the First Presbyterian 
church was a second time destroyed by fire, on the site of 
the present large and elegant church edifice. The corner- 
stone of the present edifice was laid April 28, 1849. 

The Tennessee Historical Society was reorganized in 
May, 1849; Prof. N. Cross president and Col. A. W- 
Putnam vice-president. 

The Hon. James K. Polk, eleventh President of the United 
States, died at his residence in this city on the 15th of 
June, 1849, and was placed in a vault at the cemetery with 
IMasonic honors. The cholera prevailed here at the time, 
but nevertheless a very large assemblage attended to pay a 
tribute of respect to their distinguished deceased fellow- 
citizen. On the 22d of May, 1850, his remains were de- 
posited in the elegant mausoleum prepared for the purpose 
on his own grounds, on the eastern front of Polk Place, 
with solemn and impressive ceremonies. The Masonic 
fraternity. Governor and staff', mayor and city council, fire 
department, judges of courts and members of the bar, and 
an immense number of citizens attended in procession. 
Minute-guns were fired, and at the tomb the Rev. John B. 



BIcFerrin offered an impressive prayer, an original dirge 
was sung, an appropriate discour.se delivered by Right Rev. 
Bishop Otey, and the Masonic funeral rites performed, con- 
ducted by Charles A. Fuller. Every demonstration possi- 
ble was made to testify to the public grief. 

The Nashville Gas-Light Company was chartered Nov. 
14, 1849, and the city was lighted by gas on the night of 
Feb. 13, 1851. The city has now over six hundred lamps 
to light the streets. 

The steamer " James Dick" was burned May 7, 1850. 

May 22, 1850, the first wire was stretched across the 
river for the present suspension-bridge, and on the 28th of 
June the first horse and buggy crossed over. The bridge 
was soon afterwards completed. 

The Southern Convention met on the 3rd of June, 1850, 
and was in session eighty days. 

The Adelphi Theatre was opened July 1, 1850, under 
the management of John Green. 

On the 15th of August the celebrated geologist and 
mineralogist, Dr. Gerard Troost, died, universally respected 
in this country and in Europe for his great attainments in 
geology. His collection of specimens amounted to over 
twenty thousand in number, and some years after his death 
was sold to an institution in Louisville. 

The first Hoe power printing-press was introduced by B. 
R. McKennie, publisher of the Nashville Whig, in 1845. 
The first cylinder Hoe printing press was used by the 
Christian Advocate, office in 1850. 

Jenny Lind,tlie Swedish Nightingale, gave two concerts 
and a matinee, March 31 and April 2, 1851, under the 
management of P. T. Barnum. Such a musical treat had 
never been experienced here, and none since. Immense 
preparations had been made to pack people into the Adelphi 
by building new galleries and utilizing space generally. 
Choice scats were sold at auction, the highest bringing two 
hundred dollars. Tickets six dollars, standing-room throe 
dollars, etc. The house was packed to overflowing, and 
every one seemed wild with enthusiasm. Her singing was 
the best ever heard in Nashville. 

The first passenger-train of the Nashville and Chattanooga 
Railroad was run out as far as Antioch on the 13lh of April, 
1851, and the first through-train to Chattanooga on the 
18th of January, 1853. The road now runs to Chattanooga 
south, and to St. Louis northwest. A large portion of the 
track has recently been laid with steel rails. 

On April 22, 1851, the corner-stone of the first public 
school was laid in South Nashville with Masonic rites, 
conducted by the venerable W'ilkins Tannehill. 

A post-office was established in South Nashville, April 
26, 1851, W. W. Parks postmaster. South Nashville 
had a separate corporate existence for several years, but 
finally united with the old city, 16th July, 1854, by a 
popular vote. 

The old bridge fell at six o'clock, November 14th, just 
after the workmen who were tearing it down had left off' 
work. 

A coal famine existed from January 1st to the 16th in 
1852. 

The fire-bell, weighing two thousand one hundred pounds, 
was hung in the court-house March 16th. On the 28th 



208 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



of July impressive funeral obsequies in honor of Henry 
Clay were held; Col. Ephraim H. Foster was chosen as 
the orator of the day. On account of the ill health of 
Col. Foster, the oration was read by Hon. Andrew Ewing. 
The demonstration was unusually large and the ceremonies 
impressive. 

The fight (really a private duel) between John L. Mar- 
ling, editor of the Union, and Gen. Felix K. Zolliooifer, 
editor of the Banner, took place on the 20th of August, 
1852. The first-named gentleman was seriously wounded, 
the latter slightly. 

The Presidential campaign of 1852 was very spirited, 
and party excitement ran high. Processions, the marching 
of military campaign companies, etc., were constantly going 
on, and a number of street-fights occurred. One man was 
killed. After the election a large torchlight proees.sion 
moved through the streets in honor of the election of Gen. 
Pierce. 

The numbering of the houses was completed Feb. 1, 
1853. 

March 24th the city and county subscribed one mil- 
lion dollars to aid four railroads coming into the city. 
April 7th Ole Bull and Adelina Patti gave their first 
concert here. Nashville had, this year, six daily newspapers. 
Hon. Morgan W. Brown died March 7th ; Judge Alfred 
Balch on the 22d of June. July 16th young Watkins 
jumped into the river from the suspension-bridge, in the 
presence of a large crowd of sight-seers, and was picked up 
by some fishermen not much injured. W. M. Paulding 
made a balloon ascension on the 15th of October, and 
landed four miles from the city. Col. William Walker, of 
Nashville, was declared president of Lower California on 
the IGth of October, 1853. His Nicaragua expedition is 
a matter of history. 

Ex-President Fillmore arrived in Nashville, May 4, 1851, 
and was handsomely entertained. W. S. Whiteman, who 
had been engaged in the manufacture of paper for several 
years in Nashville, completed a large new mill Oct. 1, 1854. 
The steamer " Rock City," built in Nashville, departed for 
Paducah, October 15th. 

The funeral services of Gen. Robert Armstrong occurred 
on the 8th of January, 1855. On the 10th of Blarch an 
unsuccessful attempt was made to burn the penitentiary. 
June the 18th the South Nashville Furniture-Factory was 
destroyed by fire. October 1st the State Fair was held, and 
the mechanics' exhibition of wares, fabrics, and handicraft 
took place at Odd-Fellows' Hall. Mount Olivet Cemetery 
was laid off into burying-lots in October, 1855. 

A large fire occurred on the public square, March 16, 
1856, by which thirteen houses were destroyed. Another 
destructive fire took place July 9th, by which eight build- 
ings were burned, including the Slasonic Hall. August 
loth the Grand Union Association of Steamboat and Ship 
Engineers met in Nashville. The Hon. John L. Marling, 
United States minister at Gautemala, died October 16th. 

In May, 1857, the Hon. Randel W. McGavock presented 
the Historical Society with a life-size portrait of Hon. Felix 
Grundy, in the presence of a large audience. 

April 12, 1857, the court-house was destroyed by fire. 
May 10th the American Medical Association met here, 



being their tenth annual session. The Siamese twins were 
on exhibition Oct. 9, 1857. 

The talented and venerable Wilkins Tannehill died on 
the 2d of June, 1858. He was a great Masonic light, and 
a literary writer of more than ordinary brilliancy. 

The corner-stone of the new Masonic Hall was laid Oct. 
6, 1858. 

The steamer " Quaker City" was burned at the levee 
Feb. 17, 1859. On the 4th of Marcli the funeral obse- 
quies of ex-Governor Aaron V. Brown took place, lie had ■ 
been a prominent politician for many years, postmaster-gen- 
eral. Governor, etc. 

Gen. William T. Haskell, the finest orator in all this 
region of country, died March 13, 1859, in Kentucky. Dr. 
John Shelby died at his residence at Edgefield, May 17th. 
By a popular vote the City Council was instructed to levy 
a tax of two hundred and seventy thousand dollars to aid 
the Naishville and Northwestern Railroad, June 4th. The 
first sermon in the new Central Baptist church. South 
Nashville, was preached by Rev. Dr. W. H. Bayless, July 
3d. The Mulberry Street Methodist church was dedi- 
cated July 22d. The first passenger-train from Nash- 
ville to Bowling Green went through August 13th. August 
24th a meeting was called of the subscribers to the new 
hotel project, when Maj. R. C. McNairy offered a resolu- 
tion appointing John Kirkman and Samuel D. Morgan 
commissioners to act for the subscribers to the hotel to be 
erected by John Overton, Esq., on the corner of Cherry and 
Church Streets, which was adopted ; and the first spade 
pierced the soil for the present Maxwell House August 
17th. The presentation of Gen. Jackson's gold snuflf-box 
to Gen. Ward B. Burnett, of New York, took place on the 
19th of August. The celebration of the opening of the 
Winchester and Alabama Railroad to Fayetteville took place 
the same day. A great " Opposition" meting was held in 
Watkins Grove, August 30th, and ten thousand people 
were said to be present. The remains of Lieut. Chandler, 
who died in 1801, were removed, under the auspices of the 
Historical Society, from the Sulphur Springs bottom to 
Mount Olivet ; an immense procession ; Hon. E. H. East 
orator of the day. 

The excavation for the foundation of the Church of the 
Advent was commenced September 3d. The Hon. M. 
F. Maury delivered his celebrated lecture on the geography 
of the sea before the Historical Society September 8th. 

The railroad drawbridge was completed October 1st, and 
the first passenger-train came through from Louisville Oc- 
tober 27th. George T. Poindexter, one of the editors of 
the Union and American, was killed by Allen A. Hall, 
editor of the News, in a street-fight. On the 23d of No- 
vember, 1859, Maj. Elbi'idge G. Eastman, principal editor 
of the Union and American, and the most influential 
political writer in the State, died suddenly at his residence 
in this city. 

Rev. Leroy J. Halsey, D.D., thus speaks of Nashville in 
1859: 

"We had occasion to visit it for the first time in 1830, 
and recollect distinctly what it then was, as from an ad- 
joining hill, and on an autumn morning, we saw its rocks 
and cedars and house tops partially covered with the first 



p 



SJ^IMIXJIEL SEJ^Y. 



r 



"^X 
»**> 



The subject of this sketch, the eldest son of John and Ann 

'illsman Seay, was born near Chincopin Church, iu Amelia 

()., Va., on the 1st day of March, 1784. In the early part of 

le present century (about 1804) he emigrated from Virginia 

I Tennessee, and found employment at Knoxville, in the store 

( John and Josiah Nichol. Here he remained until 1809. 

t that time there were many Indians in East and Middle 
! 'jnnessee, and a large portion of the trade of his bu.siness- 

)use was caiTied on with the Choctaws and Cherokees. Prom 

is fact Mr. Seay learned to speak their languages, and retained 

i knowledge of them long after the uses to which they had 
: '.en applied became worthless. Messrs. John and Josiah 

ichol, his employers, being 
: tracted by the then grow- 
: ;g importance of Nashville, 

oved thither and engaged 

I mercantile pursuits. Mr. 

3ay still continued with 

lem, and reached Nashville 
, ;i 1809. 
'- i At that time there was 

larcely a brick house in the 

ace ; the main business was 

ansaeted upon the public 

i[uare, and private residences 

ere principally within one 

lock of it. When the war of 

812-15 took place, Josiah 

fichol was contractor for 

irnishing saltpetre to the 

overnment, and as his agent 

Ir. Seay did most of his 

urchasing, supplies of which 

rticle were then mostly ob- 

lined from the caves in the 

astern portion of Middle 

'ennessee. The travel ne- 

essary to collect it threw 

-im into a wide acquaintance 

j.fith the people of that sec- 

ilion, and after the close of the 

irar he embarked into busi- 

iiess on his own account, and 

or the next forty years was actively engaged in commercial 
)ursuits. During this period he was one of the most promi- 
lent, and perhaps the most widely known, of any merchant 
n Tennessee. 

That generation which is fast passing away well recollect the 
3nergy, the ability and integrity, with which his business was 
conducted, and many of them still carry in their minds the 
sentiment frequently expressed when desiring to indicate in- 
tegrity in any one, — that " he was as honest as Sam Seay." 

Mr. Seay was associated in business at various times with a 
number of our old citizens, among others with Mr. Joseph P. 
EUiston, Gen. Kobert Armstrong, and Joseph 11. Shepherd. 
He was for many years a director in the Planters' Bank, and the 
president, treasurer, or director of a number of our local insur- 
ance companies. 




V-»*-*»=<jJ 



In the days before railroads were thought of he was an active 
promoter and liberal subscriber to the various turnpike com- 
panies in Middle Tennessee, and, though these have been super- 
seded by railroads, they were in his day the pride of our 
citizens. 

Witnessing the arrival at our wharf of the first steamboat 
that landed there, he recognized its importance in commerce, 
and became the owner of steamboats and interested in steamboat 
lines. He was at different times engaged in the manufacture of 
gunpowder, soaps, oils, candles, and rope, but he was best known 
as a wholesale grocer and commission-merchant. In his business 
relations Mr. Seay was noted for his straightforward dealing and 

plainness of speech, which 
amounted at times almost to 
brusqueness. 

He -was married twice. 
His first wife was Jane M. 
Wharton , daughter of George 
Wharton of this county, to 
whom he was married Dec. 
24, 1822. She died Jan. 
16, 1847. To them were 
born ten children, three of 
whom died in infancy; the 
others all survive him. His 
second wife was BIrs. Eachel 
Douglas Hudnall, to whom 
he was married Nov. 29, 
1849. She survived him 
about fifteen years, he dying 
Jan. 28, 1864; his widow, 
Feb. 1, 1879. He was an 
earnest and devout member of 
and for many years an elder 
in the Presbyterian Church. 
Mr. Seay possessed in a 
high degree a strong sense 
of personal independence. 
He had little sympathy with 
formalism or conventional 
behavior. His habits were 
hospitable and open, and per- 
fectly free from insincerity. 
In early life his health was exceedingly delicate, but after he 
reached maturity his constitution seems to have undergone a 
change, and he became healthy and robust. It was his boast 
that for a period of forty years he had no occasion for a 
physician. He was of medium height, with florid complexion, 
blue eyes, and until his threescore years and ten had passed 
inclined to stoutness, combined with great activity. His hair 
when young was red, but those acquaintances whose eyes may 
read this paper will class it in their minds as white. His 
birth took place when our forefathers were first discussing the 
American Constitution. He was fifteen years old when Wash- 
ington died. 

He passed from earth during the heat of our civil war, 
leaving his children that legacy more to be desired than great 
riches, — the treasure of his good name. 





CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



209 



fall of snow, and glittering like a mount of diamonds in 
the rising sun. It was a compact little city of some five or 
six thousand souls, confined pretty much to a single hill or 
bluff on the left bank of the Cumberland. But it was 
beautiful even then, set like a gem in the green casket of 
the surrounding hill-country. It stood just at the outer 
apex of a long curve in the river, where, after sweeping 
westward through a rich valley, and striking the elevated 
bluffs of stratified limestone rocks underlying the city, it 
flows gracefully and slowly away in a long stretch to the 
north, as if the waters lingered to look upon a spot of so 
much beauty. It was precisely such a spot as the old 
classic Greeks and Romans would have chosen to build a 
city. It was a site of gently rising and continuous hills, 
almost as numerous and quite as elevated as the seven hills 
of Home ; and each of their summits at that time wore 
the green crown of a dense cedar-grove, whtle from the 
midst of the city, out of its very house-tops, rose one cen- 
tral and higher hill, like Alp on Alp, overlooking all the 
scene, and not unworthy of the Athenian Acropolis. In 
that central cedar-crowned hill the old Greeks would have 
imagined the genii loci to dwell. And if the traveler had 
chanced to visit the spot some fifty years earlier than we 
did, he might indeed have found there the real genius of 
the place, not some fabled Grecian goddess, but a wild 
Cherokee Indian. ... In the books of that day, the seat 
of all this natural beauty was described as a ' Post-town, 
the capital of Davidson County, containing a court-house, 
a branch bank of the United States, the respectable private 
bank of Yeatman, Woods & Co., a valuable public library, 
a respectable female academy, and houses of public woiship 
for Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists.' 

" Such was the capital of Tennessee thirty years ago. 
And what is it now ? Now — 1859 — it is a busy city of 
nearly thirty-two thousand souls, on both sides of the 
river, and spread out over all the hills and valleys for miles 
around. Now it has sixteen Protestant churches, three 
lines of railroad, a hundred steamboats, and an annual 
trade, including its manufactures, of twenty-five millions. 
The long, rude box of a bridge which once connected the 
banks of the river has given place to two magnificent struc- 
tures — one for railroad and the other for ordinary use^ 
such as the Tiber never boasted, and which would have 
filled the old Romans with mingled wonder and delight. 
Those beautiful green cedars, once the glory of winter, have 
disappeared from all the hill-tops, and in their place have 
sprung up the marble mansions of wealth or the neat cot- 
tages of the artisan. That central summit, where in olden 
times dwelt the wild genii of the woods, is now surmounted 
with the Capitol of Tennessee, — the temple of law and jus- 
tice, built of native marble, whose massive proportions, 
rising without an obstruction, and seen from every direc- 
tion as if projected against the very sky, would have done 
honor to the Athenian Acropolis in the proudest days of 
Pericles." 

James Parton, the eminent biographer, spent several 
months in Nashville in 1857, while engaged in writing the 
" Life of Gen. Andrew Jackson." He thus writes of the 
city : 

" Pleasant Nashville 1 Its situation is superb, — a gently- 
27 , 



undulating, feitile valley, fifteen or twenty miles across, 
quite encircled by hills. Through this panoramic vale 
winds the ever-winding Cumberland, a somewhat swiftly- 
fiowing stream, about as wide as the Hudson at Albany. 
The banks are of that abrupt ascent which suggested the 
name of bluff*, liigh enough to lift the country above the 
reach of the marvelous rises of the river, but not so high 
as to render it too difficult of access. In the middle of 
this valley, half a mile from the banks of the stream, is a 
high, steep hill, the summit of which, just large enough 
for the purpose, would have been crowned with a castle if 
the river had been the Rhine instead of the Cumberland. 
Upon this hill stands the Capitol of the State of Tennes- 
see, the most elegant, correct, convenient, and genuine pub- 
lic building in the United States, a conspicuous testimonial 
of the wealtli, taste, and liberality of the State. 

" From the cupola of this edifice the stranger, delighted 
and surprised, looks down upon the city of Nashville, 
packed between the Capitol-crowned hill and the coiling 
Cumberland ; looks round upon the panoramic valley, dot- 
ted with villas and villages, smiling with fields, and fringed 
with distant, dark, forest-covered mountains. . . . 

" Pleasant Nashville ! It was laid out in the good old 
English, Southern manner. First, a spacious square for 
court-house and market, lined now with stores, so solid and 
elegant that they would not look out of place in the bus- 
iness streets of New York, whose stores are palaces. From 
the sides and angles of this square, which is the broad back 
of a huge underground rook, run the principal streets, 
and there is your town. 

" Pleasant Nashville! The wealth of Nashville is of the 
genuine, slowly-formed description that does not take to 
itself wings and fly away just when it is wanted most. It 
came out of that fertile soil which seems to combine the 
good qualities of the prairie with the lasting strength of 
forest land. Those roomy, square brick mansions are well 
filled with furniture 'the opposite of gimcrack ; and if the 
sideboards do not 'groan' under the weight of silver plate 
upon them, the fact is to be set down to the credit of the 
sideboards. Where but eighty years ago the war-whoop 
startled mothers putting their children to bed, the stranger, 
strolling abroad in the evening, pauses to listen to operatic 
arias, fresh from Italy, sung with much of the power and 
more than the taste of a prima-donna. Within, mothers 
may be caught in the act of helping their daughters write 
Italian exercises or hearing them recite French verbs. 
Society is lighted with gas, and sits dazzling in the glorious 
blaze of bituminous coal, and catches glimpses of itself in 
mirrors of full-length portraitures." 

Street-sprinklers were introduced March 24, 18G0. Dr. 
Henry Carow was killed by a young man named Truett, 
from Sparta, Tenn., who was intoxicated at the time. April 
9th a large fire occurred on Union Street, the loss amount- 
ing to thirty thousand dollars. The National Typographi- 
cal Convention was held in the Capitol, May 7th. A grand 
parade of firemen occurred on the 17th. St. Cloud Hotel 
was burned May 21st; loss ten thousand dollars. Corner- 
stone of the Church of the Advent laid May 21st, by Right 
Rev. Bishop Otey. It was opened for services on the 17th 
of April, 1870. The great National Temperance Associa- 



210 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUiNTY, TENNESSEE. 



tion met here on the 22d of May. On the 24th of July 
the board of aldermen passed the ordinance to establish a 
paid steam fire department, which was promptly signed by 
the mayor. Capt. John S. Dashiell was the first chief. 
November 13th the Kev. John Todd Edgar, pastor of the 
First Presbyterian Church, died suddenly, universally be- 
loved. On the 30th of December a large meeting of citi- 
zens was held at the court-house, and great excitement pre- 
vailed in consequence of the election of Abraham Lincoln 
to the Presidency and the secession of South Carolina. 
Great excitement prevailed in the early part of 1861 in 
regard to the secession of South Carolina, Alabama, and 
Georgia, and the election of Jefferson Davis as President of 
the Confederate States. Military companies were organ- 
ized for home protection, the courts were suspended, and 
everything was in confusion, even the United States post- 
office being discontinued on the 6th of June. August 
13th, W. D. McNish was appointed postmaster for the 
Confederate government. 

It is simply impossible, in a brief paper like this, to go 
into detail in regard to the war commenced in 1S61. The 
State, as well as the city of Nashville, was decidedly op- 
posed to separating from the other States, as expressed by 
a popular vote, as well as in other ways, until the firiag on 
Fort Sumter took place, which forced the people to take 
the Confederate side. A volume would be necessary to 
give the history of the struggle in this State, and of legis- 
lative action prior thereto. We can give only a few mea- 
gre items, simply to preserve dates of important events. 

Intelligence of the capture of Fort Donelson reached 
Nashville on Sunday morning, Feb. 16, 1862, and pro- 
duced the utmost consternation. The Legislature was con- 
vened, but speedily adjourned to Memphis, whither the 
public archives and money were also removed. Gen. A. S. 
Johnston's army, concentrated at Bowling Green, commenced 
passing through the city, and continued until the entire force 
■went through. Gen. Floyd was left to cover the retreat. It 
was a real panic. On the 18th, at night, the troops de- 
stroyed the suspension-bridge and the . railroad-bridge, 
against the earnest protest of the leading citizens. On the 
23d the rear-guard of the Confederate army left, and Gen. 
D. C. Buell occupied Edgefield wilh Federal troops. The 
next day Blayor Cheatham and a committee of citizens sur- 
rendered the city, and the surrender took place on the 25th. 
Gen. Buell and his army conducted themselves, as did the 
citizens, with " marked propriety." The newspapers, whose 
publication had been suspended, resumed operations. Gov- 
ernor Johnson acted as military governor from March 12, 
1862, to the close of the war. He ousted the mayor and 
City Council for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to 
the government of the United States, and appointed others 
in their place. A great many citizens, most of them lead- 
ing men in society, and several of them miuisters of the 
gospel, were arrested by order of Governor Johnson and 
put into prison. A Union meeting was held in Nashville 
on the 12th of May. On the 25th several newspaper-offices 
were confiscated and their publication stopped. Gen. For- 
rest, Gen. Morgan, and others made occasional sorties 
about the neighborhood, which only frightened the citizens 
without doing any particular harm. But the city was 



sometimes cut off from all communication with the outside 
world. Governor Johnson levied specific contributions on 
the wealthy to aid the poor in procuring food. It is pi'oper 
to say that he did not himself even see the money thus 
collected and di-sbursed. He intrusted it to others. Gen. 
Buell and his army had left the city for the Tennessee Eiver, 
and Gen. Rousseau took command in the latter part of 
August, but was succeeded by a man named Negley, — not 
the regular officer, Gen. Neglee, but a volunteer general. 
The battle of Lavergne, fifteen miles from the city, was 
fought October 7th, a signal little victory for the Federal 
troops. Gen. Rosecrans was in command in November, and 
made his headquarters here till the close of the war. Gen. 
Grant, as the commander-in-chief of the Army of the Cum- 
berland, made his headquarters here for a considerable length 
of time. The result of the battle of Nashville, commanded 
by Maj.-Genr George H. Thomas on one side, and by Gen. 
Hood on the other, is well known. After the struggle was 
over a military force was kept here for several years. The 
army officers and the people got along very harmoniously to- 
gether, and the removal of the troops was generally regretted. 
(See military history of the civil war, in another part of 
this work.) 

Oct. 20, 1865, Champ Ferguson was hung at the peni- 
tentiary on account of war operations. On the 20th of 
November, William Hefi'ran was dragged from his carriage 
and murdered by some ruffians, who were subsequently 
apprehended, tried, convicted, and hung. Their execution 
took place Jan. 26, 1866. 

During the latter months of this year the city was full 
of thieves and robbers, and deeds of blood and robbery 
were frequent. It was unsafe to go out at night without 
arms. A committee of safety was appointed and extra 
policemen placed on duty until the turbulent spirits were: 
arrested and imprisoned or driven from the city. 

The system of letter-carrying was introduced Jan. 1, 
18G6. The Stacey House, now the Battle House, was 
opened the next day. A destructive fire occurred on the 
public square January 9th, and Charles H. Moore was 
burned to death. Dr. David T. McGavock, a life-long 
citizen here, died January 7th. 

Street-cars were introduced in March, 1866, the South 
Nashville line, of which Anson Nelson was president, 
being the first. 

The new suspension-bridge, destroyed in the early part 
of the war, was completed June 21, 1866. The Board of 
Health was established June 27 th. Prof Hays made a 
balloop ascension September 20th. Rev. Dr. Samuel D. 
Baldwin, author of " Armageddon," died October 9th. A 
fire occurred October 24th on Cedar, Cherry, and Deaderick 
Streets, by which more than twenty houses were destroyed. 
Loss, three hundred thousand dollars. 

On the 8th of March, 1867, the funeral obsequies of 
Col. Do Bow, the founder and editor of De Bow's Review, 
and of Bishop Joshua Soule took place. Ex- Mayor An- 
drew Anderson died April 15th, aged seventy-two years. 
He was for more than twenty years connected with the city 
government, and was highly esteemed. 

On the 14th of May a mutiny occurred in the penitentiary, 
and there was an uprising of three hundred convicts. The 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



211 



mutiny was suppressed before any escapes were made. The 
cast wing of tlie penitentiary was burned on tlie 24tb of 
June. Loss, fifty thousand dollars. 

The large bell (the largest and finest in the city) was 
placed in the western tower of the First Presbyterian 
church on the 10th July. It was a present from Mrs. 
Adclicia Cheatham, wife of Dr. W. A. Cheatham. July 
26th, William N. Bilbo, Esq., a lawyer, an orator, and a 
writer of considerable note, departed this life. Ex-Gov- 
ernor William B. Campbell died August 19th, and Judge 
John S. Brien on the 6th of November. The Alloway 
residence, next to the BIcKendree church, was destroyed 
by fire Dec. 22, 1867. 

Nothing worthy of note occurred in 1868. Col. A. W. 
Putnam died on the 20th of January, 1869. He was the 
president of the Tennessee Historical Society, the author 
of the " Life and Times of Gen. James Robertson," and a 
lineal descendant of Gen. Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary 
fame. Work on the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad com- 
menced June 17, 1869. In the summer of this year the 
city government was placed in the hands of a receiver, 
owing to the bad management of those who acted as mayor, 
aldermen, and councilmen. Hon. John M. Bass was ap- 
pointed by the Chancery Court receiver, and gave a large 
bond for the faithful performance of his duties. He dis- 
charged the trust committed to him with great fidelity and 
to the entire satisfaction of the taxpayers. In the latter 
part of the year the people elected men of their choice as 
mayor, aldermen, and councilmen ; Blr. Bass made a 
full report and turned the afi'airs of the city over to K. J. 
Morris, Esq., the new mayor, and his colleagues of the City 
Council. 

The Hon. John Bell, one of Tennessee's noted politi- 
cians, died at Cumberland Furnace, September 10th. His 
body was brought here, laid in state in the Capitol for one 
or two days, and buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. The 
Maxwell House was opened for guests on the 22d Sept., 
1869, by M. Kean & Co. 

The post-oiEce was removed to the corner of Cedar and 
Cherry Streets, Jan. 14, 1870, its present location. Ex- 
Mayor John Hugh Smith died July 7th. The College 
Hill Foundry was burned September 11th; loss twenty- 
seven thousand dollars. The improvements on the Capitol 
grounds were resumed, after ten years' neglect, Oct. 26, 
1870. 

The Nashville Industrial Exposition committees were or- 
ganized on the 26th of February, 1871, the building com- 
menced on the 17th of March, and the Exposition was 
formally opened on the 8th of Blay. 

Dr. William II. Wharton, a physician and minister of 
the Christian Church, died May Sth. Christine Nill.sson 
sung in Nashville, May 4th. The General Assembly of the 
Cumberland Church met in Nashville, May 18, 1871. 

On the 10th of April, 1871, our Gorman citizens had a 
grand jubilee procession in commemoration of peace between 
France and Germany. The death of Rev. T. V. Moore, 
D.D., pastor of the First Pre-sbyterian Church, occurred 
Aug. 5, 1871. Judge W. K. Turner died on the 10th of 
the same month. On the 19th of November the large and 
elegant cotton-factory in North Nashville was put in opera- 



tion, running over seventy-five thousand spindles. Col. 
Samuel D. Morgan was president of the company, and had 
superintended the building from the very beginning, look- 
ing after the minutest details, as he had previously done in 
the erection of the Capitol. He was for many years one of 
our leading wholesale merchants. 

Jan. 22, 1872, a great fire occurred on Market Street; 
loss, two hundred thousand dollars. Col. G. C. Torbett died 
February 14th. Mrs. Francis B. Fogg, one of the best and 
most benevolent ladies that ever lived here, died on the 14tli 
of March. A destructive fire took place on the corner of 
Market Street and the public square; loss, fifty thousand j 
dollars. The epizooty, or horse disease, made its appear- 
ance in November, and nearly all the horses in the city 
were attacked. The street-cars stopped running, and oxen 
were in demand for hauling goods to diiferent depots. 

Jan. 1, 1873, a fire on the public squiire destroyed prop- 
erty to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars. Mc- 
Crae, Maury & Co.'s distillery was burned January 28th. 

The Industrial Exposition was again opened May 1, 1873, 
and was carried on with remarkable success for one month. 

The Tennessee Historical Society was reorganized in 
May, 1874, and has been in successful operation ever since. 
Its present ofiioers are : Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, President ; 
Hon. John M. Lea, Vice-President; Gen. G. P. Thruston, 
Corresponding Secretary ; J. S. Carols, Treasurer ; Dr. J. 
B. Lindsley, Librarian ; and Anson Nelson, Recording Sec- 
retary. 

The new Cumberland Presbyterian church was completed 
April 22, 1874. The corner-stone of the new Odd-Fellows' 
Hall was laid with imposing ceremonies on the 30th of June. 
September 16th the Fourth Annual Industrial Exposition 
was opened with an imposing proces.sion of societies and 
citizens. November 1st the wholesale house of T. J. Hop- 
kins & Co. was destroyed by fire. 

The funeral procession to do honor to the memory of 
Andrew Johnson, ex-President of the United States, ex- 
Governor, etc., in January, 1875, was unusually large. The 
Hon. Joseph S. Fowler was the orator of the day. 

Policeman Frazer was killed April 30th. The celebrated 
Whittle and Bliss meetings were held in April and May, in 
the old Exposition buildings, and created a profound impres- 
sion. Vice-President Henry Wilson visited the city in May. 
Work on the custom-house was commenced November 
17th, and the corner-stone laid about the 1st of October, 
1877. 

Luck's Block, on Church Street, was destroyed by fire 
Jan. 13, 1876 ; loss, twenty thousand dollars. Five build- 
ings were burned on South Market Street January 21st; 
loss, eighty thousand dollars. Mr. A. H. Hicks, the oldest 
queensware merchant in the city, and for more than forty 
years librarian or treasurer of the First Baptist Church 
Sunday-school, died March Sth. The heaviest snow-storm 
that had been known here for thirty years occurred on the 
19th of March. A convention of colored people to benefit 
the race was held in the Capitol, April Sth. On the 26th 
May the Jewish temple on South Vine Street was dedicated. 
A grand tobacco fair was opened on the loth of June. 

The National Centennial was celebrated with great eclat, 
by ringing of bells and other demonstrations of joy. All busi- 



212 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ness was suspended. The post band was at tbe Capitol be- 
fore five o'clock, where five thousand people were assembled. 
The exercises of the Historical Society of Tennessee were 
exceedingly interesting. Prof. Thomas H. Huxley, the 
great English scientist, was here in the early part of Sep- 
tember, visiting relatives. Isaac I'aul, Esq., one of the 
oldest and most benevolent citizens, died October 21st, aged 
seventy-two years. The first grain-elevator was finished 
October 29th, by 0. P. Noel & Co. Another was com- 
pleted and put to work in 1877, with improved machinery, 
by Holding, Wilkes & Hancock. Seven and a half inches 
of snow fell during Christmas week, followed by very cold 
weather. 

A balloon ascension by Prof Samuel A. King and Dr. 
A. C. Ford was successfully made on the 3d of April, 
1877. On tlie 18th of June the mammoth balloon " Buf- 
falo," the largest in the United States, went up with Prof 
King, Dr. Ford, J. B. Lillard, D. K. Dorris, and J. M. 
Andrews in the basket. They landed in Gallatin, and the 
next morning Prof King and Dr. Ford ascended again and 
were above the earth nearly all day, landing in Wilson 
County. They returned to Nashville next day. On the 
7th of May the corner-stone of the new McKendree church 
was laid by the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
South, with appropriate ceremonies, in the presence .of a 
large assemblage of interested spectators. On the 26th of 
June the Merchants' Exchange was reorganized and opened 
for business. 

On the 29th of August the twenty-sixth annual meeting 
of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- 
ence openeii their sessions in the Capitol. ■ The history of 
their acts and doings, the cordiality of their, jeeeption, the 
dinings and the excursions are too. fresh and familiar to 
require notice ; besides, want of space preYents'.any proper 
reference to this meeting of the scientific and educational 
lights of the country. It would require several pages to do 
justice to the subject. 

The annual meeting of the chiefs of the fire department 
of difi'erent cities of the United States assembled on the 
4th of September. They were also elegantly entertained, 
and the citizens made it a visit to be remembered. The 
city department has four steam fire-engines and as many 
hose-carts, one hook-and-ladder truck, with horses and all 
necessary appliances, including seven thousand feet of hose. 
Capt. William Stockwell is chief, and has been since the 
summer of 1869. Forty men are constantly on duty to 
manage the four fire companies in diiferent parts of the 
city and the hook-and-ladder company. Hall's telegraph- 
alarm has twenty miles of wire on poles, divided into 
four districts, united by an automatic repeater. Connected 
with the wire are forty alarm-boxes, nine gongs, and three 
large bell-strikers. The fire-alarm telegraph went into oper- 
ation on the 30tli of January, 1875 ; cost, twenty-two 
thousand five hundred dollars. The cost of the depart- 
ment is about thirty-five thousand dollars per annum. 

The city government consists of a mayor, fifteen aldermen, 
thirty councilmen, and the necessary public officers to carry 
on the business of the municipality, including thirty-nine 
policemen. Thecity is composed of fifteen wards. There are 
two telegraph companies, two daily newspapers, two tri- 



weeklies, eight weeklies, seven monthlies, and two quarter- 
lies. 

Nashville has at this time 4-t churches, as follows : 
Methodist, white 10, colored 3; Baptist, white 5, colored 
3 (1 of which has 1600 members) ; Presbyterian, white 5; 
Episcopal, white 6 ; Christian, white 3, colored 1 ; Cumber- 
land Presbyterian, white 2; Hebrew, white 1; Lutheran, 
white 1 ; Congregational, colored 1 ; Catholic, white 3. It 
is a busy, compact metropolis of nearly sixty thousand in- 
habitants, including the late annexations. It has six lines 
of railroads, with arms reaching in all directions, with its 
steamboat lines, its street-car lines, transfer lines, fast freight 
and express companies. The city has eight banks, con- 
trolling millions of capital, anA numerous companies for the 
insurance of life and property. The number of its com- 
mercial firms will exceed fifteen hundred ; the number of 
its manufactories will reach two hundred ; its annual busi- 
ness will probably exceed sixti/ millions of dollars. Now 
it has more than thirty hotels and restaurants, and more 
than thirty newspapers and publications ; has its theatres 
and libraries ; its splendid and costly railroad and supension- 
bridges ; superb and elegant business blocks by the score, 
and so manypalatial residences and neat, attractive cottages 
they can only be numbered by hundreds. It has seven 
universities and colleges, embracing six normal and liter- 
ary schools, four schools of medicine, four of theology, two 
of pharniacy, two of dentistry, one of law, and one of civil 
engineering. It has twelve public schools of the highest 
character and completeness, and affords free education to 
more .than twelve thousand children, besides numerous pri- 
vate schools and seminaries, the equal of any in America. 
It has its public libraries, musical conservatories, and 
galleries of art, public and private, together with numerous 
a.sylums, hospitals, and eleemosynary institutions, and an 
aggregate value of real estate of at least twenty-five millions 
of dollars. 

The first experiment with a telephone in Nashville was 
made at noon on the 1st of September by Professor Ni- 
pher, of St. Louis, and Professor Lovewell, of Wisconsin. 
The experiment was made by connecting the residences of 
Mrs. Ex-President Polk and Mr. A. G. Adams, on Vine 
Street, the battery being at the house of tbe latter. It was 
entirely successful. The professors were in attendance on 
the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

TEANSPOETATION. 

Goods were hauled to Nashville in wagons from Balti- 
more from 1790 to 1810, when keel-boats were brought 
into use as a means of transportation. The price for haul- 
ing was ten dollars per hundred pounds. The wagons were 
drawn by six-horse teams, and the load would weigh about 
eight thousand pounds. Many of them going to Balti- 
more would take cotton at five dollars per hundred pounds. 
Keel-boats brought goods from Pittsburgh at five dollars per 
hundred. Wagons took the goods to Pittsburgh from Bal- 
timore and Philadelphia ; and hauling goods by wagons 
continued for many years. 

Salt was brought from King's Salt- Works, in Western 
Virginia, down the Holston and Tennessee Rivers to the 
mouth of the Tennessee, and thence up the Cumberland to 




"*^%" 



'^-*~-~^~:^^"V ^ I'S^iss^ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



213 



Nnsliville. Tlio Kings and McCalls, who operated the ex- 
tensive salt-works, were Nashville men. 

James Stewart and Capt. James Gordon brought the first 
barge from New Orleans, laden with sugar, coifeo, and 
other groceries, in 1806 or 1807. Afterwards, Stump, 
Kaper & Turner ran a barge to the Crescent City. Then 
Kichard H. Bary made the trip in sixty days, which caused 
great rejoicing, as it had before taken ninety days to make 
the trip. The whole town turned out to see a barge come 
into port. 

The first steamboat, called the " Andrew Jackson," built 
at Pittsburgh, and owned by Governor William Carroll, 
arrived at Nashville in 1819. She was one hundred and 
ten tons burthen. He sold the boat for thirty-three thou- 
sand dollars to Messrs. Fletcher, Young & Marr. Freight 
from here to New Orleans was then five cents per hundred 
pounds. In the course of two or three years the steam- 
boat business increased considerably, wharves were built, 
and commission- and forwarding-houses were opened. The 
pioneer boat was snagged and sunk in Harpeth Shoals, 
June 20, 1821. The next steamboat which arrived here 
was the " General Robertson," built on the Ohio River for 
a company in Nashville in 1820-21. The third was the 
" Rifleman," built at Cairo, near Gallatin, Tenn., by a com- 
pany of men living there, and was commanded by Sterling 

' M. Earner, who afterwards commanded the " Tennessee" 
and the " Ellen Kirkman," owned by Col. A. W. Johnson 
and John K. Rayburn. The "Ellen Kirkman" was a 
famous craft in her day, and was named after the mother 
of John Kirkman, P]sq., a well-known citizen of Nashville 
and president of the Third National Bank. This boat was 
built for the Nashville and New Orleans trade in 1838 at 
New Albany. Her original owners were Anthony W. 

i Johnson, John K. Rayburn, Thomas R. Price, James 
Johnson, John and Robinson Yeatman, and Sterling M. 
Earner, her captain and builder. All of these men are 
dead except the first named, who, at the advanced age of 
ninety, lives near Nashville. 

KATLEOADS. 

I Sis railroads enter Nashville, — viz,, the Nashville and 
[ Chattanooga and Northwestern Railroads, consolidated, 
! forming the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Rail- 
, way ; the Louisville and Nashville and Nashville and De- 
catur, consolidated; the St. Louis and Southeastern ; and 
the Tennessee and Pacific, extending to Lebanon, Tenn. 
Two others are in process of construction, the Owensboro' 
I and Russellville and the Cumberland and Ohio, and a route 
for a narrow-gauge road from Nashville to Clarksville has 
also been surveyed. A brief historical sketch will be given 
of some of the older and more important of these roads, 
together with some statistical information. 

In the year 1837 a proposition was introduced into the 
Legislature by William Armour, of Shelby County, to 
unite the Mississippi with the seaboard by constructing a 
line of railway from Memphis to Nashville, thence to 
Knoxville, and through to the Atlantic Ocean. He suc- 
ceeded in enlisting many in its favor, but the great finan- 
cial crash of that year rendered the movement unsuccessful 
Still there were a few who adhered to the project notwith- 



standing the ridicule which they received from the people 
as visionaries and enthusiasts. Among these may be men- 
tioned Dr. James Overton, a man of far-seeing sagacity, 
undaunted resolution, and indefatigay.e genius. In a 
contest for the Legislature in 1843' he advocated the 
building of a railroad from Nashville to Chattanooga, to 
connect with the Western Atlantic. Chattanooga at that 
time was a mere shipping-station in a wild section of 
country, hemmed in by rugged mountains, but lately aban- 
doned by the Indians, and in every respect unpromising. 
But the keen foresight of Dr. Overton had pointed out 
Chattanooga as the grand focus at which must converge 
the lines of traffic from the Southern States, and that by 
opening communication with that point Nashville would 
command a large trade from the cotton-growing districts of 
Georgia and Alabama. But the people did not so regard 
it, and his scheme was looked upon as the delusive dream 
of a fanatic. He was defeated and was nicknamed " Old 
Chattanooga," a cognomen which he retained till the pe- 
riod of his death, — in life a name of ridicule, depreciation, 
mockery ; in death* one of crowning honor, pointing out 
the wisdom, the sagacity, and the almost prophetic foresight 
of him who bore it. 

Though the labors of Dr. Overton were fruitless in prac- 
tical results, he sowed the seeds which were soon to germi- 
nate and bring forth fruit. About the year 1845 the de- 
pression in business circles, which had continued so long, 
began to be relieved. The growing trade of Na.shville 
made other outlets than the Cumberland River a necessity. 
Other portions of the State began to show signs of an 
awakening interest in the subject of railroads, doubtless 
stimulated in some degree by the action of Georgia in 
chartering a road to run from Augusta to Chattanooga. 
The subject was brought before the Legislature, and under 
the pressure of influential citizens of Nashville it passed 
an act on the 11th of December, 1845, to incorporate " a 
railroad from Nasliville, on the Cumberland River, to Chat- 
tanooga, on the Tennessee River," and by the seventeenth 
section of that act authorized " any State or citizen, corpo- 
ration or company, to subscribe for and hold stock in said 
company, with all the rights and subject to all the liabilities 
of any of the stockholders." 

The act was amended by the Legislature on the 9tli of 
December, 1847, in which provision was made that the town 
of Nashville, through its mayor and aldermen, be author- 
ized to subscribe five hundred thousand dollars, and was 
also further authorized to raise money on loan by pledging 
the faith of the corporation, by pledging a portion of its 
taxes, by mortgage or otherwise, to an amount not exceed- 
ing what might be demanded for the calls upon the stock, 
and that the loan might be created for such a length of 
time and payable in such manner as the mayor and alder- 
men might deem best. The mayor and aldermen were also 
authorized, should they deem such a course best, to issue 
the bonds of the corporation, provided the bonds so issued 
should be in sums not less than five hundred dollars each, 
and that they should not bo at any greater rate of interest 
than six per cent, per annum, and should not be payable at 
a greater distance of time than thirty years. 

These measures were resisted by the minority, and were 



214 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



characterized as iniquitous, visionary, and unconstitutional. 
A bill was filed in chancery to enjoin the subscription to 
the road or the issuing of bonds by the corporation. On 
appeal it was taken to the Supreme Court, and finally de- 
cided at the December term, 1848, the opinion being deliv- 
ered by Judge Turley. This opinion, able in its arguments 
and irresistible in its conclusions, decided that the Legisla- 
ture of Tennessee had the constitutional power to authorize 
the corporation of Nashville to take stock in the Nashville 
and Chattanooga Railroad ; that the making of this road 
was a legitimate purpose of the corporation, and that it was 
legally authorized to pay for its subscription to the stock of 
said road in either of the modes pointed out by the act of 
1847. 

It was about the time that the charter was obtained that 
Vernon K. Stevenson, a merchant unknown to fame, un- 
dertook to canvass the city and create a public sentiment in 
favor of the enterprise. He entered upon his work with a 
zeal and an energy which foreshadowed success. He visited 
every house, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, 
and secured the signatures of fully twoJhirds of the popu- 
lation in favor of the subscription. Godfrey M. Fogg, 
Esq., who was one of his most earnest and efiScient co-lab- 
orers, and who was acting at the time as the chairman of 
the city finance committee, had the honor of first signing 
his name in assent to the proposition. For two years Mr. 
Stevenson canvassed this question, often repelled, but never 
discouraged; often perplexed, but never in despair; hope- 
ful, constant, persistent, working in season and out of sea- 
son, until he at last succeeded in accomplishing his purpose, 
—that of moulding the public sentiment in favor of building 
the road. Acting under the authority of the Legislature, 
the city readily voted five hundred thousand dollars to be 
expended in the construction of the road. This appropria- 
tion being secured, Mr. Stevenson, in the winter of 1847-48, 
visited Charleston, S. C, for the purpose of soliciting aid 
from that city. At first the opposition to his scheme was 
violent, and in advocating it he even had to endure the irri- 
tation of ridicule, it being considered presumptuous in the 
people of Tennessee to ask for an appropriation from a 
State not contiguous in aid of an internal improvement 
from which they would derive no immediate benefit. Un- 
daunted by these manifestations of opposition, he had the 
tact to secure a large attendance of the citizens at a public 
meeting, which meeting was continued for several evenings, 
and, though no orator, his plain, practical, luminous state- 
ments, enforced as they were with earnestness, directness, 
and candor, wrought conviction in the minds of a majority 
of the citizens, and before leaving the city he obtained an 
appropriation of five hundred thousand dollars. The success 
which he had attained in the accomplishment of his cher- 
i.shed design inspired him with renewed energy. Stopping 
at Augusta, he secured from the Georgia Railroad and 
Banking Company two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
and from the corporation of Blurfreesboro' thirty thousand 
dollars, which enabled him, with the private subscriptions 
that were afterwards received and the aid which the State 
rendered by endorsing the company's bonds, to enter upon 
the work of construction. 

Nor must we forget to mention the great services rendered 



by Hon. James C. Jones, ex-Governor of the State. He 
canvassed many counties in aid of the enterprise, and se- 
cured a large subscription. His popular and fervid eloquence 
won many friends for the road, and awakened enthusiasm 
all along the route. 

In the month of January, 1848, the company was or- 
ganized, and Mr. Stevenson was elected president. He 
continued in that position until the breaking out of the 
civil war. His arduous and long-continued services in the 
interest of the Nashville and Cliattanooga Railroad have 
secured for him the title of the father of the railway system 
of Tennessee. The work upon the road was begun shortly 
after the organization of the company, but it was not opened 
for business till 1854, although the portion from Nashville 
to Bridgeport, on the Tennessee River, was put in operation 
in Blay, 1853, which, with the aid of steamboats, opened 
communication with Chattanooga. 

It will be well to give the reader a few facts respecting 
the construction of other branches of the Tennessee system 
of railroads. 

The Jlemphis and Charleston road was chartered Feb. 
2, 1S4G, the charter authorizing a capital stock of eight 
hundred thousand dollars. Under the persevering labors 
of ex-Governor James C. Jones, who was the first president, 
Col. Samuel Tate, Joseph Lenow, Minor Meriwether, and 
others, the road was brought to a successful completion iu 
1857. 

The East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad was chartered 
as the Hiawaasee Railroad in 1836, and was completed and 
opened in 1856, twenty years after obtaining the charter. 
Maj. Campbell Wallace was then president. This road, 
especially that portion between Chattanooga and Cleveland, 
located and built under the superintendence of Col. R. C. 
Morris, as chief engineer, is well constructed. The bridges 
across a majority of the streams are built of stone, and the 
one across the Chickamauga is by all odds the most substan- 
tial structure to be found in the State. 

The completion of the East Tennessee and Virginia 
Railroad, in 1858, formed a connecting-link between the 
two great systems of roads, — those on the northeast with 
those of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. The two 
lines of railroad from Bristol to Knoxville, and from the 
latter place to Dalton, Ga. (and by a branch to Chattanooga), 
have been consolidated into one line, under the name of the 
Ea.st Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad. 

The construction of other railroads followed in quick 
succession. Internal improvement was stimulated by the 
munificent aid received from the State under the operations 
of the Omnibus Bill, which was enacted by the Legislature 
in 1851-52. The provisions of this bill were moat generous. 
Under it State aid to the amount of ten thousand dollars 
per mile was given every railroad in process of construction, 
or thereafter to be constructed, under .certain regulations 
and restrictions. 

From 1850 to 1860 one thousand two hundred and fifty- 
throe miles of railroad were built in the State. The decade 
which follows shows only two hundred and thirty-nine miles, 
and since January, 1871, one hundred and forty-two miles, 
making in all one thousand six hundred and thirty-four 
miles at this time, May, 1880. In proportion to popula- 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



215 



tion, Tennessee has one mile of railroad for every seven 
hundred and fifty inhabitants, and one mile for every 
twenty-six square miles. England has one mile for every 
six square miles ; Ohio has one mile of railroad for every 
six hundred and forty inhabitants, and for every nine and 
seven-tenths square miles ; Connecticut, one mile for every 
six hundred and forty-one inhabitants, and for five and two- 
tenths square miles ; and New York, one for every nine 
hundred and fourteen inhabitants, and nine and six-tenths 
square miles. 

The Nashville and Chattanooga, in connection with the 
Nashville and Northwestern, owned and operated by the 
same company, is the shortest line from the West to the 
Southeast, and in addition to all-rail connections with Louis- 
ville, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis in the North and 
West, and with New Orleans, Montgomery, Mobile, Atlanta, 
Savannah, Augusta, Port Koyal, Charleston, and Wilming- 
ton in the Southeast, has the Mississippi, Tennessee, and 
Cumberland Rivers to draw from. It traverses the lieart 
of the richest sections in the State, passing directly through 
the middle of the Great Central Basin, throwing out arms 
to Shelbyville and Jasper, tapping the coal region at Cowan, 
intersecting the valley of the Tennessee River, and pene- 
trating a considerable portion of the cotton-growing district 
of Alabama ; then passing through a rich coal region on to 
Chattanooga. It also forms a junction with the McMinn- 
ville and Manchester road at TuUahoma, with the Fayette- 
ville road at Decherd, with the Suwanee road at Cowan, and 
with the Memphis and Charleston road at Stevenson. It 
is, in fact, a grand trunk line, gathering the products from 
each side through subordinate roads its entire length. It 
is now in first-rate order, with fine track, new bridges, fully 
equipped with superior engines, and the entire road, with 

' the exception of seventeen miles south of Decherd, is laid 

; with fish-bar iron. 

The main line of road, from Nashville to Chattanooga, is 
one hundred and fifty-one miles in length ; from Wartrace 
to Shelbyville is a branch road eight miles in length, and 
from Bridgeport, Ala., to Jasper, anotlujr branch, fourteen 
miles; sidings and other tracks, eleven miles; in all, one 
hundred and eighty-four miles. Gauge, five feet ; rails, 
sixty-five pounds to the yard. 

1 From a report made on the loth of August, 1873, to 

: the president. Col. E. W. Cole, by the general superinten- 
dent, Mr. J. W. Thomas, we gather the following informa- 
tion in regard to the business of this line for (he year ending 
June 30, 1873 : The receipts of the Chattanooga division 

1 have increased from $80,000 to §138,000 per month, or 58 
per cent. Deducting the earnings of the Shelbyville and 
Jasper branches (^$12,932,23), the receipts of the Chatta- 
nooga division average §10,878, expenses $7753.95, and 
net earnings §3124.05 per mile of road, — an average un- 
equaled but by two roads south of the Ohio River, the 
total operating expenses, ordinary and extraordinary, being 
seventy-one and one-half per cent, of gross earnings. 
There have been forwarded from Nashville over the Chat- 
tanooga division 2t),263 loaded and 5215 empty freight- 
ears, and 4027 passenger- and baggage-cars, making a total 
of 35,505 cars forwarded and 35,734 received; 1356 pas- 
senger-trains have been run over this drvision between 



Nashville and Chattanooga, 720 between Stevenson and 
Chattanooga, and 570 between Wartrace and Nashville, a 
total of 2646 passenger-trains, transporting, without the 
slightest accident, 166,184 passengers, an average of 62 
passengers per train, hauling 2.3 tons of dead weight to 
each passenger. There were transported 87,130 passengers 
north and 97,054 south, of which 47,861 were through 
and 118,323 local, at an average for through of §3.80 and 
for local of §1.75 each ; general average from each passen- 
ger, §2.34. Including passage, mail, and express, but ex- 
cluding Memphis and Charleston Railroad tolls, the receipts 
of the day passenger-trains have been $187,653.45, an 
average of $549.54 per round trip, or $1.98 per mile run. 
Receipts of the night passenger-trains were $165,530, an 
average of §453' per round trip, or §1.50 per mile run. 
Receipts of accommodation-trains, §36,106.75, an average 
of $115.35 per round trip, or $1.05 per mile run. Pas- 
senger-train mileage was 239,186 miles; earnings per train 
mile, $1.62 ; expenses, §1.12 ; net earnings, 50 cents. Car 
mileage, 956,744 miles ; earnings per mile, 40 cents ; ex- 
penses, 28 cents ; net earnings, 12 cents. 

There have been run 4414 freight-trains between Nash- 
ville and Chattanooga, 829 between Stevenson and Chatta- 
nooga, 620 between Bridgeport and Chattanooga, 87 be- 
tween Cowan and Chattanooga, and 161 between Cowan 
and Nashville, making 6111 freight-trains, transporting 
384,240 tons, at an average of §3.18 per ton. Average 
number of cars per train, 142 ; total mileage of freight- 
trains, 717,519 miles; earnings per mile, $1.72; expenses, 
§1.23; net earnings, 49 cents. Total freight-car mileage, 
10,477,162 miles; earnings per car per mile, 11|- cents; 
expenses, 8-| cents ; net earnings, 3-| cents. Total train 
mileage, 956,770 miles ; train earnings per mile, less Mem- 
phis and Charleston Railroad tolls, $1.70; expenses, 
$1.20^-5^ ; net earnings, 49y\ cents. 

A comparison of the statistics of this road with the re- 
ports of Massachusetts shows that the expenses per train 
mile are ten cents less here than in that State. 

From the tabulated reports made in 1873, it appears 
that the lumber shipped from the stations on the Nashville 
and Chattanooga Railroad going north and south amounted 
to over 5,000,000 feet ; coal, over 3,500,000 bushels ; cotton, 
29,000 bales; bacon, 1,500,000 pounds; wheat, 332,000 
bushels; corn, 211,000 bushels; flour, 6200 barrels; oats, 
10,600 bushels; hay, only 287 tons; hogs, 373 car-loads; 
cattle, 211 car-loads; hor.ses and mules, 71 car-loads. 
These figures are important as showing the productiveness 
of the country through which the road passes, but they 
leave out of the account a vast amount of minor products 
and merchandise shipped over the road. 

NASHVILLE AND NORTHWESTERN RAILROAD. 

This road, now consolidated with the Nashville and Chat- 
tanooga, forming the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 
Railway, was chartered as early as 1852, and was in the 
course of construction when the civil war put a check to 
all public enterprises in the State. It was projected by 
Vernon K. Stevenson, then president of the Nashville and 
Chattanooga Railroad, who caused the surveys to be made, 
and secured a large amount of subscriptions in different 



216 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



counties and towns supposed to be most interested in the 
enterprise. Little, if any, of these subscriptions were ever 
paid. The city of Nashville raised two hundred and seventy 
thousand dollars, with which the work of construction was 
begun, and it had progressed but twenty-nine miles from 
Nashville and four from Johnsonville, and was running to 
Kingston Springs, when the war commenced. During the 
war the United States, for military purposes, built the road 
to the Tennessee River at Johnsonville. At the close of 
hostilities Mr. Michael Burns, who was then president of 
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, applied to the 
Legislature for the amount the road was entitled to under 
the then existing laws, both for ironing and bridging. 
Through his active and continued exertions the entire aid 
was granted, and with it Mr. Burns was enabled to com- 
plete and open the road to Hickman, Ky., as originally 
planned and surveyed. Mr. Burns accomplished this work 
when labor was high and bonds were low, and when great 
energy, judgment, and ability were required to carry it to 
completion. It was finished towards the close of 1S68. 

On the 27th of October, 18G9, the president of the 
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, Col. E. W. Cole, sub- 
mitted a written proposition on the part of his road to the 
directors of the Nashville and Northwestern, in which he 
agreed to lease the last-mentioned road for a period of six 
years, to put the road in good repair, to pay out certain 
amounts for salaries, and to pay to the State of Tennessee, 
monthly, any surplus earnings which were to be credited to 
the interest due or to become due to the State upon the 
bonds issued to the lessor. Any surplus after this should 
be paid to the lessor. This lease continued in operation 
for three years, when, upon the suggestion of Col. Cole, a 
two-thirds interest in the road was bought by the Nashville 
and Chattanooga Railroad from the commissioners appointed 
by the Legislature and the Court of Chancery to sell delin- 
quent railroads in the State, individuals in Tennessee and 
New York taking the other third. The whole cost was 
two million four hundred thousand dollars in Tennessee 
bonds. After this the road was repaired thoroughly, new 
bridges constructed, new trestles built, new iron laid, and 
the whole road put in excellent order. Subsequently the 
directors of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, be- 
lieving it to be for the best interest of the company, bought 
out the one-third interest held by individuals, and the com- 
pany now owns the entire route from Chattanooga to Hick- 
man, Ky., as well as the branches to Jasper and Shelbyville, 
making the entire length three hundred and forty-one miles. 
This line is now called the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. 
Louis Railway. 

The gross earnings of the whole line for the year ending 
June 30, 1873, were §2,298,200.67, and accrued from 

Freight 81,607,328.35 

Passengers 018,781.96 

Mail _ 40,582.39 

Kents and privileges 31,507.97 

Total, as above $2,298,200.67 

I'or the Chattanooga division : 

Freight $1,222,841.50 

Passage 388,476.77 

Jf.ail 25,580.00 

Kents and Privileges 18,621.00 

$1,655,519.31 



65 



03 



The expenses were for 

Maintenance and improvement of roadway. $329,208.28 
Maintenance and improvement of motive 

power 389,207.92 

Maintenance of cars 96,404.19 

Conducting transportation 287,445.17 

Miscellaneous 81,528.15 

$1,183,787. 

Net earnings $471,731. 

For the St. Louis division : 

Freight $384,486. 

Passage 230,305. 

Mail 15,002. 

Rents and Privileges 12,880. 

$042,681. 
Expenses 569,150. 

Net earnings $83,531. 

LOUISVILLE, NASHVILLE AND GKEAT SOUTHERN 
RAILROAD. 

The main line of this road, from Louisville to Nashville, 
is one hundred and eighty-five miles. It was opened for 
business in November, 1859. The Memphis branch, ex- 
tending from Bowling Green, Ky., to Memphis, Tenn., a 
distance of two hundred and sixty-four miles, and embra- 
cing the Memphis and Ohio and the Memphis, Clarksvillc 
and Louisville Railroads, was opened in 1860. The two 
last-mentioned roads, built under separate charters, were 
bought by the company and consolidated. The Nashville 
and Decatur road was leased for thirty years, commencing 
July 1, 1872. The company acquired a controlling interest 
in the stock of the South and North Alabama Railroad, 
which was completed in October, 1872, putting the capital 
city of Tennessee in direct communication with the capital 
of Alabama. 

This road now constitutes one of the largest corporations 
of the South. It was the first road which placed in com- 
munication the cotton States of the South and Southwest 
with the great grain-growing States of the Northwest. 
Striking out boldly through the heart of Kentucky, it has 
thrown out branches and extended its main line until the 
aggregate number of miles has reached seven hundred and 
thirty-seven, three hundred and eighty of which are in the 
State of Tennessee. The value of property owned by the 
corporation is $25,583,575.91. The total earnings for the 
year ending June 30, 1873, were $1,909,426.44 ; expenses, 
$3,498,303.29, showing a net profit of $1,411,123.15. A 
dividend of seven per cent, was paid out of the earnings, 
besides interest on $14,820,500 bonded debt. 

ST. LOUIS AND SOUTHEASTERN RAILTTAT. 
This road is very important to Nashville, and to the 
whole country along its route. It traverses one of the most 
fertile regions of the Mississippi Valley, and also passes 
directly through the immense coal-fields of Western Ken- 
tucky and Illinois. The quantity of coal shipped to Nash- 
ville by this road is estimated to be four hundred and forty- 
nine thousand bushels ; to points south of Nashville, one 
hundred thousand bushels. All the towns on the line of 
the road from Henderson, Ky., to Nashville are supplied 
with coal from the mines in Kentucky, while immense 
quantities are carried to St. Louis from the coal-fields of 
Illinois. In addition to coal, tobacco, wheat, corn, and other 
products are transported by this road in large quantities. 




C-C^^T^-t^-^^ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



217 



The road is admirably located, and the facilities afforded 
for the erection of manufacturing establishments on its route 
are so great that they cannot long remain unnoticed by capi- 
; talists. Cheap living, cheap coal, fertile lands, unoccupied 
water-power, contiguity to the cotton-fields and to the iron 
regions, are some of the advantages of the country through 
■which this road passes. Good management and liberal 
rates on tlie part of its officers must eventually make it one 
of the most desirable roads leading to Nashville. 

The authorized capital stock of this road is $16,000,000, 
of which $11,000,000 are paid in; funded debt, $5,000,000 ; 
cost of construction, $11 ,089,000 ; equipments, $1,725,000 ; 
real estate, etc., $700,000. Net earnings in 1872, 
$169,779.16. 

TENNESSEE AND PACIFIC RAILROAD. 

This road runs from Nashville to Lebanon, the county- 
seat of Wilson County ; distance, thirty-one miles. It was 
projected to run to Knoxville, but financial embarrassments 
checked its progress for a time. The company bought the 
I interest of the State in the road on account of bonds 
amounting to $1,185,000, paying $300,000 therefor. The 
net earnings of the road in 1873 were $16,263.82. 

GREAT TRUNK RAILWAY TO THE SOUTHERN ATLANTIC 
SEABOARD. 

The plan of a great trunk railway from St. Louis to 

jl Charleston or Savannah began to be developed by Col. E. 

! W. Cole, president of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. 
Louis Railroad, in 1879. In pursuance of this plan. Col. 
Cole began by the purchase of the Owensboro' and Nash- 

j ville Railroad, which was followed, soon after, by the pur- 
chase, with his friends, of a controlling interest in the 
Western and Atlantic Railroad. To this quickly succeeded 

I the purchase of the St. Louis and Southeastern, from 
Evansville to St. Louis, with the line to be extended from 
Owensboro' to Evansville. Having formed his line from 
St. Louis to Atlanta, Ga., Col. Cole waited a while to se- 
lect his route to the sea, having in his mind one of the four 

i ports of Brunswick, Port Royal, Charleston, or Savannah. 
He did not think that it was practicable to distribute the 

; importing and exporting business of the line among a num- 

l ber of ports, but that it would require a concentration of 
the business upon one line and at one port to make it a 
success, as all past experience and failures of attempts to 
establish foreign steamship lines from Southern ports had 
clearly demonstrated. A concentration of business over one 
line to a given port on the South Atlantic was absolutely 
necessary to the success of the enterprise, and, while he 
might have felt entirely friendly towards all the ports, he 
did not think it wise, after reaching Atlanta, to waste his 
strength upon all of them and thereby hazard the success 
of this grand Transatlantic scheme, to perfect which he had 
spent so much time and thought. He was certainly the 

\ first to conceive of such a line under one management from 
the great West to the South Atlantic. To fritter away by 
distribution over three or four linos his business at Atlanta 
would have caused a failure of his plans, and deprived the 
South and West of the advantages of a great and successful 
trunk line' 
28 



After the movements made by him, indicated above, 
which were as rapid in conception and execution, in details 
and consummation, as were ever made bj' any general in 
ancient or modern times, the South was electrified by the 
announcement that he had secured perpetually the Georgia 
Central, from Atlanta to Savannah, with all of its connect- 
ing lines of more than one thousand miles, together with 
its steamships. 

Starting with but four hundred and fifty miles of rail- 
road, in less than eight months ho increased the mileage 
controlled by his company to about two thousand. He had 
completed his task, having practically cut off the Louisville 
and Nashville from St. Louis, the great depot of supplies 
in the West, turned its Southern flank by securing the 
lines from Blacon to Columbus and all other points in 
Southwestern Georgia, and ab.solutely getting in its rear by 
lines to Troy, IMontgomery, and Selma, Ala. At this point 
it doubtless became manifest to the Louisville and Nash- 
ville people that to defeat this gigantic plan, conceived and 
carried to its final consummation by Col. Cole and Governor 
Brown, they must buy a majority interest in the one com- 
pany that controlled this continuous system, the capital 
stock of which being but six million five hundred thousand 
dollars made the purchase no very difficult matter. It was 
accordingly purchased. 

The trunk line originated by Col. Cole, commencing at 
St. Louis, fed at Evansville by the line from Chicago, at 
Nashville by that from Louisville, and at Chattanooga by 
that from Cincinnati, with the idea of concentration at one 
port and under one direction, with headquarters at Nash- 
ville, it is conceded would have been entirely successful ; 
but few practical men who have given thought to the 
matter believe that an effort distributed among all the South 
Atlantic ports can be successful. The country, for a decade 
or two, may be deprived of such a great trunk line, but the 
seeds of this enterprise have been sown by Col. Cole, and 
there can be no doubt that they will ultimately bring forth 
good fruit.* 

COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 

MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE OF NASHVILLE. 
A meeting of the business men of Nashville was held in the 
rooms of the Cotton Exchange on the evening of June 12, 
1878, to plan for the organization of a body which should 
include the previous trade boards in one general body. 
On the 20th of June the following agreement was adopted 
and signed by thirty prominent business firms : 

" Resolved, That the organization be known as The Mer- 
chants' Exchange of Nashville ; that it shall embrace the 
present organization known as the Nashville Cotton Ex- 
change and Tobacco Board and all other organizations of 
similar character, and that we organize under the present 
charter of the Nashville Cotton Exchange ; and that the 
proper authorities be applied to to change the name to The 
Merchants' Exchange of Nashville. 

" The objects of this organization are to provide and regu- 
late a suitable room or rooms for a Merchants' Exchange 



«• Sec biography of Col. E. W. Cole. 



218 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



in the city of Nashville; to inculcate just and equitable 
principles of trade ; to establish and maintain uniformity 
in commercial usages ; to acquire, preserve, and disseminate 
valuable business information ; and to adjust controversies 
and misunderstandings between its members. 

"Any person or firm engaged in mercantile, manufacturing, 
banking, transportation, insurance, or kindred pursuits or 
business in this city may become an active member of this 
association, and the Board of Directors may have the privi- 
lege of admitting any citizen of our city to active member- 
ship on application. 

"The officers shall be a president and six vice-presidents, 
who shall constitute a Board of Directors, and shall be elected 
annually on the first Wednesday in September. The prop- 
erty, affairs, business, and concerns of the Exchange shall 
be managed by the Board of Directors, who shall employ 
a secretary and elect a treasurer, prepare suitable rooms for 
the Exchange, and adopt rules ibr the government of all 
transactions within the Exchange. 

" An annual meeting shall be held at the Exchange on the 
last JNIonday in August, to hear the report of the retiring 
officers, and other meetings can be called by the Board when 
necessary. 

" The annual dues shall be thirty dollars, payable semi- 
annually, in advance. 

" All election of officers shall be by ballot, each member 
or firm being entitled to only one vote. The president and 
six vice-presidents shall constitute a Board of Directors for 
the Exchange. 

"The other officers of the Exchange shall be a secretary 
and treasurer, who shall be chosen by the Board of Di- 
rectors." 

The following officers were then elected : Col. J. P. Mc- 
Guire, President ; H. C. Hensley and G-. M. Jackson, Vice- 
Presidents, to serve until September, 1880; John N. 
SpeiTy and Frank Moulton, Vice-Presidents, to serve until 
September, 1879; J. II. Wilks and John J. McGavock, 
Vice-Presidents, to serve until September, 1878. 

At a subsequent meeting of the Board of Directors, 
John N. Sperry was elected treasurer, and James BIc- 
Laughlin secretary. 

The Board was immediately incorporated under the 
general law, upon application made June 25, 1877, by John 
P. McGuire, C. H. Hensley, George M. Jackson, J. M. 
Sperry, Frank Moulton, J. H. Wilkes, John J. McGavock. 

Presidents, J. P. BIcGuire, 1877-79 ; H. C. Hensley, 
1879-80; Vice-Presidents, John N. Sperry, Ilefry C. 
Hensley, John J. McGavock, Frank Moulton, G. M. 
Jackson, J. P. Dobbins, 1878-80; Treasurer, John N. 
Sperry, 1877-80; Secretaries, James McLaughlin, 1877 
-78; L. II. Wilson, 1878-79; Thomas H. Bradford, 
1879-80. 

STATEMENT OF IMPORTS. 

The following is a carefully-prepared statement of the 
goods imported by Nashville between Sept. 1, 1879, and 
March 1, 1880, made from an actual canvass by Thomas 
H. Bradford, Esq., secretary of the Nashville Merchants' 
Exchange : 



Imports. 


Number. 


Value. 


AVhere From. 


Agricultural imple- 


125,000 
ll.fiGl 

G,r)7o,(:ioo 

00,000 
70,000 


8125,000 


Dayton, Cincinnati, Springfield, 
Oliio; Riclmiond, Ind.; Wis- 
consin; Illiuois; Kentucky; 
Missouri. 


"Capfgiiig, pieces 


a94,200 
125,000 

3,000,000 


State of Tenne.':see. 

Cincinnati, Ohio ; Indianapolis, 

Bitaton, Mass. 

Received from surrounding coun- 

tics; little shipped. 
New York, imported direct. 

Home product ; shipped mostly to 
Alabama, Georgia, and Missis- 
sippi. 

Hickman, Ky.; South Bend, Ind.; 
Louisville, Ky.; Ohio; Wis- 
consin. 

Pliiladelpliia, Pa. ; New York. 

Philad.-Ipliia, Pa.; New York: 
Detroit, Midi. 

New York, Philadelphia, Cincin- 
nati. 

New York, Philadelphia, Balti- 
more, Cincinnati, St. Louis, 
Louisville. 

New York and Philadelphia. 


Bt-er, ki'ijs 

Boots and shoes, cases 






100,000 
3,800,000 
1,000,000 

65,000 

200,000 
3G,U00 

1,500,000 

1,500,000 

5,500,000 
5O.U00 
12,000 
25,U00 

50,0(10 

20,000 

2,000,000 

20,000 
1,500,000 

1,500,000 
250,000 

300,000 

200,000 
50,000 
200,000 

Gi.OOO 


Cuffet', sarks 

Cuni, car-loads 

Cairiagrsand wagons 


55.000 
5,00U 




CaiiUy, puunds 


^00,000 


Druggists' supplies. .. 
Dry gnods, including 








J'riiir, green, l-usliels. 
Kerliliv.ers, pounds... 


7.500 


Michigan and New York. 
Michigan, Virginia, New York. 
New York, Cincinnati, Chicago. 
New York and Birmingham, Eiig. 
Evansville, Louisville, St. Louis, 

Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, 

Kentucky. 
New York and Cincinnati. 
New York, Boston, New Orleans, 

Philadelphia. 
New York, Pittsburgh.Cincinnati. 
Manufactured in Nashville. 

Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Ironton, 
Portsmouth, Cincinnati, St. 
Louis. 

New York and Philadelphia; sil- 
ver and plated ware, Cincinnati. 

Chiefly New York ; little from St. 
Louis and Cincinnati. 

New Yoi k, and factories in Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Cincinnati, and mostly Louisville. 

Home proiiutt. 

From the W.-st. 

Louisville, Baltimore, Cincinnati, 

and other markets. 
Fifty per cent, from New York, 
1 alanco Cincinnati and other 
markets. 

West Virginia. 

Chicago, Ciricinirati, Ohio, Evans- 
ville, New York, Philadelphia. 

Cincinnati, Madison, Ind. 

St. Louis, Louisville, Citicinnati, 
and Zanesville, Ohio. 

Viiginia amiKentncky. 

St. Louis, Baltimore, Cincinnati. 

North Carolina and Kentucky. 

New York and Ohio. 
Philadelphia and New York. 
St. Loni:^, Cincinnati, Louisville. 
Illinois, Ohio, ludiana, Missouri. 








37,400 
















Iron mauulaclured, 


6,000 




Leather, pounds 


200,000 


Notions and fancy 

goods 
Oils, pelroleum, bar- 

Tl'ls 


8.000 

150,000 

100,000 

900 

150 

r.5,rioo 

3,500,000 

4o,nr)n 

25,000 

2,000,000 

10,000 

100,000 

12,500 

18,000 

2,000 

20,000 




P..rli,hogs 


1,200,000 
210,000 

150,000 

135,200 
150,000 

14.000 
150,000 

800,000 

55,000 

50,000 

312.500 
flO.OOO 

lo.ono 

1,000,000 






Salt, barrels 






Stoves, number 

Tobacco, plug, pounds 

ToUlCro, fiUK-CUt, 


Tobacco, smoking, 


Tobacco, cigars, thou- 


Suuff, boxes 

Vinet:ar, barrels 

^Vbi^ky,ba^els 



Cotton. — For the year ending Sept. 1, 1873, NashvilliS 
shipped to American cities 63,051 bales of cotton, of which 
38,523 went to the city of New York alone. Besides this, 
38,645 bales passed through the city in transit. In the 
year ending 1878, with ten per cent, less acreage, and a 
poor season as another drawback, the shipment reached 
55,605 bales. Of this, 34,500 bales were shipped direct to 
Liverpool, England. The other leading shipments were, — 
wa Louisville and Nashville llailroad : to Canada points, 
C94; New York, 1550; interior points, 12,254. Via 
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad ; to Boston, 100 bales; 
New York, 1095; Baltimore, 75; interior, 1055; New 
Orleans, 295 ; Memphis, 107. The crop for the last year 
handled in Nashville is estimated at nearly 75,000 bales. 
There are here engaged in this business one weigher, one 





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CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



219 



cotton-compress, sixteen fiictors, one liirge cotton-manufac- 
.tory, and two seed-oil mills. 

I The advance in railroad facilities lias wrought a great 
revolution in the trade by bringing the interior markets 
into direct communication with tiie large manufacturing 

! markets of the world, and through these extraordinary and 
beneficent changes Nashville, in addition to the old-time 
outlet by way of New Orleans, has opened up to her 
cotton trade the outlets via Mobile, Pensacola, Savannah, 
Port Royal, Charleston, Norfolk, Now York, and Boston, 
through all of which shipments have been made to Euro- 
pean markets, and by bringing all these routes into active 
competition it is possible at times to secure rates as low as 
those ruling in many of the ports ; and that these advan- 
tages are being duly appreciated abroad is clearly proved 
by the rapid increase of foreign business. It is only 
about seven years since the first shipment was made from 
this market to Liverpool on through bills of lading, and 
yet so great are the facilities for this trade at present that 
seventy-five per cent, of the whole receipts for the past 
season were shipped direct from this to foreign markets, 
and upon its steady growth Nashville will have a basis 

I upon which to largely increase her receipts from year to 
yeai-, regardless of the extent of the crop planted in her im- 
mediate vicinity. 

; The Liquor Trade began to assume vast proportions 

' immediately at the close of the war. The Fifth District 

>: became largely engaged in the manufacture of whisky as 
early as 1872, and a large amount of capital was invested 
in the most approved machinery. So superior a brand was 
made that it found imitators in many of the more western 
cities. The sales for 1873 reached 100,000 barrels, valued 

,at $5 000,000. There were besides nearly §2,000,000 

I worth of imported liquors handled. A single Nashville 

' brewery turns out GOO kegs of malt liquor per week. Ten- 
nessee, throughout the Southern country, has very justly 
the reputation of manufacturing the purest and finest 

' whisky made in this country. The Lincoln and Robertson 
County whiskies of this State have as much reputation to- 
day throughout the country as did the celebrated Bourbon 
whisky of Kentucky years ago. Nashville is tlie natural 
outlet for these celebrated whiskies. The sales in 1878 
were 31,945 barrels. For the sis months ending March 
1, 1880, 20,000 barrels of whisky, valued as 8100,000, 
and 60,000 kegs of imported malt liquor, valued at 
8125,000, were sold in Nashville. The trade is thought to 

; have increased nearly one quarter within the last two years. 

! There are within the city four large distilleries, 17 whole- 

] sale winc-and-ii(juor dealers, and 62 saloons. 

The Boot-and-Shoe Trade has nearly doubled since 
1873. It then amounted to about §2,000,000 annually. 
For the si.^ months ending March 1, 1880, there were im- 
ported 70,000 cases, besides which a large amount of first- 
class goods are manufactured here. There arc 2 large 
manufactories, 56 custom manufactories, 7 wholesale and 
17 retail dealers. The imports mentioned reached a value 
of S3, 000, 000. There is a large amount of capital invested 
and some of the best business men of the city engaged in 
the shoe business, sending out to all divisions of the State, 
to North Alabama, North Georgia, North Mississippi, and 



Southern Kentucky, nearly 100,000 cases of goods an- 
nually. There is no more prosperous business in the city 
than the boot-and-shoe trade. 

Hats. — This is also a growing trade, and reaches an 
annual wholesale amount of nearly $400,000. 

The Hardware Trade. — With the growing demand 
for improved agricultural implements, farm tools, and the 
necessary mechanical tools and fixtures for a rapidly-grow- 
ing country, this trade has become important. Sales are 
constantly increasing, and new demands are being made 
upon the trade to keep pace with modern innovations. A 
large amount of wood-working machinery has within the 
last decade been put in motion. In 1871 the business 
amounted to $900,000; in 1872, $1,300,000; in 1873, 
$1,500,000. These latter figures were reached in the first 
six months of 1880; besides which, there were §125,000 
worth of agricultural implements handled within the same 
time. 

There is no branch of business in this city growing more 
rapidly in importance, and no city in the South where more 
select stocks of agricultural implements can be found. And 
notwithstanding the ever-increasing demand for implements 
and seeds of all kinds, the market is able to supply the 
demand fully and satisfactorily. The immense business 
being done in this line shows with what industry and energy 
this branch of business is being pushed. 

Eleven houses are devoted exclusively to the trade in 
implements of agriculture, sixteen in wholesale hardware 
trade, two in horse-shoes, and eleven in stoves and tinware. 
The trade is largely increased by the increase in home man- 
ufacture of various ironware productions. There are five 
iron-dealers, one manufacturer and vender of iron railings, 
three of building materials, one elevator manufacturer, and 
the following producers of manufactured iron : Steam-en- 
gines, four ; general machine-shops, six ; foundries, six ; 
millwrights and mill-furnisher, one ; nickel-plater, one ; 
plows, one ; plumbers, nine ; sheet-iron workers, three ; 
wire-workers, one ; carriages, eleven ; wagons, seven ; lock- 
and gunsmiths, eight. 

Tobacco. — ^The production of this important article of 
commerce has been constantly on the increase since the re- 
establishment of civil government in Tennessee. For the 
year ending Sept. 1, 1872, there were but 946 hogsheads 
of leaf tobacco received at Nashville, and not a regular 
tobacco-liouse in the city. The tobacco raised in the State, 
and in the country in Kentucky bordering on the Upper 
Cumberland River, was then shipped direct to Louisville or 
New Orleans. The next year showed a rapid increase to 
2002 hogsheads. Since then, this has become a source of 
considerable income. There are now several houses engaged 
in the business, and tobacco finds a ready sale when offered. 
The amount handled in this market in the year ending 
Sept. 1, 1873, was 6513 hogsheads. A large portion of 
this product is raised in Smith, Trousdale, Wilson, Macon, 
Jackson, Sumner, Putnam, De Kalb, Overton, Clay, and 
Fentress Counties. The imports of manufactured tobacco 
for the six months ending March 1, 1880, were 2,111,000 
pounds, valued at $995,000, and 12,500,000 cigars, valued 
at $312,500. The trade now commands the attention of 
four brokers, five dealers, four factors, and one stemming 



Ll 



220 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



establishment. Tliere are within the city seven cigar-manu- 
factories and six wholesale and fifteen retail dealers in 
cigars, who also conduct a large tobacco trade as a branch 
of their business. 

Provisions. — The receipt of 17,000 hogs a year at this 
point was called a fair trade as late as 1S70. By 1873 the 
annual receipts had reached 35,000, about 25,000 of which 
were packed in this city and the remainder sent South. 
For the six months ending March 1, 1880, there were 
100,000 hogs, representing a capital of §1,200,000, re- 
ceived in Nashville from the West. The increased demand 
for salt in packing has caused to be consumed within the 
same time 65,000 barrels. For the year ending with 
August, 1878, 81,310 hogs were received, of which 35,000__ 
were taken by two packing-houses of this city, and 38,000 
shipped to other markets. There are now three pork-pack- 
ing establishments regularly engaged in this business. Five 
large stock-yards receive the cattle, sheep, and hogs sent 
here for a market. 

Sheep and C.\ttle. — There were 29,985 sheep sold 
in this market in 1878 as the product of Tennessee farms. 
Of these 20,000 head were exported to other markets. 
The product for 1873 was but 1G,000 head. 

The excellence of Tennessee beef has made Nashville an 
important shipping-point for this product. Twenty-one 
thousand head of cattle were sold here in 1873, at an 
aggregate value of about §072,000. For the year ending 
1878 the number of cattle received and handled in this 
market was 19,010 head, of which 12,000 were shipped to 
other markets. 

Nashville has become one of the largest stock-markets 
of the South. But the most gratifying feature of this 
report is that the figures as given above, representing the 
receipts of cattle and sheep, show that they are alone the 
raising of Tennessee farmers, and not importations from 
other markets. 

The Dey-Goods Trade. — This business has always 
been under the control of reliable business men. During 
the terrible disasters of 1857 there was not a single sus- 
pension by Nashville merchants, and their credit stood high 
in the Eastern States throughout the panic. In 1850 there 
were but three wholesale dry-goods houses in the city, — 
Morgan & Co., Douglass & Co., and Eakin & Co., — all of 
whom continued in business until the war. The sales for 
1850 were about $125,000. In 1800 they were about 
$2,250,000. In 1873 they were about §4,000,000. There 
are now eleven wholesale and forty-six retail dry-goods 
dealers in the city. These imported for the first half of 
the commercial year ending Sept. 1, 1880, goods amount- 
ing to §5,500,000 in value. The trade extends over 
Northern Georgia, North Alabama, North Mississippi, and 
to the West, where the trade was formerly claimed by the 
merchants of St. Louis. 

The Grocery Trade. — Before the opening of the 
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and its connections, 
Nashville received the trade of Middle Tennessee, a little 
of South Kentucky, and some with wagons from North 
Alabama. On the completion of the road merchants from 
East Tennessee, North Georgia, and Alabama increased the 
trade. Capacious buildings were erected, and the amount 



kept in stock vastly increased. From an insignificant trade, 
hardly employing §100,000 capital in 1850 for both whole- 
sale and retail, there was employed at the outbreak of the 
war a capital of over §400,000, extending the trade to 
Virginia and East Kentucky on the north and Louisiana 
and Arkansas to the southwest. During the low water in 
1859 goods were brought from New Orleans to Memphis 
by river, thence by rail, and sold more than halfway back 
to Memphis for the retail trade. The leading lines for 
1871 were 14,000 hogsheads and 1800 barrels sugar, 
13,000 barrels syrup and molasses, 50,000 bags cofiee, 
with sales amounting to §10,000,000. 

The shipment in sugar for the year 1878 was: New 
Orleans and Porto Rico, hogslieads 2952 ; refined and 
hards, barrels 15,492. The shipment of cofiee for the year 
amounted to 29,252 bags. The aggregate value of the 
sugar and coffee was §1,464,412. The grocery trade for 
the first half of 1880 was §1,500,000. There are fourteen 
wholesale and two hundred and eighty-nine retail groceries 
in the city. 

Notions and White Goods. — In 1873 the sales by 
two houses reached §1,300,000. There are now fourteen 
wholesale notion stores and thirty-nine mixed stores, doing 
a flourishing business. 

Drugs.— This trade amounted to §900,000 in 1872, and 
§1 ,600,000 in 1873. The imports for the first half of the 
present year were §1 ,500,000. The city contains six whole- 
sale and thirty-eight retail stores, besides which there are 
three manufactories of medicines. ■ 

Clothing. — In 1860 there were one wholesale and fifteen 
jobbing and retail clothing-houses. At the close of the 
war tlie business amounted to §1,000,000 per annum. In 
1871 it footed §600,000; in 1873, §1,200,000 ; one-half 
year in 1880, §1,500,000 from two wholesale and fifteen 
retail houses. 

Wheat. — ^The wheat crop handled here previous to the 
war was estimated at about 2,000,000 bushels. There were 
throe flouring-mills in and near the city in 1861. The num- 
ber was increased to five soon after the war. There are 
now eight. Notwithstanding a short crop in 1878, there 
were 1,225,000 bushels of wheat sold in this market in 
that year, and 1,800,000 bushels of corn. The wheat 
handled here has reached 1,800,000 bushels for the first 
half of 1880 ; corn, 5000 car-loads, valued at §1,000,000. 

Oats.— 1873, 100,000 bushels, valued at $50,000 ; 1878, 
350,000 bushels, valued at §122,500 ; 1880, first half-year 
estimated at over 300,000 bushels. 

Hav. — There is an immense trade in this market for the 
article of bale hay, there having been shipped from here for 
the last year, reported by the Board of Trade, 36,933 bales. 

Wool. — There has been a marked increase in the ship- 
ment of wool from this market the past year, as also a great 
improvement in the quality and the condition in which it 
was marketed. The shipment for the year amounted to 
337,000 pounds. 

Dried Fruit. — The amount of dried fruit shipped from 
this market for the past year was 1,056,333 pounds. The 
receipts of this article in this market are increasing every 
year. It has, in fact, become a source of considerable revenue 
to many of our smaller class of farmers. Value, §59,689. 




Ofa 



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CITY OF MASHVILLE. 



221 



Peanuts. — This is also an article of considerable im- 
portance as a source of revenue to the smaller class of 
farmers in Bliddle Tennessee. Tiie amount shipped the 
past season from this market amounted to 109,000 bushels, 
the value of which was 170,850. 

Miscellaneous.— Potatoes, 9005 barrels; cheese, 13,- 
100 boxes sold ; candles, 10,100 boxes. 

Eggs. — Nashville receives an average of from 25,000 to 
30,000 dozen eggs a week, at an average price of from 10 
to 12 cents per dozen. The receipts from Georgia and 
Alabama average 10,000 dozens per week for the first four 
months of the year. The main shipments are to New York 
until May, when they find a Southern market for the re- 
mainder of the year. 

TRADE-LLST. 

The following trade-list will furnish an idea of the im- 
mense business of Nashville, and its importance to the 
surrounding country : 

MERCANTILE. 



No. of 
Bnv-ich of Trade. Dealers. 

AgricuUur.il implements 11 

Artificial flowers I 

Artificial liuibs 1 

B.iliers, wholesale 7 

Bakers, retail H 

Boots and shoes, wholesale... 7 

Boots and shoes, retail 17 

Bottlers 2 

Butchers 35 

Carpets sind oil-cloths 2 

China, gl.i.ss, and queenswaro 3 
Cigars and tobacco, whole- 

s.ilc 6 

Cigars and tobacco, retail — 15 

Clothing, wholesale 2 

Clothing, retail 15 

Coal 2+ 

Coke 2 

Coflfee-roasters 5 

Confectioners 19 

Dentists' supplies 1 

Druggists, wholesale 6 

Druggists, retail 38 

Dry goods, wholesale 11 

Dry-goods, retail 46 

Furnishing goods, gentle- 
men's 11 

Furnishing goods, ladies' — 1 

Feed 7 

Fertilizers , 1 

Flour 3 

Florists 6 

Fruits, wholesale 4 

Fruits, foreign 2 

Fruits and confectionery 17 

General or mixed stores, not 

groceries 39 

Grain 9 

Groceries, wholesale 14 

Groceries, retail 289 

Hardware, wholesale 16 

Harness and saddles 12 

Horse-shoes 2 



No. of 
Br.ancli of Trade. Dealers. 

Hides 4 

Hats and caps, wholesale 3 

Iron 5 

Ir(jn railing 1 

lee 1 

Junk 2 

Jewelers 17 

4 

3 

, 13 



Leather and findings 

Lime and cement 

Lumber 

Millinery, wholesale 

Millinery, retail 

Musical instruments 

Notions, wholesale 14 

Oils 4 

Oysters, game, and fish 8 

P.aints, wholesale 2 

Paper 4 

5*ictures and frames 5 

Produce 29 

Railroad tickets 3 

Keal estate 15 

Stationery 17 

Sand and gravel 2 

Salt 2 

Sewing-machines 8 

Steam-engines 4 

Stoves and tinware 11 



18 
3 



Surgical instruments 

Tea-dealers 

Telephones 

Tobacco-brokers 

Tobacco-dealers 

Tobacco-factors 

Tobacco-stem mers 

Toys, wholesale 

Toys, retail 

Trimmings 

Wall pajjcr 

Wines and liquors, wholesale. 

Wood for fuel 

Woodcnware 

Yarn 



OTHER BUSINESS PURSUITS AND PROFESSIONS. 



Attorneys-at-law (firms) 129 



21 



Architects 

Auction and commission 

houses 

Bankers and brokers 

Carpenters and builders 

(firms) 

Civil engineers 6 

Claim agents 4 

Collection agents 2 

. Commission-merchants 24 

Dentists 24 

Express companies 3 

Grain-elevator 1 

Hotels 19 

Infirmary 1 

Insurance agents 16 



Livery stables 

Mercantile agency 

Nurseries 

Notaries public 

Oculists 

Paver of streets, etc 

Plumbers ■ 

Plasterers 

Publishers of newspapers 

and periodicals 

Printers 

Physicians 

" honiojopathic 

Restaurants 

Saloons 

Stock -yards 



1 
2 
1 
4 
5 
4 
1 
1 
4 
1 
5 
17 
6 
1 
1 



28 
1 
4 
8 
2 
1 
9 
2 

31 

15 

114 

5 
13 
62 

5 



MANUFACTURES. 



Bags 1 

Baskets 2 

Bee- hives 1 

Bird-cages 1 

Blank-books 3 

Book-binderies 4 

Boiler- makers 2 

Boots and shoes 2 

Boxes, wooden 2 

Boxes, paper 2 

Brick 1 

Brooms 2 

Builders' materials 3 

Candy 

Carriages 

Chewing-gum 



Cigars 



11 

2 

7 

Coopers 6 

Cotton-factory 1 

Distilleries 4 

Dyers 3 

Electric batteries 1 

Elevators 1 

Engines 1 

Flour and feed 8 

Foundries 6 

Furniture 14 

Furniture-repairers 3 

Gas (Gas-Light Co.) 1 

Hair goods 2 

Looking-glasses 3 

Locks and guns (repairers)... 8 

Lumber (saw-mills) 5 

Machinery and repairers 6 

Mattresses 2 

Medicines 3 

Mill stones 1 



Mills (millwright) 1 

Nickel-platers 1 

Oil (cotton-seed) 2 

Organs 1 

Paints 1 

Paper bags 1 

Photographs 

Pictures and frames 

Portrait-painters 

Pipe-maker 

Planed lumber (planing 
mills) 

Plows 

Potteries 

Powder (gun})Owder) 

Pork-packers 

Publishing-houses 7 

Pumps 1 

Regalias 1 

Kubber stamps 1 

Roofers (layers of roofs) 1 

Saddle-trees 1 

Sheet-iron work 3 

Shoes (custom) 56 

Shoe-factories ,» 2 

Show-eases 3 

Soap 4 

Tags 1 

Tailoring (merchant) 8 

Tanners 4 

Trunks 2 



Umbrellas 

Undertaking. 

Vinegar 

Wagons 

W^atch-cascs . 
Wire-work ... 



Tanneries. — The Nashville Tannery, on the Nolensville 
turnpike, was in operation before the war, giving employ- 
ment to a large number of men and employing a capital of 
over $200,000. Their orders wore filled for the New York, 
Charleston, S. C, Savannah, New Orleans, Chicago, and 
Milwaukee markets. This was then the largest tannery in 
the Southern States. 

The Jackson Flourinq-Mills, on College Hill, built 
by John J. McCann in 1868, since remodeled by E. T. 
Noel, have five run of French buri-stoncs of 54 inches 
diameter each, with a capacity of 400 barrels of flour per 
day, and are provided with the best cleansing and grading 
appliances. 

The Elevator Mills, E. T. Noel, proprietor, were 
located near the North Carolina and St. Louis Railroad, 
between Ewing and Vine Streets, in 1874, in connection 
with a grain-elevator, from which the mill is named. The 
elevator is 100 feet high, 33 feet wide at the base, and, 
with lower rooms attached, is 125 feet in length. There 
are 20 bins, 10 by 16 feet, and 46 feet deep each, so ar- 
ranged that a complete circuit can be made by all the grain 
from one bin to any other. The mill adjoining furnishes 
the motive power. The warehouse is of wood, 40 by 200 
feet, and three stories high. The bran is propelled through 
a pipe 370 feet to this repository by means of a fan driven 
at high speed. The power is furnished by a 160 horse- 
power CorlLss engine. The two mills and the up-town office 
were connected by a private telegraph-line before the days 
of the telephone. 

There are besides six other mills, located as follows : 

Cedar Street Mills, C. Powers, proprietor. Cedar 
corner of Park Street. 

Church Street Mills, Mullen & Shane, Church 
Street corner of Front. 

City Flocring-Mills, established before the war; 



222 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



three run of stones for flour ; Mclver & Lipscomb ; on 
North McLemore near Cedar Street. 

Mill Creek Flouring-Mills, Calvin Morgan, pro- 
prietor, 108 and 110 South Market Street. 

New Era Mills, New Era Company, proprietors, near 
the Decatur depot, south of the cemetery. 

Riverside Mills, Craighead, Ford & Co., proprietors, 
76 South First Street. 

The product of these mills is all of a superior quality, 
and finds a ready market at prices which prove its worth. 

The Tennessee Manufacturing Company. — This 
company was organized for the manufacture of cotton Sept. 
20, 1869, by the election of the following officers and board 
of directors : Samuel D. Morgan, President ; A. G. Adams, 
James Whitworth, R. H. Gardner, Thomas Plater, Michael 
Burns, W. D. Talbox, Samuel Prichitt, and K. J. Morris, 
all of whom were of the leading financiers and capitalists 
of Middle Tennessee. 

W. B. Tuber, an experienced manufacturer, was chosen 
superintendent, and James Plunkett secretary and treas- 
urer. Contracts were entered into Jan. 1, 1870, and the 
work of building carried forward so rapidly under the im- 
mediate supervision of Messrs. Morgan, Whitworth, Gard- 
ner, and Adams, president and executive committee, that 
a brick mill-building was presented to the stockholders 
Aug. 3, 1871, nearly complete, four stories high, besides 
the basement, wiih all the necessary outbuildings for the 
accommodation of 13,820 spindles, 400 looms, and its at- 
tendant preparatory and finishing machinery. One hun- 
dred and fifty looms and 7500 spindles were immediately 
put in operation. Tlie power was furnished by two 200 
horse-power steam-engines. This was considered by prac- 
tical men of the East as a model mill. With a paid-up 
capital of over §300,000, operations were commenced be- 
fore Jan. 1, 1872, manufacturing standard sheetings, drills, 
and shirtings. These goods were most favorably received 
by the trade, and at once were placed in the front rank 
among the various brands of cotton goods manufactured in 
the United States. In October, Mr. Jlorgan retired from the 
presidency, and was succeeded by Hon. James Whitworth. 

Under his management the company purchased and paid 
for the balance of their machinery, and commenced the 
manufacture of heavy brown sheetings, which soon attained 
a demand beyond the capacity of the mills to supply. These 
brands were known as Nashville 4/1 — 2.85 lb sheeting; 
Nashville 7/8—3.35 lb sheeting ; Nashville— 2.82 lb drills ; 
Rock City 4/4 — -3.35 lb sheeting ; and Rock City shirting, 
weighing 4.25 ft. For the year ending Sept. 1, 1873, this 
factory consumed 2328 bales of cotton, weighing 1,106,405 
pounds, costing an average of 15 cents per pound. From 
this cotton there were made, during the same period, 
1,918,406 yards of 4/4 sheetings; 20,000 yards panolas ; 
312,384 yards of 7/8 sheetings; 315,117 yards of 7/8 
drills ; and 30,254 yards of batting, remnants of cloth and 
waste amounting to 107,076 pounds. The actual loss in 
manufacture was 36,272 pounds. The cost of manufactur- 
ing was §90,159.14, equal to 10.1 cents per pound, or 3.42 
cents per yard. This work gave employment to 202 female 
and .66 male operatives, at an average price of about $5 
each per week. The entire assets, including 14 acres of 



land, were then $469,297.29, and the liabilities were 
§149,110.19, with a capital stock of $320,187.10. The 
net profits for that year were over §41,300. Seventy-five 
thousand dollars wore invested in additional machinery, in- 
creasing the number of operatives to 400 persons. This 
factory continued to run on full time throughout the gold 
panic ensuing without a reduction of wages. Thirteen bales 
of cotton are consumed daily, with a success equal to that 
of its first years, and a second cotton-factory is now being 
founded, upon the assurances made by the success of the 
Tennessee Manufacturing Company. 

Wood & Simpson's engine and general repair-shop com- 
menced operations in 1859, under the management of the 
present proprietors, B. G. Wood and Tliomas S. Simpson. 
Besides a full complement of machinery for all kinds of 
shop- work, they have extensive blacksmith- and boiler-shops, 
and there is also, under the separate management of Mr. 
Wood, a foundry, machine, and sheet-iron working-shops, 
the whole furnishing employment to 35 skilled mechanics. 
Steam- and water-pipes, tubular boilers, and all kinds of 
machinery made here find market in the rapid development 
of Tennessee and the surrounding States. 

The Engine- Works of John B. Roman, 94 South 
Cherry Street, have connected with them an extensive foun- 
dry. Besides these, there are the foundries of -O'Connor & 
Co., Perry & Durmont, and Stewart & Bruckner, the sheet- 
iron working establishments of W. A. Miller and H. BIc- 
Caslin, and the extensive railroad shops at the Chattanooga 
depot, whose work is not a part of the city trade, though 
furnishing a large number of operatives with constant em- 
ployment. 

These railroad shops comprise the engine repair-shops, 
from which some good locomotive engines have also been 
sent forth new, an extensive round-house, and, a block to 
the south, a car-shop, where the company's cars are made 
and repaired. This is under the management of James 
CuUen, Esq., superintendent for the company. 

Prewitt, Spurr & Co. — The wooden-ware and lumber 
manufactory of Prewitt, Spurr & Co., nearly opposite 
the steamboat-landing, surrounded by huge rafts of logs on 
one side and grassy fields and suburban residences of Edge- 
field on the other, is one of the most prominent industries 
of the city. The grounds comprise 28 acres, half of which 
are occupied by the lumber-yard and buildings, and having 
a river front of 1220 feet. 

The buildings include saw-mill, 28 by 108, planing-mill 
and stave-saw department, 40 by 130, and bucket-factory, 
40 by 130, in second story, and varnish-room, 28 by 108, 
in second story, three dry-kilns, 20 by 24, two stories high, 
and a warehouse, 40 by 80, two stories and basement. 

Their productions are red-cedar buckets, churns, and 
cans, oak well-buckets, ash-ware, packing- buckets of white 
wood, and all kinds of lumber. One hundred and twenty- 
five men and boys are employed, making from 800 to 1000 
pieces and sawing from 20,000 to 25,000 feet of lumber 
daily. Their supplies of timber are obtained from Stone's 
River, Caney Fork and Cumberland Rivers. Their ship- 
ments of lumber are about one car-load daily, besides sup- 
plying their local trade. Their manufactured goods find 
sale in more than half the States of the Union, includinfr 






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^TOHE HODM 



BLEVATED fifilL ROAD 



PUMP DEPARTMENT 



E.P SMITH Pr£S. 



SOUTHERN PUMP Co'S WORKS, m 







6ASH, BLIND AND DCOR Fal rORr 
^, . FINI6HINQ BUILDING AND PUMP RUOM 

'V/LLE TENN . r.m lafferty 

H L. HA LI. 



S ' OHt. Huu^t 



DIRECTORS 



G.V^.BUSS, Sec. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



223 



I the markets of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, 

' St. Louis, Cincinnati, Charleston, Atlanta, New Orleans, etc. 
The machinery includes all the modern appliances for the 
business, and is driven by two engines of 50 and 80 horse- 

1 power respectively. The business was established in 1866, 

i .ud has since furnished constant employment to a large 
number of operatives in cutting, running, and sawing the 
rough lumber before it entered the works proper, as well as 

j the skilled operatives inside. 

f The Edgefield and Nashville Manufacturing 

' OMPANY was incorporated Nov. 12, 1874, with a paid-up 
L pital of one hundred thousand dollars. E. R. Driver was 
first president, J. M. Sharpe treasurer, George W. Jenkins 
secretary, Charles Kich superintendent of the furniture 
department, and W. K. Miller in charge of the warerooms. 
The system adopted was to make the stockholders and 
workmen the same persons, and thus secure economy in all 
branches. Their building is a large brick, 45 by 140 feet 
in dimensions and five stories in height, situated on South 
First and Main Streets, Edgefield, and a large saw- and plan- 

ji ing-mill upon the bank of the river. Their yards cover ten 
acres of ground. This factory produces all kinds of bed- 
room, kitchen, dining-room, and oflice furniture, desks, 

I counters, school furniture, book-cases, church pews, besides 

: sash, blinds, mouldings, doors, etc., including the very finest 
and most costly workmanship. Ninth Ward and Fogg 
school-rooms were equipped with furniture from this fac- 
tory. They carry on an immense trade, competing directly 
with the cities of Louisville and Cincinnati for the more 
distant markets. About two hundred men are employed. 
In February, 1880, the roof of the main building was dis- 

1; placed by the gale, causing a loss of some sixteen thousand 
dollars. An oiSce was soon after opened at 36 North Col- 
lege Street, Nashville, and connected with the mills and 

I factory by telephone. The ofiicers are J. M. Sharpe, Presi- 
dent ; W. K. Bliller, Secretary ; Charles Rich, Superin- 

, tendent. 

j The Southern Pump Company. — This company was 
formed early in 1873 by the following-named gentlemen, 
E. P. Smith, R. M. Lafforty, S. W. Freeman, for the pur- 
pose of manufacturing wood pumps, and to take advantage 

1 of the quantities of white wood or yellow poplar lumber, 
which is a very sweet wood in water, and is the only wood 
suitable for the manufacture of pumps. The first of the 
year 1874 the parties made an addition to their number of 

' George W. Bliss and Henry L. Hall. The first of the fol- 
lowing year, 1875, their business having increased very 
rapidly, and finding it diSicult to procure the amount of 
lumber necessary for their use, decided to erect a factory 
and saw-mill combined, and purchased fourteen acres of 
land on the Cumberland River and Louisville and Nashville 

I Hailroad, and erected thereon a two-story building, one 
hundred and six by one hundred and twelve feet, and a 
boiler-room, engine-room, and machine-shop, twenty-five by 

|[ one hundred and six feet, fireproof. Also a store-room and 

nishing-shop of seventy-five by one hundred feet. They 

.so put in an engine capable of giving three hundred 

horse-power, three circular saw-mills, and four WyckolF 

j patent pump augers. 

I The logs for stocking the mills have been brought by 

I 



this enterprising company from the upper Cumberland, 
above the falls, being run singly through the falls and 
rapids, then caught in booms at Point Isabel, and rafted 
down to Nashville, some four hundred miles. These gen- 
tlemen have been the first parties to successfully achieve this 
experiment, it having been previously considered imprac- 
ticable. 

The pumps manufactured by the company are secured 
by various patents, the inventions of Mr. R. M. Lafferty, 
one of the members of the firm, and they have the ex- 
clusive right of their sale in the United States. 

On the first of January, 1880, the other members of the 
firm purchased the interest of S. W. Freeman, and were 
incorporated under the name of the Southern Pump Com- 
pany, — the name which they have always borne. They 
have steadily added to their business, until at the present 
time they are manufacturing all the kinds of lumber of 
this section, in addition to pumps, and tubing, sash, doors, 
blinds, moulding, picture-frames, and wooden boxes, and 
are shipping their wares to nearly every State in the Union. 
At present they are running their factory night and day, it 
being supplied with electric lights, and employ in their 
various departments about two hundred and twenty-five 
men. They manufacture on an average one pump every 
two minutes, — a greater capacity probably than that of any 
other wooden pump factory in the United States. They 
have recently added three new dry-kilns, o'f the Excelsior 
pattern, capable of drying forty-six thousand feet of lumber 
per day. E. P. Smith is president, and George W. Bliss 
secretary. 

Furniture. — While limited space forbids the individual 
mention of even the most prominent of the fourteen ex- 
tensive furniture-manufactories in Nashville, an idea of the 
extent of this interest may be had from the fact that a 
single company in 1872— the Tennessee Chair- and Furni- 
ture-Manufacturing Company — was formed with a capital 
of S150,000. Their shipments within two years extended 
to New York, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and 
even to San Francisco, Cal., and throughout the Gulf 
States. The extensive forests of walnut and other woods 
of Kentucky and Tennessee adapted to this business find 
their natural market here, and manufacturers find this, with 
its railroad and river transportation, an especially favored 
shipping point for their wares. 

Besides the mills mentioned, there is the Indiana Lumber 
Company, — who commenced business in Edgefield in 1876 
with a capital of §50,000, and furnish constant employ- 
ment to some thirty operatives, — the mills of Lieberman, 
Loveman & O'Brien, and the Cumberland Lumber Com- 
pany's mills, all doing a large business in cutting away the 
extensive forests of the upper Cumberland, and increasing 
the business development of Nashville. 

The Bag-Factory of Ogden Bros., at 17 and 19 South 
Market Street, like the four box-factories, is an outgrowth 
of the immense manufacturing business and its require- 
ment for thousands of shipping packages weekly. The 
bag-factory produces paper and cotton flour-sacks, supplying 
many of the Indiana and Norfhwestern millers. Burlaps, 
corn- and wheat-bags, seamless grain-bags, paper grocers' 
counter- bags, and all the grades of wrapping-paper are in- 



224 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



eluded in their trade. Their burlap trade extends through- 
out the Southern and Gulf States. Fifteen thousand cot- 
ton and 10,000 paper bags can be made daily. Forty thou- 
sand impressions per day are made by their printing-presses. 
This industry was commenced by the present proprietors, 
A. S. & William H. Ogden, in 1866. 

Leather. — The chief tannery is that of W. G. Cun- 
ningham & Co., whose manufacture is harness leather from 
foreign hides. 

Stiles Mason's tannery makes skirting from foreign hides. 
Robert Bathurst makes harness, skirting, and upper or 
shoe. Berner Domsley and James Shanks operate exten- 
sive sheepskin-tanneries ; and a small yard in connection 
with the collar-factory of George Blarsh furnishes the 
leather for his shops. Most of the domestic hides are 
shipped to other points. The bark used is mostly chestnut- 
oak, obtained from the mountains about Tracy City and 
from North Alabama. There are six dealers in hides, the 
chief of which is the firm of Walsh & McGovern. 

Three tanneries in the city in 1873 produced about 
13,000 sides harness leather; 5000 sides skirting; 2000 
sides sole; and 1000 sides wax upper leather and kip, ag- 
gregating §115,000. There are now four tanneries within 
the city, besides the product of which, there were 200,000 
pounds, worth §50,000, imported during the first half of 
1880. 

Gunpowder. — Nashville has been the depot and dis- 
tributing-point for the Sycamore Powder Company since 
the opening of its works in Cheatham County, on Sycamore 
Creek, twenty-five miles distant, in 1845. The mining 
interest furnishes their present custom, the sales reaching 
25,000 kegs per annum from this point. E. C. Lewis, 
secretary and superintendent of the company, has his 
office at 28 Market Street, while the magazine is located 
just outside the city, to the northward. 

Cotton-Seed Oil and Oil-Cake. — A new industry 
was commenced in 1870 by tiie organization of the Dixie 
Oil Company, for the manufacture of crude and refined 
cotton-seed oil, seed-cake, and meal, under the management 
of the present ofiicers of the company, Robert Thompson, 
President, and Henry Sperry, Secretary. A large brick 
building was built for the works near the Chattanooga de- 
pot, and " a 32-box" manufactory put in operation. The 
oil found a ready market for mixing paints and use in the 
mechanical industries, while the seed-cake and meal were 
shipped in large quantities to the distant p]astern States or 
to Europe, where it was used as feed for farm-stock. An 
unmarketable gra.de of oil was utilized in the manufacture 
of a superior grade of toilet and laundry soap. Previously 
the seed had been wasted, or spread on the fields as a fer- 
tilizer. After three years the capacity of the mills was 
doubled. The present consumption of seed is between 
5000 and 6000 tons per annum, giving employment to fifty 
operatives, and producing daily about thirty barrels of oil. 
There are $150,000 invested iu this manufactory. 

A second oil-works was established by the Tennessee Oil 
Company near the Decatur depot, in the south part of the 
city, soon after. Of this INI. J. O'Shaughnessy, Esq., is 
president. There are here six mills and a complement of 
machinery. 



NASHVILLE AS A CENTRE FOR THE MANUFACTURE 
OF IRON.« 

Bliddle Tennessee possesses two classes of iron ore, the 
brown hematite or hydrous oxide, and the red hematite or 
anhydrous oxide. The last is limited in extent and con- 
fined to two or three banks near Clifton, in Wayne County, 
about one hundred miles southwest of Nashville. Rich 
specimens, however, are found associated with the hydrous 
oxides at other points. • Brown hematite is found in work- 
able quantities and of excellent quality in Stewart, Mont- 
gomery, Houston, Dickson, Humphreys, Hickman, Perry, 
Lewis, Wayne, Decatur, Benton, and Lawrence. These 
counties lie from Montgomery on the northwest around to 
Lawrence, a little west of south from Nashville, the nearest 
county being Dickson, due west about thirty miles. Tiie 
most distant are Wayne and Lawrence, about one hundred 
miles at the farthest point on the Alabama line. This is 
the great western iron belt, running north and south en- 
tirely through the State and embracing over five thousand 
square miles. It is traversed by the Cumberland River in 
the counties of Stewart and Montgomery, about seventy- 
five miles by river below Nashville, where the Cumberland 
enters into the iron-fields of Kentucky. 

In the counties of White, Putnam, and Overton, lying 
east of Nashville, are also deposits of the hydrous oxides 
in sufficiently large quantities to justify working. 

Of the various forms of hydrous oxides in Middle Ten- 
nessee the chief are : 

1. Pot ore, — hollow concretions, stalactitic, botryoidal 
and velvety on the interior surface. From crust to interior 
are various layers with different shades of brown, having 
a varied crystallization. A very valuable ore. 

2. Pipe ore, which resembles reeds agglutinated ; rust- 
colored and very highly prized by furnace-men. 

3. Black Jack ore, a compact black or bluish ore, richj 
but more refractory in the furnace than the two first men- 
tioned. 

4. Honeycomb, — filled with small cavities, sparry and 
easily smelted. 

5. Brown-clay ironstone, having contorted laminae, like 
a mass of adhering and closely compressed shells, concre- 
tionary and sparry. 

6. Shot ore, — small angular masses. Never much used 
alone ; usually obtained from screening other varieties. 

7. Bog ore, — rough, pock-marked, porous, spongy, and 
silicious. Never used to any extent, though abundant in 
places. 

8. Yellow ochre, — soft, crumbly, dull, and earthy. 
Associated with these, and more especially with the pot 

ores, is turgite, and for that reason often taken for hydrous 
oxide, but really an anhydrous oxide. It often constitutes 
one of the concretionary layers that form the hollow, ball- 
like mass, but it may be distinguished from the hydrous 
oxide by its superior hardness, its red streak, and by its 
decrepitation. The line between this and the hydrous 
oxide is very distinct and the cohesion is very slight. The 
presence of turgite gives great richness to many of the 



"'•^y J. B. Killelrcw, A.M., Ph.D., Comn.istioner of Agriculture, 
;?t.itistic5. Mines, and Immigration. 




JOSEPH W. HORTON. 



Joseph W. Horton was born in the (_'ounty of 
Davidson, Tenn., on the 15th of August, 1792, and 
died Oct. 31, 1846, at his residence near Nashville. 
He was a son of .Josiah Horton, who removed from 
Wilmington, N. C, about tlie year 1790, and settled 
in Davidson County. He was a good business man, 
of fine practical sense and of unsullied character. 
His son, Joseph W., received a fine classical educa- 
tion, and graduated with honor and distinction at the 
Nashville University ; he was prominently identified 
with all the local public enterprises of the day. He 
filled many j^laces of trust with integrity and marked 
ability ; was the cashier of the Bauk of Tennessee, 
and was for two terms the efficient sheriif of David- 



son County. He was a man of great firmness of 
character, of strict truth and honor, and of great 
popularity. Tolerant though firm in his political 
principles, he was of the Jackson and Jeffei'sonian 
school of politics, a great admirer of Gen. Jackson, 
who had the highest confidence in him, and the 
most confidential relations existed between them. 

Joseph W. Horton married Sophia Davis, daugh- 
ter of John Davis, of Davidson County, Jan. 18, 
1815. They were the parents of seven children, three 
of whom are now living. Elizabeth J. is the widow 
of Alexander Fall ; Joseph W. is a merchant in 
Nashville; Dr. William D. resides at Providence, 
R. I. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



banks in the western iron belt, and analyses of specimens 
show sixty-three per cent, of metallic iron, and even more 
when disassociated from the liydrous oxide. 

Still another valuable associate is goethite, or fibrous 
hematite (needle ore or onegite), found in the western iron 
belt. This, though a hydrous oxide, contains a very small 
percentage of water and about ninety per cent, of the ses- 
quioxide of iron. This ore is not so abundant as the tur- 
gite, but adds great value to the banks in which it occurs. 
The presence of these two ores makes the brown hematite 
of the western iron belt resemble those brought from Bil- 
boa, Spain. 

The following are analyses of ores made by J. Blodget 
Britton, of Philadelphia. The first specimen is from Cum- 
berland Iron-Works, Stewart County, taken from the north 
side of the Cumberland River, and the second is from the 
soutli side : 



Pure metallic iron 

Oxygen with iron 

Water 

Insoluble silicious matter.. 
Soluble silica 



North Side. 
... 67. Si 
,.. 24.S7 
... 11. ill) 
3.59 
... 0.78 



Sulphur none 

Phosphoric acid 0.54 

Alumina 0.1 3 

Lime 0.05 

]\langnnese 0.03 

Manganese, undetermined matter 

and loss 0.71 



Soutli Side. 
50.22 
21.88 
11.06 

3.21 

0.13 
none 

0.36 . 

0.49 

0.17 

0.06 

0.42 



Total 100.00 

Phosphorus 0.24 



100.00 
0.16 



A specimen from Bear Spring Furnace, Stewart County, 
gives, as analyzed by Prof Burton ; 

Water 10.94 

Silica 4.77 

Metallic iron 59.98 

0.\ygen combined 26.70 

Sulphur O.U 

Phosphorus 0.40 

A specimen from Mill Creek Bank, in Hickman County, 
gives (Britten's analysis) ; 

Metallic iron 49.23 

Si licious matter 17.59 

Sulphur.. none 

Phosphorus 304 

Near Mill Creek Bank is another deposit called Claggett's 
Bank, covering about fifty acres, an average specimen from 
which, according to J. Blodget Britton, gives : 

Pure metallic iron .'>4.]6 

Insoluble silicious matter 13.98 

Sulphur none 

Phosphorus 365 

I From the ^■Etna Banks, in Hickman County, covering 
many square miles, and varying in thickness from a few 
feet to eighty or more, the following analyses were made by 
the same analyst : 

No. 1— 

Pure metallic iron 4G.49 

Insoluble siliciolis matter 18.36 

Sulphur none 

I'husphorus 371 

No. 2— 

Pure metallic iron 57.56 

Insoluble silicious matter 3.90 

Sulphur none 

Phosphorus 2UI 

21) 



No. 3— 

Pure metallic iron 53.1 7 

Ins (luble silicious ranttcr 10.01 

Sulphur none 

Phosjihorus 130 

No. 4— 

Pure metallic iron 53.72 

Insoluble silicious matter 3,73 

Sulphur none 

Phosphorus OS! 

No. 5— 

Pure metallic iron 59.89 

Insoluble silicious matter 3.35 

Sulphur none 

Phosphorus 041 

Numbers 4 and 5 arc very large deposits, about sixty 
feet thick, and covering in the aggregate over one hundred 
acres. It will be seen that these ores are very rich, and 
with an exceedingly low percentage of phosphorus and no 
sulphur. The uodetermined elements in all these analyses 
are oxygen with iron and water, the first varying from 20 
to 28 per cent., and the last from 10 to 14 per cent. 

No. 6, another large bank, gives : 

Pure metallic iron 55.59 

Insoluble silicious matter 7.11 

Sulphur none 

Phosphorus 327 

No. 7, a specimen of turgite from the Cumberland 

Iron-Works, gives : 

Pure metallic iron. 59.64 

Insoluble silicious matter 5.41" 

Sulphur none 

Phosphorus 141 

No. 8, a specimen of Needle Ore or onegite, gives : 

Pure metallic iron 63.37 

Insoluble silicious matter 1.71 

Sulphur none 

Phosphorus 123 

All the analyses numbered have been made within the 
past month from average specimens taken from the 
several banks. The insoluble silicious matter consists of 
pure sand. Very little trace of manganese could be de- 
tected in any of the specimens. 

A dozen analyses might be given of ores from Stewart 
and Dickson Counties, showing metallic iron, sulphur, phos- 
phorus, and silica. Those given are, however, fairly typical. 
Take one, limonite, however, from Lawrence County, in the 
extreme south, from a bank on the dividing-ridge between 
Knob and Chism Creeks : 

M'ater 11.83 

Silica 1.01 

Iron 59.60 

• Iron with o.'cygeQ 25.54 

Sulphur 0.16 

Phosphorus 1.06 

One specimen taken from La Grange Furnace, in Stewart 
County, on the Tennessee River, shows, as analyzed by Prof. 
E. S. Wayne, 65.75 per cent, of metallic iron. Another 
specimen from the same place, analyzed by Prof. Barton, 

gives : 

Water .3.65 

Silica 1.96 

Iron 65.92 

O.'vygen combined 28.25 

Sulphur 0.04 

Phosphorus 0.12 

Another specimen from Stewart County, analyzed by the 
same chemist : 



226 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Water 8.38 

Silic.i 2.19 

Iron Oa.Ol) 

0.\ygen combined 27. 0^} 

Sulphur 0.1)7 

Phosphorus 0.3S 

Tho first of the last two was calcined, and the last tur- 
gite. The same character of ore may be found on many 
of the banks in every county of the western iron belt. 

The three ores, analyses of which I have given — namely, 
limonite, goethite, and turgite — when pure, turn out as fol- 
lows: 

Limonite 85. fi ses. o.^idc iron ^59.02 metallic iron 

Turgite 94.7 " " 66.25 " " 

(Jtethite 89.9 " " 62.92 " " 

The best ores from this belt, with the imperfect means 
of smelting, turn out from fifty to fifty-four per cent, of 
metallic iron. The run of the mines will yield from forty- 
two to forty-five per cent. 

The iron product of Middle Tennessee, with few excep- 
tions, is either neutral or slightly cold short. Red-short 
iron has been made in Dickson County. Any amount desired 
can be made by bringing the easily-accessible Iron Mountain 
ores to Nashville, or other points in the western iron belt, 
at a cost not exceeding seven dollars per ton. As to the 
amount of iron ore to be had in the western iron belt 
that is accessible, both by river and rail, ft is sufiicient to 
say that many of the banks cover from one to five square 
miles,, and the ore is from a few feet to one hundred feet 
in thickness. In some of the counties it forms great bluifs 
on the small streams that interpenetrate every portion of 
the iron-field, in others the ore lies deep beneath the sur- 
face, but generally it is found cropping the hills and ridges 
that separate the stream-beds. Some of these banks have 
been worked for half a century with no sign of exhaustion. 
In a word, the ore exists in such abundance that it is prac- 
tically inexhaustible. Good beds of ore, as yet known only 
to citizens, exist within a mile of the railroads in Dickson 
and Humphreys Counties. One of these, in the last-named 
county, near Box Station, is very pure and very rich in 
metallic iron. 

I now propose to give some figures to show the relative 
cost of making iron at Pittsburgh and at Nashville, not with 
the view of displaying the disadvantages of Pittsburgh, but 
the advantages offered by Nashville. 

It is claimed that one and a half tons of the best Lake 
Superior ore will make one ton of pig-iron in the furnaces 
at Pittsburgh ; but since mill cinder enough is always used 
to make one-tenth of a ton, we may infer that one and six- 
tenths of a toil of Republican ore are required to a ton of 
pig-iron. The most favorable estimate of cost claimed by 
•workers of Pittsburgh furnaces is as follows ; 

Cost of Material for Ton of Pig-iron at Pittslurgli. 

One and six-tenth tons of Lake Superior ore at 

Cleveland, at $9 ,.,..,..,, SH.'JO 

Freight from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, SI. 90 per ton.. ZM 
Transfer at Pittsburgh at 10c. per ton 16 

Total cost of ore for ton pig-iron ,. SI". 60 

Coke, SO bushels aX ia ,..., 3.2Q 

Limestone, three-quarters ton at .$2 ,, , ].5Q 

Salaries and labor per ton ,., 2.00 

Contingent expenses 50 

Total .S24.S0 



The cost of material and labor for making'a ton of pi", 
iron at Nashville, the furnace to be located on a railroad, 
is as follows, taking average ore : 

Cost of Material fur Ton of Fig-Iron at Nashville. 

Two and one-fourth tons of ore, delivered, at S2 $4.50 

Eighty bushels coke, at 5o 4.00 

Ijimestone 50 

Salaries nnd labor 9 00 

Contingent expenses 50 

Total §11.50 

Coke will probably be a variable quantity, but contracts 
may be made on a sliding scale, to be regulated by the 
price of pig-iron, so as to give to the manufacturers of coke 
and pig-iron an equitable division of the profits. 

These figures are startling exhibits. Let them be ex- 
amined minutely. Every point can be thoroughly investi- 
gated, and every one will be thoroughly established. It is 
strange that capital has not occupied such a field, this being 
the truth. Capital is slow to adventure, however, — even to 
inquire, — and then slow to occupy. The world is full of 
similar cases of slow conservatism, waiting for years before 
it acquires the courage to occupy, or even to investigate, 
fields which when developed have been found sources of 
individual wealth and national pro.'perity. For three hun- 
dred years after the discovery of America the rich prairies 
of the Northwest, now the granary of the world, were un- 
occupied and thought to be valueless. 

In many places in the western iron belt a man can raise 
from four to six tons of iron ore a day, especially at the 
iron bluffs overhanging ravines, as in Hickman County, 
where the ore can be chuted on board the cars. One man 
can average daily three tons. Contracts can be made for 
ore to be delivered on the cars at seventy-five cents to one 
dollar and ten cents per ton ; freight, eighty miles to Nash- 
ville, eighty cents and royalty ; if the iron banks are not 
owned by the furnace, ten cents, — making the whole cost, 
including royalty, from one dollar and sixty-five cents to 
two dollars per ton. The estimate of tho cost of labor and 
salaries per ton of pig produced is based upon information 
received at a locality where two furnaces, each producing 
fifty tons a day, are in operation. 

The following estimate of the cost of making a ton of 
iron at Nashville was made in June, 1879, by a Pennsylvania 
manufacturer, who spent some time in investigatin"' the 
subject : 

Two tons of ore at SI. 50 , $3.00 

So bushels of coke at 5c 4.25 

Limestone ; 59 

Siind fur casting ]q 

Labor and repairs 2.25 

Incidentals 50 

Total $10.60 

In none of the estimates has the interest on investment 
been included, but as the investment would probably be less 
ill Nashville than Pittsburgh, and certainly much less in 
rural districts, owing to the comparative cheapness of real 
estate and building material in Tennessee, it would chance 
the relative results in favor of Tennessee. 

For the manufacture of charcoal-iron this region has been 
noted for half a century. Before the civil war there were 
at one time thirty-five charcoal-furnaces in operation. Tim- 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



227 



bcr is very abundant and timbered lands cheap, ranging 
from one dollar to ten dollars per acre, depending upon 
location and differences of soil. Charcoal can be delivered 
at a furnace for about six cents for five peek bushels. An 
experienced iron-maker estimates the cost of making char- 
coal hot-blast iron in the western iron belt as follows, per 
ton : 

1.50 bushels charcoal at 6c $9.00 

2i tons of ore ntSI.50 3..S7 

Liinostono per ton 50 

Labor and repairs 2.25 

Sand for casting 10 

Incidentals 50 



■ Total $15.72 

Cold-blast charcoal-iron would probably cost two dollars 
per ton more ; but as all furnace-owners keep a supply store, 
the profits on goods sold will reduce the cost from ten to 
twenty per cent, on the prices given for material. 

Nashville is situated on the Cumberland River, navigable 
from December till June, and oftentimes throughout the 
whole year for small steamers, and Nashville may be con- 
sidered as the centre of the iron and coal region of Middle 
Tennessee. Within a few miles to the west it has the vast 
western iron belt, extending out of Kentucky into Ten- 
nessee and crossing into Alabama, accessible now by the 
Cumberland Iliver ; by the Memphis division of the Louis- 
ville, Nashville and Great Southern Railroad ; by the Ten- 
nessee River, connecting with the Nashville, Chattanooga 
and St. Louis Railroad at Johnsonville ; by the Nashville 
and Tuscaloosa Railroad, a branch of the Nashville, Chat- 
tanooga and St. Louis Railroad from Dickson's Station, 
now building, to cut the great iron banks of Dickson and 
Hickman Counties, and already completed to large and val- 
uable banks. The ores of Iron Mountain are accessible by 
the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad and the 
Iron Mountain Railroad, which are connected by the Mo- 
bile and Ohio Railroad at Union City and Columbus, Ky. 
The great Clinton (dye-stone) ore seams of Alabama are 
within reach by the Decatur branch of the Louisville, 
Nashville and Great Southern Railroad, connecting with 
the North and South Railroad at Decatur. In addition, 
there are iron fields along the western spurs of the Cum- 
berland table-land, to which the Blanchester and MoMinn- 
ville Railroad, a branch of the Nashville, Chattanooga and 
St. Louis Railroad, is graded and built within a few miles. 
This, however, is purely speculative. The great and vir- 
tually inexhaustible sources of the best ore are the western 
belt, with Alabama and Iron Jlountain ores easily accessi- 
ble for manufacturing all grades of pig-iron. 

The Appalachian coal-field, about sixty thousand square 
miles in extent, passes clear through Tennessee, from north- 
east to southwest. Of this, five thousand one hundred square 
miles are in Tennessee, covering, in whole or in part, twenty- 
one counties, and including the whole of the Cumberland 
plateau. This plateau bifurcates near the longitudinal cen- 
tre of the State, one prong ending a short distance within 
Alabama, the other prong narrowing at the fork and then 
spreading out, in the shape of a heart, in Alabama, giving 
to that State about four thousand square miles of valuable 
and rich coal area. Nashville now reaches these fields, one 
hundred and six miles distant by rail, in Grundy County, 



at the Sewanee Mines ; in Franklin County, at the Uni- 
versity Blines; in Marion County, at the Battle Creek 
Mines, the .^tna Mines, and the Vulcan Mines, — all by 
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and its branches, 
except the two mines first mentioned, which are reached by 
the Tennessee Coal Company's railroad, connecting with 
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad at Cowan. Coal 
from the Appalachian field is also obtained from Kentucky 
by the Cumberland River above Nashville, anJ by the De- 
catur branch of the Louisville, Nashville and Great South- 
ern Railroad from Alabama. 

The Illinois coal-measures extend into Kentucky, begin- 
ning at Rome, on the Ohio, and running nearly to the 
mouth of that river and nearly over the western end of 
Kentucky, to within a few miles of Hopkinsville, seventy 
miles from Nashville. This is now one of Nashville's large 
sources of coal supply by the Evansville, Henderson and 
Nashville Railway, which cuts the coal-measures, and along 
which many extensive mines have been opened. 

Recently the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad pur- 
chased the Owensboro' and Nashville Railroad, contem- 
plating its extension between Nashville and the Ohio River, 
cutting a very rich portion of the coal-measures. 

These are the sources and means of reaching iron and 
coal now. The figures given are carefully made up from 
examination into the prices at which iron and coal can now 
be furnished. They show what can be done with these 
sources and the present means of reaching them. 

As to transportation, taking Nashville as the natural 
centre of this iron region, it now has the Nashville and 
Chattanooga Railroad, connecting with the East Tenne.ssee, 
Virginia and Georgia road, and the Atlantic, Mississippi 
and Ohio Railroad with the seaboard at Norfolk and with 
the Southern system of roads to the Gulf; also, soonwith 
the Cincinnati Southern at Chattanooga. It has connection 
with the Mississippi River and with St. Louis by the north- 
western branch of the Na.shville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 
Railroad, and very early the same road will complete a new 
connection with the Ohio River and Chicago by the Owens- 
boro' road, while it is now pushing a road into the iron-field 
southwest along the Tennessee River. We have the Louis- 
ville, Nashville and Great Southern Railroad giving con- 
nection with Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis on 
the north, on the south with Montgomery, Mobile, and 
New Orleans, and with the Mississippi River on the west, 
and by the Evansville branch reaching St. Louis, Chicago, 
and other great centres of trade. At least six months in 
the year there is river connection with Louisville, Cincin- 
nati, and St. Louis, and also for a like period we have river 
connection at Point Burnside with the Cincinnati Southern 
Railroad, by the upper Cumberland, during the busiest 
iron transporting season, giving a competing line to Cin- 
cinnati as a check upon the Louisville, Nashville and Great 
Southern Railroad, in case a check is needed. 

Clarksville is another point on the Cumberland River 
with splendid facilities for making iron. Ore can be reached 
by the Louisville and Memphis Railroad and by the Cum- 
berland River, along whose banks below the city are immense 
deposits of both pipe and pot ore. A narrow-gauge rail- 
road, built tw'enty-eight miles into Kentucky, will give un- 



228 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



limited supplies of coal, but supplies can now be obtained 
by the Evansville branch of the Louisville and Nashville 
Eailroad and by the Cumberland River. 

Both Nashville and Clarksville are also amply supplied 
■with labor available at present, while they are the centre of 
an agricultural region, both in the central basin and on the 
river-lands, unsurpassed in fertility and variety of soil and 
productions, contributing an unfailing and easily and 
cheaply available source of home-produced food, and, 
added to this, excellent transportation facilities for supplies 
from abroad. 

As to local conveniences, furnaces may be established 
directly on the railroad and on the river, and occupy any 
desirable or convenient situation near the road as to eleva- 
tion. The railroads are all connected, so that terminal 
facilities are the very best for receiving coal and ore and 
shipping iron, while both places are built on limestone, 
cropping out everywhere and rarely more than four feet 
beneath the surface, requiring slight labor to raise, and now 
obtainable at less cost than I have given in my estimate. 

The advantages possessed by the western iron belt for 
making iron may thus be summarized : 

1. Ores easily mined'and .smelted. 

2. Abundant facilities for transportation both by river 
and rail, and every market in the Mississippi Valley easily 
accessible. 

3. Available ore of great variety for the manufacture of 
any desired grades of iron. 

4. Supplies of good coal from Kentucky, Tennessee, and 
Alabama, making an arc of coal-fields around Nashville of 
two hundred and twenty degrees, all reached by river or 
rail. 

5. Abundance of good limestone for flux, costing only 
blasting and cartage. 

6. Abundance of cheap labor. 

7. Mildness of climate, giving an annual average of from 
ten to fifteen degrees of mean temperature above the iron 
centres of the Nofth. 

8. Fertility of soil, excellence of climate and water, food 
cheap and abundant. Mildness of climate also makes living 
cheaper, and, consequently, labor cheaper. 

9. Smaller investment of capital necessary to secure iron 
and coal properties. 

10. The superior quality of Tennessee iron made from 
the brown ores of the western iron belt has been tried 
and found equal to any in use, and capable of standing the 
severest tests. 

I wish to say in conclusion that either the cost of making 
iron at Pittsburgh has been greatly overrated by those en- 
gaged in this business, or the figures given and the facili- 
ties offered make a most favorable and even startling exhibit 
for Middle Tennessee. The estimates for Pittsburgh are 
based upon letters received from prominent and trustworthy 
iron-men, and there can be no doubt of their correctness. 
They do not certainly err in being too high. The estimates 
for Tennessee are based upon careful inquiry, widely ex- 
tended and long continued, embracing every possible scru- 
tiny to avoid error, and calculated with due allowance for 
any variations that can be reasonably expected in contract 
prices or freight. I expect them to be carefully examined, 



and I invite the most searching inquiry. If I am correct, 
inquiry will not fail to show it. If there is a flaw any- 
where, investigation will not fail to detect it. My conclu- 
sion, from the facts which I have in my possession, is, that 
of all tiie places in the United States, no three points offer 
such facilities for making cheap iron as Chattanooga, Nash- | 
ville, and Clarksville, and that in process of time these 
three points will become, each assisting and sustaining the 
others, the triune centre of iron-manufactare in America. 

BANKS. 

The Fir-st National Bank of Nashville was the first bank 
established in Tennessee under the national banking law. 
It was incorporated in November, 1863, with an authorized 
capital of $150,000, and was the result of demands made 
by the unsettled and temporary business of the war period. 
A. G. Sanford was the first president, and James G. Og- 
den cashier. M. Burns, of Nashville, succeeded as presi- 
dent in 1870. 

In November, 1875, the Mechanics' National Bank was 
organized with a paid-up capital of $100,000, the stock 
being mostly held in Nashville. B. F. Wilson was elected 
president, and W. C. Butterfield cashier. The board of 
directors included the names of leading business men of 
the city. 

Jan. 13, 1880, these two banks united to form a new or- 
ganization under the name of the " First National Bank of 
Nashville, Tennessee," with a cash capital of $300,000. 
Nathaniel Baxter, Jr., was made President ; Samuel J. 
Keith, Vice-President ; John P. Williams, Cashier ; and 
Theodore Cooley, Af-sistant Cashier. Directors : Nathaniel 
Baxter, Jr., Samuel J. Keith, John P. Williams, Theodore 
Cooley, Edmund W. Cole, president Nashville, Chattanooga 
and St. Louis Railway ; Thomas W. Steger, altorney-at-law ; 
Thomas D. Fite, of Evans, Fite & Porter, wholesale dry 
goods ; Henry Jletz, wholesale and retail clothier ; G. M. 
Fogg, of East & Fogg, attorneys-at-law ; E. S. Wheat, 
United States mar.shal ; John Lumsden, president State 
Insurance Company ; S. L. Demoville, of Demoville & Co., 
druggists; John C. Gordon, of Gordon, Brother & Co., 
cotton and tobacco ; B. F. Wilson, of R. T. Wilson & Co., 
New York City; M. J. O'Shaughnessy, president Nashville 
Cotton-Seed Oil Company ; H. W. Grantland, of Morris, 
Stratton & Co., wholesale grocers, cotton and tobacco fac- 
tors. 

The bank building on the corner of Union and College 
streets, long and favorably known before the war as the 
Planters' Bank, and afterwards occupied by the Mechanics' 
National Bank, was chosen as the place of business for the 
new organization. 

This is one of the leading banking institutions in the 
South, and the leading one of Tennessee. It carries a loan 
account of more than $1,000,000, and has a deposit account 
of above $1,300,000, with an increasing business commensu- 
rate with the times. It is a designated depository of the 
United States and of the'State of Tennessee, and also holds 
the united patronage of both the old banks, as well as an 
increasing correspondence. 

A Second National Bank was organized, but soon sus- 
pended. 




"^^■■by AS3aciv.-T^^- 



o^^v^r> 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



229 



The Third National Bank of Nashville was organized in 
July, 1SG5, with an authorized capital of 11,000,000, of 
which S100,000 was paid in. By the accumulation of sur- 
plus this has been increased to 1200,000. The bank has 
always been well patronized ; its deposits have for a long 
time averaged $600,000, and its loans §500,000. Its first 
officers were Dr. W. W. Berry, President ; John Kirkman, 
Vice-President ; Edgar Jones, Cashier. These gentle- 
men, together with Messrs. C. E. Hillman and D. Weaver, 
constituted the board of directors. The stock is mainly 
held in the city of Nashville. Dr. Berry, member of the 
wholesale drug firm of Berry, Demoville & Co., has been 
succeeded by Mr. Kirkman as president, and Albert W. 
Harris has become assistant cashier. The present directors 
are J. Kirkman, C. E. Hillman, Edgar Jones, J. F. Demo- 
ville, and M. Burns. 

The Fourth National Bank was organized in 18G6 with 
a paid-up capital of §300,000 ; the authorized capital was 
afterwards increased to $1,000,000, and $200,000 more 
paid in. Hon. James Whitworth was made president, and 
Thomas Plater cashier. The present oSicers are Hon. 
James Whitworth, President; R. H. Gardner, Vice-Presi- 
dent; Thomas Plater, Cashier; Hugh Douglass, W. H. 
Evans, II. H. Gardner, Henry Hart, Newton McClure, 0. 
F. Noel, Thomas Plater, Samuel Watkins, and James 
Whitworth, Directors. 

The Nashville Savings-Bank began business as a general 
brokerage, Dec. 3, 1863, under the management of the 
present president and cashier, Messrs. Julius Sax and Max 
Sax. In September they organized under the charter of 
the " Nashville Savings-Bank," and entered upon a bank- 
ing business in connection with their general brokerage, 
entirely similar to that of- the national banks, except that 
they do not issue currency. A heavy German business 
passes through their hands. The Slessrs. Sax are both 
young men of business energy and talent, and have con- 
tributed liberally to the increased business of the city. 

The Nashville Savings Company, Thomas S. Blarr presi- 
dent, is located at the corner of College and Union Streets, 
and is a bank of discount and deposit. Mr. Marr was a 
prominent business man befoi'e the War, and Mr. L. G. Tar- 
box, his associate, was the principal of one of the eity schools 
for several years. At the close of the war this firm did an 
extensive business in uncurrent bank-notes which were then 
being retired, and their house became the centre for the 
Southern trade in that line of securities. Soon the bank 
became the headquarters for commercial news, and their 
quotations were received as standard. After the death of 
Mr. Tarbox, JMr. Marr became sole manager. 

The Nashville Brokerage Association is a produce and 
cotton brokerage, organized Jan. 19, 1880, under a charter, 
with the following officers : Hugh McCrea, President ; S. 
H. Bell, Secretary and Superintendent; Hugh BIcCroa, S. 
H. Bell, Z. Maury, H. C. Gordon, and W. C. Nelson, Di- 
rectors. The authorized capital is $25,000, of which 
$10,000 were paid upon commencing operations. 

Newell, Duncan & Co., formerly W. M. & A. R. Dun- 
can, private bankers, at No. 34 North College Street, do an 
extensive business as stock and exchange brokers, deal in 
all kinds of local stocks, bonds, and through their corres- 



pondents in New York and elsewhere operate in many 
stocks and bonds regularly called on the New York board. 
.B. P. Wilson, banker. No. 40 North College Street. 

THE PRESS OF NASHVILLE. 
EAKLY NEWSPAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS. 

The first newspaper published in Nashville was The 
Tennessee Gazelle and Mero District Advertiser. It was 
established in 1797, by a printer from Kentucky, whose 
name was Henkle. The following year he sold the paper 
to Benjamin J. Bradford,* who changed the name to The 
Clarion, and soon after sold it to his cousin, Thomas G. 
Bradford. The State Historical Society has a copy of The 
Clarion — No. 81, vol. ii. — bearing date Nov. 2, 1801. 
This would fix the first issue of the series to which it be- 
longs at about April 20, 1800. The paper is in a ragged 
and worn condition, but shows the publication to have been 
a folio sheet, with pages ten by fourteen inches, and four 
columns to the page, printed in pica type. 

The Clarion was afterwards enlarged, and became The 
Clarion and Tennessee Gazette, in the hands of " Thomas 
G. Bradford, printer." The series from which it then 
numbered began with Nov. 12, 1807. Deo. 24th of that 
year reference to it is made by Thomas Eastin in his papei', 
The Imjiarlial Review, and also to the Public Gazette, — 
the legislative record recently established. The only copies 
available at this late day are No. 293, vol. v., dated July 20, 
1813, and No. 345, vol. vi, dated Tuesday, June 21, 1814. 
This last is entitled The Clarion and Tennessee State Ga- 
zette, in a single line of clarendon, on a four-page sheet. 
tw.enty by twenty-six. It contains upon the margin the 
written name of the subscriber, Benajah Gray, Esq. No 
editor or publisher is named, but a pressing call on delin- 
quents to relieve " an editor who is pressed by debts" is 
made. It is a very interesting and readable number. There 
are three columns of '• estrays" from Lincoln, Wilson, and 
Bradford Counties ; an announcement that Edward D. Hobbs 
has just opened (March 15th past) his Brick Tavern on 
College Street, a few steps from George Poyzor's factory ; 
and for the accommodation of travelers he has " Road Bills" 
to the principal roads in the country, which will be pre- 
sented to the guests gratis. An indignant editorial handles 
Gen. Hull without gloves. Proposals are made for raising 
stock to build a steamboat to complete the line between 
Nashville, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Louisville, — thirty 
thousand dollars in one hundred and twenty shares at two 
hundred and fifty dollars each, with full estimates, including 
two dividends and sixty per cent, profit on the investment 
the first year. 

A " Fountain of Health Mineral Spring" is announced, 
" which was produced by the violent convulsions of the 
earth in the last tremendous earthquakes which visited our 
land in the winter of 1812," — and several wonderful cures, 
— " at one dollar per day entertainment for man and horse, 
or five dollars per week ; three dollars per week for a single 
person, and half-price for children and servants." This is 
by " William Sanders, Davidson Co., Tenn., four miles 

*• Benjamin J. Bradford, the first editor of tlie Clar'wn, was elected 
major of Nashville in 1SU9. 



230 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



above Clover Bottom, and fourteen above the town of Nash- 
ville." 

Prime Spanish " soal" leather is advertised by Thomas 
Yeatman, and the announcement is made that Andrew 
Jackson is appointed a major-general in the United States 
Army, vice William Henry Harrison, resigned. 

A more recent old series was begun by Thomas G. Brad- 
ford the 1st of December, 1817. A new series was com- 
menced with the change of proprietors, Sept. 4, 1820, 
under the management of Wilkins & McKeen, and the 
new editors soon after aired their rhetoric by pitching into 
the editor of the Gazelle for some undue reference to their 
"junior editor." Their motto ran thus: 

" Truth is our guide, the public good our nim, 
Well pleased to praise tho' not afraid to bhime, 
Averse meanwhile to flatter or olTend." 

The paper was worked with double column-rules and a 
head of German text with ornate initials. From the con- 
tents of its columns it appears to have received a liberal 
support. With the beginning of 1821 the name was 
changed to simply The Nashville Clarion, and the first 
number extant for that year — March 21, 1821 — bears the 
name of John II. Wilkins, publisher. Before the end of 
the year the name appeared in highly ornate text capitals, 
abbreviated to The Clarion, with T. G. Bradford editor. 
The oldest number of this series under Mr. Bradford's 
management is vol. xv. No. 1-1, of Tuesday evening, Dec. 
4, 1821. The five columns were narrowed and a sixth 
admitted, increasing the breadth of the paper by half a 
column. London papers furnished the editor with foreign 
news, — when they arrived. The subscription price varied at 
from two to three dollars in advance, and three or four dol- 
lars payable after six months. 

The name of Thomas G. Bradford last appears at the 
head of vol. xv.. No. 43, July 9, 1822. Later numbers 
are not known to exist. Some time prior to 1826, The 
Clarion was purchased by Patrick H. Darby, a lawyer, 

who associated with him iMr. Van Pelt, subsequently 

editor and proprietor of the Memphis Appeal. In 1824 
it was purchased by Abram P. Blaury and Carey A. Har- 
ris, who discontinued The Clarion and started the Nash- 
ville RepnliUcan. 

Bradford's " Tennessee Almanac"' was first issued by 
" Thomas G. Bradford, printer," from The Clarion office, 
in 1808, and continued without interruption until 1824. 

The following quaint assertion of rights from Young 
America was received by the first editor at Nashville over 
three-quarters of a century ago, and shows that " printers' 
devils" even then were averse to manual labor and hard 
usage. It was written, as the context shows, in reply to 
an advertisement which appeared in The Clarion : 

" Mr. B. J. Bradford has published in his paper that 
William L. Berry and John G. Berry run away from him ; 
and he will give §5 reward to any person what will deliver 
said boys to him, and forewarns any person from harboring 
s'd boys. I now give Mr. Bradford Public Notice that I 
am one of the boys he calls his apprentices, and am now 
living in 300 yds. of his house, and have been since I left ; 
also my brother, John G. Berry, who is my next youngest 



brother, who he pretends to claim as his boys ! But we 
both deny being his boys ; for we deny being any person's 
boys where we are compelled to milk the cows, wash clothes, 
aud make up beds, and hardly any clothes to wear, which I 
can prove if I had a witness. I am, 

" 3Ir. B. J. Bradford, 

" Humb-come-tumble, 

"W. L. Berry." 
5Ir. William Lawson Berry, the writer, lived to be for 
many years known as " the oldest printer in Nashville," 
and died highly respected by the faculty of which he was 
an industrious member. 

The Iinparlial Review and Cumberland Repository was 
first issued about the 1st of December, 1805, by Thomas 
Eastin. The eighth number of volume one, dated Feb. 1, 
1806, is the oldest number preserved. It has four pages, 
five columns to the page, — twenty inches long, — in primer 
type. The two first words of the title, in antique Roman 
letters, form the head-line, beneath which is the rest in 
smaller type. The first column announces the followin"-- 

" Terms : It shall be printed regularly every Saturday, 
unless the arrival of the mail may make a change neces- 
sary ; on its present size. Price two dollars in advance, 
or two dollars and a half at the end of the year. Adver- 
tisements of no more length than their breadth, seventy- 
five cents first insertion, and thirty-seven cents for every 
other." A communication from an " Observer of Truth" 
gives a three-column moral review on the amusements of 
the town, ably written. Then follows foreign intelligence 
from New York to December 17th ; a page of miscellany 
and small advertisements ; an act of Congress ; London 
news to November loth ; and a four-column card of Thomas 
Swann in relation to the forfeit in the match between Gen. 
Jackson's horse Truxton and Capt. Erwin's Plowboy, 
rehearsing the trouble out of which grew the duel and the 
death of Charles Dickinson. 

Swann asserted that Gen. Jackson had mentioned in his 
presence that Capt. Erwin did not give in the notes agreed 
upon, but substituted others. This Jackson denied, and it 
led to an issue with Swann and a challenge by the latter, 
which was refused because Jackson " did not know Swann 
to be a gentleman." 

Among the advertisements which appear at this time 
are the following: 

" Philip Thomas, barber, has Hackney Coaches for the 
accommodation of gentlemen ; keeps a livery stable, and 
attends to the Nicking, Bleeding, and fixing of horses with 
the greatest care." 

" Dr. Watkius has removed his shop to the house formerly 
occupied by Mr. Joseph McKain, next door to Black Rob's, 
and entered into partnership with Dr. Catlet." 

Jan. 28, 1806, Thomas Kirk man advertises a new store 
of fresh goods, part of which he had purchased himself in 
London, Yorkshire, and Blanchesler. His list fills over a 
column, and comprises a most elegant assortment. 

William Wright & Co., merchants, have an advertise- 
ment. A three months' advertisement bears date of Oct. 
11, 1805, which suggests former connection or the date of 
Mr. Eastin's first canvass on starting his paper. 

The paper is coarse, thick rag paper, and very stout. A 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



231 



few weeks later we find a moderate reduction in advertising 
rates and tlie statement that " the subscription is two dol- 
lars and a half at the end of the year," and " Notes will 
be required of those who do not pay in advance." Aug. 
30, 180G, the head-line first announces the motto " I from 
;the Orient to the Drooping West, — Making the Wind 
I my Post-Horse." The issue of Nov. 26, 1807, in answer 
to inquiries, makes the statement that " the Knoxville 
papers have discontinued publishing the proceedings of the 
Legislature, and on that account we are forced to follow 
their example for the present. As the Legislature has 
elected a State printer some time since, it is conceived to 
be his duty to furnish them in the first instance." 

The latest number of the Review on file is that of Dec. 
8, 1808 (No. 157, vol. iii.). 

The Museum, a monthly magazine, was commenced by 
Thomas G. Bradford, in the Clarion office, in July, 1809, 
i and continued for six months. It was devoted to politics, 
literature, and the history of Tennessee, and contained much 
valuable historical matter. The size of this magazine was 
octavo, thirty-two pages, with two columns, in pica type, to 
' the page. The subscription price was two dollars a year. 
A single mutilated copy, in possession of the State Histor- 
ical Society, is the only one known to exist. 

Tlie Religious and Literary Intelligencer , edited and 
published by Rev. David Lowry, was the first paper in the 
United States published as the organ of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church. The first number appeared Doc. 16, 
1830. It was issued weekly, and bore the imprint of " A. 
Book, printer, Princeton, Ky." It was a small sheet, with 
four columns to a page, devoted to religion, literature, 
science, agriculture, and general intelligence. Its publica- 
tion was suspended near the close of the second year. 
. The Nashville Herald was started by Mr. Wilkins Tan- 
nehill in 1831, and conducted for a short time with indif- 
ferent success. He moved it to Louisville, Ky., soon after 
its commencement, and it was subsequently merged in one 
of the papers of that city. 

The Kaleidoscope was a weekly literary journal, estab- 
lished by W. Hassell Hunt, July 11, 1833, and issued 
every Thursday, at two dollars per annum. It was printed 
in primer type, three columns to the page, in a quarto form, 
seven and a half by ten and a half inches in size. The 
latest number known is No. 50, vol. i., dated July 21, 

1834, and now among the archives of the State Historical 
Society. As a literary journal the volume preserved evinces 
a high standard, and it undoubtedly wielded a good influ- 
ence during its brief existence. 

The Commercial Transcript, a small quarto sheet, with 
three columns to the page, was first issued in January, 

1835. It was printed at the oifice of the National Banner 
and Nashville Whig, and published by White & Norvell, 
C. C. Norvell editor. It was printed in minion type, and 
issued every other Saturday, at one dollar a year. The 
Transcript was chiefly devoted to commercial news. On 
the completion of its second annual volume it was merged 
in the Banner and Wliig. 

The American Presbyterian was commenced Jan. 8, 
1835, by an " Association of Gentlemen," edited by Rev. 
Dr. J. T. Edgar, and published by Joseph Norvell, at two 



dollars and a half a year. It had six columns to the page. 
Blr. Edgar's name did not, however, appear at the head of 
the editorial column until October 22, No. 42, when the 
editorial heading announced that it was " aided by contribu- 
tions of the ministry, laity, and friends of the Presbyterian 
Church in the Southwest." Their contributions failed to 
add materially to its support, and this heading disappeared 
March 17, 1836. The last number of this,, paper was 
issued Dec. 29, 1836. 

The Cumberland Magazine, a quarterly publication, de- 
voted to the doctrines and practice of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church, was edited and published by Rev. 
James Smith. It was commenced in August, 1836, with 
forty-eight pages, octavo, one column to a page. Rev. Mr. 
Smith was a Scotch Presbyterian, who embraced the Cum- 
berland doctrines on his settlement in Tennessee and wrote 
a history of that church, defending its doctrines with great 
ability. He soon became identified with the publishing in- 
terests, started the Cumberland Magazine, financially in- 
volved several leading elders and ministers, and shortly after 
failed. He afterwards left that church and returned to his 
original faith. 

Tlie Revivalist was a weekly paper issued in 1837 and 
1838 by James D. Smith, D.D., and Rev. D. Lowry. 
The name was changed to the Cumberland Presbyterian at 
the close of the second volume, and after a few more num- 
bers were issued it ceased to exist. 

The Tennessee Baptist was commenced in January, 1835, 
by Rev. Robert Boyte C. Howell, pastor of the First Bap- 
tist Church of Nashville, editor, and printed monthly by 
A. BufEngton, at the oflice of the Banner and Whig, on 
an extra imperial sheet, in sixteen seven-and-ahalf by 
nine-and-a-half-inch pages of three columns each, at a 
subscription price of one dollar a year in advance. With 
volume two, 1837, W. Hassell Hunt & Co. became printers. 
Mr. Howell resigned the editorial chair to Rev. Matthew 
Lyon at the close of the year. Jan. 3, 1837, it began 
issue as a semi-monthly. J. C. Carpenter & Co. became 
proprietors in August, but made no change in its manage- 
ment. In 1838 it was changed to a monthly and reduced 
to thirty-two duodecimo pages, three and a half by five and 
a half inches. Rev. Mr. Howell again became editor, and 
W. H. Dunn publisher. The January and February num- 
bers were issued, and the journal was discontinued. 

The Old-Baptist Banner was commenced in Nashville 
in 1838 by Rev. Washington Lowe, editor. Mr. Lowe 
was for some years the leading spirit among the " Old Bap- 
tists." In 1860 he was settled in Springfield, Tenn., and 
engaged in the practice of law. His paper was an octavo 
monthly, and the organ of the church. He was succeeded 
as editor by Mr. John M. Watson, and the paper removed 
to Murfreesboro'. 

The Tennessee State Agriculturist was commenced in 
1840, and continued until Aug. 1, 1846 ; Tolbert Fanning 
was its editor. Dr. Girard Troost and Dr. John Shelby 
were liberal contributors to its columns. It was published 
by Cameron & Fall until 1846, when it was succeeded by 
another publication. 

The Christian Review, the organ of the Christian Church 
(sometimes called Campbellites), was a monthly magazine 



232 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



of twenty -four pages, commenced in January* 1844, and 
edited by Rev. Tolbert Fanning and others. Jesse B. 
Ferguson, H. T. Anderson, J. Creath, Jr., and W. W. 
Stevenson were regular contributors. The subscription 
price was one dollar per year. It was enlarged in January, 
1846, and soon after disappeared. 

The Southioestern Law Journal and Reporter, a monthly 
publication /or the bench and bar, was first issued in Jan- 
uary, 1844, by William Cameron and John T. S. Fall, 
publishers, Deaderick Street, and edited by Milton A. 
Haynes, Esq., of the Nashville bar. It had twenty-four 
two-column pages, and was published at two dollars and 
fifty cents per annum. The last number of this valuable 
periodical, the first of its kind in Tennessee, was issued 
for December. 1844. 

The Southwestern Literary Journal and Monthly Review 
■was commenced in November, 1844. The oldest number 
e.ttant is the last number of the first six months' volume. 
Hach number had sixty-four pages, octavo ; subscription 
three dollars per year. It was edited by E. Z. C. Judson 
and A. H. Kidd ; A. Billings & Co. publishers for the 
editors. 

The Baptist — second paper of that name— was started 
Jan. 29, 1844, by C. K. Winston, J. H. Shepherd, and J. 
H. Marshall, publishing committee, under control of the 
Tennessee Baptist Educational Society. The Tennessee 
subscribers of the Baptist organ of Louisville, Ky., having 
ceased taking that paper in large numbers, suggested the 
publication for them of a home paper. Rev. Dr. R. B. C. 
Howell and Rev. W. Carey Crane, of Virginia, were edi- 
tors ; W. F. Bang & Co. publishers. The Baptist was a 
sixteen-page octavo, published every Saturday at two dol- 
lars per annum. Aug. 23, 1845, Dr. Howell became sole 
editor. After the issue of the last number, Aug. 22, 1846, 
Dr. Howell donated the paper to the General Baptist Asso- 
ciation of Tennessee, and was by them continued as editor, 
with the assistance of Rev. J. R. Graves, associate editor. 
Miiy 1, 1847, the name was changed to the Tennessee 
Baptist. 

The Daily Orthopolitan was started Oct. 4, 1845, by 
John S. Simpson and John T. S. Fall, and edited by Wil- 
kins Tannehill, Esq., an extensive and fluent literary writer, 
author of the " History of Literature," " Manual of Free- 
masonry," and several other creditable works. He Was a 
man liighly distinguished as a member of the Masonic 
fraternity. The Orthopolitan was printed in bourgeois 
type, with five columns to each page of fourteen and a half 
by twenty inches. It was published daily at fifty cents a 
month, and also tri-weekly and weekly. H. A. Kidd and 
B. F. Burton took charge of the paper April 1, 1846. 
Mr. Kidd served as editor for a short time, when Mr. Tan- 
nehill again became editor. James J. S. Billings soon after 
joined Burton & Fall in its control, and Aug. 4, 1846, Mr. 
Fall retired from the business. No. 310 of volume one, dated 
Sept. 30, 1846, is the latest number on file. Its publica- 
tion was discontinued soon after that date. 

The Christian Record was commenced under the patron- 
age of the Presbyterian Synod of West Tennessee, Nov. 
14, 1846, by a publishing committee consisting of Rev. 
Drs. J. T. Edgar and R. A. Lapsley, Prof. Nathan Cross, 



and Revs. R. B. McMillen, J. M. Arnell, and Rev. A. H. 
Kerr, who was its editor. In October, 1847, Revs. J. T. 
Kendrick, R. B. BIcMillen, P. A. Hoagman, J. M. Arnell, 
J. AV. Hume, Dr. Harrison, and Prof. Cross were made an 
editorial committee, and Anson Nelson editor. The paper 
for Oct. 28, 1848, came out under the name of The Pres- 
byterian Record, but the former name was continued as an 
editorial heading. In November, 1849, Rev. John T. 
Edgar, 0. B. Hayes, and W. P. Buell were named as the 
editorial committee, and Rev. A. E. Thorne traveling and 
corresponding editor. Mr. Nelson continued to edit the 
Record until July 5, 1850, when it ceased publication and 
was consolidated with the Presbyterian Herald of Louis- 
ville, Ky. 

The Naturalist and " Journal of Agriculture, Horticul- 
ture, Education, and Literature," a forty-eightpage monthly 
at two dollars a year, was commenced at Franklin College, 
in January, 1846, and conducted by Isaac N. Loomis, John 
Eichbaum, J. Smith Fowler, and Tolbert Fanning. The 
sub-title was afterwards changed to read " Journal of Natu- 
ral History, Agriculture, Education, and Literature." It 
ceased to be published at the end of the first year. 

The Tennessee Farmer and Horticulturist was a monthly 
journal of twenty-four pages, octavo, published at one dollar 
per annum, commencing Sept. 1, 1846, Charles Foster 
editor and publisher. This journal was devoted to the im- 
provement of agriculture, horticulture, and the mechanical 
arts, and the promotion of domestic industry. It was illus- 
trated by wood-cuts made by the enterprising and indus- 
trious editor. 

The Quarterly Review of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
South was established by the General Conference in 1846, 
and published in Louisville, Ky., until 1851, then at Rich- 
mond, Va., until August, 1858, when it was moved to 
Nashville, and T. 0. Summers became its editor. It was 
published at the Methodist Episcopal Book Concern until 
suspended by the war in 1861. Each number contained 
one hundred and sixty pages, octavo ; subscription price two 
dollars per annum. Dr. Summers was a man of scholarly 
attainments, and editor of many publications of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Book Concern South previous to 1860. 

The Tennessee Organ, a temperance paper, was estab- 
lished here in 1847 by Rev. John P. Campbell, who was 
editor and publisher. During the latter part of the year he 
was assisted by Rev. Fountaine E. Pitts. In 1848, Mr. 
Campbell sold his interest to Anson Nelson, who was then 
publishing the Daily Gazette and Christian Record. Mr. 
Nelson subsequently became the sole proprietor and editor 
of the Organ, which he continued to publish with success 
until the spring of 1852. He sold soon after to Dr. Wm. 
S. Langdon, who subsequently disposed of it to Dr. R. 
Thompson and Wm. G. Brien, Esq., in whose hands it ex- 
pired during the year 1854. 

The Southern Ladies' Compianion, edited by M. M. 
Henkle and J. B. McFerrin, D.D., for the Methodist 
Episcopal Church South, was commenced in April, 1847, 
and was printed by William Cameron, at the Nashville 
Christian Advocate ofiice. It was a twenty-four-page 
monthly, having two columns to the page. This maga- 
zine was successfully conducted, and attained a large circu- 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



233 



lation. On the decision of tlie suit at luw between the 
Methodist Episcopal Church South and North, it was 
. stopped, and its patronage transferred to a new publication 
i named the Home Circle, which was its ininiediate succcs- 
;i sor. The last number was issued in April, 185i. 
: TIlc Tennessee Baptist was the immediate successor of 
The Baptist, edited by Rev. Dr. Howell, and was first 
issued under that name. May 1, 1847, — Rev. Drs. R. B. C. 
Howell and J. R. Graves editors, Graves & Shankland 
proprietors, and W. F. Bang & Co. printers. It was issued 
[Weekly at two dollars a year ; size, super-royal sheet, twelve 
fby eighteen inches, with five columns to the page. Dr. 
Graves became sole editor June 24, 1848. It was soon 
after increased to seven columns in size. May 20, 1854, 
William C. Buck and C. R. Hcndrickson became corres- 
ponding editors, and Graves & Marks publishers. The 
paper was enlarged in 1854. J. B. Rutland became part 
proprietor in September, 185G. In January, 1857, Dr. 
Graves became sole proprietor and publisher. In October, 
1857, S. C. Rogers, E. F. P'Pool, and iMr. Marks com- 
Iposed the firm, under tlie style of Graves, Marks & Co. 
'May 15, 1858, Rev. J. M. Pendleton and Rev. A. C. 
'Dayton became associate editors with Mr. Graves. Mr. 
Dayton retired from the concern in October, 1859, and 
April 7, 1860, the last edition of the paper was issued. 
The subscription list is said to have contained the names 
of fourteen thousand subscribers. The printing-house of 
Graves & Co. was known as the " Southwestern Publish- 
ing House." Other periodicals of a denominational char- 
acter were also published by this concern. A prominent 
and useful one of these was The Cluhlrens Booh, a pic- 
torial octavo, which was issued regularly until the office of 
publication closed. 

Tlie Portjolio, or Journal of Freemasonry and Gene- 
\iral Literature, was an interesting and instructive monthly, 
' of thirty-two pages, octavo, published by J. T. S. Fall, com- 
mencing with July, 1847. Mr. Wilkins Tannehill, one of 
[[the most active Masons in the South, was its editor. He 
wrote a second edition of his " History of Literature." 
The manuscript (two volumes, folio) was delivered to the 
State Historical Society after his death. He was a man 
lofgreat industry, and was highly esteemed by the community 
:in which he moved. The iast number of T/ie Portfolio 
was a fine specimen of the printer's art. The editorials 
were models of good English, filled with valuable informa- 
tion, and the work was illustrated with elegant steel en- 
gravings. 

j The Christian Magazine was a monthly organ of the 
i jChristian denomination, published by the Christian Publi- 
cation Society of Tennessee, and first issued in 1848, by 
John T. S. Fall, publisher, and edited by Rev. Jesse B. 
[Ferguson and J. K. Howard. It contained thirty-two 
pages, octavo, and was sold at one dollar a year. The pub- 
lication ceased previous to 1854. 

The Western Boatman, a monthly periodical of forty 
pages, devoted to steamboat navigation, was started by D. 
Embree in January, 1848, and published by Anson, Nelson 
!& Co. at the Christian Record office. The subscription 
price was two dollars a year. The office of publication was 
changed to Cincinnati, Ohio, after issuing the first number. 
30 



The Eicniiig Reporter, a neutral paper, was published 
for a short time in 1849-50 by H. Buckley, but soon failed 
from lack of support by tiie reading public. 

The Nasliville Dailij Times v?as commenced by the firm 
of Landis, Williams & Church in 1849, a few numbers 
issued, and the enterprise abandoned. 

The Naturalist, a monthly of twenty-four octavo pages at 
one dollar a year, devoted to science, agriculture, mechanics, 
arts, education, and general improvement, was commenced 
by Tolbert Fanning in January, 1850. It was illustrated 
by Charles Forster, formerly of the Tennessee Farmer, and 
printed by J. T. S. Fall. On the completion of its first 
volume it was merged in the Southern Agriculturist. 

Hie Southern Agriculturist was started with the Janu- 
ary number for 1851, and commenced numbering with 
volume seven of TIlc Natundist. It was of the same size 
and price, but was " devoted to the agricultural interests of 
the Mississippi Valley." Dr. Richard 0. Currey was edi- 
tor. It continued but a short time. Dr. Currey became 
one of the editors of the Muntldij Medical Record of Mem- 
phis in 1852. 

Tlie Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surgery was 
first issued in February, 1851, as a bi-monthly. It con- 
tained three hundred and eighty-four pages. Publication 
price three dollars per annum. John T. S. Fall was its 
publisher until it was stopped by reason of the war. It 
was issued monthly after the first year. In 1852 there 
were two volumes issued, each containing three hundred 
and eighty-four pages. It was projected as an ally and 
assistant to the Medical Department of the University of 
Nashville, and was edited by W. K. Bowling, M.D., and 
Paul F. Eve, M.D., two professors of that department. 
William Cameron became one of the publishers in 185(5. 
Dr. Eve retired from his -position as editor in January, 
1858, and George S. Blaekie, M.D., succeeded him. 

The Southwestern j^lgnthly was a sixty-four page octavo 
magazine, edited by William Wales, Esq., afterwards a resi- 
dent of Chicago, 111., and now of Baltimore, Md. The 
publishers were Wales & Roberts. It was issued only long 
enough to form two complete volumes for 1852. This 
magazine was copiously illustrated with fine steel engravings, 
which appeared in nearly every number. They were im- 
ported by Mr. Wales from England, where they were en- 
graved by Edward Roberts, brother of John Roberts, hi.s 
associate publisher. This periodical was filled with numer- 
ous historical narratives and facts relating to the early his- 
tory of Nashville and of the State. Mr. Wales was one 
of the most active promoters and earliest members of the 
State Historical Society of Tennessee. 

The Ladies' Pearl, a monthly periodical devoted to the 
various interests of the ladies of the South and West, was 
commenced in October, 1852, by Revs. William S. Lang- 
don and J. C. Provine, editors, and published by Rev. Mr. 
Langdon. The sub.scription price was one dollar a year. 
Mr. Provine retired in November, 1855. 3Irs. Sue D. 
Langdon, wife of the editor, became editress in October, 
1855. In July, 1856, The Pearl was sold to Logan & 
Brown, of St. Louis, Mo., and removed to that city. Each 
annual volume contained four hundred and fifty pages, and 
it was occasionally illustrated. 



23-1 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



The Nashville Evening ISfeics was started by M. S. Coras 
on Broad Street in May, 1851. He was editor and pro- 
prietor until the Mareli following, when James R. Bruce 
became one of tbo editors. In January, 1853, bo sold tbe 
Neics to Logan Ashley and George R. McKee. jMr. Ash- 
ley then became the publisher, and Mr. McKee joint editor 
with Mr. Bruce. In May, 1854, Mr. Bruce, in company 
with James Z. Swan, purchased the office. May 17, 1855, 
they sold to M. V. B. Haile, who conducted the paper until 
the following August, when it was discontinued and its 
materials removed to Tullahoma. 

The Southern Medical Journal of the Medical and 
Physical Sciences was published bi-monthly by John F. 
Morgan, commencing with January, 1853. It contained 
four hundred and sixty pages to the volume; subscription 
two dollars a year. The editorial management was con- 
ducted by Drs. John W. King, "William P. Jones, Richard 
0. Curry, and B. Wood. Frank A. Ramsey, of Knox- 
ville, Tenn., was associate editor. T. A. Atchison, of 
Kentucky, and R. L. Scruggs, of Louisiana, were corres- 
ponding editors. Mr. Scruggs retired on the completion 
of the first volume. The second annual volume was printed 
by W. F. Bang & Co. The volume of 1855 was printed 
at Knoxvillo, Tenn. Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Atchison re- 
tired at the close of 1854. In 1856 it began to appear 
monthly, and was published by Kinsloe & Rice, of Knox- 
villo, as the organ of the East Tennessee Medical Society. 
Its publication ceased with December, 1857. 

The Banner of Peace (Cumberland Presbyterian), Rev. 
David Barry publisher. Rev. William S. Langdon editor, 
was moved to Nashville from Lebanon, Tenn., in July, 
1853. It originated at Princeton, Ky., as a sixteen-page 
monthly, imperial octavo, at one dollar a year, in 1840. It 
was then printed with two columns to the page, by M. 
Rodgers, and edited by Rev. F. R. Cossitt, afterwards of 
Lebanon. Previous to its appearance a violent controversy 
existed in Princeton in relation to the removal of Princeton 
College to Lebanon, Tenn. At this juncture Rev. BIr. 
Cossitt commenced the paper to still the troubled waters of 
controversy, and gave to it the significant title of TIlb Ban- 
ner of Peace. The college was moved to Lebanon. At 
the close of the year the paper was changed to an eight- 
page, four-column weekly, and received the additional title 
of Cumherland Preshyterian Advocate. The price was 
then advanced to two dollars and a half per annum. In 
1846 it was enlarged to seven columns to the page, and 
Mr. J. T. Figures became publisher. In January, 1850, 
William D. Chadick, D.D., and W. L. Berry became pub- 
lishers, and !Mr. Chadick editor. Rev. David Lowry be- 
came editor in October, 1850, and was succeeded by Rev. 
William S. Langdon in July, 1853. In May, 1857, Rev. 
William E. Ward became editor, and the paper was enlarged 
to eight columns and the price fixed at two dollars. It 
was published with success by the last-named managers 
until the general suspension of all Nashville papers after 
the evacuation by the Confederate forces. 

IVie Parlor Visitor was commenced January, 1854, as 
the organ of the First Baptist Church of Nashville, by 
William S. Langdon & Co., and edited by Dr. W. P. Jones, 
one of the most prominent moral educators of the city. 



Rev. W. II. Bayless, pastor of the church, was assistant 
editor. Mr. A. A. Stitt, of the Methodist Book Concern, 
afterwards became printer for the editors. The Visitor 
was first issued with thirty-two pages, at two dollars a year, 
and afterwards enlarged to forty-eight pages. Its publica- 
tion ceased with No. 6, vol. vii., June, 1857. 

Tlie Gospel Advocate was a sixteen-page weekly organ 
of the Church of Christ. It was first i.<sued as an octavo 
thirtj'-two-page monthly, in 1854, by Elder Tolbert Fan- 
ning and Prof. William Lipscomb, of Franklin College, 
editors, and published at the corner of College and Union 
Streets, Nashville, by Cameron & Fall. Elder Fanning 
was then president of Franklin College. The magazine ' 
was continued until the suspension of mails in the early 
part of the civil war. 

Tlie Southern Baptist Revinv, a quarterly magazine of ' 
six hundred pages to each annual volume, was commenced 
in January, 1855, by Revs. J. R. Graves, Mr. Marks, and ; 
J. B. Rutland, and edited by Rev. Mr. Graves and Rev. J. 
M. Pendleton. BIr. N. BI. Crawford became associate edi- 
tor the first of the next year. At the end of 1856, BIr. 
Rutland retired. BIr. A. C. Dayton became associate editor ■ 
in 1858, and the Review was continued under that man- 
agement until the war. 

Tlie Home Circle, a monthly periodical devoted to re- 
ligion and literature, was first issued from the Blethodist 
Book Concern in Blay, 1855, but was- antedated to Janu- 
ary, so as to commence the volume with the year. Rev. 
L. D. Houston was chosen editor. This publication took 
the place of the Ladies' Companion, started as a private 
enterprise under the auspices of the Blethodist Episcopal 
Church in 1848, and was one of the results of the organ- 
ization of the Blethodist Publishing House. It was a ; 
super-royal octavo of sixty-four pages, printed on fine calen- 
dered paper, and had one or more steel engravings in each 
number. The subscription price was two dollars a year. 
It ceased publication shortly before the surrender of Nash- 
ville to the Federal authorities. 

The Sunday- School Visitor was first published in Nasli- 
ville in Blay, 1855. It was an illustrated monthly journal, 
designed for Sunday-schools, and published for thirty cents 
a year. Thomas 0. Summers was chosen its first editor by 
the General Conference at its second session in St. Louis, 
Bio., and the first number was issued in Charleston, S. C, 
Jan. 1, 1851. BIr. Summers continued to edit the Visitor 
until December, 1856. L. D. Houston was chosen editor by 
the General Conference in 1856, and the first number of the 
new series was issued by him in Nashville. This was re- 
garded as one of the most important in its mission of any 
publication of the church, and was creditable for both its 
literary and mechanical work. It was continued until the 
war. 

Tlie Farmer s Banner ^2.5 issued from the Daily Banner 
office, and was called " a supplement to the llepuhlican 
Banner." The first number appeared in 1855. It was 
published monthly by Bang, Walker & Co., and contained 
sixteen octavo two-column pages. It continued until the 
war. 

The Affricultiiral and Commercial Journal was issued 
in Blay, 1855. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



235 



The Fountain, a sprightly temperance paper, was started 
by Alexander R. Wiggs, Esq., in 1855, and closed its 
career at the end of its first volume. 

Tin: Tennessee Farnicf and 3Iechanic, a journal of prac- 
tical agriculture and mechanics, was first issued as a monthly 
in January, 1856, edited and published by Boswell & Wil- 
liams. It was a forty-eight-page octavo, at two dollars 
a year. Among its contributors were numbered some of 
the best men and wi-itcrs in the country. In 1857 its sub- 
title read, " Devoted to the interests of the farm and shop ; 
a monthly record of general agriculture, mechanics, stock- 
raising, fruit-growing, and home interests." It was then 
published by Smith. Morgan & Co., at No. 16 Deaderick 
Street. Mr. Boswell retired soon after, leaving Mr. Wil- 
liams sole editor. It ceased to be published December, 
1857, and was succeeded in January, 1 858, by Tlie Southern 
Homestead. 

: The Nashville Daily News. — This paper was started by 
a joint-stock company in the fall of 1857. It was man- 
aged by a board of directors, and devoted to news and the 
commercial interests of the city and State. It was edited 
by Allen A. Hall, who was the most favorable selection 
that could have been made for that position. The enter- 
prise was not found to be successful, and in the spring of 
1858 the office passed into the hands of Don Cameron, who 
became the chief editor, and R. H. Barry, William Cam- 
eron, and James A. Fisher. William Lellyet was city and 
commercial editor. The News became a political paper in 
the fall of 1859, espousing the Opposition cause, with Allen 
A. Hall, its former editor, again in the chair. M. 0. 
Brooks bought the interest of James A. Fisher, in Feb- 
ruary, 1860. The firm-style was Cameron & Co. The 
publication of the News ceased a few months later. 

The Baptist Familjj Visitor, a forty-eight-page monthly 
devoted to religious and moral literature, was commenced 
in July, 1857, and but one annual volume issued. T. M. 
Hughes was both printer and publisher. 

Harper s Theatrical Bulletin was issued for a short time 
in 1857. 

Tlie Legislative Union and Ameriean. — This was an 
important state-document organ i.ssued at the Union and 
American office, commencing with the legislative session 
of 1857-58,— Oct. 12, 1857. The object of its publica- 
tion was a more complete report of the debates in the 
General Assembly tlian had previou.sly been made. The 
debates were reported by Mr. W. H. Draper, an accom- 
plished phouographer of South Bend, Iiid. The first vol- 
ume, published in twenty-four numbers, folio, terminated 
about March 23, 1858, and contained one hundred and 
eighty-four pages. The second volume was issued in octavo 
form, and comprised thirty-five numbers, of five hundred 
and sixty pages in all, commencing with Oct. 8, 1859. 

The Daily Christian Advocate. — This paper was pub- 
lished by Stevenson & Owen, agents of the Methodist 
Publishing House, in May, 1858, during the fourth 
session of the General Conference of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church South. It was edited by Rev. Dr. J. B. 
McFerrin, and contained a complete report of the debates 
and proceedings of the Conference. Twenty-sis numbers 
were issued. 



The Christian Unionist, a weekly religious newspaper, 
was issued by Rev. John P. Campbell, editor, in 1858, and 
after a short existence was merged in the Southern Maga- 
zine. 

The Southern Magazine of Temperance, devoted to Re- 
ligion, Education, and General Literature, was commenced 
in May, 1858, as a thirty-two-page octavo magazine, at 
one dollar a year. It was published for a short time at 
the Methodist Publishing House, and edited by Mr. W. 
H. F. Ligon. 

Young's Spirit of the South and Central American, 
" A Chronicle of the Turf, Field Sports, Literature, and 
the Stage," edited by William H. Young and Madame F. 
Llewellen Young, was commenced April 17, 1858. After 
twelve numbers had been issued it was removed to Louis- 
ville, Ky., and to Cincinnati, Ohio, and soon expired. It had 
previously led a brief career in New Orleans and Memphis. 

The Naslwille Monthly Record of Medical and Physical 
Sciences was commenced at the Southern Methodist Pub- 
lishing House, by A. A. Stitt, and edited by Drs. D. F. 
Wright and R. 0. Curry. It was formed in September, 
1858, by a union of the JMemphis Medical Recorder and 
the Nashville Southern Journal of Medical and Physical 
Science. The Nashville Record formed an annual volume 
of one hundred and sixty pages ; subscription one dollar 
a year. In July, 1859, Dr. Curry retired, and Drs. John 
H. Callender and Thomas L. Maddin became editors. The 
title was then abbreviated to " Nasliville Monthly Record," 
and the subscription price increased to two dollars and fifty 
cents. In March, 1860, it was announced that it would 
terminate with the ensuing August number, and that a 
quarterly medical journal, commencing with January, 1861, 
would be edited by Dr. D. F. Wright. This, with a pro- 
posed Medical Bulletin and Hospital Gazette, was inter- 
rupted by the war. 

Southern Homestead. — This was an agricultural and 
family newspaper, published by Smith, Morgan & Co., No. 
16 Deaderick Street, on the expiration of the Tennessee 
Farmer and Mechanic. The first number was issued Jan. 

7, 1858, by Mr. Williams, sole proprietor. Mrs. L. 

Virginia French, a very talented lady, was editress of the 
literary department. The form of the Homestead was at 
first eight pages, ten by fourteen inches, with four columns 
to a page ; price two dollars per annum. Thomas H. 
Glenn, former commercial editor of the Daily Patriot, be- 
came partner and joint editor iu 1858. In January, 1859, 
the size of the paper was increased, and another column 
added to each page. In July, 1859, Mrs. French gave up 
her position. In January, 1860, the Homestead was again 
enlarged. This paper was considered one of the best agri- 
cultural papers in the Union. It was profusely illustrated 
with fine wood-cuts, and was unsurpassed in typographical 
appearance. Publication ceased with the war. 

The Bap>tist Standard. — During the summer of 1858 
some trouble originated in the First Baptist Church of 
Nashville, the agitation of which soon suggested the estab- 
lishment of a paper by the friends of that church. The 
project assuming definite shape, the first number of the 
paper appeared Nov. 10, 1858, L. B. Woolfork editor. It 
was published at the Banner office. It had four pages, 



236 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



eighteen by twenty-four inches, seven columns, and was 
published weekly at two dollars a year. The last number 
was issued April 7, 1860. 

The Temperance MonlJili/. — This periodical was a thirty- 
two-page monthly, at one dollar a year, commenced in 
MeJIinnville, Tenn., in January, 1858, and moved to Nash- 
ville in April, 1850. Mrs. Emelie C. S. Chilton was its 
editress in Nashville, assisted by Mr. R. M. Webber. E. 
L. Winham was proprietor and publisher. The title of 
'■^ Literavrj Journal'" was added in 18G0. Mrs. Chilton 
was a lady of rare attainments in literature, and had a high 
reputation as a poet. Its publication closed with the war. 

The Daily Evening Bulletin, by T. M. Hughes & Co., 
was issued for a few weeks in 1859, and discontinued. 

The Opposition, a weekly campaign paper, was published 
in opposition to the D>,'mocracy during the struggle between 
Col. John NetherlanJ and the old incumbent. Governor 
Isham G. Harris. It was issued in octavo form, with sis- 
teen two-column pages, jointly by Bang, Walker & Co., of 
the Republican Banner, and Smith, Camp & Co., of the 
Patriot. It was edited by an exooutive committee com- 
posed of Hon. Felix K. Zollieoffer, Allen A. Hall, Esq., 
Mr. S. N. Hollingworth, P. W. Maxey, Esq., and John 
Lcllyet. During its brief but vigorous existence, from May 
3 to July 29, 1859, Mr. Hall, the veteran editor, did the 
greater part of the editorial work. This is only one of the 
many temporary publications which were issued by both 
parties in the hotly-contested elections from 1830 to the 
war. Mr. Hall seems to have been especially apt at this 
branch of editorial work, for he edited The Politician with 
great power from the old Whig oiBce during the political 
campaigns of 18-14, 1848, and 1852. These were issued 
in quarto form, and at this late day furnisli a vast fund of 
information as to the details of the politics of that period. 

The National Pathfinder, an eight-page, four-column 
weekly at one dollar a year, was commenced in January, 
1860, by T. M. Hughes, Esq., and soon after edited and 
published by Mr. B. Gregory, 21 College Street. Rev. 
John Campbell was corresponding editor. It ceased publi- 
cation with the other city papers ; very latest files arc lost 
in this as in most cases. 

The Nashville Christian Advocate. — This paper was 
first issued in Nashville in the fall of 1834, under the name 
of The ^Yestcrn Methodist, by Revs. Lewis Garrett and 
John Newland MafiFatt, both of whom were among the 
most successful and highly honored ministers of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church in Tennessee. Mr. Maffatt sold his 
interest in the paper and office to Mr. Garrett, who, in turn 
sold the entire establishment to the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in 1836. The oiBce at that time consisted of an 
ordinary outfit for a weekly news and job oflnoe. The Gen- 
eral Conference elected Rev. Thomas Stringfield editor ; and 
No. 1. volume one, of the weekly Southwestern Christian 
Advocate appeared Nov. 4, 1836, with four pages, six col- 
umns to th page. This was the official organ of the Con- 
ference and Church, and was managed by a publishing or 
advisory committee regularly appointed thereafter, to consult 
with the editor and manager, for the interest of the Church 
and Conference. The office of publication was on Deaderiok 
Street, under the management of Charles Fuller, foreman. 



Rev. Mr. Stringfield and Revs. Alexander L. P. Green and 
Fountaine E. Pitts were the first publishing committee. 
In 1837 the paper was enlarged to five columns. Nov. 1, 
1838, John Wesley Hanner was made associate editor, and 
Rev. Thomas L. Douglass' name was added to the publish- 
ing committee. Mr. Hanner retired in November, 1839, 
and Rev. John B. McFerrin succeeded F. E. Pitts on the 
publishing committee. Mr. McFerrin became editor in the 
place of Mr. Stringfield in November, 1840, and Mr. Han- 
ner was added to the publishing committee. In 1842, Mr. 
Hanner was succeeded by T. W. Randle. J. B. Walker 
succeeded the Rev. Mr. Douglass on the committee in 
April, 1843. In November, Randle and Walker were suc- 
ceeded by Philip P. Neeley and Adam S. Riggs. In 1844, 
Blessrs. Neeley and Riggs were replaced by Messrs. Pitts 
and Hanner. Oct. 10, 1845, M. M. Ilenkle became as- 
sistant editor with Rev. Dr. McFerrin, who was continued 
as editor until May, 1858 ; Mr. Henkle retained his position 
for four years. In July, 1845, the office was moved to 
Market Street corner of Bank Alley. In August, William 
Cameron became foreman of the printing department. Mr. 
Pitts again became one of the committee in 1846. Nov. 
3, 1848, the name was changed to The Nashville Christian 
Advocate, BIcFerrin and Ilenkle editors, and Green, Slater, 
and Hanner publishing committee. In November, G. W. 
Martin and L. C. Bryan replaced Pitts and Riggs on the 
committee; Mr. Hiukle retired, and in July the office was 
moved to College Street, south of Union Bank, opposite the 
Sewanee House. Dec. G, 1850, A. F. Driskell and Joseph 
Cross replaced Martin and Bryan. In order to coincide with 
the calendar year, sixty-one weekly copies were issued for 
this year's volume. 

The Louisville (Ky.) Christian Advocate was merged 
in tills paper this year, and the first number for 1851 pre- 
fixed the words '■'■Louisville and" to the title Nashville 
Christian Advocate. C. B. Parsons then became assistant 
editor, and C. R. Ilatton succeeded Mr. Driskell on the 
committee. A Louisville committee, consisting of E. Ste- 
venson, W. II. Anderson, and E. W. Sehon, was added Oct. 
30, 1851. J. Mathews, Edward Wadsworth, and T. N. 
Lankford succeeded Hatton and Cross on the committee. 
In April, 1852, the name of the paper was abbreviated to 
simply Christian Advocate. October 27th, C. C. Mayhew 
succeeded Mr. Lankford. In July, 1854, as a result of a 
settlement of financial difficulties between the Methodist 
Episcopal Church North and South, and the decision of a 
suit at law in favor of the Church South, the Conference 
revised their system of management and the publishing 
committee was discontinued. E. Stevenson and F. A. Owen 
were instead appointed publishers for the Blethodist Epis- 
copal Church South. In November the price of subscrip- 
tion was reduced from two dollars to one dollar and fifty 
cents. Mr. J. E. Evans relieved Mr. Owen as publisher from 
May to October, 1856. June 24, 1858, Rev. Dr. McFer- 
rin resigned, and was succeeded as editor by Rev. H. N. 
McTyerie, formerly editor of the New Orleans Christian 
Advocate. Rev. Dr. McFerrin was at the same time ap- 
pointed agent of the publishing-house. Publication was 
suspended on the news of the disaster at Fort Donelson, 
and the office was closed. The numerous employes sought 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



237 



safety from tlioir fears in flight, and the editor and agent 
followed the wavering lines of battle in their offices as 
ministers of the gospel. 

Connected with this paper was the publishing house of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South, which was estab- 
lished in Nashville in 1854, on the division of the two 
great sections ; and it was owing to the existence of a well- 
managed and influential paper at this point that Nashville 
became the seat of the Southern Publishing House. The 
building was erected in 1854. At the time of its close, in 
February, 1SG2, eight power-presses were employed, be- 
sides which there were numerous other machines for the 
various branches connected with printing and binding. 

In 1838, C. C. Norvell, formerly editor of the Commer- 
cial IVansaipt, resigned his position as editor of the Re- 
puhliean Banner, and in company with R. B. McKennie 
began the publication of a second Nashville Whiff on June 
1st of that year. On the return of Hon. Allen A. Hall 
from Venezuela, in 1845, he purchased an interest in the 
paper and became its editor. Mr. McKennie had owned 
the printing material, and Mr. Norvell the subscription list. 
Mr. Hall, soon after buying the subscription books, was 
called to Washington to edit and manage The RepnUic, 
which was the administration organ of President Fillmore. 
Failing to effect a sale on suitable terms to Mr. McKennie, 
he sold the subscription list to the proprietors of the Re- 
pullican Banner, in 1849. Mr. Norvell was subsequently 
largely connected with the insurance business as manager, 
and was the commercial editor of the New Yorh Tribune. 
While a resident of Staten Island he represented his party 
as a candidate for member of Congress. 

The Nashville True Whir/ was started in 1845 by R. 
B. McKennie, who still retained the printing-office of his 
former paper, with E. P. SIcGinty, of the Clarksville 
Chronicle, and A. BI. Roseborough, of the Culumhia Ob- 
server, as editors. Mr. Roseborough was the political editor. 
Mr. McGinty was one of the proprietors until January, 
1851, when he sold his one-half interest to George B. 
Brown, and Mr. Roseborough withdrew; BIr. McGinty 
Still edited the paper. In 1840, Anson Nelson became fore- 
man of the office. In 1845 he purchased an interest, and 
the firm style became R. B. McKennie & Co. Mr. Nelson 
withdrew in 1847 to edit the Christian Record. 

In 1850, H. K. Walker became editorially connected 
with the paper, and on the death of Mr. McGinty, in 1855, 
succeeded him as managing editor. In 1856, McKennie & 
Brown sold the True Whig to William Hy. Smith, John 
F. Morgan, Dr. John H. Callender, and Anthony S. Camp, 
who changed the name to the Nashville Patriot. Mr. 
McKennie then retired from journalism, and thenceforth 
resided in quiet in his home in District No. 18, on the Gal- 
latin pike, three miles from the city. 

The Nashville Patriot succeeded the last issue of the 
True Whig in 1856, William Hy. Smith and Dr. John 
II. Callender editors. In May, 1857, T. H. Glenn became 
editor of the city and commercial department. John F. 
Morgan, one of the proprietors, withdrew in 1857, and Dr. 
Callender was succeeded by his brother Thomas Callender as 
editor, when the firm-name was changed to Smith, Camp & 
Co. Ira P. Jones purchased an interest in the paper and 



became one of its editors in 1857, and T. H. Glenn's con- 
nection with it ceased. Mr. Smith sold his interest in Sep- 
tember, 1859, and the firm became A. S. Camp & Co. Mr. 
Smith continued to edit the paper in connection with Mr. 
Jones until the surrender. 

John E. Hatcher became associate editor in June, 1859, 
and was formally announced as such in March, 1860. Dr. 
John H. Callender was afterwards superintendent of the 
Tennessee Hospital for the Insane, which position he occu- 
pied in 1880. 

Thomas H. Glenn was connected with a Chicago (Illinois) 
paper in 1879-80. 

The Nashville Gazette — ■ second of the name — was 
first issued May 26, 1819, by George Wilson, editor and 
publisher. It was issued semi-weekly at five dollars a year, 
and printed on " fine super-royal paper," with five columns 
to the page. It was styled in the prospectus "A Repub- 
lican Newspaper." George Wilson came from Knoxville, 
and had been the editor of the fir.st newspaper established 
west of the Alleghany Mountains.* On the death of 
George Roulstone, the pioneer printer of the State, in 
1804, Mr. AVilson succeeded him in the publication of the 
Knoxville Gazette, then in its thirteenth year, and changed 
the name to Wilson's Knoxville Gazette. lie soon after 
became widely known for the persistence with which for 
several years he ventilated his lawsuit with Judge Thomas 
L. Williams. He continued to publish the Gazette there 
until the fall of 1818, when he moved his office to Nash- 
ville and commenced a semi-weekly. He continued its 
publication until June, 1827, when it was transferred to 
the Nashville Republican, afterwards Republican and 
State Gazette. Mr. Wilson was an ardent friend of Gen. 
Jackson, and a most zealous advocate of his elevation to 
the Presidency. He made money in the newspaper busi- 
ness, and when he sold his paper turned his attention to 
the tanning business. His children are all dead, leaving a 
numerous progeny in Tennessee and other States South 
and West. George A. Wilson, a large-hearted man, full 
of fun, frolic, and eloquence, a distinguished officer of the 
Florida war, and afterwards a Whig member of the Legis- 
lature, was his eldest son. 

In the early days of his life in Nashville, Mr. Wilson 
lived in the country, but the place of his residence is now 
surrounded by and included in South and West Nashville. 
The most lasting record of his dwelling there is a depression 
in the ground from which gushes forth a never-failing 
stream of bright, sparkling water, long known as " Wilson's 
Spring," from the name of its former occupant. " Uncle 
Mose Wilson," George Wilson's black pressman of the 
Gazette, was found long years after at a fruit-stand near 
the court-house, in Memphis, at the age of nearly a hun- 
dred years, and identified beyond dispute by his accurate 
memory of the early events cast of the Tennessee. 

The Nashville Whig was established by Closes and 
Joseph Norvell, in 1812, and published by them until 
July 16, 1816. This was the first paper of that name. 
It was a sheet twelve by eighteen inches, with four columns 
to the page. The number for Aug. 27, 1816, contains the 

■*- Col. Moses White on " East Tennessee Journalism." 



238 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



name of neither editor, printer, nor publisher. The next 
issue, September 3d, bears the names of Norvell & McLean, 
pubUshers. Previous to Aug. 25, 1817, Blr. Norvell sold 
his interest to George Tunstall. No. 1 , vol. vi., of that 
date, presented the new name of The Nashville Whig and 
Tennessee Advertiser, published by C. D. McLean and 
George Tunstall. On the completion of the volume, iu 
August, 1819, Mr. McLean sold his interest to Joseph 
Norvell, and Tunstall & Norvell continued the business 
until March 12, 1821, when Mr. Tunstall retired. In 
January, 1826, Joseph Norvell sold the paper, and. May 
23d of that year, it was consolidated with the National 
Banner, under the name of The National Banner and 
National Whig. John P. Erwin became editor in Janu- 
ary, 1824, continued as such during the remainder of its 
existence, and left it to accept the office of postmaster of 
Nashville. The printing department was conducted by 
John Fitzgerald. 

The National Banner was established as a weekly paper 
iu 1822 by William G. Hunt and John S. Simpson, who 
continued its publication until it was united with the Nash- 
ville Whig, in 1S2G. 

The National Banner and Nashville Whig began May 
23, 1826, as a semi-weekly, with William G. Hunt editor. 
In Blay, 1830, the paper was purchased by W. HassoU 
Hunt, Peter Tardiff, and William G. Hunt, and issued tri- 
weekly until Nov. 23, 1831, when it began the publication 
of a daily, at eight dollars per annum, and also a tri-weekly 
at five dollars, and a weekly at three dollars. William G. 
Hunt continued as editor. 

The National Banner and Nashville Advertiser, the first 
daily paper in Nashville, was first issued from the office of 
the former Banner and Whig, Nov. 23, 1831, by the firm 
of Hunt, Tardiff & Co., who continued its publication until 
their dissolution. May 2, 1833, by Mr. Tardiff selling his 
interest to W. Ilassell Hunt. September 7th of that year 
S. H. Laughlin became one of the editors. He held that 
ppsition until Sept. 22, 1834, when lie was succeeded by 
George C. Childress, and the announcement made to the pub- 
lic that " an experience of three years had convinced the pub- 
lishers that a daily paper would not pay in Nashville," and 
that henceforth the Banner and Advertiser would be issued 
but three times a week. On the 9ih of November, 1835, 
Allen A. Hall, afterwards editor of the Duili/ News, suc- 
ceeded Mr. Childress in the editorial chair. 

W. Hassell Hunt and Peter Tardiff dissolved their part- 
nership Nov. 31, 1836, and Mr. Hunt became sole pro- 
prietor. July 17, 1837, Mr. Hall purchased the paper and 
united it with The Commercial Transcript, edited by 
C. C. Norvell and published by W. F. Bang, afterwards 
publisher of the Rejiullican Banner. Mr. Norvell became 
his associate editor. August 22d, a month later, the Na- 
tional Banner and Nashville Whig formed an alliance with 
the Nashville Republican and State Gazelle, by which 
these five offices were consolidated under the name of The 
Republican Banner, and a daily paper was again issued. 

The Nashville Republican was started in 1824 by Abram 
P. Maury and Carey A. Harris, with the material of the 
old Clarion and Tennessee Gazette, which they purchased 
of Darby & Van Felt. Soon after they added a portion of 



the old heading, changing tlie title to Nashville Republican 
and Tennessee Gazette. In 1826 they sold out to Allen 
A. Hall and John Fitzgerald, printers to the State, who 
purchased George Wilson's Nashville Gazette in 1827, and 
changed the name to the Nashville Republican and State 
Gazette. In 1828 they began publishing a semi-weekly. 
December 12th, Mr. Hall bought out Mr. Fitzgerald, and 
continued until May, 1828, when he enlarged the paper and 
began publishing both a weekly and tri-weekly. In 1834, 
S. Nye bought the paper, and Washington Barrow became 
the editor. This management continued until Aug. 22, 
1837, when Blr. Nye united with Mr. Hall to issue a daily 
paper under the name of The Republican Banner. 

The Republican Banner was established Aug. 22, 1837. 
Allen A. Hall and S. Nye, the former proprietors of the 
Banner and Whig and Republican and Gazette, retained 
C. C. Norvell as associate editor until January, 1838, when 
he withdrew and started the second Nashville Whig. 

Jan. 30, 1839, the Republican Banner was enlarged from 
a five-column page, thirteen by eighteen inches, to a six- 
column page, but was again reduced September following. 
March 29, 1841, the firm of Hall & Nye was dissolved by 
the withdrawal of Mr. Hall, who had been appointed charge 
d'affaires to Venezuela, South America. August 4th, W. 
F. Bang, the foreman of the office, and W. 0. Harris, an 
employe in the counting-room, formed a partnership and 
bought the office from Mr. Nye, who continued to edit the 
paper until Dec. 22, 1841. 

Jan. 3, 1842, F. K. Zollicoffer assumed editorial man- 
agement of the paper. On his withdrawal, Aug. 11, 1843, 
Donald McLeod became editor, and remained until relieved 
by Washington Barrow, March 24, 1845. The paper was 
then enlarged to seven columns. William Wales became 
editor in April, 1847, retired Jan. 11, 1851, and was suc- 
ceeded by Gen. F. K. Zollicoffer, who had purchased an 
interest in the paper, and again assumed its editorial man- 
agement, assisted by William Hy. Smith. Allen A. Hall 
became editor on the withdrawal of Gen. Zollicoffer, April 
20, 1853. In 1856, Mr. Smith retired from the Banner 
to become one of the editors and proprietors of the Patriot. 
H. K. Walker bought Mr. Harris' interest in the office, 
and sueceeded Mr. Smith in February, 1837. With these 
changes Sir. Hall's connection with the Banner ceased, and 
Blr. Walker became editor-in-chief The style of the firm 
was then changed to Bang, Walker & Co. March 15, 1857, 
the paper was enlarged, and soon after James E. Raines be- 
came connected with it as editor. He withdrew March 12, 
1858, and was succeeded by Thomas W. Beaumont, of 
Clarksville, who occupied that position from July 1, 1858, 
to March 18, 1860. 

Albert C. Roberts was local and commercial editor from 
the fall of 1858 until the opening of the war. 

John Roberts, a foreman in the Banner office, who suc- 
ceeded Mr. Bang in 1841, became afterwards one of the 
proprietors. Gen. Felix K. Zollioofier was formerly editor 
of a paper in Columbia, and had previously acquired a repu- 
tation as a forcible political writer, which was more than 
sustained during his connection with the Banner. He was 
killed while in command as a general officer in the Confed- 
erate army, at the battle of Fishing Creek. 




Q^^ 




mvwi 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



239 



Gen. Barrow was afterwards United States Minister to 
Portugal, and for many years jiresident of the Nashville 
Gas-Light Company, which office he was the first to fill on 
its organization. 

Allen A. Hall was register of the United States treas- 
ury under Gen. Taylor. 

■ Hiram K. Walker was a humorous writer of much talent, 
as well as a sharp political writer. He was one of the 
most prominent Odd-Fellows of his time and city. 

Tlie Nashville Gazette — -third paper of that name — was 
established by James Thompson and E. K. Glascock, in 

1844. Mr. Thompson withdrew from the concern Jan. 1, 

1845, and was succeeded by William Hy. Smith, who be- 
came editor of the paper. Feb. 24, 1849, Anson Nelson, 
formerly publisher of the Christian Record, purchased the 
establishment of E. R. Glascock & Co. Mr. Smith con- 
tinued to edit the paper until Feb. 2, 1850. In July of 
that year, Mr. Nelson sold out to John L. Marling and 
James L. Haynes, and Mr. Marling became editor. M. C. 
C. Church bought Mr. Haynes' interest in August, 1851, 
and the firm became BI. C. C. Church & Co. 

William Cameron, Anson Nelson, and James L. Haynes 
bought the office Nov. 26, 1851, and employed John A. 
McEwen as editor. Feb. 1, 1853, Anson Nelson & Co. 
sold to John H. Baptist, James D. Maney, James T. Bell, 
and J. A. Laird. Mr. Maney assumed the editorial chair. 
Jan. 1, 1854, he sold his interest to his brother, Henry 
Maney, who took his position as editor, and James T. Bell 
assumed the charge of the local department. BIr. Baptist 
sold his interest in April, and in the month of April follow- 
ing Mr. Bell sold his interest. April 22, 1855, T. H. 
Glenn became city and commercial editor, though his name 
did not appear in the columns of the paper as such until 
June 17th. 

Col. W. N. Bilbo, a lawyer and man of superior attain- 
ments as an orator, became editorially connected with the 
Gazette, Feb. 5, 1856, and soon after the paper was en- 
larged. May 18th he bought the establishment of James 
A. Laird & Co., and Blr. Glenn dissolved his connection 
with the paper and took the same position upon the stafiFof 
the Patriot. James R. Bruce succeeded him as city and 
commercial editor. Mr. Maney continued with Col. Bilbo 
as associate editor until Sept. 14, 1856. November 11th, 
Col. Bilbo sold to M. V. B. Ilaile, James T. Boll, and Jo. 
V. Smith. James R. Bruce then became principal and 
James T. Bell* local editor. Mr. Smith withdrew Feb. 27, 
1857, and the two remaining members of the firm continued 
its publication, without change, until it was suspended by 
the evacuation in 1862. 

The Nashville Union was established Jlarch 30, 1835, 
by Bledicus A. Long as a weekly, with Samuel H. Laugh- 
lin editor. The office was on Market Street. Joel M. 
Smith succeeded them as proprietor of the paper, and it 
■was published on Union between College and Cherry Streets. 
Mr. Lonsr afterwards went to Florida, where he was livins, 
a prominent citizen, at the outbreak of the war. Mr. 
Bradford, and afterwards Mr. Cunningham from Kentucky, 
succeeded as editors. In February, 1839, the paper was 



■ Sec special biography of James T. Bell. 



enlarged and arrayed in new type and published three times 
a week, and Col. J. George Harris,"!" ^'i*^" ^ young man 
who had acquired celebrity as a political writer in New Eng- 
land, was installed as editor. Col. Harris had been an edi- 
torial pupil of George D. Prentice in New England some 
years before he came to Nashville, and was favorably en- 
dorsed by Prentice in all respects except his politics. 
Prentice was then editor of the Louisville Journal, the 
home organ of Mr. Clay, while Col. Harris came to con- 
duct the home organ of Gen. Jackson. In politics they 
were wide asunder, though always personal friends. 

The Repuhlican Banner was at this time conducted by 
the veteran editor Hall, and the Whiff by Norvell. 

Mr. Smith sold his interest to Col. Harris Oct. 21, 1839, 
and retired from the Union. The motto adopted by the 
paper in the beginning, " Our Federal Union — It must 
be Preserved," was the key-note of its politics. In 1843, 
Thomas Hogan and John P. Heiss bought out Col. Harris, 
who had been appointed United States commercial agent 
for Europe, and who went abroad for a year in that capacity. 
Mr. Hogan died, and Mr. Heiss sold the paper in Novem- 
ber to James G. Shepard, who engaged as editor Hon. A. 
0. P. Nicholson. Mr. Heiss entered the civil service of 
the United States, and died in public life. E. G. Eastman 
became editor in 1847, retired July 22, 1850, and was 
succeeded by Hon. Harvey M. AVatterson. In 1838, Mr. 
Eastman had commenced a successful career of journalism 
by establishing the Knoxville Arffus, a Democratic paper, 
which he edited with marked ability. He continued promi- 
nent from that time until his death, Nov. 23, 1859. His 
ability as an editor is highly commended by Col. Moses 
White in his historical " Address to the Tennessee Press 
Association," published 'in 1878. Sept. 17, 1849, Mr. 
Watterson purchased the Union. He employed Charles 
Earns, Esq., as editor from March 6th until after the August 
election in 1851. September 16th, in the editorial column, 
the firm-style of William B. Watterson & Co. appeared 
over the announcement by Harvey M. Watterson : " I have 
sold the Nashville Union establishment, stock, lock, and 
barrel, to my brother-in-law." He continued to edit the 
paper until Nov. 26, 1851, when it became the property of 
W. Weatherford, M. C. C. Church, and John L. Marling, 
the last-named gentleman becoming editor by the change. 
The motto at this time disappeared from the head-line of 
the Union. Mr. Weatherford .sold his interest to bis part- 
ners, Sept. 8, 1852, and retired. M. C. C. Church & Co., 
afterwards Church & Marling, continued to publish the 
paper, with Mr. Marling editor, until May 15, 1853, when 
the paper was united with the American under the title of 
Nashville Union and American. 

The BaiJy Centre-State American and Nashville 
Wceldt/ American was established in 1848. The first num- 
ber of the daily was issued April 26th from the office on 
Union Street, rear of Union Bank, by James H. Thompson, 
Jr., publisher. It was a six-column, four-page paper, at ten 
cents a week, or five dollars a year subscription ; weekly, 
two dollars, in advance. The prospectus stated that the 
paper would " be devoted to the progress of the Democratic 

■j" Seo special biography. 



240 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



party in the South by the dissemination of old-fashioned 
Democratic-Republican doctrines, and defend the policy of 
the present chief magistrate. It advocates a union of 
Whigs and Democrats of the South for the constitutional 
privilege of erecting new slave -States ; defends the war 
■with Mexico ; advocates Gen. Lewis Cass for the Presi- 
dency, and proposes to speak frankly and fearlessly at all 
times." 

Dr. W. P. Rowles, a former editor, and a vigorous Dem- 
ocratic writer, became its editor July 27, 1848. He gave 
■way to J. H. Thompson in January, 1849, and died a few 
years after. Oct. 2, 1849, Mr. Thompson announced 
the transfer of his interests to William M. Hutton, now 
sole proprietor, bade his adicux to the editorial corps, and 
announced the engagement, by the new proprietor, of Col. 
Thomas Boyers, well and favorably known as the talented 
editor of the Gallatin Tenth Legion, as the succeeding edi- 
tor. jMr. Hutton commenced the publication of a tri- 
weekly Oct. 23, 1849. 

The name was changed to TJie NoshvlUe American. 
Maj. E. G. Eastman, formerly connected with the Union, 
acquired an interest in July, 1850. In 1851 the firm-style 
■was Eastman, BoyerS & Co., — E. G. Eastman and Thomas 
Boyers editors. Jan. 1, 1852, the office was removed 
from Clierry and Union Streets to Deaderick Street, next 
the Banner office, and the paper enlarged from six to seven 
columns. Nov. 11, 1852, Col. G. C. Torbott, who was 
■well known as a legislator and a man of talent throughout 
the State, purchased half the office and became one of its 
editors. The paper was united with the Union May 15, 
1853. 

William M. Hutton, one of its proprietors, was after- 
■ward very prominent as the editor 'of the Memphis Appeal, 
and at the beginning of the civil war was editor of the 
Memphis Avalanche. 

The Kashville Union and American — daily, weekly, and 
semi-weekly — was established May 15, 1853, by the union 
of the two Democratic papers of Nashville under their for- 
mer proprietors, John L. Marling, E. G. Eastman, G. C. 
Torbett, and M. C. C. Church. 

In the spring of 1854, IMr. Marling ■was appointed min- 
ister to Guatemala by President Pierce, and disposed of his 
interest to his remaining partners. He returned two years 
after in ill health, and soon died of consumption. His less 
■was deeply mourned by his fellow-citizens. Mr. Church 
sold his interest soon after to F. C. Dunnington, Esq., of 
Maury County. In May, 1858, G. C. Torbett sold his in- 
terest to J. 0. Griffith, of Columbia, and G. G. Poindexter 
purchased one-half of Mr. Dunnington's interest. Mr. 
Poindexter became the principal editor, and the firm took 
the style of E. G. Eastman & Co., which it retained until 
Jan. 1, 1860. John M. McKee became connected with 
the paper as city and commercial editor, June 15, 1858. 
G. G. Poindexter died Nov. 18, 1859, and was followed by 
Maj. E. G. Eastman on the 23d, the Union and American 
tlius losing two of it's leading editors by death within a 
single week. On the 1st of January, 1860, John C. Burch, 
Esq., became associated in the proprietorship and editorial 
conduct of the Union and American, and the firm took the 
style of J. 0. Griffith & Co. Subsequently, Leon Trousdale 



and Thomas S. Marr purchased the interest of Mrs. E. G. 
Eastman in the Union and American, and Mr. Trousdale 
became one of the editors. The paper was suspended on 
the evacuation of Nashville by the Confederates. 

Capt. James Williams, founder of the Post, a weekly 
Whig paper, of Knoxville, in 1841, and afterwards of the 
Athens Post, was a contributor to this paper, and author 
of the " Old-Line Whig" letters which appeared in its col- 
umns during the Presidential campaign of 1856, and exer- 
cised a wide influence in favor of the Democratic candi- 
date. 

The paper was reduced in size on account of the scarcity 
of paper, July 2, 1861, and stated in that issue that it was 
" impo.ssible for the mills of the city to keep up with the 
demand." Oct. 26, 1861, the daily was reduced from 
seven to sis columns. The last number of that year an- 
nounces the Confederate States Presidential ticket, headed 
with the name of Jefferson Davis. 

G. C. Torbitt became president of the Bank of Tennessee, 
and filled that position when it was suspended by the 
war. 

John C. Burch was afterwards comptroller of the State 
and secretary of the Senate.* 

Leon Trousdale has for several years tilled the important 
position of State superintendent of public schools, — a posi- 
tion for which he is especially qualified. 

PUBLICATION.S AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ^YAJ^.. 

At the outbreak of the civil war, Nashville was the great 
publishing and newspaper centre of the South, and her 
periodicals were probably more numerous than those of any 
other city not exceeding her in population. The following 
list, gathered from the newspaper files of 1860-61, is com- 
posed of hona-jide publications, all of which attained to a 
respectable circulation, and does not include any amateur 
ventures. 

The printing-offices were : Southern Blethodist Publish- 
ing House, with a complement of eight Adams and two 
large Hoe drum-cylinder presses, besides hydraulic presses; 
The Southern Uomettead, the Baptist Southwestern Pub- 
lishing House, Repuhlican Banner, Union and American, 
Daily Patriot, Daili/ Gazette, and Baihj News, — all job, 
book, and news offices, — and the Ben Franklin and Bet- 
tersworlh Thomas & Co.'s book and job offices. 

A'^eicspapers. 

Nashville Patriot, daily, tri-weekly, and weekly ; politics. 
Opposition. Office, No. 16 Deaderick Street. 

A'ashville Gazette, daily, tri-weekly, and weekly ; inde- 
pendent. Corner of Deaderick and Cherry Streets. 

liepuMican Banner, daily, tri-weekly, and weekly ; Op- 
position. No. 13 Deaderick Street. 

Nashville A^ews, daily, tri-weekly, and weekly ; Opposi- 
tion. No. 40 Cherry Street. 

Nashville Union and American, daily, tri-weekly, and 
weekly ; Democratic. Corner of Cherry and Church Streets. 

Southern Homestead, a weekly agricultural and family 
newspaper. No 34 Church Street. 

■* See special biogvaphj. 



y 




^' ^ 




C c='"^-T...--Z>'~-%:f'V5^>--:2''Z_-i2--^^ 





Photo, by Armstrong, Nashville. 



c/lLUu^^ 



\(J^UaJ0 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



241 



A^ashvitle CICrislian Advocate, a weekly denominational 
paper, from the Metliodist Publishing House. 

Siiitchii/-Sclwol Vinilor, a weekly juvenile paper, from 
the same house. 

Banner of Peace, a weekly organ of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church, published on Cherry Street. 

Baptist Standard, weekly, published by the missionary 
Baptists at the Repuhlican Banner office on Deaderick 
Street. 

Tennessee Baptist, weekly. Southwestern Publishing 
House. 

National Pathfinder, devoted to news. Office on Col- 
lege Street. 

Temperance and Literary Journal, monthly, published 
at the Southern Homestead office. 

Home Circle, monthly, a Methodist publication. 

T/ie Children's Monthly Book, Baptist, Southwestern 
Publishing House. 

Nashville Jmirnal of Medicine and Snrgery, issued 
monthly, from the Ben Franklin office. 

Nashville Monthly Record of Natural and Physical 
Science, monthly; from the Methodist Publishing House. 

Quarterly Review, a Methodist publication. 

Southern Baptist Review, quarterly ; from the South- 
western Publishing House. 

WAR PUBLICATIONS. 

With the general stampede from the city on the memo- 
rable Sunday after the fall of Fort Donelson, Feb. 17, 1862, 
all publication was suspended. Every man looked to his 
own safety, and more especially the members of the press, 
whose peculiar position rendered their future more uncer- 
tain than that of persons who had engaged in less public 
[ occupations. Offices were abandoned with forms half made 
I up, paper wet for the press, type on the galleys, and half-set 
' \ manuscript upon the cases and copy-hooks. Curiosity- 
: seekers from the incoming armies pied the forms and car- 
ried away as specimen " relics" letters from the choicest 
(fonts, or by ignorant handling did great injury to that 

I [ which they left. 

' Unemployed printers soon found themselves deprived of 
I the means of support in the midst of an immense demand 

II for the news of the day. Thousands of papers from Louis- 
' ville, Cincinnati, and the more distant cities were poured 

in upon theni, and sold at fabulous prices. Tlie mounted 
newsboy made his circuit of the camps on an abandoned 
truin-mulo or broken-down horse, often clearing from ten 
to fifteen dollars in a single day.- 

A Dumber of the former employees of the Union and 
■ American joined in the issue of a small sheet, which made 
its appearance on the 28th of February, 1862, under the 
name of The Nashville Times. From the scarcity of ma- 
terial and lack of financial ability, it suspended after the 
issue of thirteen numbers. 

The Evening Bulletin, a second effort, was started by an 
"Association of Printers" in an abandoned office, March 
26, 1362, but was only issued six nuiubors. 

Tlie Nashville Daily Union was established on the 10th 
of April, 1862, by " An Association of Printers," with S. 
C. Mercer as editor. These papers were issued from the 
HI 



Patriot printing office. On the 23d of November, 1863, 
the publishing firm was announced as William Cameron & 
Co. On the 22d of December, 1863, Mr. Mercer's con- 
nection with the Union terminated, and it was edited 
mainly by J. B. Woodruff and W. Hy. Smith. 

Tlie Nashville Dispatch (daily) was issued by the " Dis- 
patch Printing Company," from the Tennessee Baptist 
office, April 14, 1862, and removed to the Republican 
Banner office, November 25th of that year. 

T/ie Constitution appeared as a daily July .5, 1862, pub- 
lished by the " Cumberland Printing Association," and 
edited by George Baber. But eleven numbers were issued. 

The Nashville Daily Press was commenced May 4, 1863, 
by Truman, Barry & Co., with Benjamin C. Truman editor. 
On the withdrawal of Mr. Truman, July 1, 1863, the firm- 
style was changed to Barry, Windham & Co. July 10th, 
Edwin Paschal and L. C. Houk were announced as edi- 
tors. August 15, 1863, Sir. Houk withdrew. Mr. Pas- 
chal's connection with the paper ceased Nov. 15, 1864. 
May 10, 1865, it united with the Times and Union, wndiat 
its old style of Barry, Windham & Co. 

Tlie Nashville Times and True Union was started at 
No. 49 College Street, Feb. 20, 1864, by S. C. Mercer, 
editor. May 10, 1865, it became merged in the Press, 
under the new title of the Nashville Daily Press and 
Times. 

The Nashville Daily Journal was issued from the Gazette 
printing-office, Sept. 3, 1863, by J. F. Moore & Co. pub- 
lishers, and L. C. Houk editor. In October the firm be- 
came William R. Tracy & Co., and afterwards John Blank- 
enship & Co. It was suspended in November of that year. 

The Methodist Pahlishing House was taken possession 
of by the United States quartermaster's department soon 
after the occupation, and converted into a government print- 
ing-office, for the publication of official bulletins, orders, and 
army blanks. A large number of compositors were em- 
ployed, together with pressmen and binders, some of whom 
were residents of the city, and others were soldiers detailed 
from the ranks. 

Mr. McKee, the first superintendent, was succeeded by 
Julius Frankie, of Pittsburgh, Pa. Maj. A. W. Willis was 
quartermaster in charge. The establishment was turned 
over to the agent. Rev. Dr. J. B. McFerrin, by Governor 
Johnson in October, 1865, and the United States railroad 
printing-office moved to Nashville and located in a govern- 
ment building near the Jewish synagogue. This is said by 
practical printers to have been the most complete and-com- 
pact job office in the United States. It was closed the 
next year, and the material sold at auction. 



Tlie American. 
the occupation of 
publication of the 
and so continued 
October, 1865, P. 
chased the paper, 
the publication of 
following. 

The publication 



THE PRESS AFTER THE WAR. 

— Upon the fall of Fort Donelson and 
Nashville by the Federal troops, the 
Union and American was suspended, 
until the close of the civil war. In 
C. Dunnington and Ira P. Jones pur- 
and after furnishing an office resumed 
the paper on the 5th day of December 



of the Union and American was regu- 



242 



niSTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



larly continued, daily, tri -weekly, and weekly, until the latter 
part of November, 1866, when it was consolidated with the 
Dispatch, and became for a time the Union and Dispatch. 

The Union and Dispatch was then regularly published, 
daily, ta-i-weekly, and weekly, until the latter part of August, 
1868. It was then combined with the Daily Gazette., and 
the old name of the Union and American was resumed. 

The Union and American was now continued, as a daily, 
semi-weekly, and weekly newspaper, until the first day of 
September, 1875. At this time it was consolidated with 
the licpuhlican Banner, and the only two daily newspapers 
then in the city became one, assuming the present name. 
The American. 

The Ainerican has since then been published daily, semi- 
weekly, and weekly, to the present date. 

In March, 1870, the then owners of the Union and 
American were incorporated by the Legislature as a joint- 
stock company. In August of that year they organized 
under the provisions of their charter as the " Union and 
American Fublisliing Company," and continued to work 
under the charter until the consolidation with the Republi- 
can Banner. When that occurred, the resulting owners of 
The American retained the charter, and have continued to 
work under the act of the Legislature incorporating the 
Union and American Publishing Company. 

Prior to the civil war the press of Nashville had no ar- 
rangement whatever to obtain news by telegraph. The 
telegraph company furnished the newspapers then printed 
here with such market reports as its agents or operators 
would gather in the afternoon from such points as they 
chose, charging a reasonable price for the same. On rare 
occasions a paragraph of general news would be injected 
into these meagre market reports. The inaugural address 
of President Taylor was furnished the Nashville press by 
telegraph, but no such expense was incurred afterwards. 
The telegraph-office was uniformly closed at eight o'clock 
P.M. The inception of the war forced the press into ob- 
taining fuller news, but each relied upon its own enterprise 
to secure it by " specials." 

The seven or eight new.spapers in New York City which 
formed a news association, primarily to save the great ex- 
pense of each spending what would serve all, soon came to 
consider their news as a valuable property, and sold it to 
the press of the East, North, West, and South. The press 
of Nashville, after the Federal occupation, but not before, 
purchased a limited amount of news from the New York 
A.ssociation. The " revived" press did likewise after the 
war closed. 

In 1869 the press of the larger cities of the West, from 
and including Pittsburgh, resolved to cease buying news 
from the New York Association, and formed, under a 
charter from Michigan, " The Western Press Association." 
From that lime the Nashville press bought its telegraphic 
news^from the latter organization until 1872, when it was 
admitted to membership in the " Western Association," 
which the American retains and alone enjoys. 

This mode of obtaining news by telegraph promptly, as 
events occur, from all parts of the world as well as our own 
country, has revolutionized the system of making news- 
papers here as elsewhere ; and the files of the American, 



in matter and make-up, show but a faint resemblance to its 
predecessors of twenty years ago. 

The Tennessee Slaats Zeitun//, the only German daily 
paper ever published in the South outside of New Orleans, 
was first issued in March, 1866, by John Ruhm, Esq., then 
a lieutenant in tlie United States regular army, who had 
just returned to civil life. The Daily Staats Zeitung had 
four seven-column pages, and was published at twelve dol- 
lars per annum subscription. The weekly, an eight-column 
paper, was three dollars per annum. The paper was Ee- 
publioan in politics. Sir. Ruhm abandoned the enterpri.se 
in September, 1868, to engage in his profession of the law, 
to which he had been educated in his native land, and is 
now a prominent member of the Nashville bar. 

The Publishing House and Publications of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church South. — In October, 
1865, the Methodist Publishing House was formally sur- 
rendered to Rev. Dr. J. B. JIcFerrin, the managing agent, 
by Andrew Johnson, the Military Governor of Tennessee. 
Work was at once resumed, and the Christian Advocate 
again issued. This is a sixteen-page, four-column weekly, 
at two dollars a year, edited by 0. P. Fitzgerald, D.D., and 
devoted mainly to religious intelligence, but containing 
besides a news summary and the markets. It is now in 
its fortieth volume. 

The Sunday- School Visitor, W. E. G. Cunnyngham, 
D.D., editor, is one of the finest juvenile publications issued. 
It is issued weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly, at fifty, 
twenty-seven, and fourteen cents per annum, respectively, 
in clubs of ten. Each number has four pages, ten by four- 
teen inches, with three columns to the page, and is printed 
on fine tinted paper, and embellished with several fine wood- 
cuts. Its publication was commenced with the year 1867. 

Our Little People, a four-page weekly, edited by Mr. 
Cunnyngham, for Sunday-school circulation, contains the 
lesson review, two five-and-a-half- by eight-inch pages of 
reading matter in large type, and an illustration. Pub- 
lication commenced with 1871 ; (en copies, eleven cents. 

The " Sunday-School Magazine," W. E. G. Cunnyngham 
editor, is a forty-oight-page monthly octavo magazine, de- 
signed for the instruction of Sunday-school officers and 
teachers. It contains a six-page lesson supplement, mnp 
of Palestine, and frontispiece illustration in each number. 
Its publication commenced with the year 1871. Terms, 
seventy-five cents per annum. 

The Infant Class, a two-page illustrated weekly leaf at 
six cents per annum, was started by Mr. Cunnyngham in 
January, 1879. 

Tlie Sunday- Scliool Quarterly, a thirty-two-page maga- 
zine, edited by Mr. Cunnyngham, is devoted entirely to 
the Sunday-school lessons of the quarter, and contains sev- 
eral pages of music in each number. 

The Quarterly Review of tlie Blethodist Episcopal 
Church South. — In carrying out the purpose of the Gen- 
eral Conference, the first volume of the Review was issued 
in 1879, under the editorial management of Rev. J. W. 
Hinton, D.D., one of the committee, and pastor of a church 
in Columbus, Ga. In October, 1879, R. A. Young was 
elected publisher by the Conference committee, and Rev. 
Thomas 0. Summers, D.D., LL.D., book editor at the pub- 



p 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



2-13 



lisliina; house, was elected editor. The lieview takes rank 
with tlie leading-works of its kind, both in matter and in 
nieehanical execution. It discusses theology, philosophj', 
science, literature, education, and all other matters appro- 
priate to such a publication. It is published under the au- 
spices of the General Conference, but without any pecuniary 
liability by the publishing house, the Conference, or the 
Church. It contains one hundred and ninety-two single- 
column pages in each number, seven by nine and a half 
inches, and is published at three dollars per annum. 

The Methodist Episcopal Fubli.shing House is incorpo- 
rated and is the property of the church. The buildiug, 
which was erected in 1873 to replace the former one, which 
was bought in 1854 and burned in 1872, is situated on the 
northeast corner of the public square in Nashville. It is 
five stories in front, including the Mansard roof, and seven 
stories in the rear, which overlooks the river bluflf. The 
material is cut stone, of the same quality as that used in 
the State Capitol. It fronts one hundred and sixteen feet, 
and is two hundred and twenty-seven feet deep to the river 
bluff. It is divided into four stores of twenty-nine by two 
hundred and twenty-seven feet. The northeast floors with 
basements are occupied by the agent, where may be found 
the book-store, olEces of the editors, mis.sionary secretary, 
bishop's room, composing-rooms, stereotype foundry, bind- 
ery, press-rooms, mailing-room, engine-room, and vaults. 
The other rooms are occupied by wholesale merchants. 
There are employed in the house about one hundred per- 
sons. Their book catalogue contains over five hundred 
volumes, and includes all the books usually kept for the 
general demand, as Eiblcs, etc. Kev. J. B. McFerrin was 
book agent from the organization until 1SC6; then Dr. A. 
II. Redford until 1878, when he was relieved by Dr. Mc- 
Ferrin, who is the present agent or general manager of the 
concern. 

This institution should command the respect and secure 
the co-operation of the friends of sound literature, and 
especially of the Methodists, as it is a mighty engine of 
power in God's hands in the interests of humanity. Who 
can calculate the extent of its influence ? During the past 
year about three hundred thousand copies of books and 
pamphlets have been published, four million copies of Sun- 
day-school papers, and sixteen thousand copies of the 
Cliristian Advocate weekly. 

The Ladles Pearl, S. P. Chesnut, D.D., editor and pro- 
prietor, was establi-shed in 1852, and publication recom- 
menced by Rev. J. L. Halsell, editor and proprietor, at the 
close of the war. It was purchased by John S. Ward, 
Esq., who began the present series with 1867. Rev. J. C. 
Bovine, D.D., succeeded as editor and publisher until 1873, 
when Jlessrs. Brown & Perrin purchased and removed it 
'to Alton, 111. Rev. S. P. Chesnut, D.D., the former pro- 
prietor of the Buiiiier of Peace, purchased the Pearl in 
1874 and commenced its republication in Nashville with 
the January number for 1875. In January, 1880, it was 
enlarged from sixty-four pages to a large octavo of eighty 
pages and its reading matter doubled, the subscription still 
remaining at the former price of two dollars and ten cents 
per annum. The Pearl is " devoted to the literary and 
moral culture of woman." A sanitary department designed 



to counteract the evil influence of medical impostors is 
edited by Drs. S. P. Crawford, M.D., of Stockton, Cal.,and 
J. B. Lindsley, M.D., of Nashville, Tonn. 

Gospel Advocate. — The publication of this paper was 
resumed by the issue of vol. viii., No. 1, on Jan. 1, 18()6, 
in the old form as a sixteen-page weekly, by Elder Tolbert 
Fanning and David Lipscomb, a brother of the former 
editor. 

In 1867 it was enlarged to thirty-two pages, and the 
subscription price reduced from two dollars and a half to 
two dollars. In January, 1877, it was changed to its pres- 
ent size and form. Elder Fanning withdrew from the 
paper in 1868, and Mr. Lipscomb became the sole proprie- 
tor. E. G. Sewell, an evangelist preacher from Williamson 
County, became associate editor with the commencement 
of 1870. Mr. Lipscomb at once increased his evangelical 
labors, and the management of the ofiice has since devolved 
upon Elder Sewell and II. G. Lipscomb, who became man- 
aging editor in 1875. The Advocate is a vigorous ex- 
pounder of its doctrines and the acknowledged organ of the 
Christian Church. It has a circulation of two thousand 
three hundred. 

The Cumberland Presbt/ferian., eight pages ; size thirty- 
two by forty-seven inches ; subscription two dollars and fif- 
teen cents per annum. Rev. J. R. Brown, editor. Estab- 
lished 1841. Publication resumed in 1868 by the Board 
of Publication of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 
The Union Evangelist of Pittsburgh, Pa., became the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian by change of name, and, with the St. 
Louis, IMo., Cumberland Presbyterian, united to make the 
St. Louis Observer. In 1868 these papers were united 
under the general church management, and the Banner of 
Peace of Nashville was purchased in 1874, the whole 
being then consolidated under the editorial management of 
Rev. J. R. Brown, D.D., for the Board of Publication. 
Rev. Dr. Brown was editor of the St. Louis paper previous 
to the consolidation. The new paper assumed the name of 
Banner Presbyterian, but after a few Issues it was found 
unfavorable, and changed to Cumberland Presbyterian. 
The Banner of Peace was first published after the war by 
Rev. Isaac Shoup and Rev. J. C. Province, in 1865. 

Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surgery, established 
in 1851, forty-eight pages octavo, three dollars per annum ; 
revived with the new series January, 1868, by W. K. Bow- 
ling, M D., editor and proprietor. W. T. Briggs, M.D., 
became joint proprietor, and continued until 1877, when 
C. S. Briggs, M D., became sole proprietor and editor. 
The Journal is devoted to medicine, surgery, and reminis- 
cences of the profession. 

The Southern JLisbandman, a monthly twenty-page ag- 
ricultural magazine at seventy-five cents a year, was pub- 
lished by Df. John H. Curry for the years 1877, 1878, 
and 1879, when it was consolidated with the St. Louis 
Journal of Agriculture. 

The Theological Medium, a quarterly of one hundred 
and thirty-two pages octavo, was started by Rev. T. C. 
Blake, in January, 1870, to succeed the old Quarterly. 
The circulation attained eighteen hundred the first year. 
It was purchased by the Board of Publication in 1873, and 
edited by Rev. M. B. De Witt until January, 1880, when 



2U 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUx\TY, TENNESSEE. 



it was transferred to the faculty of the Columbia Univer- 
sity. 

Snnda?/ Mominff, a monthly juvenile periodical of eight 
pages, size nineteen by twenty-four, at sixty cents a year, 
was established by the Cumberland Board of Publication 
in 1874. Rev. M. B. De Wilt, editor. 

Tiie Sini day- School Gem, Sunday-Sclwol Comments, 
Our Lamhs, and Gem Lesson Leaf are published by this 
board, besides which there are a large number of denomi- 
national works. The Sunday-School Gem was started by 
Rev. Mr. Blake when editor of the Banner, in 1867, and 
was the first child's paper published by the Cumberland 
Presbyterian denomination. The board bought it in 1873. 
Rev. S. P. Chesnut was editor of the Banner from 1873 
until it ceased publication. 

The Evening Telescrip was issued for a short time by J. 
W. Combs, 1870. 

The Penny Ncvs was published for several months by 
the Penny News Publishing Company. 

The Odd-Felloics' Amulet and the Mosaic were two 
society journals published for a short time since the war. 

Tlie Headlight was established as a State Sons of Tem- 
perance magazine in October, 1870, by W. H. F. Ligon, 
to succeed the Southern Sun, published by him since 18UG. 
The Progress was a thirty-two-page octavo magazine, edited 
by a committee of the order until January, 1877, when the 
name was changed to The Headlight. It continued to be 
regularly issued by that order after their change of name 
to the " United Friends of Temperance" in 1871, by Isaac 
Litton, Esq., Supreme Scribe of the order for the United 
States, and is the official organ of that order. 

The Commercial Reporter was started by James Browne, 
present publisher of the Daily Herald, in November, 1871, 
as a weekly price current. The size was doubled after the 
first three months, and it was made a five-column news- 
paper at one dollar a year subscription. It was enlarged to 
seven columns in 1873, and to" nine columns in 1874, when 
a legal department was added for the decisions of the Su- 
preme Court of Tennessee. This was an individual enter- 
prise of the editor, and highly successful. In June, 1878, 
Mr. Browne sold io Hooper, Harris & Co., who suspended 
after six months. The legal part was continued by Mr. 
Browne in magazine form, under the name of the Legal 
Reporter, passed into the liands of Jere. Baxter, Esq., and 
in 1879 was by him transferred to Tavel, Eastman & Co., 
law publishers and general printers, of Union Street. 

The Legal Reporter is a fifty-two-page octavo monthly, 
published at three dollars and fifty cents per annum, and 
devoted to the interests of the bench and bar of Tennessee. 
In January, 1872, Elder Tolbert Fanning began the 
publication of The Religious Historian, a thirty-two-page 
monthly, devoted to religious instruction and a history of 
the principles of the Christian religion. The contents were 
nearly all from his own pen. The publication ceased after 
tiie issue of the May number, with his death, which oc- 
curred at his residence, near Franklin College, May 3, 1874. 
As an educator and religious teacher, Elder Fanning was 
remarkably successful. He was born in Cannon County, 
May 10, 1810, became a Christian in 1827, and soon after 
began studying the Scriptures and preaching. He gradu- 



ated at the University of Nashville in 1835. During his 
studies he traveled with Alexander Campbell, and became 
distinguished by his success in public argument upon his 
chosen faith. In 1836 he opened a female school at Frank- 
lin, Tenn., and continued to teach and travel until 1840, 
when he settled five miles east of Nashville, in District 
No. 2. In October, 1844, he was elected president of 
Franklin College, and continued to fill that position until 
1861. At Hope Institute, in the same district, he opened 
a female institute at the close of the war, which he con- 
tinued until his death. 

The Dixie Farmer is an outgrowth of the Rural Sun, a 
sixteen-page weekly agricultural paper. It was issued first 
on Oct. 3, 1872, by Ilord & Griffith, publishers; B. M. 
Ilord, editor. In 1875, Griffith, Herd & Cunningham i 
became the publishers, and the paper was continued underi 
the same editorial management until January, 1880, when i 
it was consolidated with the Planter and Grange of At- ■ 
lanta, Ga., under the name of the Dixie Farmer and Live 
Stock Record, and published at Nashville by Frank Gor- ■ 
don and S. A. Cunningham, editors and publishers. The : 
Farmer is an eight-page, six-column paper, devoted to the : 
rural interests, and receives a liberal patronage. 

The Baptist WalcJmian, the only weekly Primitive 
Baptist paper on tiie continent ; issued Saturdays ; eight ' 
pages ; size twenty-two by thirty ; subscription two dollars. 
Established in Jasper, Ala-, and moved to Murfreesboro' in i 
August, 1869; moved to Nashville iu 1872, by B. E. 
Mullens and R. W. Fain. J. Bnnyaa Stevens became asso- 
ciate editor. Mr. Mullens resigned, and in 1874, on the ! 
death of Mr. Fain, Mr. Stevens became sole editor. It was • 
then a four-column, eight-page paper. In 1879 it was en- 
larged, and the year 1880 was commenced with a West : 
Tennessee department, edited by Dr. Mead H. Jackson, of I 
Covington, Tenn. 

Mayfield's Happy Home, a literary monthly of sixty- 
eiglit pages, octavo, at three dollars per annum, and estab- 
lished by Rev. W. D. and Mrs. L. E. iMayfield in 1875, , 
and attained a circulation of more than thirteen hundred. . 
It was discontinued in June, 1879. 

Tlie Southern Reporter, a nineteen by twenty-six, ei"-ht- ,- 
page monthly, was established in 1875 by D. B. Galley 
editor, and George B. Staddan, publisher, for the Knights 
of Honor, as an official organ of the order for the Southern 
States. Publication ceased with December, 1878. 

The Southern Industries, an eight-page quarto tliirty- 
two-column weekly, was established in November, 1875, by 
Rev. W. T. Hatch, editor and publisher. Its columns are 
devoted to immigration and the development of the re- 
sources of the State. The office was burned in June, 1879, 
and the Industries has since been issued at irrecrular 
periods. 

The Baptist Reflector was established at iMorristown, 
Tenn., in December, 1875, by 0. C. Pope, as an organ of 
the East Tennessee Baptists. Rev. W. D. Mayfield became 
joint editor and proprietor, the paper was removed to Nash- 
ville, and in February, 1876, Mr. Pope retired to become 
editor of the Baptist Hertdd. Mr. Mayfield was sole ed- 
itor and proprietor until January, 1879, when Rev. J. B. 
Chevis, of Macon, Ga., purchased the office. Rev. B. R. 




^sv 








^i^"--^.,^ 



photo, by ArmstroDg, Nashvilh 



.^.^. 



^u^jL 



Tames Thomas Beli, was born in Scotlantl, in the city of Glasgow, May 
1 1830. He was the son of James Bell and Miss Jane Colvill. His father 
eigrated to this State, and found business at once in the employ of the 
Vited States Bank in Nashville, and sent for his family to follow him 
^en the son James was quite young, — less than five years of age. As a 
ly James had the advantages of the best schools in this city and vicinity. 
1: was sent first to the noted Master Wand : later to Master Gould, of 
pat repute as a classical teacher; and subsequently to an excellent school 
ithe Hermitage district. 

His father had left his position in the bank and engaged in the commis- 
fn business. In the great panic of 1837 he had met with disaster in 
tnmon with the country at large; he had not recovered financial strength 
ilS42, when he died. 

Deprived of his father's help, the education of the son was interrupted. 
id it became necessary that he should in turn do what he could for self- 
SDport, and aid as he might his mother and sister. Therefore in 1S43 he 
iprenticed himself to learn the printers' trade at the ofiice of the Banner, 
'lere he served till twenty-one years of age. 

By extra work he did something to aid his mother, and through the kind 
lendship of Mr. John Roberts he was rapidly advanced, and at eighteen 
;iirs of age was assistant foreman of the printing-office. On the day he 
nched his majority he was made foreman. 

During his service in this ofiice many men of note were associated with 
'3 paper, some as editors and others as practical printers. The late Gen. 
dlicofl'er was at one time editor, and, being a practical type-setter as well, 
::ame about that one night, after the men had left, important news arrived 
I mail, and Zollicofifer with Bell set to work and bad the important news 
i| ready for the morning's paper. 

iMr. Bell set up the first telegrnphic despatch received in Nashville; this 
■burred in March, 184S. In 1S53 he with others bought an interest in 
|3 Nashville fiazette, which he retained about two years, sold out, and 
iught back again in 185fi. In connection with this paper he continued 
til the war. This event caused a general suspension of all the news- 



papers published in Nashville. Near the close of the war he resumed the 
publication of the Gazciie. In 1868 this paper was consolidated with the 
Union and Dispatch : subsequently came another union of papers, and the 
Union and American was the result. With this paper Mr. Bell remained 
as local and commercial editor until 1S74, when he resigned his connection 
to canvass the county for the office of clerk of the County Court, in which 
he was successful; this office he filled for four years. In March, 1878, he 
naturally returned to newspaper work, and bought an interest in the Nash- 
pille Banner. He has been the managing editor of that paper since the 
date last given. 

Mr. Bell was first elected a member of the city council in 1860. In 
1861 he entered the board of aldermen, and occupied that office when 
Governor Andrew Johnson cleared out of office the entire city government, 
and filled the several offices by appointment. Lately Mr. Bell was chosen 
a member of the city council once more. 

In politics he was formerly a Whig, but since the war has identified him- 
self with the Democratic party. In the days of the volunteer fire de- 
partment, when public-spirited citizens took pride in this useful branch of 
public service, Mr. Bell was an active and enthusiastic member. 

He was christened in infancy by the celebrated Dr. Chalmers, of the Es- 
tablished Church of Scotland, and has ever been in connection with the 
Presbyterian Church. The baptismal robes worn on this interesting occa- 
sion are still in possession of the family, and have done the same service 
for his children. 

Mr. Bell married, Sept. 26, 1855, Miss Helen M. Haile, daughter of Col. 
Thomas J. Haile, of Nashville. Of seven children born to them, two sons 
and two daughters are now living. 

Mr. Bell is a man of modest character, of high integrity, always to be 
found at the post of duty, indefatigable, and close in iipplieation to his 
work. He has hosts of friends throughout the community in which he 
resides. In his official trust he was faithful. As clerk of the court he 
handled the people's money honestly. No discrepancy ever appeared in 
his accounts. 




Photo, by Armstrong. NasliviOe. 



/]f^nyC4.^^c,^^^^*'-y^ 



William Martin Clark was born May 27, 1826, in 
Rutherford Co., Tenn. He had a liberal education at Prof. 
Crocker's celebrated academy in Williamson County, and 
subsequently at Clinton College, Smith County. After 
graduation he studied the theory and practice of medicine 
under Dr. B. M. Hughes, of Franklin, and commenced 
practice as a physician in Rutherford Co., Tenn. 

In 18-49 he married Miss Mary E. Blackman, of David- 
son County, daughter of Hays Blackman, Esq., a wealthy 
planter and well-known gentleman. 

Dr. Clark enjoyed an extensive practice in the four 
counties contiguous to his home until the breaking out of 
the civil war ; he entered the Confederate army, and was 
elected captain of Co. B, in the famous Twentieth Ten- 
nessee Regiment. After seeing considerable active service, 
his assistance as physician and surgeon was called for, and 
he entered the surgeons' department, in which he served 
for the balance of the war. 

On the restoration of peace he resumed the profession he 
had abandoned for the army, and located at Nolensville, Wil- 
liamson Co., where he resided till 1873, when he removed 
to Franklin, and still engaged in the practice of medicine. 

He commenced at this time contributing from time to 
time to the columns of the old Republican Banner, and 
kept up correspondence even after the union of that paper 
with the American. 

In this service his abilities attracted the notice of Col. 



Killebrew, State commissioner of agriculture and mines, 
and he was invited to fill the position of assistant in this 
department of the State government.. He also fills the 
office of secretary of the State Board of Health, and during 
the prevalence of the yellow fever was active in the dis- 
charge of his official duties in establishing quarantine at 
Memphis and elsewhere. 

In 1879 he received and accepted the appointment of 
editor-in-chief of the Nashville Banner, soon after which 
he purchased an interest in the paper, being associated with 
Col. J. T. Bell and George Purvis, Esq. In February, 
1880, he purchased the interest of the latter, and is now the 
principal proprietor of that newspaper. 

Mrs. Clark died in January, 1879, leaving a family of 
ten children ; in the following year Dr. Clark married the 
maiden sister of his first wife. Miss Susan Blackman. 

Dr. Clark was an old-line Whig, but after the war the 
conservative qualities of this old party were better repre- 
sented by the Democratic party in this State, and he found 
himself in sympathy with it ; he is a national man in all 
his instincts, and earnest in all measures calculated to 
destroy sectional animosities. He cheerfully accepts the 
results of the war, and accords to the negro all rights se- 
cured to him by legislation thence resulting. 

He stands strongly in favor of maintaining the credit of 
the State. His religious associations are with the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. 



i 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



245 



Womaek is associate editor. The Reflector is a four-page, 
tliirty-two column paper, devoted to the interests of the 
Regular Baptist Church. 

In 187G several printers who had been thrown out of 
employment by the union of the Rcpuhlican Banner and 
Union and American, started the Evening Mail. Its ex- 
istence was limited to less than four months. 

The Nashville Banner was established April 10, 1876, 
by John J. Carter, William E. Eastman, C. P. Bledsoej 
Humes Carothcrs, Pleasant J. Wright, and Robert J. Mil- 
ler, as a Democratic daily paper, with a capital gtock of _ 
twenty-five one hundred dollar shares. The paper was 

■ twenty-four by thirty-six ;■ twenty-eight columns brevier 
' and nonpariel ; with a subscription price of eight dollars 

per annum, and graduated to twenty cents per single week. 
Mr. Eastman was elected first president, and Mr. Carter 
secretary and treasurer of the concern. 

The editorial stafi" consisted of John J. Carter, Robert J. 
Miller, and Church A. Robinson. Mr. Carter had not pre- 
viously been connected with journalism. Mr. Miller had 
served on the Republican Banner and the American as a 
reporter. Sir. Robinson had occasionally contributed to the 
local columns of these papers. June 15th the initial num- 
ber of the Weeldt/ Banner, a twenty-eight by forty-four nine- 
column newspaper, devoted to commercial, industrial, and 
literary matters, was issued, with a subscription price of one 
dollar and a half per annum ; early in 1880 the price was 
reduced to one dollar singly or seventy-five cents in clubs. 
The old officers were re-elected in 1877. Mr. Robinson 
retired because of failing health in 187C, and soon after 
died at his home in Lebanon, Tenu. He had already ac- 
quired a reputation as an able and popular young journalist, 
and by his death the profession sustained a severe loss. 

In 1877 the price of composition was reduced from fifty 
to forty cents per thousand cms, resulting in a strike among 
the printers who belonged to the " Nashville Typographical 
Union, No. -20," of which Mr. Carothcrs was a member, 
and ho withdrew from the paper. Mr. Wright, also a mem- 
ber of the union, retired soon after. Mr. Carothers' stock 
was purchased by Napoleon B. Buck, who succeeded him 
as foreman of the composing-room. Ilcrmon W. Hasslock 
bought the stock of Mr. Wright. Mr. Bledsoe retired from 
ill health the same yeai-. Mr. Hasslock sold to Tavel, East- 
! man & Howell early in 1878, and A. B. Tavel was elected 
f president. Mr. Carter was chosen president in April, 1878, 
I and Blr. Miller secretary. Dr. W. M. Clark,* of Frank- 
' lin, .Tenn., bought the interests of Mr. Carter and Mr. 
Buck in February, 1S79, and sold a part to James T. Bell 

■ and Georjie E. Purvis in March ensuing. Mr. Bell had 
I ... 

; been identified with Nashville journalism for more than 

twenty-five years previous. Mr. Purvis had been engaged 
in the business for a decade. 
j Under the new regime Dr. Clark became editor-in-chief, 
Mr. Bell managing editor, Mr. Carothers telegraph edi- 
tor, Maj. J. D. Hill associate editor, and Mr. Purvis busi- 
ness manager. Sir. Carter resigned April 6th. During 
the month the company purchased the entire stock and 
material of the Baptist Publishing Company, and removed 

•s See special biography. 



to their present commodious building. No. 22 North Cherry 
Street. 

Maj. Hill retired in the fall of 1879. Mr. Purvis 
sold his stock to the remaining members of the company in 
February, 1880, and retired from the business. Douglas 
H. Rains was then installed as business manager. Dr. 
Clark and Mr. Bell are still chief and managing editors ; 
Mr. Miller is city editor, and John C. Cook his associate ; 
James S. Burch, advertising solicitor ; W. H. BIcDonald, 
superintendent of mails. 

The capital stock of the Banner is now twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars. The paper has an increasing local and mail 
circulation and advertising patronage. It occupies a front 
rank in journalism, and is everywhere conceded to be one 
of the brightest, newsiest, and most enterprising news- 
papers publishcd'in the South. 

The Evening Record, published in 1878 by the Record 
Publishing Company, was issued one month as an evening 
paper and one day as a morning journals 

The Southern Practitioner, a monthly journal of forty- 
eight pages, octavo, first appeared in January, 1878, under 
the present management, Duncan Eve, M.D., managing edi- 
tor, George S. Blakie, M.D. (Edinburgh), Ph.S., and Deer- 
ing J. Roberts, M.D., associate editors. It is an independent 
journal devoted to medicine and surgery, and is an adver- 
tising medium for the wholesale drug and manufacturing 
trade. It reviews medical works. Subscription one dollar 
a year. A circulation is claimed larger than any other 
medical journal in the South. 

llie National Flag, a Greenback seven-column weekly, 
published by Dr. B. F. C. Brooks, editor and publisher, at 
No. 22 College Street, was first issued in January, 1879, to 
succeed The Worldngman, moved from Memphis to Nash- 
ville by i)r. Brooks in 1809, and published the first year, 
here under the name of the Labor Union, after which it 
resumed its old name and retained it until January, 1879. 
Dr. Brooks was formerly a United States army surgeon. 

The Daily Herald, a six-column, four-page evening paper, 
was started Feb. 23, 1880, by James Brown, editor and 
publisher, at the corner of College and Church Streets. 
Subscription price ten cents a week or five dollars a year. 
Mr. Brown is a vigorous journalist, and has been a pub- 
lisher in Nashville since 1871. The Herald is independent 
in politics, and largely devoted to commercial news. Cir- 
culation about three thousand. 

The Y. M. C. A. Bulletin is a four-page, two-column 
bi-weekly, devoted to the interests of the Young Men's 
Christian Associaiion and the moral development of young 
men and youth. It is published by the association, and is 
a complete bulletin of religious service throughout the city 
and of the international Bible studies. The general secre- 
tary of the association, BIr. John H. Elliott, is the editor. 
It is printed on fine tinted paper, and is a model of neatness. 

The Southern Monthly Magazine is an illustrated literary 
and family magazine, which first appeared in May, 1880. 
It contains all the variety of instructive reading matter de- 
manded by the advanced age and refined tastes for which 
it is intended, — art, science, fact, fiction, reviews, etc., — and 
comprises two volumes of six hundred pages each, at three 
dollars per annum. It is published at the Southwestern 



246 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Publishing House by William W. Breese, author and pub- 
lisher. Corps of editors: Andrew A. Lipscomb, D.D., 
LL.D., Thomas A. Hoyt, D.D., George S. Blackie, A.M., 
M.D., Ph.D., H. M. Doak, Esq., James Waters, A.M., 
LL.B., F. W. E. Peschau, A.M., Mrs. C. G. Dunscomb, 
Miss Emma Blaynicko, Bliss Jennie Fish. 

The art department is under the supervision of an ac- 
complished amateur artist, lately of Augusta, Ga., and the 
leading amateur and professional talent of this city has been 
enlisted. Mr. F. G. Baltishwiler, late of one of the leading 
publishing houses of New York, has been retained as 
traveling artist. He is now visiting various parts of the 
South, making sketches of noted places. 

The following are among the leading literary contributors 
in Tennessee, etc. : J. M. Keating, editor Memphis Appeal, 
G. B. Thornton, M.D., J. Berrien Lindsley, M.D., D.D., J. 
B. Killebrew, LL.D., E. L. Drake, M.D., Mrs. Elizabeth 
A. Meriwether, T. C. Blake, D.D., and Edward S. Joynes, 
LL.D. 

Colored Men's Publications. — The Weekly Pilot, 
a six-column weekly, was started in February, 1878, by the 
Pilot Publishing Company, which was composed of two 
ministers, a school-teacher, and six laborers and mechanics, 
all colored. C. S. Smith was editor until July, 1878, when 
he was succeeded by Rev. Daniel Wadkins. The I^ilot 
ceased in July, 1879, and Mr. Wadkins started the Educa- 
tor and Reformer, a six-column paper, at two dollars a 
year. 

The Herald and Pilot, devoted to emigration, agricul- 
ture, religion, and general news, was started by Alfred 
Jenkins & Co. in August, 1879, and edited by W. H. 
Young; size twenty-four by thirty-sis; price one dollar and 
sixty-five cents per annum. The Emigration Herald pre- 
ceded this paper, and was started in July, 1879. These are 
all colored people's papers, and none other are concerned 
in their management, though they are read largely by both 
races. 

The Fisk Expositor, an eight-page four-column annual, 
is published at the Fisk University in the interests of 
colored students, and is ably edited. 

Nashville Almanacs. — " Bradford's Tennessee Al- 
manac" first appeared in 1807, for the year 1808, from the 
old Clarion office, whence it was issued by Thomas G. 
Bradford, or in his name until 1824. In 1826 the " Cum- 
berland Almanac" for 1827 first appeared. It was pub- 
lished by W. Hassell Hunt & Co. until 1838, by S. Nye 
until 1841. In 1844 it was edited by William L. Wille- 
ford and published by Berry & Tannehill. Mr. Willeford 
was its editor until 1855, then Alexander P. Stewart was 
editor, and Walker & Co. publishers until the war. It has 
since been published by the " American Publishing Com- 
pany." 

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

Under the acts to establish the Planters' Bank of Tennes- 
see, and Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Memphis, passed 
in 1833, the one-half of one per cent, on the capital stojk 
payable annually to the State was appropriated to the sup- 
port of common schools, to be divided among the counties 



according to the free white population. Five per cent, of 
the net profits of the Tennessee Fire and Marine Insurance |b 
Company were also appropriated for that purpose. 

In 1837 the school fund was ordered placed in the hands! 
of the directors of the State Bank of Tennessee, as capital 
in the bank, upon which they were to issue certificates of 
stock to the superintendent of public instruction. Pre- 
viously school funds had been invested in other bank stocks, 
and these, by the terms of the act, were to be sold at par. 

It was also provided that if a system of common schools, 
shouldbe adopted and put into operation by the present 
Assembly, the funds which should accrue to the benefit of 
common schools after 1837 from the bonuses of the present;! 
banks, dividends from incorporate companies, privileges, 
fines, penalties, and taxes should constitute part of thei 
annual fund for distribution by the superintendent. If not I 
adopted, the funds were to be invested in the State Bank- 
stocks. Of the bank dividends the fiuth of the State stood, 
pledged to the annual appropriation of one hundred thou- 
sand dollars to school purposes. 

In 1841 one-half of the fund arising from the sale of I 
public lands to which the State was entitled by act of Con- 
gress of that year was appropriated for the benefit of com- 
mon schools. Besides revenues from banking and insurance 
corporations, the funds were increased eleven thousand seven 
hundred dollars by the proceeds of lands appropriated in i 
1849, which were invested in State bonds. 

In 1853 a tax of twenty-five cents on polls and two and i 
one-half cents on one hundred dollars was fixed by the 
Legislature for annual distribution to counties through their i 
county trustees, if two-thirds of the justices of the peace 
did not object, in which case the people were permitted to 
adopt or reject the law by a general election. 

In 1837-39 the apportionment was fixed upon the ratio of I 
white children between the ages of six and sixteen years. 

The fund arising from that portion of stock in the Nash- • 
ville, Murfreesboro' and Shelbyville Turnpike Company, in i 
which was invested the internal improvement fund of David- ■ 
son, Rutherford, and Bedford Counties, was excluded, as ; 
not to consticute any portion of the common school fund f jr 
distribution under any act of Assembly, but was ordered to 
be distributed among the three counties named. 

Davidson County at once organized and opened schools 
for such length of time in most of the districts as the funds 
provided by the law were sufficient to meet the expense of 
employing teachers. 

In 1840, to better provide superior teachers, two districts 
were authorized to unite their funds and agree upon holding 
alternate schools, or, if necessary, to change the place of 
holding schools from time to time. If the public funds 
were insufficient, the commissioners of districts were authoi'- 
ized to collect from the parents or guardians of those bene- 
fited. Persons who felt their rights invaded were allowed 
the privilege of sending their children or wards to any 
public school suiting their convenience, after agreeing with 
the commissioners upon the rates to be paid by them. 
Fuel was provided by guardians according to their number 
of pupils. The civil districts were adopted as school dis- 
tricts in most cases in this county. As soon as organized 
and ready for a school the districts were entitled to their 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



217 



iannu;il share of the public money. Throe school eoinmis- 
sioners were elected in 1840, and for each two years there- 
after, under a call from an ofiicer appointed by the sheriff. 
All children between the ages of six and twenty-one years 
residing within the district were entitled to school privileges, 
and others upon the payment of tuition. 

The district commissioners were to receive and pay out 
public money, hold school property, employ teachers, visit 
and examine the schools once in three months, advise the 
teacher as to studies pursued and government, dismiss 
teachers, exempt indigent persons from payment, make rate- 
bills, choose a district clerk, and report annually in October 
to the clerk of the County Court the condition of their 
districts, under a penalty of ten dollars each. No school 
commissioner was eligible to the office of teacher or to take 
any school contract. 

Any twenty scholars might on application, if remotely 
jlocated, be formed into a separate district, and school com- 
tmissioners were empowered to make alterations. All houses 
occupied for school purposes were protected by vigorous 
jeDaetments. In 1851 the counties were first authorized to 
.employ female teachers and to pay them the same rates as 
males. 

The revised school law establishing free schools in the 
State of Tennessee was passed March 5, 18(37, and went 
into effect with the election of school directors in each civil 
district on the first Saturday of the ensuing June. These 
directors were to hold semi-annual sessions in April and 
September, and report to the county superintendent. Schools 
were opened separately for the white and black students. 
Schools for five months in a year were provided for by a 
district tax to supplement the State tax where needed, and 
for building suitable school-houses. 

■ The previous code made no provision for the education 
of the colored people. The new law opened separate schools 
for both races between the ages of six and twenty years. 

The war found but few good school-houses, and many of 
'these suffered in the general devastation. School furniture 
iwas rude and primitive in its form, and but little adapted 
to the constant and energetic use called forth by the new 
system. The county, to more thoroughly inform the school 
directors in the requirements of the new order of instruc- 
Ition, provided each one with an educational journal con- 
taining valuable suggestions. 

The .special change in educational ideas required by the 
freedom of former slaves met the remnants of a life-long 
prejudice. The general judgment, however, decided that 
the blacks must be educated for the moral and intellectual 
I security of the white people as well as themselves. Rev. 
i J. n. McKee and his associates had anticipated the ends 
! required by this law in their behalf by opening colored 
schools in Nashville in 1864 and 1865. 

The scholastic population of Davidson County, then in- 
cluding only those between six and twenty years of age, 
was: whites, 9589; colored, 5806; total, 15,395. 

In his report to the State superintendent of public in- 
struction, in 1869, J. P. McKee, Esq., county superin- 
tendent, says of the introduction of the free-school system 
in Davidson County, — - 
i " Now that we have had nearly two years of the present 



school system, we should be able to say something concern- 
ing it, and give the public some information as to what has 
been accomplished under it. 

" In putting it in operation, we had difficulties without 
end to contend against, all of which are now in a measure 
overcome, — the poverty, prejudice, and want of buildings 
occasioned by the late war. 

" At first everything was to be done, and we had nothing 
with which to do it ; for the war had left hardly the skeleton 
of an educational spirit. Directors were to be elected, but 
in only a few civil districts would the people hold the elec- 
tions, and in still fewer cases would the men act when elected 
to that office. 

" The county superintendent had to ride almost day and 
night, for over six months, before he got the scholastic 
population of the county. At last this was accomplished, 
and a few schools started in the civil districts immediately 
around the city. All over the country the people began to 
get interested in school matters, and were talking of build- 
ing or repairing houses and starting schools, when the news 
went forth, ' The school fund is lost, and there is not a cent 
with which to pay the teachers.' The ill-fated breeze which 
brought the unwelcome news bore down with it what little 
faith the people had in the school system, and cast us back 
to the foot of the hill, up a part of which we had climbed 
with such difficulty. 

" When we recovered from the shook and gazed at the 
ground passed over in vain, wc must confess that we were 
discoui-aged, but not cast down." We collected our energies 
and went to work on a second ascent, which we found more 
difficult than the first, on account of new obstacles in the 
way, which our inglorious descent threw up. This time 
we had to meet and overcome both difficulty and insult iu 
almost every place we went on public school business, up to 
the 1st of August, 1868, when there was an apportionment 
announced for the payment of teachers, which in a measure 
stemmed the tide of wrath flowing against the free-school 
officers. 

" This, although not one-fourth of what we should have 
had, enabled us to persuade the people into doing their 
children justice by starting schools for them. It also ena- 
bled us to get teachers to accept positions in the free schools, 
who before would not touch them, because the one or two 
who had taught on faith had not yet been rewarded. 

" Among the groat difiiculties to be overcome, one of the 
greatest was the getting colored schools started. There 
were no houses for that purpose, and there was a general 
prejudice against negro education, so that there were only 
a few white people who would, and dared, assist the colored 
people in building school-houses. In most cases they were 
too poor to build them for themselves. The Freedmen's 
Bureau assisted in some cases to build school-houses, but 
it did not do half that it could or might have done. 

"The agent, we think, lost sight of ' the greatest good 
to the greatest number,' or, in other words, the public 
good, by keeping his eyes too closely fixed upon what might 
be called private enterprises, as they are more denomina- 
tional than national. But this with all other difficulties 
was overcome, so that before the end of the year 1868, with 
the exception of one civil district, the schools of Davidson 



248 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



County were fully organized, and oven in that one two free 
white schools were taught. 

" During the progress of the schools the first year, five 
school-houses were burnt — four colored and one white — by 
some malignant parties who prefer ignorance to knowledge, 
and vice to virtue. But as evidence that there is more sat- 
isfaction than dissatisfaction among the people as such with 
the present system, for the five school-houses that were 
burnt twenty new ones have been built in the county. 
Where we could scarcely get a director to serve, they are 
now competing for the position, and serving well ; where 
we could hardly get a teacher to accept of a situation in 
the free schools, we have three applicants for every position 
that opens. 

" These things go to show that the system is gaining the 
confidence of the people ; and indeed there would be no 
lack of confidence if the State would only do its duty, and 
make the apportionment of each year's school fund within 
the year. It has been the uncertainty of how much, and 
when the school fund would come, that has caused the want 
of faith and the dissatisfaction among the people. We have 
never so much as heard of the money for 1868, although 
the year 1869 is almost gone. 

" The school law may require improvement, and does, as 
nothing human is perfect. But, in spite of its imperfections, 
and the almost insurmountable difficulties with which the 
school oflBcers had to contend, much has been done to es- 
tablish a permanent free-school systeni in Tennessee. I 
might venture to say that mbj-e has been done here to that 
end than in any other State in the Union in the same time, 
under similar circumstances. Take Davidson County for 
an instance. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1869, 
nearly one hundred schools, of five months, have been 
taught outside the city of Nashville, about thirty of these 
colored. Ten thousand or over have been reported enrolled 
in school, out of a scholastic population of over sixteen 
thousand.. It is ouj/opinion that the above is a good show- 
ing for the first year of a school system, as it really was the 
first year of operations, the tim3 previou-; bjing as good as 
lost by the failure to got the school fund." 

In 1870 the school-law was so modified as to leave to 
separate county action the subject of public schools. This 
county took the lead under that law, levied a tax on prop- 
erty, polls, and privileges, and through the school directors 
of each district formed a " County Board of Education." 
This board adopted a code of regulations for the government 
of schools and a uniform series of test-books. Those regu- 
lations, slightly changed to adapt them to the present school- 
law, passed in March, 1873, are still in force, and the text- 
books have been gradually changed, so as to incur the least 
expense when found to be unsuited to the capacity of the pu- 
pils. The school districts are twenty-six in number, and con- 
form, with but one exception, to the civil districts. Schools 
for white and for colored children, located at points selected 
by the directors, are continued for periods averaging about 
seven months in the year, some continuing for a period of 
ten months. In the more populous districts near the city of 
Nashville, graded schools were early established and elegant 
school-houses erected, which were models in architecture, 
and finished with desks and other modern school appliances. 



Among these were Watkins Seminary, in the Thirteenth 
District ; Thompson's Seminary, in the Tenth District, and 
the graded schools at Goodlettsville, in the Twentieth Dis- 
trict. Superior teachers for the colored schools are fur- 
nished by their own race, from among the graduates of Fisk 
University and Central Tennessee College. 

The county superintendent, who is elected by the district 
directors, visits the school of each district twice a year, re- 
maining several hours at each school, and giving a most 
critical examination to everything connected with their 
management. Visiting among schools for mutual observa- 
tion and improvement in teaching has been practiced for 
several years. 

The following gentlemen have filled the position of 
county superintendent of schools under the present law : 
Andrew J. Roper, 1869-70 ; Alexander C. Cartwright, 
1870-71 ; Samuel Donelson, 1871-72; Richard W. Weak- 
ley, 1872-80. 

By recent acts of legislation by the Forty-first Assem- 
bly, the school age is extended to twenty-one years, and the 
clerks are required to enumerate the scholastic population 
annually, in the month of July, and to make a return of 
the same to the county trustee and to the county superin- 
tendent, on or before the 15th day of September next ensu- 
ing. They are entitled to receive two cents for each person 
so enumerated, and for making " other reports" to the county 
superintendent, and the superintendent cannot draw his war- 
rant for the same unless they perform the duties within the 
time designated by law. 

The trustee is positively prohibited from paying out the 
school money to the clerks to which their districts are en- 
titled, but must disburse it to the teachers or others entitled 
under the law to receive it, upon the warrant of the dis- 
trict directors, approved by the couniy superintendent. The 
county superintendent is thus made the auditor of all school 
accounts, and is bound not only to take care that the school 
money is lawfully expended, but also that no improvident 
waste or gross abuse is allowed, and that no indebtedness is 
incurred beyond the power of the directors to meet, from 
the current incoming taxes. 

On or before the 15th of September of each year the 
county trustee is required to report to the county superin- 
tendent the amount of school money received and disbursed 
by him for the scholastic year ending August 31st of that 
year, with sources from which the money was' received and 
the purposes for which it was expended. 

The studies pursued are orthography, reading, writing, 
arithmetic, English grammar, geography, elementary geology 
of Tennessee, and history of the United States, which are 
the branches prescribed by law. By the county regulations 
these are divided into seven classes or grades, two primary, 
two intermediate, and three grammar. Higher branches 
are taught in many of the schools by the pupils paying a 
moderate tuition fee. Declamation, compositions, and select 
readings are also prescribed at weekly and monthly reviews. 
JIany of the districts have neat school-houses, well furnished, 
while some others hold their schools in churches and rented 
buildings. 

There are within the county twenty-eight school districts, 
two of which are consolidated districts, — the Twenty-sixth, 




Elisha Williams and Sarah Josey were born in Halifax 
Co., N. C, and were left orphans without brother or sister. 
They were married in 1773. Four of their children lived to 
mature age, — Elizabeth, William, Josiah F., and Elisha. 

William Williams was born in Halifax Co., jST. C, April 
15, 1776. He graduated at Harvard University, Cambridge, 
Mass., in 1799. Judge Joseph Story was a member of the same 
class, and as warm personal friends they corresponded through 
life. Returning home, he read law with Judge Haywo.id. In 
1804 he came to Nashville with the view of settling, and pur- 
chased the Evans gi-ant of six hundred and forty acres, four 
miles from Nashville, on the Gallatin road. The following 
year he moved to the farm, bringing with him his father and 
mother and brother.'. His father, then in bad health, died 
soon after. 

William Williams and Sally Philips, a daugliter of Joseph 
Philips and Milbrey Horn, were married in Davidson County, 
February, 1807, by the Rev. Thomas B. Craighead. She was 
a woman of firmness, of kindness, and of practical sense. 
The children born of this marriage were Eliza, Martha, 
Charlotte, Henry, Mary, William, Jolyi, Joseph, Maria, and 
Evander. The girls were educated at the Nashville Female 
Academy. All of them died soon after reaching womanhood 
except Charlotte, who married Col. W. B. A. Ramsey, of 
Edgefield. Henrj', Joseyh, and Evander died in early man- 
hood. 

William Williams practiced his profession in Nashville and 
the counties adjoining Davidson for twenty-five years. He 
was not a fluent speaker, but what he said or wrote was always 
a strong argument, and his conclusions very apt to be correct. 
He was noted for punctuality in all his business. As a legis- 
lator he studied the interest of Tennessee. After discontinu- 
ing the practice of law he was elected a magistrate without 
solicitation, which oiBce be filled for several terms. A great 
part of this time he was chairman of the County Court, the 
duties of wliich ho performed with marked ability and fidel- 
ity. He was a trustee of the Robertson Academy, the Craig- 
head Academy, and the Nashville University for many years, 
and took a deep interest in their success. In religion he was 



a Presbyterian. He, his wife, and two daughters joined the 
church in Nashville in 1833,'when Dr. John T. Edgar became 
pastor, and subsequently two daughters and four sons joined 
the same church. He was for years an elder of the church in 
Nashville, and an elder of the church in Edgefield at the time 
of his death, which occurred March (3, 1862, his mind unim- 
paired and his body not showing old age. 

His son, William Williams, graduated at the Nashville 
University in 1839; taught a male academy three years; 
graduated at the Louisville Medical College in 1845; settled 
in Hendersonville, Sumner Co., and married Lizzie B., 
eldest daughter of Daniel S. Donelson and Margaret Branch, 
May, 1849. Moving to the old homestead in 1865, he discon- 
tinued the practice of medicine, and has since devoted his 
time to the improvement of his farm, to the rearing and edu- 
cating of his children, to the cause of public schools, and to 
the Church. The names of their children are Margaret, Mary 
Eliza, Evander, Sally, William, Emma, and Eula. Maggie 
Bessie Davis, a bright child two years old, occupies the place 
in the affections of the members of th-e family circle made va- 
cant by the death of her mother. His son, John W. Williams, 
graduated at the Nashville University in 1841 ; surveyed land 
in Texas several years ; read law ; married Martha, youngest 
daughter of Graves Pennington, of Davidson County; pur- 
chased a farm in Mississippi Co., Ark His wife dying, he 
married Anna, eldest daugliter of Col. Elliot Fletcher, of Ar- 
kansas. They have three children,— Susan, Elliot, and Sally. 

Mrs. Ma;:tha Martin, a sister of Mrs. Williams, is the only 
unbroken link connecting the family to the past century. 
She was born in a fort four miles from Nashville, near her 
present residence, in 1792. She is blessed with good health, 
a clear mind, a distinct memory, and leads and sews without 
glasses. Loving and beloved by all who know her, in select 
words and sweet voice she relates the history of six gener- 
ations, whom she remembers perfectly. By reading she keeps 
up with the age. Her Bible and hymn-book are always near 
her. Her lamp full of oil she keeps trimmed and burning, 
cheerfully and hopefully watching and waiting the coming 
of her Lord. 



CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



249 



formed of the contiguous parts of the Nineteenth, Twen- 
tieth, and Twenty-second civil districts ; and the Twenty- 
eighth, wliich is formed of portions of the Eighteenth, Nine- 
teenth, and Twenty-first Districts. The county has twenty 
brick, fifty-seven frame, and tliirteen log school-houses, with 
a total valuation of §213,700, and various school apparatus, 
worth altogether $2217. One brick school-house was 
erected during the year at a cost of $500. There is within 
the county a school popuhition of 6858 male and 6830 
female white, and 4556 male and 4745 female colored, 
school-children, making a total enumeration of 22,'J89. Of 
these there has been 7750 wliite and 3520 colored scholars 
enrolled, with an average daily attendance of 5242 white 
and 2343 colored, at a cost of §1.56 per scholar. These 
were taught in one hundred and sixty different schools, one 
hundred and nine of which were for white and fifty-one for 
colored pupils. 

There were besides fourteen private schools with 600 
scholars, and a daily attendance of 415, under the tuition 
of 27 teachers, at an average cost of $3 for each pupil. 

The following exhibit shows the number of teachers ap- 
plying for license to teach schools, and number employed : 

Applied. Licensed. Employed. 

White males 69 66 68 

" females 128 12t) 116 

Colored males 45 40 31 

** females 33 26 15 

275 250 219 

The average compensation per month was $33.50. 

For the support of schools there was a poll tax of one 
dollar, a property tax of one mill, and a one-eighth State 
tax on privileges. The amount raised for tlie year 1878- 
79 was $92,455.13, of which $5539.58 were from the State, 
$41,148.74 from the county, and $45,766.81 from other 
sources. The expenses for the year were : 

For te;ichers' Siilaries §84,344.92 

Sehool-sites, buildings, and repairs 2,145.00 

Furniture, fixtures, apparatus, and libraries. 822. 2S 

To county superintendent 400.00 

To district clerks 860.87 

Other contingent expenses 6,202.23 

$93,775.30 

There are fifty-five graded schools kept within the county. 

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OP NASHVILLE. 

In the spring of 1852, Alfred Hume, Esq., long an 
eminent teacher of a select classical school in Nashville, 
was engaged by the City Council to visit various cities in 
which the public schools were in operation, to investigate 
their practical working, and report to the board. Having 
; returned and signified his readiness to make known the re- 
sult of his inquiries, he was requested to do so in public. 
Accordingly, on the 26th of August, he appeared before 
the board and a large concourse of citizens, at Odd-Fellows' 
Hall, and read a lengthy and masterly report, two thou.saiid 
copies of which were published. That report may be re- 
garded as the corner-stone of the system of public schools 
in this city. In the same year the lot, one hundred and 
eighty-five by two hundred and seventy feet, at the corner 
of Spruce and Broad Streets, was purchased, and proposals 
received for the erection of a building. On the 19th of 



May, 1853, Dr. W. K. Bowling delivered an oration, in 
the presence of a large audience, at the laying of the corner- 
stone. The building was completed within the following 
year, and was called the Hume school, in honor of the dis- 
tinguished scholar who had taken such an active part in 
inaugurating the new enterprise. On the 14th of October, 
1854, the City Council elected the first Board of Education, 
the following gentlemen being chosen : F. B. Fogg, Charles 
Toms, R. J. Meigs, Allen A. Hall, John A. McEwen, and 
W. F. Bang. They hold their first meeting on November 
5th, following, and the schools were formally opened to pupils 
Feb. 26, 1855. Much of the unvarying prosperity of the 
schools is due to the fact that they have always been con- 
trolled by boards of active, intelligent, discreet gentlemen, 
many of them the most distinguished citizens of the place, 
as will appear from the list of those who, at different times, 
have served in that capacity. In the year 1856 the lot on 
the corner of Summer and Line Streets was purchased with 
proceeds of property donated by Col. Andrew Hynes, and 
a building erected upon it was called by his name. In the 
year 1859, M. H. Howard, Esq., gave to the city a fine 
lot on College Hill, on wliich now stands the scliool-house 
named for him. 

The Trimble scliool, at 524 South Market Street, was so 
called in honor of John Trimble, Esq., who presented the 
lot on which it stands for school purposes to the then suburb 
town of South Nashville in the year 1851. During the 
next year the building was erected and a public school 
opened. When, in 1855, the corporate limits were ex- 
tended over this territory, the city Board of Education took 
charge of the school. 

In 1865 a lot was rented at the corner of Madison and 
North Cherry Streets, and an old army house purchased 
and removed to it. In 1872 a good lot was purchased at 
the corner of North High and Jefferson Streets, and during 
the next year the present Ninth Ward school-house was 
built upon it. 

In 1867 the Belle View building was purchased and 
converted into a school-house for colored pupils. 

On reopening the schools in 1865, the Hume building 
was found insufficient to accommodate the pupils of that 
district. The city, therefore, purchased a wooden building 
which had been built on South Vine Street by the United 
States authorities as a mess-hall during the war. This 
house was removed to the Hume lot and fitted up as well 
as the character of the material would permit, and was 
used for school purposes until it became untenantable, and 
in its stead the new brick building which now adorns the 
lot was erected. It was completed and occupied in Janu- 
ary, 1875, and is called the Fogg school, in honor of 
Francis B. Fogg, Esq., the first president of the board. 

School Buildinc/s. 

Fogg, corner of Broad and Spruce Streets. — Built in 
1874.' Lot 132 by 185 feet; value $17,000. Hou.se three 
stories high ; thirteen rooms, 435 seats, cost $2500. Em- 
ploys 13 teachers. Average attendance 400. 

Hume, corner of Broad and Spruce Streets. — Built in 
1854. Lot 132 by 185 feet; value $13,000. House three 



250 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



stories high ; twelve rooms, 600 seats, cost §25,000. Em- 
ploys 12 teachers. Averan;e attendance 575. 

Iloicai-d, No. 250 South College Street.— Built in 1859. 
Lot 126 by 261 feet; value $5000. House three stories 
high; twenty-two rooms, 1710 seats, cost 825,000. Em- 
ploys 23 teachers. Average attendance 1050. 

Hynes School, Summer and Line Streets. — Built in 
1857. Lot 90 by 180 feet; value $4500. House three 
stories high; eleven rooms, 440 seats, cost $15,000. Em- 
ploys 8 teachers. Average attendance 345. 

A^inth Ward, corner Jefferson and North High Streets. 
—Built in 1873. Lot 185 by 210 feet ; value $25,000. 
House two stories high ; sis rooms, 275 seats, cost $12,000. 
Employs G teachers. Average attendance 257. 

Belle View (colored), No. 305 North Summer Street. — 
Built in 1861. Lot 90 by 96 feet; value $1500. House 
two stories high ; eight rooms, 370 seats, cost $3000. Em- 
ploys 8 teachers. Average attendance 339. 

Tn'mhle (colored). No. 524 South Market Street.— Built 
in 1851. Lot 75 by 130 feet; value $1500. Hou.se two 
stories high ; four rooms, 210 seats, cost $6000. Employs 
4 teachers. Average attendance 204. 

McKcc, No. 10 Ewing Street. — Rented at $150 per 
annum. Three rooms, 170 seats. Employs 8 teachers. 
Average attendance 155. 

Edgefield, recently annexed, contains three school-houses, 
with seventeen rooms and 900 seats. The school lots are 
valued at $1700 ; school buildings $20,000 ; furniture 
$2000; making a total of $23,700. Seventeen teachers 
were employed the last year, at a cost of $7312.50 for 
tuition and $693 for incidental expenses. Average atten- 
dance, white, 505 ; colored, 142 ; whole number enrolled, 
1082. 

The schools are : High school, corner of Main Street and 
Seventh, Prof. George D. Hughes principal, and 13 teachers. 

Seawright school, corner of Joseph Avenue and North 
Seventh Street, Miss Nellie Davis principal, and two assis- 
tants. 

Vandervill school (colored), premises rented, north of 
the Louisville and Nashville Railroad junction, Aaron Dodd 
(colored) principal, and three assistant teachers. 

CITY SCHOOL LAW. 
" Chapter L 
"Be it enactedhy the Mnyor and City Council of Nashville : 
"Section 1. That the Public Schools of the City of 
Nashville shall be under the charge of a Board of Educa- 
tion, to consist of nine members, one-third of whom shall 
be elected by the City Council at their last regular meeting 
in November in each year. The members so elected shall 
enter upon their duties on the first day of December next 
following, and their term of oiEce shall continue for three 
years and until their successors shall be qualified. Vacan- 
cies shall be filled by election of the City Council at the 
first regular meeting of the Common Council after the oc- 
currence thereof, the members so elected to serve for the 
remainder of the unexpired term. Each member of the 
Board of Education shall, on his induction into ofiiee, 
take the following oath : ' I do solemnly swear that I will 
use my best endeavors to carry out faithfully all the laws 



now in force and those hereafter enacted, to provide a school ' 
fund, and to regulate the public schools of the City of Nash- 
ville, so help me God.' 

" Sec. 2. That the plan of instruction and the organiza- 
tion of the system of public schools shall be such as may 
be adopted by the Board of Education and approved by 
the City Council, and shall not be changed except by a two- 
thirds vote of said Board; any alteration to be submitted 
to the City Council for approval or rejection. 

'■ Sec. 3. Pupils allowed to attend the public schools of' 
the city shall be from seven to nineteen years of age, and 
they shall be under charge of such teachers, and in such I 
buildings, as the Board of Education may deem most de- 
sirable. 

" Sec. 4. The children and wards of all actual residents 
within the corporate limits of the city shall be entitled to 
seats as pupils in the public schools, provided that said 
children shall themselves be hona-fide residents of the city. 

" Sec. 5. Any person having temporary or permanent con- 
trol of a minor, not entitled by law to the benefit of the 
public schools, who shall send or permit such minor to at- 
tend any of said schools, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and shall be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dol- 
lars for every such offense. 

'• Sec. 6. If any person having charge or control of any 
public school or schools in this city shall knowingly or will- 
fully connive at and permit the attendance of a pupil in 
any of the schools of this city, when said pupil is not en- 
titled by law to the benefits of said schools, the persons thus 
knowingly and willfully permitting such pupil to attend 
shall be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars 
for every such offense. 

" Sec. 7. Any person injuring the school buildings, or 
other property, shall be liable to a fine of double the amount 
of damage done ; and any person going to or loitering 
around the schools while in session, for the purpose of dis- 
turbing them, shall be liable to arrest by the police, and to 
a fine of not less than five nor more than fifty dollars, at 
the discretion of the Recorder. 

" Cn.\PTER II. 

" Providing and Regidaling School Fund. 

" Section 1. That it shall be the duty of the Board of 
Education, before the first Jlonday in April in each year, 
to prepare and file with the Mayor an estimate of the 
amount of money which will be required for the mainte- 
nance of the public schools for the succeeding scholastic 
year ; that said statement shall set forth the various items of 
expense as accurately as possible, and shall be published in 
the annual budget estimate. 

" Sec. 2. That in the annual tax levy a suflBcient per 
cent, shall be included to meet the expenses required in the 
statement of the Board of Education. 

" Sec. 3. That the salaries attached to the various posi- 
tions in the public schools shall be set out in detail in the 
estimate made by the Board of Education, which shall be 
subject to the approval of the City Council, when said esti- 
mate is submitted. 

" Sec. 4. That the City Treasurer shall pay out to the 
employees of the public schools on a monthly pay-roll, to be 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



251 



submitte J to him approved by the Supcvlntendont of Schnols 
and the Board of Education, the respective sahiries affixed 
to their names, and shall pay, further, all such amounts ap- 
proved by the said Board and the Finance Committee of 
the City Council for the incidental expenses of the schools 
as may have been included in said estimate. Provided, 
however, that in no case shall the amount of such pay-roll 
and approved accounts for any one month exceed one-tenth 
of the whole sum covered by the said estimate and approved 
by the City Council. 

"Sec. 5. That sections 9, 10, 11, and 12, chapter 31, of 
McAlister's City Digest, be and the same ari3 hereby re- 
pealed. 

" Sec. 6. That this act take effect from and after its pas- 
sage, the public welfare requiring it." 

The officers of the Board of Education are a president, 
secretary, the superintendent of schools, an executive com- 
mittee, a committee on instruction, a committee on finance, 
and such other officers as the board may see fit to appoint. 

The executive committee have in charge tlie enforcement 
of all acts of the board for the government of teachers and 
pupils, and the rules for regulating local committees. It 
is their duty to make an inspection of all school property, 
annually, at the close of the schools in June. 

The committee on instruction cause the examination of 
teachers and pupils at such regular periods as they deem 
proper, and determine the average required of pupils, furnish 
substitutes for temporary vacancies in the corps of teach- 
ers, and have in charge the regulation of text-books, to 
recommend changes to the board and faculty as change in 
circumstances may require. 

The committee on finance make estimates, audit accounts, 
and have supervision of salaries of school officers and others 
employed by the board, to whom they make. annual reports 
in June for publication. 

The three school districts are formed as follows : Main 
Street, Trimble, and Howard, No. 1 ; Fogg, Hume, and 
McKce, No. 2 ; Seawright, Vandavill, Hynes, Belle View, 
and Ninth Ward, No. 3. Each district is under the su- 
pervision of a local committee of three members of the 
board, appointed by the president at the regular meeting in 
September and February of each year, to serve for five 
months. 

The local committees have a general supervision of the 
respective schools and school property, and have power to 
make necessary repairs and improvements not to exceed ten 
dollars. They report at each monthly session of the Board 
of Education. 

The schools are divided into primary, intermediate, 
^grammar, and high-school departments. 

The yearly session commences on the second Monday in 
September, and closes on the first Wednesday in June. 

The schools are opened daily, except Saturdays and Sun- 
days. From the first day of October to the first day of 
April, the regular school hours are from nine o'clock a.m. 
to two o'clock P.M. The remainder of the scholastic year 
they are from eight o'clock a.m. to one o'clock p.m. with- 
out any intermission exceeding _/i/i;efiH minutes at a time. 
- ' Thirty minutes previous to roll-call the gates and doors 
are opened and the signals rung on the town bells. Ten 



minutes before the regular school hours the rolls arc called 
and tardy pupils marked. 

From the first Wednesday in June to the second Mon- 
day in September the schools are vacated-. 

The holidays are from Christmas to New Year's day inclu- 
sive. Thanksgiving, and such other days as may be ordered 
by the board. 

SALARIES. 

The salaries are determined approximately by a fixed 
scale, the amount paid in each position varying as in the 
estimation of the board the services performed merit. Tlie 
following is the scale, the rate being per month : 

Superintendent of Schools SI 66. 665 

Principal, higli school '..... 162.00 

First male assistant, higli school 12.3.00 

Second male assistant, high school 100.00 

Lady assistants, high schools 75.00 

Principal, third floor Fogg school 110.00 

Assistants '* " " 65.00 

Principal, first floor Fogg school 60.00 

Assistants ■' *' " 45.00 

Principal, Hume school liO.OO 

Howard school 140.00 

" Hj'iies school 110.00 

Belle View school 110.00 

Ninth Ward school 100.00 

" Trimble school 70.00 

" McKee school 65.00 

" third floor Howard school 70.00 

'* first floor Howard school 65.00 

" seventh grade study-halls 65.00 

Assistant, seventh grade class-rooms 60.00 

Principal, sixth grade study-halls 60.00 

Assistant, si.xth grade class-rooms 55.00 

Principal, fifth grade study-halls 55.00 

Assistant, fifth grade class-rooms 50.00 

Principals fourth, third, second and first grade sludy-halls... 60.00 

Assistants " " " " " " class-rooms... 45.00 

Assistiints beginning 40.00 

Principal, vocal music 105.00 

Principal, penmanship and drawing 100.00 

PEINCIPALS OF SCHOOLS. 

1855-56.— High School, L. G. Tarbox. 

Hume, W. B. Thompson. 

Trimble, S. Y. Caldwell. 
1856-57.— High School, L. G. Tarbox. 

Hume, W. B. Thompson. 

Hynes, R. Dorman. 

Trimble, S. Y. Caldwell. 
1857-58.— High School, L. G. Tarbox. 

Hume, A. J. Caldwell. 

Hynes, R. Dorman. 

Trimble, S. Y. Caldwell. 

Lincoln Hall, J. L. Weakley. 
1858-59.— High School, L. G. Tarbox. 

Hume, A. J. Caldwell. 

Hynes, R. Dorman. 

Trimble, S. Y. Caldwell. 

Lincoln Hall, J. L. Weakley. 
1859-60.— High School, L. G. Tarbox. 

Hume, A. J. Caldwell. 

Hynes, R. Dorman. 

Trimble, S. Y. Caldwell. 

Lincoln Hall, J. L. Weakley. 

College Hill, H. M. Hale. 
1860-61.— High School, L. G. Tarbox. 

Hume, S. Y. Caldwell. 

Hynes, R. Dorman. 

Trimble, Miss Blary J. Noakes. 



252 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Howard * M. J. Hale. 
1861-62.— High School, S. Y. Caldwell. 

Hume, A. C. Cartwright. 

Hynes, T. W. Haley. 

Trimble, Miss M. J. Noakes. 

Howard, Rev. Dr. Reuben Ford. 
1862-65.— No schools. 
1865-66.— High School, C. D. Lawrence. 

Hume, B. S. Braddoek. 

Hynes, A. C. Winter. 

Trimble, J. A. Owen. 

Howard, C. T. Adams. 

Ninth Ward, Z. II. Brown. 
1866-67.— High School, M. S. Snow. 

Hume, B. S. Braddoek. 

Hynes, A. C. Winters. 

Trimble, J. A. Owen. 

Howard, C. T. Adams. 

Ninth Ward, Z. II. Brown. 

Belle View, T. A. Hamilton. 

Lincoln Hall, T. W. Haley. 
1867-68.— High School, A. D. Wharton. 

Hume, S. Y. Caldwelh 

Hynes, Z. H. Brown. 

Trimble, Mary A. Soule. 

Howard, J. A. Owen. 

Ninth Ward, Alice II. Clemens. 

Belle View, G. W. Hubbard. 

Gun Factory, T. R. Adams. 
1868-69.— High School, C. T. Adams. 

Hume, W. M. Cole. 

Hynes, Z. H. Brown. 

Trimble, M. A. Suule. 

Howard, John A. Owen. 

Ninth Ward, A. H. Clemens. 

Belle View, G. W. Hubbard. 

Gun Factory, T. R. Andrews. 
1869-70.— High School, C. T. Adams. 

Hume, W. H. Cole. 

Hynes, Z. H. Brown. 

Trimble, Mary A. Soule. 

Howard, John A. Owen. 

Ninth Ward, Maggie W. Sieferle. 

Belle View, G. W. Hubbard. 

Gun Factory, H. Breckenridge. 
1870-71.— High School, Z. H. Brown. 

Hume, Mary D. McLelland. 

Hynes, Emma Clemens. 

Trimble, V. A. Moffitt. 

Howard, John Baldwin. 

Ninth Ward, Alice H. Clemens. 

Belle View, G. W. Hubbard. 

Gun Factory, Emma R. Smith. 
1871-72.— High School, Z. H. Brown. 

Hume, Mary D. McLelland. 

Hynes, S. S. Woolwine. 

Trimble, Miss M. A. Cooper. 

Howard, John Baldwin. 

■••■ In p'ace of Lincoln Hall and College Ilill, discontinued. 



Ninth Ward, Maggie W. Sieferle. 

Belle View.— G. W. Hubbard. 
1872-73.— High and Hume, Mr. Z. H. Brown. 

Hynes, A. C. Cartwright. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 

Ninth Ward, Miss E. B. Moulton. 

Belle View (col.), G. W. Hubbard. 

Trimble (col.), C. F. Carroll. 
1873-7L— High and Hume, Z. H. Brown. 

Hynes, E. Perkins. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 

Ninth Ward, C. P. Curd. 

Belle View, G. W. Hubbard. 

Trimble, M. S. Austin. 
1874-75.— High School, A. D. Wharton. 

Hume, Z. H. Brown. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 

Hynes, E. Perkins. 

Ninth Ward, T. H. Hamilton. 

Eighth Grammar, G. B. Elliott. 

Belle View, J. W. Coyner. 

Trimble, R. A. Halley. 

Caper's Primary, Mrs. M. A. Douglass. 
1875-76.— High, A. D. Wharton. 

Hume, Z. H. Brown. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 

Hynes, E. Perkins. 

Ninth Ward, T. H. Hamilton. 

Eighth Grammar, J. C. Redman. 

Belle View, J. W. Coyner. 

Trimble, R. A. Halley. 

McKee Primary, Mrs. M. R. Smith. 
1876-77.— High, A. D. Wharton. 

Hume, Z. H. Brown. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 

Hynes, E. Perkins. 

Ninth Ward, T. H. Hamilton. 

Seventh Grade Grammar, J. C. Redman. 

Belle View, C. W. Munson. 

Trimble, R. A. Halley. 

McKee Primary, Mrs. M. R. Smith. 
1877-78.— High, A. D. Wharton. 

Hume, Z. H. Brown. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 

Hynes, E. Perkins. 

Ninth Ward, A. J. Calvert. 

Belle View, C. W. Munson. 

Trimble, R. A. Halley. 

McKee, Charles A. Halley. 
1878-79.- High School, A. D. Wharton. 

Hume, Z. H. Brown. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 

Hynes, E. Perkins. 

Ninth Ward, A. J. Calvert. 

Belle View, C. W. Munson. 

Trimble, R. A. Halley. 

McKee, P. L. Nichol. 
1879-80.— High School, A. D. Wharton. 

Hume, Z. H. Brown. 

Howard, S. S. Woolwine. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



253 



Hynes, G. B. Elliott. 
Ninth Ward, A. J. Calvert. 
Belle View, C. W. Munson. 
Trimble, K. A. Halley, Jr. 
McKee, P. L. Nicbol. 
Knowles Street, S. W. Crosthwait. 

STATISTICS FOK THE CENTENNIAL TEAR.— 1S80. 





Enrolled. 


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Schools. 


1 


5 


15 
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White. 
Higli 


S5 
482 
G15 
214 
139 


165 
454 
1)73 
193 
187 


260 
936 
1288 
407 
326 


222 
762 
1050 
345 

257 


213 

725 
995 
330 
260 


72 
68 
70 
70 
68 


$37.00 
1290 
12.68 
15.02 
14.20 


$8,214,00 
0,836.50 

13,320.00 
5 185 00 








mntb Ward 


3,650.00 




Color KD. 


1545 

165 
120 
05 


1G72 

■ 277 
130 
118 


3217 

442 
250 
213 


2638 

339 
204 
155 


2515 

327 
190 
149 


69 

68 
70 
65 


S15.24 

$13.06 
11.32 
10.46 


$40,204.60 
$4,428.00 


Trimble . 


2,310.00 
1,620.00 


Mcliee 








380 


525 


005 
1082 


698 
692 


676 
647 


67 


811.97 
$10.50 


$8,358.00 
$7.312 50 
















5204 


402S 


3838 






$56,874.00 


1 







j 1854.- 
i 1855.- 
I 1856.- 

f 1857.- 

1858.— 

I860.- 

1861.— 

1862.— 

1863.— 



1864.- 
1865.- 



1866.- 



BOARDS OP EDUCATIO>f. 

F. B. Fogg, R. J. Meig.s, Allen A. Hall, John A. 

McEwen, Charles Toms, W. F. Bang. 
F. B. Fogg, J. A. McEwen, A. A. Hall, Isaac 

Paul, Samuel Cooley, W. F. Bang. 
F. B. Fogg, J. A. McEwen, R. J. Meigs, M. H. 

Howard, Isaac Paul, J. B. Lindsley, W. F. Bang, 

J. B. Knowles. 
F. B. Fogg, J. A. BIcEwen, R. J. Meigs, M. H. 

Howard, Isaac Paul, J. B. Lindsley, W. F. Bang, 

J. B. Knowles. 
F. B. Fogg, J. A. McEwen, R. J. Meigs, BI. H. 

Howard, Isaac Paul, J. B. Lindsley, W. F. Bang, 

J. B. Knowles.* 
F. B. Fogg, M. H. Howard, R. J. Bleigs, Phineas 

Garrett, Isaac Paul, J. B. Lindsley, W. F. Bang, 

W. F. Cooper. 
F. B. Fogg, J. W. Hoyto, Isaac Paul, W. K. Bo- 
ling, J. S. Bostick, J. 0. Griffith, M. H. Howard, 

C. K. Winston, B. S. Rhea. 
F. B. Fogg, J. W. Hoyte, M. M. Brien, BI. G. L. 

Claiborne, J. S. Fowler, H. H. Harrison, M. H. 

Howard, J. B. Knowles, M. BI. Blonahan. 
Francis B. Fogg, J. W. Hoyte, BI. BI. Brien, BI. 

G. L. Claiborne, J. S. Fowler, H. H. Harrison, 

BI. H. Howard, J. B. Knowles, BI. BI. Blonahan. 
■No election. 
P. S. Fall, J. W. Hoyte, T. A. Atchison, D. D. 

Dickey, E. H. East, H. H. Harrison, J. B. 

Lindsley, L. G. Tarbox. 
P. S. Fall, J. W. Hoyte, T. A. Atchison, BI. C. 



-» Same, 1859. 



Cotton, R. B. Cheatham, J. H. Callcndar, I. P. 
Jones, J. P. Knowles, J. L. Weakley. 

1867.— P. S. Fall, J. W. Hoyte, T. A. Atchison, BI. C. 
Cotton, R. B. Cheatham, J. H. Callendar, I. P. 
Jones, J. B. Knowles, J. L. Weakley. 

18G8. — Eugene Gary, R. G. Jamison, H. S. Bennett, J. 
Jungermau, D. llutledge, D. W. Peabody, John 
Ruhm, L. G. Tarbox. 

1869.— Dr. C. K. Winston, J. L. Weakley, Isaac Paul, 
George S. Kinney, A. G. Adams, J. 0. Griffith, 
Charles Rich, John J. BloCann, James Whit- 
worth. 

1870.— J. 0. Griffith, John J. BIcCann, Charles Rich 
(one year), Thomas H. Hamilton, C. K. Win- 
ston, Joseph L. Weakley (two years), George S. 
Kinney, L. G. Tarbox, A. D. Wharton (three 
years). 

1871.— J. B. Craighead, James T. Dunlap, Charles Rich, 
Rev. A. J. Baird.t 

1S72.— Blorton B. Howell, Joseph L. Weakley, Rev. Dr. 
R. A. Young.J 

1873.— George S. Kinney, L. G. Tarbox, Prof. A. D. 
Wharton, Col. R. C. BIoNairy.J 

1874.— G. BI. Fogg, Jr., A. B. Hoge, Samuel AVatkins. 

1875.— M. C. Cotton, G. SchifF, J. L. Weakley. 

1876.— J. BI. Dickerson, T. W. Halley, George S. Kinney. 

1877.- Theodore Cooley, G. BI. Fogg, BI. B. Howell. 

1878. — George R. Knox, John Rhum, J. L. Weakley. 

1879.— R. B. Lea, T. W". Wrenne, George S. Kinney. 



OFFICERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD. 

President. Secretary. 

1854-58 Francis B. Fogg. John A. McEwen. 

1859-60 " " JVI. II. Howard. 

1861-62 " " J. W. Hoyte. 

186.3-64 " " " 

1865 P. S. Fall. " 

1866-67 '■ " " " 

1868-69 Eugene Gary. R. G. Jamison. 

1870 Dr. C. K. Winston. J. L. Wealdey. 

1871 " " " Frof. A. D. Wiiarton. 

1872 Gen. James T. Dunlap. S. Y. Caldwell. 

187.3 " " " Prof. A. D. Wharton. 

1874 Samuel Watkins. L. G. Tarbox. 

1875-76 " " A. B. Huge. 

1877 J. L. Weakley. T. W. Haley. 

1878 G.M.Fogg. 

1879 " " T. W. Wrenne. 

SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 

1851-61. Joshua F. Pearl. 1865.J J. F. Pearl. 

1861-62. James L. Meigs. 1866-69. Prof. C. D. Lawrence. 

1862-65. Vacant. 1869-80. Prof. S. Y. Caldwell. 

UNIVERSITY OF NASHVILLE. 

The history of this institution dates back to the pioneer 
days of Nashville, when Gen. James Robertson was repre- 
senting the new county of Davidson in the Legislature of 
North Carolina. Ever desirous of promoting the welfare 
of the settlement which he had planted on the Cumberland, 
and with a high appreciation of learning and religion, Gen. 

f This board w.as organized under the new law, and after some legal 
contest with the former board entered upon its duties as such June 
24, 1868, was re-elected and held ever until Nov. 3, 1889, when it 
was relieved by the board of nine under the present law. 

J Vacancy. 

J Dr. J. B. Lindsley to fill vacancy December 31st. 



254 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Robertson sought not only to forward the interests of 
churches, but of schools. He had formed the idea of es- 
tablishing an academy at Nashville, and while attending 
the Legislature made the acquaintance of Rev. Thomas B. 
Craighead, a Presbyterian clergyman and teacher of excel- 
lent qualifications, whom he interested in his scheme. These 
two gentlemen matured their plan together, and in Decem- 
ber, 1785, procured the passage of a bill by the Legislature 
of North Carolina, entitled " An Act for the Promotion of 
Learning in Davidson County." This was the original act 
•which laid the foundation for an institution of learning at 
Nashville, known first as Davidson Academy, then as Cum- 
berland College, and lastly as the University of Nashville. 

The act incorporating the academy appropriated two 
hundred and forty acres of land As an endowment. This 
land was situated south of Broad '-Street, immediately ad- 
joining the plat of two hundred acrjis which, during the pre- 
vious year, had been laid out for the town, and is included 
within the present corporate limits of the city of Nashville. 
The charter appointed Rov. Thomas B. Craighead, Hugh 
Williamson, Daniel Smith, William Polk, Anthony Bledsoe, 
Lardner Clarke, Epbraim McLean, Robert Hays, and James 
Robertson trustees, and constituted them a body corporate 
and politic under the name and style of " the president and 
trustees of Davidson Academy." At the first meeting, 
held Aug. 19, 1785, the board was organized by the election 
of Rev. Thomas B. Craighead president, Daniel Smith 
secretary, and Ephraim McLean treasurer. 

The board, being thus organized, proceeded to appoint a 
committee on behalf of the trustees, consisting of William 
Polk and Ephraim McLean, to unite with the trustees of 
the town in making the proper division-line between the 
respective lands, and to make a survey and plat of those 
donated to the academy. This work was proceeded with 
in October. Subscriptions were also opened for donations 
of land, produce, or money, and provision made for bequests 
for the support of the school. The lands were in some in- 
stances sold, but were generally placed under rental, and 
the proceeds applied to the use of the academy. Among 
the various schemes for its benefit, and to increase the value 
and desirability of its lands, an " academy ferry" was estab- 
lished just above what is now the foot of Broad Street, 
which was under the management of the board or its agent 
for many years, and while it was a source of some income 
to the school it was also a cause of much trouble and per- 
plexity to the trustees. 

Rev. Mr. Craighead came to the settlement to preach as 
well as to teach. He had a small church building, six 
miles east of Nashville, in the suburbs of what was once 
Haysborough, known as "Spring Hill Meeting-House." 
Here the academy school was opened in 1786, and con- 
tinued to be kept about fifteen years, or until a building 
was erected for it on the hill subsequently known as " Col- 
lege Hill." The original site contained a burying-ground 
for some of the pioneers of Middle Tennessee, and there 
rest the remains of the founder and first president of this 
institution of learning. The construction of the turnpike 
in later years obliterated the foundation of that primitive 
academy. 

The price of tuition was at first four pounds per annum, 



hard money, or other money of that value. Soon after, it 
was "ordered that five pounds hard money, or the value 
thereof in other money, be paid for each scholar per annum." 

By act of the Legislature in 1796, it was provided " that 
the buildings of the said academy shall be erected on the most 
convenient situation on the hill immediately above Nash- 
ville, and near the road leading to Buchanan's Mill." Ten 
acres were here reserved from the sale of lots for the use 
of the academy, July 15, 1802, and Gen. Jackson and 
Gen. Robertson appointed to superintend the erection of 
the building. Gen. Jackson was a member of the board 
of trustees from 1791 to Nov. 26, 1805, at which date he- 
resigned, and Judge Robert Whyte was appointed in his 
stead. At this date it is announced that the contract for 
the academy building had been let to Charles Cabaniss; 
contract price, ten thousand eight hundred and ninety dol- 
lars. Whether the building was completed for this sum or 
not we are not informed, nor is the date given of its first 
occupation by the school. 

A library was established in connection with the acad- 
emy quite early. In 1798 we find this entry in the record : 
" Ordered, that Thomas B. Craighead and Daniel Smith 
be continued a committee to receive books from Mr. Dead- 
crick for tlie trustees, and settle for the same as soon as 
convenience will admit, after the general's return from Con- 
gress." 

On the 31st of Blay, 1805, Gen. Robertson, Gen. Smith, 
and Col. Hay resigned as trustees. They had served nearly 
twenty years, and had seldom been absent from the meet- 
ings of tlie board. Robert C. Foster, David BIcGavock, 
and Joseph Coleman were chosen to fill the vacancies. 

The academy as such continued in operation about 
twenty-one years. It was supported by the best people of 
the settlement, and did much towards laying the founda- 
tion for that emulation in education which has distinguished 
Nashville at a later day. In this education Rev. Mr. Craig- 
head was the pioneer. 

Davidson Academy was the second and only other school 
chartered for this Territory by North Carolina. Martin 
Academy, afterwards Washington College, was the first 
school established -west of the Alleghanies. Dr. Samuel 
Doak, the founder and first president, was a native of Vir- 
ginia, a graduate of the College of New Jersey, under Dr. 
Withcrspoon, in 1775, — a man of great ability and force 
of character, of great learning, especially in the classics. 
He was a member of the Franklin Convention, and the re- 
puted author of a clause concerning education in the re- 
jected Constitution. In the pulpit and in the school-room, 
in social and in public life, he exerted a wide and beneficent 
influence. 

The inception of the conversion of the academy into a 
college was brought about by a petition to the Legislature 
on the 19th of July, 1806. By an act of Congress, passed 
in April, the State of Tennessee was authorized to issue 
and perfect titles to certain lands therein mentioned ; and 
the General Assembly of the State, by an act to establish 
a college in West Tennessee, incorporated a body of nine- 
teen trustees, placing Rev. Thomas B. Craighead as the 
first named in the list, " by the name of the trustees of 
Davidson College." The preamble of the act states that 




PMILIIF [L0is3iSLE¥,B.D. 




J. B.LIPPINCOTT i CO. PHILAD* 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



255 



this was done upon the petition of the trustees of Davidson 
Academy. This act vested all the property, real and per- 
sonal, of the academy in the trustees of the college. 

The first meeting of the trustees of the college was held 
at Talbot's Hotel, in Nashville, on the 11th of September, 
1806, when Joseph Coleman, first mayor of the city, was 
chosen to preside until a president should be duly elected. 
Mr. Craighead was not present at the meeting, — perhaps 
the only absence in twenty-one years. At the next meeting, 
July 21st, he was unanimously elected president. Books 
and apparatus to the amount of one thousand dollars were 
purchased, and the college was opened for the reception of 
students on the first day of September, 1807. 

From the •' Kules and EeguUitions" adopted by the 
board we copy the following : 

" It will be improper to suffer the students to attend 
assemblies, balls, theatrical exhibitions, parties of pleasure 
and amusement, and, more, to frequent gambling-tables, 
taverns, and places of dissipation. 

" They should seldom indulge themselves in going to 
town, except on necessary business, which should be dis- 
patched hastily, that they may return to college without 
delay. 

" Your committee further recommend that the tutors, in 
all their official duties, wear a college habit, or loose upper 
garment, made of some light black stuflF or fiUe model, 
after the manner of the surplice or gown worn by gentle- 
men of the literary profession, distinguished by black tassels 
on the shoulders or sleeves as badges of office ; and that the 
students also wear black gowns of similar material, but 
without the tassels, when they attend on recitations, prayers, 
public speaking, public worship, and when they w.alk into 
town." 

In 1809 the Legislature passed an act providing that 
" No ordinance, rule, or by-law should ever be entered into 
so as to give a preference to any one denomination of 
Christians." 

Eev. Mr. Craighead served as president of the college 
two years and three months, or until Oct. 24, 1809, 
when Dr. James Priestly was unanimously elected, and took 
his seat as president of the board of trustees Jan. 30, 
1810. Rev. Mr. Craighead continued on£ of the trustees 
till the autumn or winter of 1813, when his connection 
with the college ceased finally. 

Rev. Thomas B. Craighead was the son of Rev. Alexan- 
der Craighead, the man who first in 1749 gave voice in Penn- 
sylvania to the growing desire for independence, incurred 
the hostility of His Majesty's magistrates and the censures 
of the Synod, and, emigrating to North Carolina, instilled 
the principles which bore fruit in the Mecklenburg Declara- 
tion of Independence. Rev. Thomas B. Craighead, a gradu- 
ate of Princeton in 1775, contemporary with Dr. Doak, la- 
bored here for almost a quarter of a century in the cause of 
education. He was a powerful preacher, but, like his father 
and grandfather, a man of progressive ideas, and for 
eighteen years, in Presbytery, Synod, and General As- 
sembly, engaged in a conflict under the charge of heresy, 
coming out triumphant a year before his death. Through- 
out he had the support of Andrew Jackson. " Old 
Hickory," perhaps, did not know the difference between 



Pelagianism and Augustinianism ; but applying a simple 
formula as a test, " By their fruits ye shall know them," 
he knew an honest and a trustworthy man of value to the 
community in which he lived. 

The progress of Davidson Academy is a matter of espe- 
cial interest to Nashville. As the unpretending academy 
and as Davidson College under Craighead, as the more 
ambitious Cumberland College under the wise management 
of Dr. Priestly, it grew with the progress of society and 
gave form, tone, cohesion, lustre, and the means of nobler 
growth to the society around it. 

In 1824, Dr. Philip Liudsley — who, though not a 
pioneer, yet stood at the beginning of an era — declined 
the presidency of the College of New Jersey to attempt 
the establishment of a centre of influence here for the 
Southwest. A charlatan in education might have built a 
temp.orarily more splendid structure on the sand. Assisted 
by an able corps of teachers, with foresight only now be- 
ginning to be justified in the fulfillment of all his prophe- 
cies, he applied himself for twenty-five years to the work 
of laying broad and deep the foundations, encountering 
difficulties of the most stupendous character, sustained by 
a few live and far seeing citizens. Was all this labor of 
twenty-five years and the succeeding twenty-two years of 
the University of Nashville thrown away and barren of 
results ? Under its influence grew up a cultivated, liberal 
community ; through its influence, and by the efl'orts of 
the young men sent forth to engage in and to encourage 
education, sprang up twenty colleges within fifty miles of 
Nashville to divide, distract, and compete with the uni- 
versity, and at the same time to accomplish much good. 
It was the inevitable conflict of localities, which had to 
demonstrate that every village cannot be a seat of learning. 
It prepared the soil in which great institutions take deep 
root and flourish, — the soil which has developed the 
public-school system and attracted hiiher Vanderbilt Uni- 
versity, the normal school, and brought here the Fisk, 
Tennessee Central, and Baptist Normal and Theological 
Colleges to engage in the great work of the elevation of 
the African race of America. 

At the close of his twenty-third year at Nashville, in a 
public address. Dr. Lindsley says, " When this college was 
revived and reorganized at the close of 1824, there were no 
similar institutions in actual operation within two hundred 
miles of Nashville. There were none in Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Middle or West Tennessee. 
There are now some thirty or more within that distance, 
and nine within fifty miles of our city. These all claim to 
be our superiors and to be equal at least to Old Harvard or 
Yale. Of course we cannot expect much ' custom,' or to 
command a large range of what is miscalled patronage. I 
have a list now before me of twenty colleges or universities 
in Tennessee alone. Several of those belong exclusively to 
individuals, and are bought and sold in open market like 
any other species of private property. They are invested 
with the usual corporate powers, and may confer all uni- 
versity degrees at pleasure. This is probably a new thing 
under the sun ; but Solomon's geography did not extend 
to America." 

In 1850, after having passed through a career of brilliant 



256 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



prosperity, the university was compelled to suspend its work 
for the want of funds. At this period a few distinguished 
gentlemen of the medical profession organized the Medi- 
cal Department of the University of Nashville, and since 
then the buildings have been used for that purpose.* 
The buildings for the Literary Department, as they now 
exist, were erected in 1853-5i, a short distance from the 
old college. The Literary Department was again opened 
in 1855, and Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson made superin- 
tendent. It was conducted on the military plan until the 
breaking out of the civil war, when the buildings were used 
as a hospital. 

MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY. 

After the war the trustees of the university located the 
Montgomery Bell Academy in the buildings of the Literary 
Department of the university. The fund for this academy 
was derived from a bequest of twenty thousand dollars by 
the late Montgomery Bell, a man whose name is inseparably 
connected with the development of the iron interests of 
the State, and who had the honor of furnishing to Gen. 
Jackson, at the battle of New Orleans, all the cannon-balls 
used in that famous conflict. A Pennsylvanian by birth, 
he began the manufacture of iron as early as 1810, and 
became thoroughly wedded to his adopted State. He 
was one of those pioneers in industrial enterprises that 
give direction to capital and energy. It was through 
his influence, and by reason of his financial success, that 
more than thirty furnaces shed their ruddy light over the 
western iron belt previous to the war. A man of in- 
domitable energy, of commanding influence, of genuine 
philanthropy, and of extended views, he made such an in- 
delible impression upon his age that it will be seen and felt 
for many generations to come. The bequest made by this 
public-spirited citizen was for the free education of twenty- 
five students from the counties of Davidson, Montgomery, 
Dickson, and Williamson. By judicious investment it has 
increased one hundred and fifty per cent., and the whole 
now amounts to fifty thousand dollars. 

The academy occupies, in conjunction with the State 
Normal College, the elegant stone building known as the 
college proper of the University of Nashville. In its in- 
struction, and in the manner of conducting it, the Mont- 
gomery Bell Academy is one of the most thorough and 
excellent of all the educational institutions that cluster 
around Nashville. The f\culty at present is Joseph W. 
Yeatman, Principal and Professor of Natural Science ; S. 
M. D. Clark, Professor of Ancient Languages ; William R. 
Garrett, Professor of Mathematics. 

PROFESSOKS AND TUTORS OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

On the 2d of October, 1850, Rev. Philip Lindsley, D.D., 
delivered a memorial discourse on the life and character of 
Professor Gerard Troost, M.D. Seven professors and three 
tutors of the uuiversity had been called away by death. 
The professors named were Bowen, Hamilton, and Troost. 
The first died after two and a half years in connection with 
the college, having given ample evidence of his superior 

* See history of the medical college. 



qualifications for the chair of chemistry. He had been a 
favorite pupil of Professors Silliman and Hare at New Ha- 
ven and Philadelphia. 

Professor George T. Bowen was born March 19, 1803, 
at Providence, R. I., and graduated at Yale College in 
1822. He was elected professor of chemistry at Nashville 
in the autumn of 1825, and died Oct. 25, 1828, in the 
twenty-sixth year of his age. 

Professor James Hamilton was for sixteen years con- 
nected with the university as professor of mathematics and 
natural philosophy. He was a native of Princeton, N. J., 
a graduate at the college there, and was highly distin- 
guished as a classical and mathematical teacher in Trenton 
and Burlington, N. J. He died of cholera, June 21, 1849. 

Dr. Gerard Troost was born at Bois-le-Duc, in Holland, 
March 15, 1776. He died Aug. 14, 1850, aged seventy- 
four years and five months. He was educated in the schools 
and universities of his native country, chiefiy at Leyden 
and Amsterdam. He was for several years a pupil and com- 
panion of the celebrated Abbe Rene Just Hauy, the founder 
of the present or modern school of mineralogy, for whom 
he ever cherished an afiectionate and grateful respect. He 
here translated into the Dutch language Humboldt's " As- 
pects of Nature." In 1809 he was appointed by the King 
of Holland one of a scientific corps to accompany a naval 
expedition to Java. After coming to this country he set- 
tled first in Philadelphia, where he assisted in forming thej 
American Academy of Natural Sciences in 1812, of which] 
he was for several years president. He removed with hiaj 
family and a large collection of mineral treasures to Nash- 
ville in 1827. The year following he was appointed pro- 
fessor of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy in the Univer-, 
sity of Nashville, and was State geologist in 1831. He| 
continued thereafter to be elected at each biennial ses- 
sion of the Legislature till that body abolished the oiBce,J 
in 1849. His indefatigable services in this department laidl 
the foundation of geology in the State of Tennessee. Asal 
college professor he held a distinguished rank, and was a] 
regular and honorary member of the scientific and philo-j 
sophical societies of Europe and America. His private! 
life was a model of the domestic virtues. He gathered the J 
finest geological and prehistoric collection ever in the State. 
It was sold to Louisville for about twenty thousand dollars, ] 
about one-third of its intrinsic value. 

TRUSTEES. 

The * denotes deceased, the j resigned, at the date last 
mentioned. 



'^■Rcv. Thomas B. Craighead, 

1S06-24. 
»James Winchester, 1S06-26. 
tSamuel P. Black, 1806-20. 
fMoses Fisk, 1800-18. 
sRobert C. Foster, 1806-44. 
fDavid McGavock, 1806-25. 
fRobert Whyte, 1806-18. 
tJoseph Coleman, 1806-18 
fRobert Searcy, 1S06-1.3. 
aWilliani Dickson, 1806-16. 
»Rev. William Uume, 1806-8. 
fJohn Dickinson, 1806-10. 
sjoel Lewis, 1SU6-16. 
tAbram Maury, 1806-r. 



fWilliam P. Anderson, 1806-13. 
fDunean Stewart, 1806-8. 
tThomas Johnson, 1806-20. 
fJohn K. Wynne, 1806-11. 
fNicholas T. Perkins, 1806-25. 
fRandal McGavock, 1808-1). 
tJohn E. Beek, 1808-20. 
fJohn McNairy, 1808-27. 
jwillie Blount, 1809-15. 
fJohn Haywood, 1809-12. 
■s-Feli.'; Grundy, 1809-10. 
fParry W. Uumphreys, 1809-15. 
Felix Robertson, M.D. 
fRobert Weakley, 1809-15. 
S'John Childress, 1809-20. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



?57 



SGeorgo M. Denilorcik, ISIO-IS. 
tElihuS. Hall, 1811-52. 
»Jai\ics Trimble, 1813-24. 
fWilkins Tannelull, 1814-21. 
■(■Thomas Cl.aiborno, lSlo-24. 
«A<lam Goodlctt, 1S15-23. 
»Miuhael Camiibell, 1815-30. 
«Jesse Wbarlon, 1816-33. 
«Jcnliin AVhiteshlc, 1820-22. 
»James Roane, M.D., 1820-33. 
fAUVed Balch, 1820-30. 
■fAnilrew Hays, 1820-31. 
■s llrnry Crabb, 1821-28. 
sHiv. William Hume, 1822-33. 
■SKphraim H. Foster, 1823-54. 
i'Lliailes I. Love, 1823-37. 
John Bell, 1823. 
tFrancis B. Fogg, 1823-80. 
James Overton, M.D., 1823. 
tNatbau Ewicg, 1823-25. 
fJobn Catron, 1823-25. 
■sWilliam L. Brown, 1S24-30. 
Leonard P. Cheatham, 1824. 
■3-John 0. Ewing, M.D., 1825-26. 
fRev. Robert Paine, 1825-30. 
jwilkins Tannebill, 1825-32. 
^Andrew Jackson, 1826-45. 
tMoses Norvell, 1826-34. 
fWilliam Carroll, 1827-29. 
■»Boyd McNairy, M.D., 1828-59. 
tGeorge W. Gibbs, 1830-34. 
Thomas Wa.-hington, 1830. 
s George W. Campbell, 1830-48. 
s-IIeniy M. Rutledge, 1831-44. 
«David Craighead, 1832-49. 
■sjoseph W. Horton, 1834-49. 
John M, Bass, 1831-51. 
John L. Uadley, M.D., 1834. 
fWashington Barrow, 1834-39. 
Return J. Meigs, 1836-61. 
Robert U. MoEwin, 1837. 



Edwin H. Ewing, 1839. 

John Trimble, 1839. 

William Williams, 1844, 

Washington Barrow, 1845. 

»Samuel D. Morgan, 1845-80. 

Charles Ready, 1847. 

■•■■Andrew Ewing, 1851-64. 

■(■Russel Houston, 1851-66. 

C, K, Winston, M.D., 1852. 

Sterling Cockrell, 1852. 

A. V. S, Liudsley. 

i-T. T. Player, 1852-53. 

Jacob MoGavock, 1852. 

John M. Lea, 185,2-75. 

William T. Berry, 1852. 

t-James W. McCombs, 1852-63. 

Rev, A, L. P. Green, 1852. 

James Woods, 1853. 

Robert C. Foster, 1854. 

John M. Bass, 1867, re-elected. 

Samuel AYatson, 1867. 

Horace H, Harrison, 1S67. 

E, H, East, 1867. 

William F. Cooper, 1867. 

tr, L. Hadley, 1867. 

William B. Reese, 1873. 

John Overton, 1S73. 

Alexander I, Porter, 1873. 

Frank T. Reid, 1873. 

Abr.am L. Demoss, 1873. 

Robert C. Foster (4tb), M.D,, 

1873, 
George it. Nixon, 1880. 
James D. Porter, 1880. 
N. W. McConnell, ISSO. 
Charles G, Smith, 1880. 
Robert B, Lea, 1880. 
Samuel Watson, Jr., 1880. 
Rev. T, A, Hoyt, D,D,, 1880. 
E. D. Hicks, 1880, 



GOVERNORS, EXOFFICIO TRUSTEES SINCE 182-i. 



William Carroll, 1821-27. 
Samuel Houston, 1827-29.^ 
William Hall. 
William Carroll, 1829-35, 
Newton Cannon, 1835-39. 
James K. Polk, 1839-44. 
James C. Jones, 1841-45. 
Aaron V. Brown, 1845-47. 
(Neill S. Brown, 1847-49. 
William Trousdale, 1849-51. 



Wm. Bowcn Campbell, 1851-53. 
Andrew Johnson, 1853-57. 
Isham Green Harris, 1857-62. 
William Galloway Brownlow, 

1865-69. 
De Witt Clinton Senter, 1869-71. 
John Calvin Brown, 1871-76. 
James Davis Porter, 1875-79. 
Albert Sidney Marks, 1379-81. 



PRESIDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

,t James Priestley, LL,D,, 1809- f Philip Lindsley, D,D., 1824-50, 
16. 

CHANCELLORS. 

fj. Berrien Lindsley, M,D.,D,D., ■(■ Eben Spcrry Stearns, D,D,, 

1855-70, 1875. 

■[■General Edmund Kirby Smith, 

1870-75. 

PROFESSORS. 

fRev. William Hume, Ancient Languages, 1808-16, 

f George W, McGehee, Mathematics and Naturtil Philosophy, 1824 

-27. 
» George T. Bowen, Chemistry, 1826-28. 
■f Nathaniel Cross, A.M., Ancient Languages, 1826-31. 
f James Hamilton, A,M,, Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, 

1827-29, 
\ . 

1 J Resigned in April, 1829, and was sueoeeded by William Hall, 
speiiker of the Senate. 

33 



■i- Gerard Troost, M.D., Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology, 1828- 

50. 
■}■ John Thomson, Mathematics and Natural Philo.^ophy, 1S30-31. 
■(- James Hamilton, A.M., Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, 

1831-35, 
^ Consider Parish, Ancient Languages, 1831-33. 

■« Nichol.as S, Parmantier, French Language and Literature, 1832-35. 
"j" Abednego Stephens, A,M,, Ancient Languages, 1835-33. 
■f- Abram Litton, A.M., Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, 1838, 
■i" James Hamilton, A,M,, Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, 

1838-49. 
I Nathaniel Cross, A.M,, Ancient Languages, 1838-50, 
t Alexander S, Villephiit, A.M,, Modern Langu.ages, 1838-42. 
-[- Alexander P. Stewart, A.M., Mathematics, 1849-50. 

GRADUATES. 

The total number of regular graduates from 1813 to 1850 
was: A.B,, in regular course, 432; D,D,, honorary, 16; . 
LL,D,, honorary, 4 ; A,lM,, honorary, 40 ; A,B,, honorary, 
2. The total number of new students matriculated in the 
regular college classes from 1825 to 1850 was 1059. From 
1850 to 1854 the regular collegiate dejjartment was sus- 
pended, and again from 1862 to 1870. In 1875 it was su- 
perseded by the Normal College. The number of graduates 
since 1850 have been as follows: A,B., in regular course, 
99 ; A.M,, in course after three years, 99 ; A.BI., honorary, 
4; D,D,, honorary, 3; S.S.D., honorary, 14; Ph.D,, hon- 
orary, 2. 

STATE NORMAL COLLEGE OP THE UNIVERSITY OF 
NASHVILLE, 

The establishment of the Normal College of the University 
of Nashville was the rehabilitation, in a more vital form, of. 
the literary and scientific departments of the university, 
giving them a larger and more comprehensive sphere in the 
direction of popular education, not only in the State of Ten- 
nesee, but throughout the South, While other highly-en- 
dowed universities at Nashville and in the State, such as 
Vanderbilt, Fisk, Central Tennessee, etc, were doing their 
work in their own special departments of classical, theologi- 
cal, and professional training, it was felt that an institution 
having more direct relation to the education of the masses 
was needed, and the State Normal College was thought of 
as the " keystone of the grand arch of public education." 

The idea of a State normal school had at least one able 
and brilliant advocate among the statesmen of Tennessee as 
long ago as 1855. Kobert Hatton, gifted, eloijuent, brave, 
and of classic culture, was a true and whole-souled advocate 
of popular education. He knew full well that it was edu- 
cation which transferred " the plowboy of Long Hollow'' 
into the halls of legislation and enabled him to appear, cool 
and self-reliant;, the peer of any in the land. He wished 
all to have equal opportunity at least with himself There- 
fore, in his first and only term in the General Assembly, 
session 1855-56, we find him bending all his energies to- 
wards the establishment of a State normal school, and so suc- 
cessfully that it passed his own body, the lower house, and 
failed of becoming a law for the want of only one vote in 
the Senate. It was a sore disappointment to the generous 
Hatton. 

. In 1873, Dr. W. P. Jones, while State senator from this 
county, among other things introduced two bills. One was 
passed, and became the pesent public-school lawof Tenncs- 



238 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



see ; the other, a bill for the establishment of a State normal 
school, passed three readings in the Senate and two in the 
House, but was defeated for want of time at the close of the 
session. This bill made provision for supplementing six thou- 
sand dollars annually from the Peabody Fund by an appro- 
priation of an equal annual sum from the treasury of the 
State. At the nest session of the General Assembly, Dr. 
Barnas Sears and the State Teachers' Association requested 
ex-Senator Jones to prepare a like bill and have it intro- 
duced. This he did, and labored to sustain its enactment, 
but it failed in the Senate ; whereupon Dr. Jones (impressed 
with the importance of the measure) wrote Dr. J. Berrien 
Lindsley, suggesting that possibly he might secure the pas- 
sage of a bill without an appropriation. Subsequently 
in a public address at the commencement of the first session 
of the Nashville Medical College, while briefly reviewing 
the educational institutions of Nashville, Dr. Jones, re- 
ferring to the Normal College, said, " The charter was ob- 
tained through the untiring energy of Dr. J. Berrien 
Lindsley." This explicit public recognition is noteworthy, 
coming as it did from one who had earnestly worked for 
the accomplishment of the same great end. The act was 
pa.ssed March 23, 1875, and approved on the same day. 
In the month of May of the same year. Dr. Lindsley, as 
president of the State Teachers' Association, delivered an 
eloquent address before the Tennessee State Grange at 
Kuoxville, on popular education, from which we quote: 

" The glory of Nashville in old times was its university. 
But, as fully shown above, one marked result of its very 
usefulness has been the continued and repeated cutting down 
its field until now its work of collegiate education, the very 
work for which it was founded, and in which it achieved 
national reputation, has become a work of supererogation. 

" What more fitting than that a corporation which took 
the lead in classical and medical education when these were 
felt wants in the entire State should now take the lead in 
normal education, when so many thousands of parents and 
hundreds of young teachers in Tennessee and the surround- 
ing States earnestly wish for themselves the privileges en- 
joyed in the Northwest and the Northeast? The Univer- 
sity of Nashville was created for the benefit of the people 
of the entire State. It has done a great and good work 
for the people of the entire State. It has now the oppor- 
tunity of doing still a great work. But these views I may, 
perhaps, enforce better in the language of a distinguished 
educator from Kentucky, who thus writes after a recent 
sojourn in our beautiful capital : ' I was deeply interested 
in the educational institutions of Nashville while I was 
with you. But reflection upon the subject has greatly in- 
creased my interest. Your city ought to be the great educa- 
tional centre of the South. And it will be, if those who have 
the control of public affairs have the wise forethought tliat 
should characterize statesmen. The one thing that is needed 
to complete your educational appointments is the establish- 
ment of a normal and training-school. Such a school would 
not be in conflict with those already established, but is ne- 
cessary to the completion of your whole educational system. 
In the past nine years I have frequently been thrown into 
conventions with the best educators in this country. I have 
heard them lecture on all the best methods of teachin"- 



and have witnessed their public examinations, in which thejj 
value and thoroughness of their methods have been trium- 
phantly vindicated. So that it seems to me the normal 
schools are absolutely indispensable in order to the thorough 
preparation of teachers. In looking to the future of the 
South, I am pained to see that those who are controlling 
the education of the colored people are wide awake to the 
advantages of these schools, while those who control the 
education of the lokite people do not seem to have turned 
their earnest attention to the subject. I want to see the 
black man educated, but I do not want to see the white 
man neglected. Owning, as you do, the buildings, grounds, 
and other property of the old Nashville University, how 
easy it would be for your people to establish one of the 
grandest normal schools in the world ! The site itself isi; 
most beautiful, and, above all other cities in the South, 
Nashville is the place for such a school." 

The State Teachers' Association, before which this ad-1 
dress was originally delivered in January, 1875, had from 
its organization in 18G5, a period of ten years, been active 
and indefatigable in bringing the necessity of the Normal 
College before the public as the consummation of the public 
school system of the State. 

The preamble to the act establishing the Normal College 
sets forth that " an adequate supply of professionally edu- ' 
eated teachers is a nccesdii/ to the maintenance of an eflB- 
cient system of public schools," and the act proceeds tO( 
make such provisions as have culminated in this institution.! 
The State, however, not having provided the funds neces- 
sary I'or a full development of its purposes, the University 
of Nashville made a generous off'er to suspend its Literary 
Department and devote its buildings, grounds, and funds,- 
with the exception of those appropriated to the Medical. 
College, to it ; which generous proposition the trustees of 
the " Peabody Education Fund," through their distin- 
guished agent, Dr. Sears, promptly supplemented by an , 
ofier of six thousand dollars per annum for two years. ! 

These noble offers having been accepted by the State 
Board of Education, and grounds, buildings, and funds, to 
the amount of twelve thousand dollars having been thus 
furnished, measures were taken to open the institution. 

Owing to the greatness of the work, the many hindrances:)! 
encountered, and the necessity for moving cautiously where 
such great interests were concerned, the college was not 
organized until Dec. 1, 1875, when it was formally inaugu- 
rated with appropriate ceremonies. 

The season had already far advanced ; the project was 
wholly new to most of the people ; opportunity to make 
them acquainted with its design and time of opening could 
not be afforded ; many persons who might gladly have 
availed themselves of its advantages were already variously 
employed for the year, and not a few of its most sanguine ■ 
friends doubted whether its beginning would not be, as to 
numbers, even humbler than was that of the first normal 
school established on this continent, which started with 
three female students. The result, however, fur exceeded 
expectation, and no less ihan fftecn candidates presented 
themselves for examination, and before the first term often i 
weeks had closed foriy-scvcn had been admitted. At the 
close of the school year the number had increased to sixfi/. 




Professor's House. 



Porter's Lodge 



Bishop's Residence 



Wesley Hail. 



[Residences of four Professors out of view.) 



Ummmmmm Mmmmmi 




I Chancellor's Residence. 
fojsor's House. 



Observatory. 



Professor's House. 



Gymnasium. 



Ikilimil. lllllgill. 



Skc.ched by H. P. Whinnery. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



259 



JSxamiiintioii for Admission.— Theso examinations, con- 
iducted chiefly in writing, were made upon grammar-scliool 
Studies only, and revealed a surprisingly general deficiency 
of knowledge of the elementary studies, on which all good 
education depends. Probably some of the candidates would 
have passed a far better examination in some of the higher 
branches of study. A great and most serious defect in 
school study, public and private, was thus at once brought 
to the surface, and indicated clearly where the earliest 
eiforts of the college must be employed. 

Each candidate, on entering, signed the following declara- 
ition : 

" I, A. B., of , am years of age. My object 

in entering this institution is to qualify myself to teach in 
and conduct schools, and for this purpose I intend to re- 
main at this institution , and after that to devote my- 
self to teaching ; and I hereby promise to attend regularly 
and faithfully upon the exercises required, and to conform 
cheerfully to the discipline and rules which may be pre- 
scribed. 

" Signed . 

"Nashville, ,187 — ." 

The building is now known as the Tennessee State Nor- 
mal College, or Literary Department of the University of 
[Nashville. It is under the patronage of the " Peabody 
!Fund,"from which it receives six thousand dollars annu- 
ally. Scholarships are issued not only to students of this 
State, but to all the Southern States, and the design is to 
thoroughly train young men and women for the office of 
..teaching. At present there are about seventy students in 
Ijattendance. The faculty is as follows: Eben S. Stearns, 
''Chancellor; Instructors, JIis.ses Julia A. Sears, Lizzie K. 
Bloomstein, Emma M. Cutter, and Saliie B. Erwin, and 
Messrs. Edson S. Wellington, Henry R. Long, and John 
E. Bailey. 

Situated almost in the centre of a beautiful campus, six- 
teen acres in extent, the buildings are among the finest and 
best appointed in the South. The college proper is a mag- 
nificent stone structure in Gothic college style, having a 
centre building and two wings about two hundred and 
twenty-five feet front, and one hundred and ten feet depth 
in the centre, and sixty feet depth in each of the wings. 
The buttresses are built of the most substantial Tennessee 
limestone, and the windows in the entire structure are 
square. The building is two stories high. Each story is 
divided into a number of large rooms, — recitation- and 
lecture-halls, society, library, museum rooms, etc. 

VANDERBILT UNIVEKSITV. 

This institution is under the control and patronage of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South. 

The acknowledged want of the means of a higher Chris- 
tian education than could be obtained within their bounds 
led several Annual Conferences, in the year 1871, to ap- 
point delegates to a convention to " consider the subject 
of a university such as would meet the wants of the church 
and country." The convention met in Memphis, Jan. 24, 
1872, and was composed of delegates from IMiddle Tennes- 
see, West Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and 
Arkansas. 



The convention was in session four days, and adopted a 
plan for a university. Under the plan a board of trust 
was nominated and authorized to obtain a charter of incor- 
poration, under the title of " The Central University of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church South." 

A liberal charter was obtained that year, and the board 
of trust met Jan. 16, 1873, and completed its organization. 
By-laws were adopted, and agents appointed to solicit funds. 
A university, in fact as well as in name, had been deter- 
mined on ; in the words of the convention, " An institu- 
tion of learning of the highest order and upon the surest 
basis, where the youth of the church and the country may 
prosecute theological, literary, scientific, and professional 
studies to an extent as great, and in a manner as thorough, 
as their wants demand." 

Such, however, was the exhausted condition of the South, 
and so slow its recuperation under the disorganized state of 
its labor, trade, and governments, that the first efforts to 
raise funds showed the impossibility of the enterprise. 

This was the condition of things in February, 1873, at 
which time Bishop McTyeire spent, by invitation, a few 
weeks with the family of Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, in New 
York. Mr. Vanderbilt and the bishop had married cousins 
in the city of Mobile who were very intimate with each 
other in their girlhood, and thus was brought about an 
intimate relation between these two gentlemen. The bishop 
had from the first deeply interested himself in the founding 
of the proposed institution. It was very natural that in 
general conversations upon the condition of the South, and 
the incidents therein transpiring, this enterpiise, so impor- 
tant to the church, and .so dear to the bishop's heart, should 
be mentioned. Finally, just before the bishop's departure, 
Mr. Vanderbilt placed in his hands the paper proposing, 
upon certain conditions, to give the sum of five hundred 
thousand dollars to the institution. So that, without the 
least solicitation, this magnificent gift was a free-will offer- 
ing of the donor to the great enterprise of the Southern 
Methodist Church, and through the church to the world. 

The board of trust, in accepting the donation, as an ex- 
pression of gratitude resolved to change the name of the 
projected institution to Vanderbilt University ; and on their 
petition the charter was so amended. Thus the Vanderbilt, 
like the more successful institutions of learning in our 
country, — as Harvard, Amherst, Dartmouth, Cornell, Pea- 
body, — inherits the name of its founder. 

The first donation of Mr. Vanderbilt was made March 
27, 1873. Subsequently he added five hundred thousand 
dollars more. 

The commodore made but few conditions. The chief 
were these : that the proposed institution should be located 
in or near Na.shville ; that the endowment fund be kept 
inviolable, and the interest only to be used; and that Bishop 
H. N. McTyeire, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, 
should be president of the board of trustees for life, with 
a veto power. Through Bishop McTyeire's hands all the 
money has passed, and under his directions the improve- 
ments were made. Four hundred thousand dollars have 
been expended on grounds and buildings and apparatus. 
The endowment is six hundred thousand dollars, bearing 
seven per cent, interest, paid semi-annually. 



2G0 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



The site of the university is at the west eud of Nasli- 
viilo. Tlie grounds comprise seventy-five acres, and from 
their elevation, on a level with Capitol Hill, furnish the 
amplest conditions of health and beautiful views of the 
surrounding country. Tlie main building, containing chapel, 
library, society-halls, museum, laboratories, lecture-rooms, 
and offices for professors, is substantial and elegant. Within 
the inclosure are nine handsome residences for the profes- 
sors and their families; also an astronomical observatory, 
equipped with all that is requisite for its successful man- 
agement. These structures, together with the neat cottages 
built for the accommodation of the employees of the insti- 
tution, number twenty-eight or thirty in all, and are so 
located as to subserve the convenience of the occupants and 
the general beauty. Besides embracing forest growth of 
the country, the grounds have been ornamented with over 
three hundred different species and varieties of trees, shrubs, 
and plants, constituting the Vanderbilt " arboretum," and 
affording an unusually fine opportunity for the study of 
practical botany. The physical and the astronomical appa- 
ratus were purchased from the most skillful manufacturers 
in Europe, and embrace all that is needful for the prosecu- 
tion of the subjects for whieli they are designed. For the 
chemical laboratory six rooms are appropriated, furnished 
with the modern conveniences for practical study. Every 
facility is offered to students, and the large number engaged 
every day in an;dytical investigations attests the great in- 
terest felt in this department of study. 

The university is organized in si.^ departments: 1. The 
Department of Philosophy, Science, and Literature, having 
twelve professors ; 2. Biblical ; 3. Law ; 4. Medicine ; 5. 
Pharmacy ; G. Dental. The total number of professors, 
tutors, demonstrators, and clinical instructors, in all depart- 
ments, is sixty-one. The last two departments were organ- 
ized in 1879. 

During 1873-74, while these expensive improvemeuts 
were in progress, -a financial panic fell upon the country, — 
banks closed, and even government works were suspended, — 
but Mr. Vanderbilt steadily furnished the funds, and there 
was no delay at any time on that account. 

In reply to a suggestion or inquiry from the bishop, 
— " Perhaps I bad as well stop drawing on you for a while ?" 
— the characteristic remark of the commodore was, " Go on 
with your work ; it is my business to furnish the money. 
Draw on me as you need it." 

The university was formally opened and the faculties in- 
stalled Oct. 3 and 4, 1875. Such rapid and solid work 
was never known before in the history of colleges and uni- 
versities. The halls were well filled with students from the 
beginning. The register for 1880 shows four hundred and 
eighty-five on the roll. 

The 27th of May— the birthday of the founder of the 
university — is marked in the calendar for suitable celebra- 
tion every year. On that day the portrait (life size) of the 
commodore is wreathed in flowers and evergreens ; the 
Founder's medal for oratory is contested for by students 
representing the two literary societies ; and music and 
bell-ringing wake the morning hours. 

In 1879, Mr. William H. Vanderbilt gave the university 
one hundred thousand dollars to provide a gymnasium, a 



hall of civil engineering, and a theological hall, — all of 
which had become necessary by development and success. 
The gymnasium is thought by many visitors, who daily, 
drive through the park-like grounds, to be the best specimen 
of architecture presented. The civil engineering hall is a 
fine structure, with ten large rooms, three of them having 
sky-lights for drawing and art-uses. 

Wesley Hall, as the theological hall is called, rivals the 
main building of the university in size and style. The 
corner-stone was laid JLiy 4, 1880, all the bishops of the 
church taking part therein. It is three stories, of brick, 
with a Mansard roof and a stone basement, and affords accom- 
modations for one hundred and thirty students, besides four 
large lecture-rooms, a reading-room and parlor, and ample 
culinary and dining-room space. These last structures 
complete the magnificent scheme of buildings, and, with 
its endowment of learned faculties, make Vanderbilt Uni- 
versity the greatest in the South. Ministers of the gospel, 
of any church, — who are, or purpose to be, devoted to the 
pastoral work, — are admitted to any school in the academical 
and biblical departments free of tuition fees. One of the 
peculiarities of Vanderbilt University is, not the co-educa- 
tion of the sexes, but of the professions. The young law- 
yers elbow the young preachers ; they meet and mingle in 
debate, and in the literary and lecture halls, to mutual 
benefit. Landon C. Garland, LL.D., was chosen chan- 
cellor, and I'rom the opening of the university he has been 
assisted by a strong professional staff, five of whom were 
presidents or chancellors of other universities or colleges 
when called to Vanderbilt. 

A sustentation fund, to aid young men preparing for the 
ministry, has been raised and administered by llev. R. A. 
Young, D.D., who is the secretary of the board of trust 
and financial agent. The board of trust is composed ofi 
two ministers and two laymen from each of the seven An-j 
nual Conferences that have the oversight and control of the] 
university. This board meets annually, business in the 
interval being intrusted to an executive committee of five, 
which for several years was composed of the followini 
persons: Bishop H. N. MoTyeire, R. A. Young, D.D, 
D. C. Kelley, D.D., E. H. East, D. T. Reynolds. 

FISK IJNIVEKSITY. 

Fisk University is the leading institution in the great 
Southwest for the education of colored people. It em- 
anated from a school for colored people, begun in October, 
1865, near the Chattanooga depot, under the auspices of 
the American Missionary Association of New York and, 
the Western Frecdmen's Aid Commission of Cincinnati, 
Ohio. It first occupied the large hospital-buildings do- 
nated by the United States government, and known in war- 
times as " The Railroad Hospital." There were afterwards 
added a chapel and a dormitory. The school, and after it 
the university, was given its name in honor of Gen. Clin- 
ton B. Fisk, who was commissioner of the Freedmen's 
Bureau, in command at Nashville when the school was 
opened, and entered heartily into the enterprise. 

Under the management of Professor John Ogden the 
school at once became prosperous. During the first two 
years upwards of twelve hundred pupils were in attendance. 




PJ.Oil^.'' ' 



Imfc/o). 







3fv "S" aS.? ji 






JUBtt.££ HAtt. FtSK UHt l€ 




^StTY NASHVRLt TEKN 



J 








r^^e^ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



261 



Gen. 0. 0. Howard, of the Freedmen's Bureau, donated 
from the Bureau funds seven tliousand dollars to the school 
for educational purposes. It was then decided to incor- 
porate the institution for the higher education of youth of 
both sexes. It was accordingly cliartered under the name 
of Fisk University, Aug. 22, 1867, with a board of nine 
trustees, three of whom were to be chosen each year, and 
were empowered " to fill vacancies, prescribe courses of 
study, and confer all such degrees and honors as are con- 
ferred by universities in the United States." George L. 
I White became teacher of music in the institution during 
the first months of its existence, and was for several years 
its treasurer. His rare skill in training voices produced 
marked results in the musical department. Several con- 
certs were given, and received with marked attention by 
the public. As 31 r. White progressed he selected the best 
voices and organized them into the choir of the university. 
About the year 1870 it began to be felt that the univer- 
I sity buildings as well as the location were inadequate for 
its increasing patronage and popularity. A crisis had come. 
; Mr. White conceived the idea of raising money for the per- 
I manent establishment of Fisk University by taking his 
' little company of student-singers into the North to sing 
the simple songs of their race, .which had come into being 
■ — no one knew how — during the days of their slavery, and 
then existed only in the memories and hearts of the people. 
After several months of the most crushing diificulty, the 
tide turned in favor of the little troupe, and by Blay, 1872, 
' they had netted twenty thousand dollars. They wore re- 
ceived with the greatest enthusiasm by highly-cultured 
audiences, who were moved to tears by the power and 
pathos of their quaint slave-songs. Another campaign 
over the same ground was again rewarded with twenty 
) thousand dollars. 

I In the spring of 1874 they went to England and re- 
i maincd a year. They were received with the greatest con- 
; sideration by the queen, the premier, Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, 
and other dignitaries of Church and State. While in Eng- 
land they cleared fifty thousand dollars. They again visited 
England, Ireland, Scotland, and made tours through Hol- 
land, Germany, and Switzerland. Everywhere their songs 
touched the hearts of the people, and called forth the 
deepest sympathy for the cause of education among the 
people of the emancipated race. Their travels have netted 
to the treasury of the institution about one hundred and fifty- 
five thousand dollars, including several thousand dollars in 
valuable presents of books and apparatus. 
' With the funds thus earned by the " Jubilee Singers" 
twenty-five acres of land were purchased on an eminence a 
mile northwest of the State Capitol. This site is, with the 
exception of " Capitol Hill," the most commanding and 
beautiful about Nashville. The view is unobstructed in 
every direction, and presents to the eye the most pleasing 
variety of hill and valley, forest and city. 

Ground was first broken for the university building 
Jan. 1, and the corner-stone laid Oct. 1, 1873. The 
building was named Jubilee Hall, in honor of the noble 
band of singers through whose exertions the means for its 
erection was procured. 

Jubilee Hall was dedicated Jan. 1, 1876, in the presence 



of a vast audience of both races. The speakers' stand, 
draped with the flags of the United States and of England, 
was occupied by many eminent statesmen and educators, 
representing the various sections and local sentiments of our 
country. Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, president of the board of 
trustees, read congratulatory dispatches from friends of the 
enterprise in England. The United States government 
was represented by the Sixteenth Infantry Band. Ad- 
dresses were delivered by Gen. Fisk, Rev. Dr. McFerrin, 
Rev. Dr. Strieby, Rev. G. D. Pike, Rev. E. P. Smith, and 
others. 

The building is of pressed brick, in the form of an " L," 
with an east front of one hundred and forty-five feet, and a 
south front of one hundred and twenty-eight feet. It is 
six stories in height, including the basement, and contains 
one hundred and twenty rooms, supplied with all the 
modern conveniences of gas, water, steam, and sanitary fix- 
tures. Over the main entrance, on the south front, a bust 
of President Lincoln is designed to occupy the stone bal- 
cony. The style of the building is modern English, with 
trimmings of native limestone. 

The grounds are named Victoria Square, in grateful ac- 
knowledgment of kindness shown the singers and friends 
of the enterprise in Great Britain. 

The building is finely furnished, and supplied with ap- 
paratus for scientific research. 

Apparatus. — This includes a few of the common instru- 
ments for the illustration of physics, such as air-pump, con- 
denser, electrical machine, galvanic battery of ten Bunseu 
cells, Rulnnkorf coil, Geisler tubes, spectroscope of two 
prisms, and barometer. In astronomy there are a planet- 
arium, orreries, and an astronomical telescope of three and 
a half inches aperture ; and in chemistry, apparatus for 
illustrating the principles of the science in the class-room, 
and a small laboratory for those wishing to become practi- 
cally acquainted with the processes of chemical analysis, 
both qualitative and quantitative. There is a magic-lantern 
for lecture use, as also a fine microscope, made by Beck, of 
London. In applied mathematics there are a theodolite, a 
compass, and a plane-table. 

Museum. — In natural history, geology, mineralogy, and 
ethnology, there is a collection of over three thousand speci- 
mens. These are well arranged and labeled, the whole 
covering six hundred and fifty square feet of shelf-room. 

Tlie Library numbers seventeen hundred volumes, in- 
eluding many valuable works of reference adapted to the 
wants of the diiferent departments of the university. Ad- 
ditions are made annually from the interest of the Dicker- 
son Library Fund, a fund contributed by Sabbath-schools 
in Great Britain, and from other sources. 

In connection with the library is a reading-room, in which 
the students have access to various newspapers and period- 
icals. 

The Union Literary Society is managed by the students, 
subject to the general .authority of the institution, for their 
improvement in public speaking, writing, and parliamentary 
usage. It has a valuable library, to which additions are 
made as the funds of the society permit. 

A course of lectures, two each month, forms an impor- 
tant part of the educational privileges of the institution. 



262 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



In the spring of 1868 a Congregational Church was 
organized upon the most liberal basis, for the benefit of 
teachers and pupils. Regular preaching has since been held 
in the halls of the institution from the beginning, under the 
pastoral charge of Rev. H. S. Bennett. There are now 
one hundred and fifty-seven members on the roll. 

The school and university were under the management 
of Prof. John Ogdeu from the opening until 1870. Prof 
A. K. Spence was principal from 1870 until the summer of 
1875, when Rev. E. M. Cravath was elected president, 
which position he still holds. Rev. H. S. Bennett began 
the work of theological instruction in 1869, and has since 
made the preparation of young men for the ministry an im- 
portant feature. The classes have ranged from three to 
fourteen members each year. 

The training of teachers for the common schools of Ten- 
nessee became a leading feature under the management of 
Prof Ogden in 1868. Since then, from thirty to one hun- 
dred and fifty pupils have engaged in the work of teaching 
annually. 

The college curriculum has been marked out, and classes 
are now pursuing the classical, mathematical, and scientific 
studies usually taught in American colleges. Departments 
of law and medicine are to be added. 

The commencement exercises, in May, 1875, were marked 
by the graduation of the first class from the College Depart- 
ment. This class consisted of Messrs. James D. Burrus 
and John H. Burrus, and Misses America W. Robinson 
and A''irginia E. Walker, upon all of whom the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts was conferred. In 1877, Miss Laura S. 
Cary was made Bachelor of Arts, and Mr. Young A. Wal. 
lace. Bachelor of Science. In 1878, Messrs. Henry S. 
Merry and Albert P. Miller were graduated as Bachelors of 
Arts.* 

LIVINGSTONE HALL. 

While in England the movement was undertaken by the 
Jubilee Singers to erect an additional building, to be called 
Livingstone Hall, which should be a monument to the 
memory of the great African explorer, and also an ex- 
pression of the great work of the university in training 
men and women for the evangelization of Africa. Already 
Fisk University has five pupils at work in Africa, which 
is but a foretaste of what these institutions are to do in that 
direction. 

Owing to the commercial depression in England and on 
the Continent, the eftbrts of the Jubilee Singers were but 
partially successful. The speedy erection of the building 
has been, however, since secured by the pledge upon the 

«" Mr. James D. Burrus is now instructor in mathematics at Fisk 
University; Mr. John II. Burrus is studying law, and will locate in 
Kashville; Miss Virginia W.alker now holds an important position as 
teacher in the colored public schools of Memphis ; Miss America Rob- 
inson was one of the Jubilee Singers, spent three years traveling with 
that troupe in Europe, afterwards studied one year at Strasburg, Ger- 
many, and has just entered upon teaching at Meridian, Miss.; Miss 
Cary held a position as assistant instructor in Greek at Fisk Univer- 
sity until her death, in the summer of 1879; Young A. Wallace is in 
charge of the colored schools at Florence, Ala. ; Henry S. Merry is 
principal of one of the colored schools at Clarksville, Tenn.; Albert 
Miller is in charge of the Mendi Mission, in Sierra Leone, on the west 
coast of Africa. 



part of Mrs. Daniel P. Stone, of Maiden, Mass., of sixty 
thousand dollars to carry on the work. Ground has al- 
ready been broken in Netherland Square, on the university 
grounds, and Livingstone Hall, a handsome building, will 
soon be built. 

Other donations have been received, chiefly that of twenty 
thousand dollars from the executors of the estate of Mr. R. 
R. Graves, of Morristown, N. J. Work has already been 
commenced on the grounds for this building. 

Fisk University is emphatically a missionary institution. 
The people in whose interests it was formed were sixteen 
years ago slaves. The most of the students are depend- 
ent on themselves, and must earn their own support while 
securing their education. The current expenses have thus 
far been principally met by the American Missionary As- 
sociation, with the hope and expectation that the success 
of the work would create for the institution friends who 
would gladly endow it. 

In March, 1879, the General Assembly of Tennessee 
passed a joint resolution highly commendatory to the Fisk 
University, as " one of high aim, thorough in its work, and 
ennobling in its influences." 

BOARD OP TRUSTEES. 

John J. Cary, Esq., Nashville, Tenn. ; Rev. H. S. Ben- 
nett, Na.shville, Tenn. ; Rev. G. D. Pike, Brooklyn, N. Y., 
— term of office expires 1879. 

Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, New York, N. Y. ; Rev. E. M. 
Cravath, Nashville, Tenn. ; Charles L. Mead, Esq., New S 
York, N. Y., — term of office expires 1880. 

Rev. M. E. Strieby, D.D., New York, N. Y. ; A. S. . 
Barnes, Esq., New York, N. Y. ; Rev. G. B. Wilcox, D.D., 
Stamford, Conn., — term of office expires 1881. 

OFFICERS OF THE BOxVRD. 

Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, President; Rev. G."D. Pike, Sec- 
retary; Rev. M. E. Strieby, D.D., Treasurer ; E. P.Gil- 
bert, Esq., Assistant Treasurer. 

EXECUTIVE COJIJIITTEE. 

President E. M. Cravath, Professor A. K. Spence, Pro- 
. fessor H. S. Bennett, Professor F. A. Chase, Professor 
Helen C. Morgan, E. P. Gilbert, Esq., Professor C. C. 
Painter. 

OFFICERS AND INSTRUCTORS. 

Rev. E. M. Cravath, M.A., President and Professor of 
Mental and Moral Science; Rev. A. K. Spence, M.A., 
Dean of the Faculty, and Professor of Greek and French ; 
Rev. H. S. Bennett, M.A., Professor of Theology and Ger- 
man, and University Pastor; Bliss Helen C. Morgan, M. A., 
Professor of Latin ; Rev. F. A. Chase, M.A., Professor of 
Natural Sciences; Rev. C. C. Painter, Professor of Theol- 
ogy ; Miss Anna M. Cahill, Instructor in Mathematics and 
History ; John II. Burrus, B.A., Instructor in Blathc- 
matics ; Miss Henrietta Matson, Instructor in English 
Grammar and Composition ; Miss Elizabeth M. Barnes, 
Instructor in Arithmetic ; Miss Laura S. Cary, B.A., In- 
structor in Greek ; Miss Sarah A. Stevens, Instructor in 
English Branches ; Miss Irene E. Gilbert, In Charge of 
Model School ; Mrs. J. D. Lee, Instructor in Voice Culture 







jf%S()^'^^^ 





^zW^^a-^^^^' 





H^<T^ 



PROF. F. A. CHASE. 



PROF. H. C. MORGAN. 



i 



X^^ISriEHi AATILLI^lVL I^HILLII^S 




was born June 7, 1809, at 
Crown Miles, Miles' Vale, 
parish of Kilmaenllwjd, Car- 
niartlienshire, Wales, Great 
Britain. His parents were 
in humble circumstances, but 
more than ordinarily in- 
telligent. They were both 
members of the Baptist 
Church at Rhydwilim before 
he was born. He cannot re- 
member the time when he 
could not read tlie Welsh 
Bible with ease. His mother, 
when he was a very small 
child, used to take him upon 
her knees and read Bible 
stories to him, pointing out 
the words as she pronounced 
them. He thus learned to 
read himself without learn- 
ing to spell, or even the 
names of the letters. 

He had an aunt Mary, 
whom Jesus loved, with 
whom he spent considerable 
of his early childhood. One 
rainy day, when he was about 
four years old, he was alone 
with her in the house, and 
die talked to him about 
Jesus in a way that strongly 
influenced his understanding 
[ind afiections. He greatly 
wondered at the tears that 

streamed down her face as she related the marvelous story 
3f Jesus and his love. The impressions made then on his 
heart never faded away, but grew stronger with his years. He 
lias no remembrance of himiself when the bent of his mind was 
not religious. When yet a child he became very familiar with 
;he Bible, especially the historical parts. There was the sharpest 
jontradiction between the longing of his soul and his circum- 
itances. He had the strongest thirst for knowledge, but his 
opportunities for learning were of the poorest sort. There were 
10 public schools in the principality at that time. Occasionally 
Mine man who had no other means to gain his bread would open 
I private school, professing to teach English when ho did not un- 
lerstand the language himself. He attended several of these and 
earned a little. When about seventeen years old he united with 
;he Baptist Church, of which his parents were members. His 
)ne great d-^sire from early youth was to preach. The few preach- 
ers whom he knew were men of superior excellence and greatly 
respected. Though not highly learned, they were skilled ex- 
pounders of the Bible. He was much in their company, and they 
ielighted to open the Scriptures to his eager mind. He had not 
uuch time to spare, for from about his tenth year he had to work 
ibr his living. There were a few good schools in the country, but 
;hey were beyond his means. He made a strenuous effort to enter 
he Baptist Academy in Bradford, England, but failed to acoom- 
jlish his object. Just then a deacon of the church was leaving for 
A.merioa, and persuaded the young man to accompany him. The 
iole motive that induced him to go was the hope that somehow 
16 might be able to acquire the English language. His purpose 
■vas after a few years to return to his native land and spend his 
'}(e there. He borrowed money to pay for his passage, and after 
completing his preparatory studies returned it all with cjmpound 
ntorest. When he left his home he had no plan, but a merciful 
Providence did far better for him than he ever dared to hope. 
He first went to the province of New Brunswick, where he re- 
luained about a year and a half, working at his trade part of the 
iiine, and attending school the remainder. 

I lu the summer of 1831 it became more and more apparent 
jhat the object for which he had left all on earth that was dear to 
iiim could not be secured in the provinces. He left for the United 
states with only thirty dollars and a letter of recommendation in 
,113 pocket. After a very tempestuous passage of a week's dura- 




/" h^ 




tion, lie arrived in Boston on 
a Saturday in November. 
By the direction of the gen- 
tleman to whom the letter 
was addressed, — Rev. Eb- 
enezer Thresher, who is still 
living at Dayton, Ohio, — 
he entered an academy on 
the following Monday. He 
kept steadily at his books 
two years. For months he 
and his room-mate, who is 
now a missionary in Bur- 
mah, lived on thirty cents 
a week. By practicing the 
utmost economy and industry, 
at the end of his academical 
course he had within one dol- 
lar as much as he had at the 
beginning. In September, 
1833, he entered Brown Uni- 
versity. Students were re- 
quired to pay the amount of 
the first quarter's bill in ad- 
vance. He was able to pay 
not quite half of it. He was 
generously trusted. It was 
the fame of Dr. Wayland 
that led him to Brown Uni- 
versity. He saw the re- 
nowned president for the first 
time the daybefore he was ma- 
triculated, presiding over the 
annual commencement of the 
college. The day after, Friday, 
as he was standing in the college-yard, the president came to him 
and addressed him by name, though he had never been introduced 
to him. After inquiring minutely into his circumstances and ex- 
pectations, he said: " My son, if you should ever be in need of 
money to meet your neces.sary expenses, come to nie, and I will 
endeavor to help you." The poor Welshman was so confounded 
and confused that he failed to utter a word. Though he never had 
occasion to apply to him, the gracious offer did help the poor friend- 
less stranger wondrously. By preaching almost every Sabbath 
during both term-time and vacation, though he received but small 
pay, he graduated free from debt. From Brown University he 
went to Newton Theological Institution. In October, 1838, he 
was ordained pastor of the Baptist Church in Medfield, Mass., 
where he remained twelve and a half years. The church was 
small, thus afi"ording grand opportunities for study, which were 
diligently improved. From Medfield he removed to Wakefield, 
Mass., where he remained the same length of time. Both of 
these churches grew while he was pastor of them, and were left 
in a good condition. 

From the very commencement of the war it was his strong 
expectation that the hostilities would end in the entire removal 
of their cause. As the war progressed the conviction took 
deeper and deeper hold of his mind that when peace would be 
established there would be very great work for true patriots — 
and especially for Christians — to do among the freedmen to fit 
them for the many responsibilities of freedom. He felt that 
the Baptists would be under particular obligations, because such 
a multitude of the colored people professed to be of their faith. 
Gradually it came over him that he must give himself to the work. 
He came to Tennessee in the summer of 1864. He preached 
for some months to a white congregation in Nashville. In the 
mean time he surveyed the field, and taught a class of young 
colored men at his own house. After forming a plan he went to 
New England and collected money to begin a school lor preachers 
and teachers. A large wooden building belonging to the govern- 
ment was bought at auction and moved to a lot near where Jubilee 
Hall now is. There he taught till the summer of 1876, when 
the institute was moved to its present location. The school has 
wonderfully grown and prospered. This prosperity, under God, 
he ascribes mainly to the very faithful and competent helpers 
with whom it has been his happiness to be associated. 



BE- 



■V^l 




NASHV+Li£ iNSTITOtE 






mm 



■-.?jj! 




NASHViitE TENN, 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



263 



and Instrumental and Vocal Music ; Edward P. Gilbert, 
Assistant Treasurer; Sliss Sarah M. Wells, In Charge of 
the Ladies' Hall ; Bliss Mary Farrand, Matron. 

NASHVILLE NORMAL AND THEOLOGICAL 
INSTITUTE. 

I This school was established and is still supported by the 
I American Baptist Home Mission Society. There are at 
present eight other schools of a similar character supported 
by the Baptists in the following places: Washington, D. C, 
Richmond, Va., Raleigh, N. C, Columbia, S. C, Atlanta, 
Ga., Selma, Ala., Natchez, Miss., and New Orleans. An 
agent of the above-named society was commissioned to this 
State in the summer of 18G-1. After surveying the field he 
i commenced teaching a class of colored young men in the 
Abasement of the First Colored Baptist church. Soon a 
lot of land was purchased near Fort Gillem, and a wooden 
building erected one hundred and twenty by forty feet, two 
stones high, and a basement under a part of it. In that 
much hard work was done under many difficulties, but with 
very encouraging results. The design of the institute was 
to prepare young men to preach the gospel, and both men 
and women to teach schools. The object, at the first, was 
not understood nor appreciated. That a man called by God 
to preach His gospel needed any other qualification than 
: strong lungs and throat was a new idea among the colored 
people. There was no demand for educated ministers. 
Since then a very great change has come over the better 
endowed of the young people. Now this class see very 
clearly that the preaching needed is not bawling and retail- 
ing pretended visions, but a rational expounding of the 
word of God and enforcing the precepts of Christianity. 
Considering their antecedents and the little they still have 
to encourage them, they make very commendable efforts for 
their own education. During the last scholastic year — 
1678-79 — the students of this institute paid towards their 
own expenses not far from six thousand dollars. 

The location of the institute was not good, though the 
best that could be had at the time ; the building was rough, 
uncomfortable, and inconvenient. After some years it be- 
came too small. A new site was purchased on the Hills- 
boro' Turnpike, about one mile outside of the city, consisting 
of thirty acres of land, with a mansion-house and outbuild- 
: ings. The location is very beautiful, high, and command- 
ing a grand and wide prospect. Tiie buildings consist of 
the mansion-house, — forty-eight by eighty feet, — four stories 
high, furnishing apartments for the teachers and dormito- 
ries for the young women, and Centennial Hall, — forty-nine 
by one hundred and eighty-five feet, — four stories high, 
with ample basement, furnishing accommodations for the 
boarding department ; the main story is devoted to public 
roiinis, and the three stories above furnish dormitories for 
about one hundred and forty young men. For this build- 
' ig the institute is indebted most of all to tlie benefactions 
f Hon. Nathan Bishop aud wife, of New York City. 
The institute was removed to its present location the 
rst Wednesday in October, 1876. Ever since then it has 
een enlarging in all directions. The number of students 
■as about doubled, the course of studies has been raised. 
Its leading object, as at the beginning, is to advance 



Biblical knowledge and practical Christianity, believing 
that the word and Spirit of God are the only power that 
can raise any people. All the scholars have a lesson in the 
Bible every day. All the branches of education commonly 
taught in schools of this class, whether called by some 
humble name or some high-sounding title, receive ample 
attention in this institute. Tiie plan is to afford to the 
colored people all the advantages for education that they 
need. 

The students at the institute are carefully watched over, 
and from the beginning till now no serious breach of mo- 
rality has occurred. 

During the vacation, and considerably in term-time, 
the greater part of the students are engaged in teaching, 
and generally they bring with them testimonials of good 
success. 

The success of the institute is very greatly due to Prof. 
L. B. Tefft, a graduate of Brown University, Rochester 
Theological Seminary, a ripe scholar, and unexcelled as a 
teacher. Also to Miss Carrie V. Dyer, a lady of superior 
abilities and most assiduous in her devotion to the duties 
of her profession. 

Dr. Phillips, the president, is a graduate of Brown 
University in the class of 1837, and of Newton Theological 
Institution in 1838. He came to Nashville in 1864, and 
has labored here in the cause of education with great zeal 
and success ever since. 

CENTRAL TENNESSEE COLLEGE. 

During the latter years of the civil war the city of 
Nashville was thronged with colored people, who were en- 
deavoring to escape from places where their newly-acquired 
rights of freedom were hardly recognized. In doing this 
they found the larger cities, where the Federal soldiers were 
stationed in considerable numbers, the only places of refuge 
from a class of outrages that were of too frequent occur- 
rence, and that continued after the close of the war, and 
against which the civil law was scarcely the shadow of a 
protection. These people were poor beyond description. 
They had nothing. They were homeless, moneyless, and 
almost naked, and ignorant of all provident manner of 
living. The government did much to relieve their physical 
wants, but left much of this, and, most of all, their intel- 
lectual and moral culture, to the philanthropist and the 
Christian. This work was cheerfully undertaken by the 
Freedman's Aid Societies, in which the various Christian 
churches united. The Methodist Episcopal Church was a 
large contributor of both workers and means, and aided in 
establishing schools for the freedmen, and in supporting 
the teachers. In 1865, after the formation of the Freed- 
man's Aid Societies by some of the leading denominations, 
the active members of the Western Branch of the Freed- 
man's Aid Society, who were connected with the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, organized a society, 
the object of which was to aid in the elevation, intellec- 
tually and morally, of the freedman of the South. This 
society has had a vigorous existence, and has raised and 
expended in this work over seven hundred and fifty thous- 
and dollars, and has, in addition to this, property in school- 
buildings and land to the value of two hundred and seventy- 



264 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



five thousand dollars. In 1865 the Slethodist Episcopal 
Church began its denominational work in Nashville. A 
school was organized, under the direction of Bishop Clark, 
by Rev. A. A. Gee, who employed such teachers as were 
available. The building used was the church formerly 
belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and 
known as Andrew Chapel, which was purchased by the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and since known as Clark 
Chapel. This mission-school grew rapidly in numbers, 
the scholars crowding the rooms provided for them. In 
1806, Rev. John Seys, D.D., for many years missionary to 
Africa, was appointed pastor of Clark Chapel, and princi- 
pal of the mission-school. The school becoming too large 
for the building, it became necessary, in the spring of this 
year, to secure more commodious accommodations. The 
large brick building known as the Gun Factory, on South 
College Street, which was in the possession of the Federal 
government as abandoned property, was turned over to the 
proper persons for the use of the school. Tlie building was 
fitted up for school purposes, excepting the school-furni- 
ture, by the Freedman's Bureau. 

In the fall of 1SG6, at the first session of the Tennessee 
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. W. 
B. Crichlow was appointed pastor of Clark Chapel and 
principal of the school. A large corps of teachers were 
employed, and the school numbered in the aggregate 
attendance during the year nearly eight hundred scholars. 

During the month of July of this year a board of trus- 
tees was organized, and a college charter obtained from the 
Legislature. Up to this time no tuition or incidental fee 
had been charged, in view of the poverty of the people, and 
the fact that' there was no provision made for their educa- 
tion by the State. But, in the autumn of 1867, the city 
of Nashville opened free schools for the colored people. In 
view of this fact, and that the object of the school being 
to prepare colored teachers to become the educators of their 
own people and to prepare young men for the ministry, and 
not wishing to do work that others would do, and do well, 
a tuition-fee was charged of one dollar per month. Rev. 
J. Braden was appointed pastor of Clark Chapel and prin- 
cipal of the college school. The trustees had received from 
the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
ten thousand dollars to aid in securing a site and erecting 
suitable buildings for the school. They succeeded in pur- 
chasing an eligible lot in South Nashville, not far from the 
medical college, and proposed to erect buildings at once and 
move the school into them, as the Gun Factory was only 
temporarily in the possession of the government. But 
such was the opposition to having a school for the colored 
people erected there that a decree was procured from the 
chancery court annulling the sale, and the money was re- 
funded. 

The school opened in the Gun Factory for the second 
year on the 15th of September, 1867, and during the year 
numbered, notwithstanding the city free schools and the 
tuition-foe of one dollar per month charged at the college, 
over two hundred. Of the teachers this year. Rev. J. 
Braden was elected president by the board of trustees. Miss 
Emily Preston, Miss Julia Evans, Mrs. S. L. Larned, and 
Mrs. Mary Murphy assistants. During the year efforts 



were made to secure a place for a building, and attempts! 
were made to purchase property in Franklin and Murfrees- 
boro', but the opposition to the education of the colored 
people prevented any purchases. Threats were intimated 
that it would not be safe to start " nigger schools" in 
either of these places. The feeling that a school for the 
colored people, established by the Methodist Episcopal] 
Church, in any of the smaller towns in Middle Tennesseei 
would be insecure to person and property, led to the abana 
donment of the idea of leaving Nashville, and also of seek 
ing property outside of the corporation. Property vra 
purchased on Maple Street, known as the Nance properti 
The only building on it being a large brick family resj 
denee, and as the Gun Factory had been returned to tB 
creditors of the company who bailt it, and rented for th 
city schools, the school was moved to this building, an 
the school year opened, late in the autumn of 1868, undl 
the supervision of Rev. G. H. Hartupee, who had be^ 
placed in charge of the school by the trustees. Rev. . 
Braden having resigned his position at the close of tli 
previous year. 

During the winter and spring of 1869, with the aid i 
the Freedman's Bureau, which contributed about $18,00| 
there were erected two brick buildings, furnishing a larg 
and commodious chapel, with dormitories above it in on 
building, and school-rooms and dormitories in the othel 
capable of accommodating about two hundred student! 
At the close of the school year 1869, Rev. G. H. Hartupa 
resigned, and Rev. J. Braden was re-elected president. TH 
first catalogue was published this year, and indicated 
enrollment of 192 students in all departments. The prl 
mary class was thrown out of the course of study, and non 
admitted who could not read in the Second Reader. 

The catalogue for 1870-71 showed an enrollment of 22q 
The departments organized were the intermediate, acadeniS 
and normal, preparatory and theological. Many of tn 
students in the academic and normal departments were en 
gaged in teaching ; and, although but partially prepared, ya 
such was the ignorance of the colored people in the countr| 
places that students who had not advanced beyond th 
Third Reader and simple addition found employment 
teachers, and did a good work in imparting a knowledge of 
letters and reading to their people. 

For 1871-72 the total number of students was 241. 
The students were more punctual and attended school for 
a longer period than before, and seemed to have clearer 
ideas of acquiring knowledge of the higher branches. Classes 
in algebra, geometry, Latin, Greek, natural science. Bibli- 
cal studies were taught, and passed such examinations as 
gave great satisfaction to the numerous visitors and exami- 
ners who were present, at the close of the year. 

The number of students for 1872-73 was 270. Over 
one-fourth of the entire number engaged in teaching during 
the year. 

In 1874 the number of students was about the same as 
the previous year. Raising the standard of admission from : 
the Second to the Third Reader cut off a number who made 
application to enter the school. The number of students 
from a distance boarding in the institution was largely in 
excess of any former year. Blany who had been out teach- 




Plioto. liy Armstrong, N.ashville. 





CENTRAL TENNESSEE 




/- i£ ^ -_*■• _ -tf-- . .■■'■■«'-, Sj-.",^»'.;a:A>*i.ffjg^5i&a.r, wiia3°*»?^>?ts'rw»n..;ii»S 



t-ilOE NASHVtLtE TENN 




Photo, by Armstrong. Nasliville. 



'}(.^,^h< Q^Ct--*^ 



'-''^P 



William Tucker, who settled in Williamson County in 
1810, and was one of the early settlers of Middle Tennessee, 
was of Scotch-Irish descent, and born in North Carolina about 
1790. He purchased in Williamson County three hundred 
acres of land, which are now owned by hi"-- descendants. His 
grandson, Dr. N. Gr. Tucker, still regards this as the " old, old 
home," and whenever a death occurs in his family the remains 
are deposited in the family cemetery on this place. He mar- 
ried Rachel Dowdy in Williamson County, and filled well his 
sphere for many years. 

Ephraim Bugg came from Virginia at an early day to Wil- 
liamson County. He married Martha Lanier. They were 
the maternal grandparents of Dr. Tucker. Both were of 
Scotch-Irish descent, coming to Tennessee from Mecklenburg, 
Ya. Their descendants are numerous. 

Allen C. Tucker, son of William Tucker, married Eliza- 
beth .1. Bugg. Both were born in Williamson County in 
1819. They had six children, of whom Dr. Tucker was the 
oldest. 

Newton G. Tucker was born in Williamson County, on the 
farm before alluded to, March 28, 1839. When he was an 
infant his father removed to Marshall County, where he re- 
sided fifteen years, and returned to Williamson County, dying 
"in 1856, esteemed by a large circle of acquaintances. 

At this period Dr. Tucker, only sixteen years old, com- 
menced teaching in the public schools, and taught for three 
years. He began the study of medicine in the ofiSce of Drs. 
Johnson & McClure, at Lewisburg, in the spring of 1859, and 
graduated at the University of Nashville, March 1, 1861. 
On July 18th, in the same year, he married Mary E. Cochran, 
of Pontotoc, Miss., daughter of Silas M. and Nancy W. Coch- 
ran. Soon after graduation he was recommended for appoint- 
ment as surgeon in the Army of Tennessee, C. S. A., but 
never entered active service, being ordered by Governor Har- 



ris to his home in Marshall County to care for those lef, 
without medical aid at that place. Prom that time for thirteeil 
years he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession 
and made many warm friends. In 1870 he was elected mayo 
of Lewisburg, and held that position until he removed t| 
Nashville, in August, 1873, when he tendered his resignai 
tion. 

His interest in public afi'airs soon attracted the attention o' 
the people, and in 1875 he was elected to the position of coun 
oilman of the city of Nashville. Oct. 1, 1877, he was chosei 
as president of the common council, which position he hold 
at this writing. 

Dr. Tucker was elected in the summer of 1877 to fill th 
chair of theory and practice of medicine in Meharry Medi 
cal College of Nashville, and yet occupies it. He is a membe 
of the Davidson County Medical Society, Nashville Medici' 
Society, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and ex-vict 
president of the Tennessee Medical Society. 

Dr. Tucker is an active member of several societies. H 
was Worthy Master of Earmington and Delahunte Lodg'" 
of F. and A. M., in Marshall County; belongs now to Phceni 
Lodge, No. 131, P. and A. M., Tennessee Lodge, No. 2C 
Knights of Honor, and Capitol Lodge, No. 37, A. O. U.W. 

Religiouslj', Dr. Tucker has been an adherent and membe 
of the Old School Presbyterian Church. His political senti 
ments were in his early days in accord with the old-lin 
Whigs, but since the civil war he has acted with the Demo 
cratic party and been thoroughly identified with it. 

Dr. Tucker is of medium stature, of sanguine temperament 
and shows the characteristics of that temperament by beinj 
quick and active in every direction. He responds at once t 
charitable and public objects ; is prompt and decided in hi 
friendships, and is progressive and in harmony with every 
thing tending to elevate and improve mankind. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



265 



ing returned, earnestly desiring to improve themselves for 
more efficient work in this department. 
;! In 1875, there were enrolled 240. Of these one was in 
the college class, 29 in the preparatory, 25 in the theologi- 
3al, and 56 in the academic and normal, and 152 were in 
the common English studies. lu 1876 the Gnrollment 
was 210 ; in 1877, it .was 227 ; in 1878, it was 295, and 
n 1879, it was 287. The number of students enrolled for 
the year 1879-80 is 331 ; of these 18 are in the college 
course, 18 in the preparatory, 12 in the academic, 173 in 
;he normal, 91 in the English course, 50 in the theological , 
2,2 in the medical, and 2 in the law course. 

Four classes in the Meharry Medical Department have 
graduated 20 students,— 1877, 1 ; 1878, 3 ; 1879, 8 ; 
1880, 8. 

The advancement in the studies pursued may be seen in 
the fiict that in 1867 not a student was advanced beyond 
the common English branches, and the majority of them 
svere in such primary studies as spelling, reading in the 
First, Second, and Third Headers, elements of arithmetic, 
ind writing. In the catalogue for 1879, the conditions of 
jdmission are that the candidate must read in the Fourth 
Reader and have some knowledge of arithmetic. Such a 
condition ten years ago would have kept out five-sixths of 
the students. In addition to the common English studies 
there have been classes completing the study of algebra, 
geometry, trigonometry, analytical geometry, astronomy, 
mechanics and calculus in mathematics, and have read the 
usual authors of the college course in Latin and Greek suc- 
cessfully, as well as having creditably completed a course in 
natural sciences and belles-lettres, and the usual degree of 
Bachelor of Arts has been conferred. That which seemed 
incredible a few years ago, in the intellectual capacity of the 
legro, has actually been accomplished. Young men and 
;vomen who were born slaves have finished some of the 
higher courses of study in the college, and are taking high 
•ank among the educated of our land. In the schoolroom 
lundreds of the students of this college have proved them- 
;elves most successful teachers. They have been com- 
nended by boards of examination and county superintend- 
ents for their proficiency in the studies on which they have 
l)een examined. Others have made commendable progress 
n Biblical studies, and now occupy some of the most im- 
)ortant positions in the churches to which they belong, 
lonoring their positions by clear and earnest presentations 
pf truth and intelligent Christian lives. 
i Meharry Medical Department. — In 1874 the nucleus 
pf the medical department was formed, and has gradually 
developed into a thoroughly organized school. The brothers 
Hugh, Samuel, and Rev. Alexander Meharry, D.D., fur- 
iished means to carry forward this department, and three 
classes, aggregating twelve, have graduated, and have_ met 
l^ith a very cordial reception from the members of the pro- 
iession wherever they have settled. Two of them have 
lad practice in yellow fever, — Dr. J. S. Bass, in Chattanooga, 
n 1878, and Dr. L. D. Key, near Memphis. Both ac- 
[uitted themselves creditably in their positions of danger. 
!^11 graduates have passed a thorough examination on the 
ull course in medicine, and have demonstrated their ability 
deal with tlie science of medicine successfully. 
34 



The law department has a small beginning, but will no 
doubt grow as have the other departments. It is the aim 
of the trustees to furnish the means, as far as practicable, 
for qualifying the students for any profession in life which 
may be open to them. The great demand for workers in 
Africa is not forgotten, and it is confidently expected that 
some who are or have been students in this school will find 
their life-work in that rapidly-opening continent. The 
men who most impress the world are those who wrestle 
with the problems of every-day life, hence the education 
of those who are to battle with these problems should be 
practical. The education which this school proposes to 
give is of this kind, fitting its students for the farm, the 
workshop, the store, as well as for the school-room, the 
office, or the pulpit. 

The results of the thirteen years of the existence of this 
school may be summed upas follows: The course of study 
has advanced from the primary English to the full college 
course, which has been successfully completed by some of 
the race who have been held as incapable of mastering any 
but the commonest studies. The conditions of admission 
are such as would have been impossible for any consider- 
able number of the colored people to comply with when the 
school was opened in 1866. Hundreds of young men and 
women have been fitted for successful work as teachers of 
their people, in the school-room, in the home, and in the 
church. The labors of these students compare favorably 
with the same kind of labor of white teachers. The same 
may be said of the theological and medical students. The 
positions which the former occupy in the church, and the 
reception which the latter receive from the medical profes- 
sion, is clear evidence of the ability of these educated stu- 
dents to discharge acceptably and successfully some of the 
gravest duties of life. 

OMege Buildings. — The buildings of the college arc five 
in number, plain, substantial brick, admirably adapted to 
school purposes, and costing over sixty thou.sand dollars. 
Most of this sum was contributed by the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and the result of the past work of the 
school is seen in the hundreds of schools taught by thor- 
oughly competent teachers educated in this institution ; in 
a multitude of Sunday schools that have been organized 
and conducted by these teachers, in connection with their 
day-schools ; in the increasing intelligence of the colored 
people where these schools have been taught ; in the higher 
estimate of the social virtues, a better idea of home and 
its sanctity, clearer views of the relation of husband and 
wife, parents and children, a better comprehension of own- 
ership, a more intelligent view of freedom and the duties 
and responsibilities of citizenship, more intelligent work in 
the Sunday-school and church, and a more elevated view of 
Christian life and duty. The expense of the school, out- 
side of the current expenses, has been paid by the contri- 
butions of the Christian people of the North, through the 
Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
the students mostly paying their own personal expenses, as 
tuition, board, etc., which have been placed so low that 
all the energetic and industrious may be able to meet 
these requirements. 

While the school is under the patronage of the Meth- 



266 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY", TENNESSEE. 



odist Episcopal Church, and the doctrines of the Bible are 
interpreted in harmony with the standards of this branch 
of the church of God, yet no efforts are made to influence 
those who belong to denominations viewing Biblical doc- 
trine from other stand-points to change their views or 
church relations. With the growing influence of the 
church among the colored people in the South, there 
seems to be nothing in the way of the future increasing 
usefulness of this school. 

TENNESSEE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND. 

In 1844 an exhibition was given in one of the churches 
in Nashville of the ability of the blind to read embossed 
letters by the sense of touch. A good audience was assem- 
bled, to a majority of whom the method of reading by the 
fingers was something new and surprising. The exhibition 
at once awakened an enthusiastic interest in the education 
of the blind. Fingers that were capable of reading could 
certainly assist in other ways in developing minds which 
had before seemed shrouded in darkness. To many it ap- 
peared possible that the use of language, hearing, and the 
sense of touch might in a considerable measure compen- 
sate for the lack of vision, and they were willing to assist 
in the good work in proportion to their ability. Donations 
were made, subscriptions taken, and a house rented and 
furnished. Mrs. John Bell, Mrs. Matthew Watson, Mrs. 
Joseph H. Marshall, and Mrs. William H. Morgan were 
conspicuous in this good work. 

Mr. James Champlin, who had given the exhibition, 
was selected teacher, but Mr. Champlin, through feeble 
health and want of energy, allowed the tide of enthusiasm 
to subside without attaining any important permanent re- 
sult. In a few months thereafter, Mr. W. H. Churchman, 
a young man of ability and energy, was elected principal 
by the then recently-appointed trustees, Rev. J. T. Edgar, 
Rev. R. B. C. Howell, and Rev. J. T. Wheat. 

In 184G a charter was granted to the school and a legis- 
lative appropriation was made for its maintenance. Shortly 
afterwards, Mr. Churchman sought in Indiana what he be- 
lieved to be a more encouraging field of labor, and Mr. E. 
W. Whelan, of Philadelphia, was elected to take his place, 
which he retained till May, 1849, when he was succeeded 
by Mr. Jacob Berry, of Philadelphia. In little more than 
a month Mr. Berry died of cholera; also the matron, stew- 
ard, and several of the most promising pupils. Mr. Whelan 
volunteered, in the midst of sufl"ering and death, to take 
temporary charge of the school. His offered service was 
accepted. Mr. Whelan was succeeded by Mr. Fortescue, 
who resigned after holding the position about two months. 

These frequent changes in the management of the 
school, and still more the fatal visitations of cholera within 
the household, hindered its growth and retarded the im- 
provement of the pupils. Parents, always more willing to 
part with other children than with the blind ones, were 
doubly unwilling to send their unfortunate children to a 
place where the cholera had been so fatal. 

In November, 1850, Mr. J. M. Sturtevant was engaged 
to superintend the school. He took charge of it the follow- 
ing January. 

In 1852 an appropriation was obtained for building upon 



the site to be donated by the citizens of Nashville. In, 
January, 1 853, the building was occupied. It was at that j 
time suflSoiently spacious to meet the requirements of the| 
school. Additions were afterwards made, and the grounds! 
gradually improved until^June, 1861, the whole cost of 
buildings and grounds having up to that time been about 
twenty-five thousand dollars. 

In November of that year it was suddenly seized for a 
Confederate hospital. The pupils were distributed in pri- 
vate residences, and a portion of the furniture was stored in 
a rented house. 

Shortly after the fall of Fort Donelson, February, 1862, 
the building was taken for a Federal hospital. The build- 
ing, together with all surrounding improvements, was en- 
tirely destroyed in November of the same year by order of 
St. Clair Morton, chief engineer of the Army of the Ohio. 
The pupils were gradually dispersed to their homes. Thei 
superintendent took care of those who had no homes until" 
1867, when the school was reorganized and carried on in a 
rented building. 

In October, 1872, the Hon. John M. Lea purchased for 
fifteen thousand dollars the Claiborne residence, with about 
seven acres of land, for the purpose of donating it to the ■ 
Tennessee School for the Blind, to which it was conveyed ' 
immediately after the purchase. 

The Legislative Assembly of 1873 acknowledged the ex- 
cellence of the location and the munificence of the gift by 
appropriating forty thousand dollars for the erection of a 
building upon a plan, to be approved by the Governor, 
" commensurate with the wants of a first-class institution," 
the forty thousand dollars to be used only in completing 
a part of the building in accordance with the approved 
plan. j 

The next Legislative Assembly added an appropriation 
of thirty thousand dollars. The State Legislature of 1879 
made an appropriation of thirty-four thousand dollars for 
carrying on the school during the years 1879-80, and per- 
mitted a portion of twenty-four thousand dollars not used 
for the purposes appropriated to be expended in making 
improvements upon the building, which will be completed 
before the close of the year, and will stand as a monument 
to the liberality of the lady and gentleman who influenced 
its location and erection. The number of pupils have 
varied witli the varied fortunes of the school, the highest 
number having been sixty-six. The number is limited or 
increased according to the biennial appropriations of the 
State. The number for the next two years will probably 
exceed one hundred. 

For more than thirty years no pupil has died while at 
the school, and but one employee. 

THE NASHVILLE FEMALE ACADEMY. 

On the 4th of July, 1816, the following citizens of 
Nashville entered into a contract to establish a female j 
academy : Joseph T. Elliston, James Jackson, James 
Hanna, John Baird, Stephen Cantrell, Wilkins Tannehill , 
(John Anderson admitted in his place), John E. Beck, 
James Trimble, Samuel Elam, Thomas Claiborne, Thomas 



> By Rev. C. D. Elliott, D.D. 



m 

C/5 

CD 

m 
m 

CO 

o 

o 
o 



o 

33 



m 



DO 




fi 




I 



MICHAEL CAiV'lPBELL 






Michael Campbell was boru in Franklin Co., Pa., in 
the year 1757. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, his 
grandfather having emigrated from Scotland to the North 
of Ireland, where he married, and then removed to 
Pennsylvania, where many of his descendants are still 
living. 

Michael Campbell was the youngest of five brothers, 
all of wliom served in the war of independence, he, on 
account of his youth, only participating actively in the 
latter part of the struggle. He served in the immediate 
command of Gen. Washington, for whose military talents 
he conceived a high opinion. After the close of the war, 
with the spirit of enterprise common to the times, he 
left his native State and made his home in Bardstown, 
Ky. There his integrity of character and marked talent 
soon made him a leading citizen. He was several times' 
elected to the Legislature, and took a prominent part in 
its proceedings. In the beginning of this century, fore- 
seeing the great future of Middle Tennessee, he invested 
largely in the fertile lauds of that portion of the State, 



and in 1808 he removed with his family to David 'o 
County, near Nashville. In Tennessee as in Kentuf! 
he was noted for his benevolence and public sp ;, 
though he no longer served in public affairs. He wi ) 
warm advocate of public education by the State,-) 
idea in advance of the age in which he lived, and r 
that reason impossible to be realized until he had pas I 
from among men. He was one of the original suba|j 
bers to, and mainly instrumental in founding, the Ne- 
ville Female Academy. 

He was a man of imposing appearance, affable w ■ 
ners, and easily won the confidence of his associa ■ 
His disposition was retiring, and he was with diffici ' 
induced to accept any position of prominence. Fn 
the impression made on his contemporaries, he was •' 
of those whose character is greater than the deeds tl ' 
are called to perform, who appear to be superior to 5 
scenes in which they act, and impress us with a sense f 
power not exerted to its fullest extent. He died Ma i 
17, 1830, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. 



_L 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



267 



:;hildress, Thomas J. Bead, John Childress, Elihu S. Hall, 
llobert Searcy, David Irwin, James Porter, John Nichol, 
John P. Erwin, Willie Barrow, Pelix Grundy, George M. 
Deaderick, John C. McLemore, Robert Weakley, Robert 
White. 

In the charter which immediately followed these names 
ivere added with the above, being " the original stockholders 
)f the Nashville Female Academy," M. C. Dunn, Joel 
Lewis, John Stump, Eli Talbot, John H. Smith, Andrew 
Hynes, Thomas Crutcher, Thomas Hill, Wash. L. Hannum, 
rhomas H. Fletcher, James Roane, Thomas Williamson, 
John Williamson, John Harding, Alpha King.sley, Alex. 
Porter, Thomas Ramsey, Christopher Stump, David 
Vaughn, G. G. Washington, N. B. Tryor, Alfred Balch, 
George A. Bedford, Matthew Barrow. 

It is greatly to the honor of Nashville that her citizens 
(fere the first in the United States appreciating the sep- 
irateness and the importance of female education enough 
:o demand an institution chartered for that special purpose, 
ind it is to the credit of the above-named gentlemen that 
;hey used their money and their influence at that early day 
thus to dignify female education. 

I Dr. Daniel Berry and lady were the first teachers, and 
It the end of the first year there were sixty-five students. 
A.t the end of the third year, July, 1819, Dr. Daniel Berry 
and lady withdrew, and the Rev. William Hume, of precious 
memory, became president, and continued down to his 
death, of the cholera, in May, 1833. The day of his 
liineral is said to have been the saddest day Nashville ever 
felt. 

j Thereupon, Dr. R. A. Lapsley became principal, and 
3ontinued to 1838, when, on account of bad health, he de- 
3lined, and the Rev. W. A. Scott became the principal, and 
continued to 1840, when the Rev. C. D. Elliott and Dr. 
R. A. Lapsley became the joint principals. Dr. Lapsley 
soon after declining, C. D. Elliott became sole principal of 
all departments, and so continued to the legal, in 1877, and 
hi fad end of the Nashville Female Academy. 

The Rev. C. D. Elliott was fir.st employed in 1839 by 
i;he trustees of the institution to teach one of the academic 
!or lower classes. 

The first steward, or keeper of the boarding-house, was 
Mr. Benjamin J. Harrison. In 1821, Mrs. Rhoda Boyd 
Wame stewardess, in 1824 Mr. John Hall, in 1828 Mr. 
Sterling Brewer, in 1829 Mr. J. T. Rawlings, and in 
the same year Mr. Henry Hagan, and also in the same 
year Mr. Matthew Quinn, and then Mrs. Rhoda Hall ; in 
1840 Mr. W. G. Massey, and after him Mr. A. Winbourne 
until, in 1843, the boarding-house came into the hands of 
the Rev. R. A. Lapsley and C. D. Elliott. Up to this 



time pupils boarded in the city, and Mrs. 



Temple, 



where now the tax-office is, and Mrs. Rhoda Hall, on 
Spruce Street, had the largest number of boarders. 
j The records show close attention on the part of the trus- 
tees, and great success, before the date of the following 
table. 

This table, with the references, will place upon record 
the history of the academy for the last generation, as it 
IS still in the memory of its living patrons and loving 
pupils : 



,\nniial Ornainplitiil 

SeHsion. Year. Pupils. Boarders. rupils. Teachers. Graduates. 

24 1840 198 10 8 

25 1841 182 10 9 

26 1842 189 10 ]0 

27 3843 153 U 8 

28 1844 194 18 31 10 11 

29 1846 175 30 48 11 9 

30 1846 195 41 63 12 6 

31 1847 200 53 91 12 10 

32 1848 258 62 100 11 8 

33 1849 217 71 130 12 12 

34 1850 305 S3 153 16 14 

35 1851 336 90 190 16 26 

36 1S62 310 96 224 20 25 

37 1853 316 120 372 24 26 

38 1854 367 138 455 26 37 

39 1855 363 131 440 26 30 

40 ■ 1866 371 172 536 27 38 

41 1857 420 191 563 27 45 

42 1858 432 225 587 32 38 

43 1859 501 243 590 36 57 

44 I860 513 256 593 38 61 

45 1801 325 164 375 32 43 
1862-65« 

50 1866 267 113 247 12 23 

" Pupils" includes both day and boarding students. One 
young lady might be two or more " ornamental ' pupils. 
Blany of these " graduates" had been pupils in the academy 
for ten years. All averaged six years in the academy. 

The exercises during this year (1866) — the last year in 
fact — were conducted in buildings on Broad Street, though 
all in the name of the trustees of the Nashville Female 
Academy. At the close of this year (in June, 1866) it 
was announced that the exercises of the Nashville Female 
Academy could not be resumed according to promise, the 
United States government still occupying those buildings 
and there being certain lawsuits pending, the result of 
which should be reached before ^the work of the academy 
could be resumed. 

See bill in chancery in July, 1865, John Trimble, Rus- 
sel Houston, W. T. Berry, and others seeking to displace 
C. D. I^jlliott because he had been a rebel. See also bills 
and answers, October, 1866, in which William R. Elliston, 
John BI. Bass, A. h. P. Green, and others seek to annul 
the contract which continued C. D. Elliott in the control 
of the academy to the year 1878, as he had been before 
the war, that they might sell the property and divide the 
profits among the stockholders, Elliott seeking to re-estab- 
lish the academy as before the war or some return for the ■ 
more than one hundred and forty-three thousand dollars 
($143,000) by him placed in the grounds and buildings 
during his connection with the academy. It was believed 
at the time that the result might be reached within one 
year. Yet only in 1 877 the Supreme Court decided on all 
points against Elliott, and the property now in ruins near 
the Chattanooga depot waits the hammer of the auctioneer 
to be sold, and the profits divided among the stockholders 
and the speculators. 

Everything relating to the " old academy" will be read 
with interest, not only in Davidson County, but in all parts 
of the South, but we have only the space for some of the 
characteristics on which its great reputation, both at home 
and abroad, was founded, the authority on which these 
statements are made being within reach of all who may 
inquire. 

Music. — Seventeen of the teachers in this list were in 



""■■ The four years of war. 



28 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



I 



the music department. Many of tliese were imported from 
Paris, Milan, and elsewhere, and were indoreed to the 
academy by Count Cavour and others of high standing. 
By those who seemed to know, it was said that there was 
more classic music in Nashville than elsewhere in the 
United States, except in New York or in New Orleans. 

Oil Painting. — This department, under Prof Drury, of 
this city, was beginning to attract the attention of first-class 
artists in all parts of the United States, giving the promise 
to wreatly honor Nashville as a home of culture and taste 
in all departments of fine art. 

"Ifo7wr." — The pupils of the academy lived in an at- 
mosphere of " honor." All letters to them by mail were 
delivered into their own hands, and they by mail could send 
letters to whom they pleased. Correspondence was sacred. 
A " matron," knocking at a young lady's door, had to wait 
till asked " to come in." To charge a pupil with lying, 
stealing, or any dis- 
graceful act in the pres ■ 
ence of other pupils 
was forbidden to all 
the teachers. The use 
of personal violence of 
any kind by a teacher 
as a punishment was 
not allowed. It was a 
violation of personal 
and professional honor 
to receive from a pu- 
pil a present costing 
money. All these and 
many similar regula- 
tions were well known 
to all teachers and 
pupils in the academy. 
" Honor begat honor." 

Health. — In Janu- 
ary, 1862, in its circu- 
lar it was enabled to 
say, " But three deaths 
of pupils here in more 
than forty years. We have spent years at a time without 
a case of sickness serious enough to watch with through 
a night. Chills (originating here), cholera, scarlet or 
typhoid fever, or similar fatal diseases have never occurred 
here." 

It is well known that for many years the daughters of 
some of the best-regulated families in the city found homes 
for years at the academy, so well known were all its rules 
and regulations, and such was the confidence reposed in 
those who managed the academy by those who knew most 
about that management. 

As one of the results of this intelligent maternal care 
of the two hundred and fifty boarders in the academy in 
1860, there was not one who was not in the enjoyment of 
a woman's perfect health. 

It has been suggested that a treatise on the motto, " The 
early ripe early rot," so well remembered by those in charge 
of the health department of the academy, would do good 
in the boarding-schools of this day. Such a treatise would 




NASHVILLE FEMALE ACADEMY. (View from the southwest.) 



describe these buildings; so little up and downstairs; soj 
great an extent of corridor and pavement ; its exercise-hallJ 
one hundred and fifty by forty feet, and the use of dancing ' 
only for indoor recreation ; its acres of clean and shaded 
grass around these buildings ; the food ; the clothing ; the J 
social relations of all these pupils in the hands of a pe- 
culiar system of matronage, and these matrons in daily 
communication with honest and skillful doctors, — all these- 
and other similar facts would show the causes leading to, 
the results in regard to health above stated. 

Money. — The academy was the rich man's school, and, a^ 
its patronage was known to be the largest, it was also known 
to be the richest in the United States. 

Five daughters of Masons, and also five of Odd-Fellows,^ j 
and all daughters of ministers living by the ministry were, 
on application, admitted free. It was well known also to 
all laborers in all trades that their daughters would be 

admitted, and, unless 
called upon to pay in 
their labor, there would 
be no bill against them. 
There is not a bill 
made by a teacher or 
a boarding-pupil of 
the Nashville Female 
Academy in Nashville 
unpaid. It yet appears 
in the papers in the 
Chancery Court that 
in 1860 the net profit 
to C. D. Elliott was 
over twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars a year. 

Its Patriotism and 
Piety. — Its reception 
of Gen. La Fayette in 
1825, its gift of a flag 
in 1846 to the First 
Regiment of Mexican 
Volunteers, its presen- 
tation in June, 1861, 
of a flag to the First Regiment of Confederate Volunteers, 
were great days in Nashville. 

Though abused for its dancing, yet such great and good 
men as Drs. Edgar and Howell in their day, both in public 
and in private, bore witness to the deep but unostentatious 
religious sentiment of its pupils, and thousands of those 
pupils yet live, in glowing words to talk of the " Old 
Academy." 

The Nashville Female Academy yet lives. Its pupils 
and the children of its pupils oft recall to their minds the 
"old academy" with unmingled pleasure. 

No runaway matches, no entangling love aff'airs, no 
stain-spot of scandal, no evil of any kind, ever befell any of 
its pupils. No patron, or parent, or pupil with a pain or a 
blush recalls any incident in its long and prosperous career. 
Perhaps the wife of a prominent Methodist preacher, 
long a pupil, and who had given the subject close atten- 
tion, said the most in the fewest words : " We there were 
taught and required to practice self-denial all the time, and 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



269 



yet hilarity, joyousness, and gladness were all around us at 
all times." 

Be the cause what it may, the Nashville Female Academy, 
in its " teachings, in its prayers, and in its mottoes," lives 
to-day in thousands of Southern homes, made brighter and 
happier and holier because the mother once dwelt within 
these well-remembered walls, and once hoard the principal 
at the hour of dismission say, " The good angels take care 
of you." 

Dr. D.^niel Berrt was born in Andovor, Mass., in 
1777 ; graduated at Cambridge in 1806, and as a doctor of 
medicine, in Boston, in 1807. Judge Story was a particular 
Friend of Dr. Berry's, and by Felix Grundy recommended 
him to the trustees of the academy. Leaving the academy 
in 1819, he went first to Florence, in Alabama, then to 
Russellville, Ky., then to Gallatin, and then, in 1827, he 
began his " Elmwood Academy" here in Nashville. On 
uccountof declining health, he closed that in 1815. He then 
removed to St. Louis, where he and his accomplished wife, 
3ver his faithful helper as an educator, both died in 1851. 
They left but two daughters, — Mrs. R. K. Woods, of St. 
Louis, and Mrs. James Hamilton, of Nashville. ^ 

! Hev. William Hume was born in Edinburgh in 1770, 
'and educated in the university there. In 1800 he was or- 
dained and sent as a missionary to this country by the 
Secession Church. Arriving in Nashville, he began his 
kbors at once, and never ceased up to his death, in 1831-5, 
though in 1818 he became a minister in the Presbyterian 
Church. He at an early day took a deep interest in educa- 
tion ; was the popular professor of languages in the Cum- 
berland College before his call to the academy in 181U. 

Personally, and as a minister and teacher, no man of 
the " olden time" has left any more honored name to his 
shildren than Father Hume. He was first cousin to Joseph 
Hume, the great English reformer, who preceded him a 
few years in the Edinburgh University. His father was 
nephew to David Hume, the great historian and philosopher. 
Though one was a doubter at least, and the other the very 
personification of simple faith, yet they strongly resembled 
;ach other in mental and moral characteristics. 
! Rev. Dr. Lapsley came to Nashville in 1833, being 
teonnected by marriage to the extensive and wealthy Woods 
family. In 1838 he engaged in mercantile atfairs and 
failed. After his second separation from the academy he 
married Mrs. Allen, a lady of property and high social 
standing ; he then for years conducted the Carthage Female 
Academy, iu Smith County. Coming to Nashville, he es- 
tablished a female school, which continued to the war. Dr. 
Lapsley was the beloved pastor of the Second Church, in 
:his city, from 1815 to 1858. Becoming a widower, he 
Married the widow of Dr. Philip Lindsley, in New Albany, 
where he died in 1873, esteemed and honored by all who 
bad known him. 

I Rev. W. a. Scott was educated in the Cumberland 
jPresbyterian Church, and was a minister in that church 
when called to the presidency of the academy. Whilst 
ihere he joined the Old Presbyterian Church, and was soon 
^Jailed to one of their largest congregations in New Orleans. 
He removed at an early day to California, and is at this 
time professor in the theological seminary of that church in 



California. Mr. Scott married Miss Nicholson, at the time 
a very popular teacher in the academy. 

Rev. C. D. Elliott was bom in Butler Co., Ohio, 
in 1810. He was among the first graduates of Augusta 
College, Kentucky, the first college established by the 
Methodist Church, since discontinued. He removed im- 
mediately to La Grange College, in Alabama, and after being 
professor of languages, and then of mathematics and the 
natural sciences, removed to Nashville in 1839. In conse- 
quence of dancing in the Nashville Female Academy he at 
otic time withdrew from the Methodist Church, but, the 
matter being settled, he is now a local preacher in that 
church, and at this time, by appointment of the Governor, 
chaplain to the penitentiary. 

Dr. Elliott married Miss Portcrfield, who was by the 
Halls and the Morgans connected with the first settler of 
Tennessee. He is living in Nashville in vigorous health of 
mind and body. 

WARD'S SEMINARY. 

W. E. Ward's Seminary for Young Ladies, another insti- 
tution of Nashville, is worthy of more than a passing notice. 
Having been in successful operation for more than fourteen 
years, it has become one of the leading institutions of 
the State. It is to the South and Southwest what Mount 
Holyoke Seminary is to the North and Northeast. It 
has spacious buildings located in the centre of the city, and 
has all the advantages of churches. The course of study 
embraces five years. It has musical and art departments 
of the best standing, and great attention is paid to health 
and physical culture. The expenses at this institution are 
reasonable, and its thousands of patrons are among the most 
wide-awake and progressive people of the country. Over 
five hundred have received the honors of graduation, and at 
present the outlook is more favorable than ever. Such a 
worthy institution is deserving of and will receive the 
patronage of a discriminating public. 

Recently the seminary has been enlarged by the erection 
of the south wing, an imposing building, four stories high 
above the basement, built of brick and stone, and contain- 
ing twenty rooms and a large calisthenic hall. This very 
nearly doubles the capacity of the school. The seminary 
has no endowment, but depends on yearly patronage. Its 
buildings and furniture cost seventy-five tliuusand dollars, 
and belong to the principal. The average attendance is two 
hundred and thirty. 

DOCTOR BLACKIE'S SCHOOL FOR YOUNG LADIES 

is located at 53 and 55 South Cherry Street, in the house 
built by Dr. Felix Robertson, the first white man born 
in Nashville. This institution has nearly completed its 
fifth year, and its steadily-increasing patronage is a proof 
that the principal has fulfilled his pledges to the public 
and has provided a first-class institution for the educa- 
tion of young ladies. The number of pupils, both board- 
ers and day-scholars, is limited, as each must have the per- 
sonal supervision of the principal. Dr. Blackie has been a 
successful teacher in this city since 1857, and fully two 
two thousand five hundred pupils have received the benefits 
of his instruction. He is a graduate of the universities 



270 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



at Edinburgh and Bonn on the Rhine ; was a student at 
the University of Paris, and carried off the highest medals 
and distinctions of these schools. His school outfit, 
museum, library, and apparatus are not surpassed by those 
of larger institutions. Mrs. Black ie, a great-granddaugh- 
ter of Gen. James Robertson, a lady of high culture and 
attainments, is associated with her husband in the care and 
management of this popular school for young ladies. 

ACADEMY OF ST. CECILIA, FOR YOUNG LADIES. 

This institution was founded in 1860 by six ladies, mem- 
bers of the St. Mary's Literary Institute, Perry Co., Ohio. 
It numbers at the present time over thirty teaching mem- 
bers, among whom are found able scholars in literature and 
mathematics, and artists whose productions have received 
high encomiums from able critics. Specimens of these may 
be seen in the grand hall of the academy. 

The buildings stand upon an eminence north of the city 
of Nashville, overlooking the valley of the Cumberland 
River. For beauty of scenery, pure air, and healthfulness 
it is not surpassed by any institution in the North or in the 
South. 

Sickness is almost unknown. Chalybeate water, constant 
in supply, is upon the lawn, and the purest white sulphur 
just outside the grounds. The wholesome country diet and 
facilities for out-door exercise offer peculiar advantages to 
pupils of a delicate constitution. The halls for study, mu- 
sical rehearsals, recitation, and dormitories are well venti- 
lated, having been constructed with a view of promoting 
the health and comfort of the pupils. A magnificent recrea- 
tion-hall on the first floor of the building affords the stu- 
dents cheerful exercise — calisthenics, marching, and dan- 
cing — when the weather is unfavorable for out-door ex- 
ercise. 

The education of youth is the special calling of the 
Dominican Sisters ; to qualify themselves for this high duty 
is their constant aim. The academy refers with confidence 
for verification of its past efficiency to its many finished 
graduates and its pupils throughout the South. The course 
of instruction embraces all the usual requisites of a thorough 
and accomplished education, fitting the pupils for the high- 
est social circle or the office of teaching. The department 
of music, both vocal and instrumental, is superintended in 
the most able manner. 

A library of choice and standard works is open to the 
young ladies. 

French is taught by native teachers. 

The school is not sectarian. It has fi'om its commence- 
ment been patronized by all denominations. 

NASHVILLE ACADEMY. 

The Nashville Academy, of which Miss M. M. O'Bryan 
is principal, is located at No. 25 South Spruce Street, in 
one of the most desirable portions of the city. This acad- 
emy does not aim at display, but educates young ladies 
thoroughly and fits them competently for life. As a pains- 
taking educator, no one stands higher in this community 
than Miss O'Bryan. She has a full faculty, and her school 
is in flourishing condition. 



ST. BERNARD'S ACADEMY. 

The chapel of the St. Bernard's Academy and the resi- 
dence of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy is on Cedar 
Street, immediately fronting the State Capitol. It is a 
select school, is conducted with ability, and is in flourishing 
condition. The property is one hundred and ten by one 
hundred and seventy feet large, and was purchased for 
twenty-seven thousand dollars. i 

ST. MARY'S PAROCHIAL SCHOOL, 1 

on Vine Street, facing the west front of the Capitol, was 
built in 186(3-67, at a cost of forty-seven thousand dollars. 
It is three stories high, one hundred and forty by forty feet 
large, and is constructed in the latest style of school archi- 
tecture, with a tower gracing its east front. It is under 
charge of the Sisters of Mercy. 

TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY. 

The Tennessee College of Pharmacy is located at 15§ i 
Church Street, in the Smith Block. It is in successfd 
operation, and has the following able faculty: J. C. WhaE 
ton^ Professor of General Chemistry ; J. Berrien Lindsle| 
Professor of Materia Sledica ; W. H. Smith, Professor of i 
Pharmacy and Toxicology; George S. Blackie, Professor i 
of Practical Botany ; John H. Snively, Registrar and Pr(fei 
fessor of Analytical Chemistry; Duncan Eve, Professor of i 
Practical Microscopy. 

GOODMAN'S NASHVILLE BUSINESS COLLEGE, 
Nos. 93 and 95 Church Street, corner of Summer. It was 
established in 1865, and was formerly styled " Earhart's 
Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College" and was one of - 
tiie Bryant and Stratton chain, but now known as the In- 1 
ternational Chain of Commercial Colleges. After the death I 
of Professor Earhart, this school languished. In 1874 ' 
Professor Frank Goodman w;is appointed and succeeded to ; 
the conduct of the college as principal. Immediately after; 
his purciiase Professor Goodman thoroughly reorganized ) 
the college, cutting out many objectionable features and ■ 
adding many improvements. The course of study has beea ; 
revised, and among other decided improvements the follow-i 
ing were adopted, — viz., no lite scholarships are issued;;! 
diplomas are not issued to dissipated persons or to those not,;; 
worthy and in every way well qualified ; special writing i 
lessons are not given, ornamental penmanship being no part 
of a business education ; night sessions have been discon- 
tinued ; no scholarships are given for advertisements. The 
course combines both theory and practice, the sciiool-room 
and counting-room being united, upon a plan that gecures 
to the student all the practical advantages of each ; book- 
keeping, single and double entry ; commercial arithmetic 
and calculations ; penmanship specially adapted to business 
writing ; commercial law, as applied to contracts, partner- 
ship, agencies, negotiable paper, etc., by recitations and lec- 
tures and commercial correspondence, — these are a few of 
the advantages offered by this college. It is gratifying to 
know that all patronage, and more particularly local patron- 
age, has improved greatly. Since Professor Goodman took 
charge of the college, students have matriculated from the 
following States, — Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Missis- 



1 










^'^;M ^^M'iMi^£/>Mjih^^,f,i / 



— .. — (-. 1^ — ■■ - ... — . ^ — — ,. ■ < . ■ ^ ■:- .... -Jiij-ityfT—* r— ■ 

.MAlkUdd ^K ACADEMY OF ST CP jj 




HVtii€ TEi^N 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



271 



sippi, Arkansas, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, 
Louisiana, South Carolina, Ohio, Maryland, Florida, — and 
from Ireland. The catalogue for 1879 shows an attendance 
of two hundred and eighty. The faculty is as follows : 
Frank Goodman, Principal ; Henry C. Jameson, of Hick- 
man, Ky., Assistant Superintendent ; Robert L. Morris, of 
Nashville, Teacher and Lecturer on Commercial Law ; 
Herbert W. Grannis, A.M., of Lebanon, Tenn., Superin- 
tendent Preparatory Department and Teacher of Science of 
Accounts. The college is in session every business day 
during the year, and students can enter at any time. 

EDGEFIELD ACADEMY. 

The canvass for aldermen of Edgefield for the year 1870 
was contested over the question of having public schools. 
A committee on schools was appointed after election, and 
jin May, Alderman Jackson B. White presented a bill for 
' the establishment of public schools and creating a Board 
of Education in Edgefield and the Seventh District, of 
which it formed a part. 

This became a law May 16, 1870, and John Frizzell, 

; George Searight, and A. G. Sanford were appointed mem- 

1 bers of that board. A building on Russell Street was 

rented, and occupied as a temporary school-room. In the 

fall of 1870 a school-building was erected for a primary 

school in North Edgefield, on Foster and Joseph Streets, at 

a total outlay of three thousand dollars. At the commence- 

i ment of 1871 seven white and two colored schools were 

reported, with one principal, seven white and two colored 

teachers. 

I These schools received for their support two thousand 
' dollars from the Peabody Fund, through its agent. Rev. A. 
B. Sears, D.D., in 1871, and In 1872 eight hundred dol- 
lars more, and four hundred by subscription from the town. 
A Board of Education, composed of seven members, 
I was authorized by the Legislature in April, 1871. Find- 
ing the buildings insufficient to accommodate the scholars 
belonging to the town, bonds to the amount of eight thou- 
sand dollars were issued, and an additional appropriation 
made by the Board of Aldermen, with which was erected 
the handsome brick building on Main Street, near Poster, 
at a cost of nearly eleven thousand dollars, and two thou- 
sand two hundred and fifty dollars for the ground. This 
.building is commodious, and finely located upon rising 
iground. It was built by Messrs. Patton & Mclnturff, after 
a design furnished by John Lewis, architect. The corner- 
stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, Aug. 12, 1873. 
The house is well furnished, and as an educator the institu- 
ition has acquired a creditable name. 

[ John W. Graham became the first superintendent of 
public instruction, and occupied that position until June, 
1873, when he was succeeded by Professor W. P. Marks. 

Professor Marks died in the spring of 1877. He was 
succeeded by Professor George D. Hughes, who was relieved 
by the annexation to the city of Nashville, and appointed 
principal of the Main Street Academy. 

Among the more prominent instructors here have been 
Hiram Stubblefield, Miss Sally White, Miss Mary Frizzell, 
Miss Maggie Glenn, and Mrs. H. K. Ingraham, who was 
the first lady permitted to read a paper before the American 



Scientific Association, and the author of the concussion 
theory for yellow fever cure. This academy employs a 
faculty of eleven teachers, including the primary depart- 
ments, in the same building, and has a total of one thousand 
and eighty-two enrolled students for the last year. 

THE EDGEFIELD MALE ACADEMY 

was opened as a private enterprise, by Professor George D. 
Hughes, as a preparatory institution for Emory and Henry 
College, of Virginia, of which he was himself a graduate. 
His assistant, A. L. Mims, M.A., became principal on his 
withdrawing to the town academy. Messrs. Lipscomb and 
Didiot became proprietors in 1879. This institution has a 
fine building on Woodland Street, built in 1850 for a 
Methodist chapel. 

MEDICAL PROFESSION. 

MEDICAL SOCIETY OF TENNESSEE.^s 

The Medical Society of the State of Tennessee was in- 
corporated by an act of the Legislature passed the 9th of 
January, 1830, that body being then presided over by Joel 
Walker, Speaker of the Senate, and Ephraim H. Foster. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. William Car- 
roll was the Governor of the State of Tennessee, and An- 
drew Jackson President of the United States. Its first 
meeting was ordered to be held in the town of Nashville, 
the first Monday in May, 1830, and boards of censors were 
to be appointed by the society for the three divisions of the 
State, to grant licenses to applicants to practice medicine 
within its limits. 

One hundred and fifty-four physicians were named in the 
charter, and ninety-seven were present at the first meeting. 

The first meeting of the society was held on the 3d of 
May, 1830, in the city of Nashville, and its organization 
completed by adopting a constitution, by-laws, and code of 
medical ethics, and by electing officers for two years. These 
were James Roane, of Nashville, President ; James King, 
of Knoxville, Vice-President ; James M. Walker, of Nash- 
ville, Recording Secretary ; L. J*. Yandell, then of Ruther- 
ford County, Corresponding Secretary ; and Boyd McNairy, 
of Nashville, Treasurer. Professor Charles Caldwell, of 
Transylvania University, being in town, was the first hon- 
orary member elected by the society. The censors ap- 
pointed for Middle Tennessee were Drs. Douglass, Stitli, 
Hogg, and Estill ; for East Tennessee, Drs. McKinney and 
Temple; and for the Western District, Drs. Young and 
Wilson. The code of ethics was the same as that adopted 
by the Central Medical Society of Georgia in 1828. A 
resolution was passed, we are happy to state, at the organi- 
zation of the society, expressive emphatically of its condem- 
nation of the habitual use of ardent spirits, this dread foe 
to humanity, as productive of the most lamentable conse- 
quences to mankind, and recommending most urgently to 
their fellow-citizens total abstinence, except when prescribed 
as medicine. 

1831. — The second assembling of the society took place 
in Nashville, May 2, 1831. Sixty members answered the 
roll-call, and fifty-four were added during the session, making 



' Synopsis of its history furnished by Paul F. Eve, M.D., in 1SJ2. 



272 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



one hundred and fourteen present, constituting the largest 
meeting ever held. The board of censors reported that two 
applicants had been licensed. The Governor gave a special 
invitation to the society to visit in a body the penitentiary, 
then known as the State prison. Dr. John H. Kain, of 
Shelbyville, the first appointed orator, delivered the anniver- 
sary discourse before the society on " Medical Emulation," 
taking the appropriate motto from Johnson's "Rambler," 
" Every man, from the highest to the lowest station, ought 
to warm his heart and animate his endeavors with the hope 
of being useful to the world by advancing the art which it 
is his lot to exercise ; and for that purpose he must consider 
the whole extent of its application, and the whole weight of 
.its importance." Dr. Yandell, having been called to a pro- 
fessorship in the Transylvania University, resigned his office 
in the society and delivered an address, which was ordered 
to be published. He was subsequently elected an honorary 
member, and, though he became a citizen of another State, 
no one ever served it more faithfully or contributed more 
to advance its interests. To him, too, was awarded the 
second prize ofl'ered by the society. Again and again 
do we find his contributions to its transactions, and now, 
when full of years and honors, should ever be remembered 
with profound gratitude by us all. A premium of fifty 
dollars was offered at this meeting for the best essay ou the 
use and abuse of calomel. Professors Henry R. Frost, of 
Charleston, S. C, Benjamin W. Dudley, of Lexington, Ky., 
and Daniel Drake, of Cincinnati, Ohio, were elected hon- 
orary members at this meeting. Dr. James G. M. Ramsey, 
of Knoxville, sent his essay on the " Topography of East 
Tennessee," and Dr. Becton read his own on the " Topog- 
raphy of Rutherford County." 

1832. — May 7, 1832, the third convocation of this body 
took place in Nashville ; the president and vice-president 
being both absent. Dr. McNairy was called to the chair. 
Fifty-one members were present and twenty-one added 
during the meeting. Dr. Roane was again elected presi- 
dent for two more years, and Dr. Kain the vice-president. 
A committee appointed to get the Legislature to extend 
the privileges of the society reported that object had been 
defeated ; nevertheless, another committee was instructed to 
ask for a repeal of the law making it a penitentiary offense to 
exhume a body for dissection, showing, too, the glaring incon- 
sistency of an act prohibiting the study of anatomy, the basis 
of all medical science, yet making its cultivators liable to a 
dreadful and ignominious punishment in the attempt to got 
the material by which means alone that knowledge can be 
acquired. The celebrated Dr. Troost was made the orator 
for the next anniversary. 

1833. — We have obtained only a very partial account of 
the proceedings of 1833. Dr. Alexander Jackson, of Paris, 
read an essay on the " Medical Topography of the Western 
District." The prize essay, on " The Use and Abuse of 
Calomel," was awarded to James Overton, M.D., of Nash- 
ville. Dr. Roane having died. Dr. Fernando Stith, of 
Franklin, was president pro tempore. 

1834. — The 5th of May, 183-4, the society convened in 
Nashville. Dr. Felix Robertson, the first child born in Nash- 
ville, — that is, on January 11, 1781, — ninety-one years 
ago, was elected president, and Dr. John Crisp, of Gibson 



City, vice-president. Dr. James Overton was made the 
orator for the year following, and Dr. Josiah Higgason, i 
Somerville, read an essay on the " Medical Topography and 
Diseases of the Western District," which is published in 
vol. viii., Transylvania Journal of Medicine. 

1835. — The Tennessee Medical Society held its sixth 
meeting, May 4, 1835, in Nashville, the president. Dr. 
Robertson, in the chair. Thirty members answered to 
their names and eight were admitted. Dr. James Over- 
ton's essay on " Spontaneous Combustion" was ordered 
published, and makes a pamphlet of thirty-nine pages. Dr. 
Hogg read an essay, which was also published. The above 
proceedings are signed by Dr. R. C. K. Martin, Recording 
Secretary. 

1836. — Dr. Felix Robertson was continued president, 
May, 1836. This was its seventh anniversary. Dr. A. 
H. Buchanan read during the session this year a lengthy 
essay on the " Medical Topography and Diseases of Middle 
Tennessee," making forty-three sections in the ninth vol- 
ume of the Transylvania Journal of Medicine. The Bos- 
ton Medical and Surgical Journal compliments highly the '. 
professional interest manifested at this meeting. j 

1837. — I can find nothing of the transactions for this | 
year. ' 

1838. — The simple notice that Dr. Yandell delivered the 
annual address before the society, on the " History of Med- 
icine," is all that we have found for 1838. 

1839. — The tenth annual assembling of the Tennessee 
Medical Society took place in the City Hall of Nashville, 
May, 1839. Thirty-seven members were present. Dr. 
Hogg presented a worm extracted from the eye of a child, 
and gave its history. Dr. Dorris reported a case of pro- 
longed utero-gestation. Dr. Buchanan, a case of sponta- 
neous amputation of a limb in utero, with the foetus. Dr. 
Peyton Robertson gave the particulars of a case of tetanus. 
Dr. Dashiel, one of chronic enlargement of the spleen. Dr. 
Henderson, of Williamson County, one of soft cancer and; 
one of ventral conception. Dr. Thompson, of Rutherford 
County, one of mania cured by bleeding. Dr. Stith's ad- 
dress for 1838 on " Asiatic Cholera" is published in the 
transactions of this year ; also the oration of Dr. Buchanan 
on the " Necessity of Protection of the Citizen by the Law 
of License." 

1840. — May, 1840, the eleventh anniversary was cele- 
brated in Nashville; twenty-four members registered their 
names and eighteen were added. Dr. Hogg was unani- 
mously elected president, and Dr. Buchanan vice-presi- 
dent. Dr. W. G. Dickenson, of Nashville, read a paper on 

, which was ordered for publication in the Jjouisville 

Journal of Medicine and Surgery. Dr. J. H. Atkinson, 
of Nashville, reported a case of fever which terminated 
fatally. Dr. Norman, a case illustrative of the influence of 
mental distress upon the foetus in utero. A premium of 
fifty dollars was offered for the best essay on some medical 
subject. Bilious fever was subsequently selected. We 
have seen pamphlets furnished by request from Dr. Yan- 
dell containing his address for 1838; also another one, on 
" Improvements of the Medical Profession," delivered at 
the meeting in 1841 ; and also his prize essay on " Bilious 
Fever." At this meeting Drs. Ramsey and Lea were each 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



273 



Biicd ten dolliirs foi' non-production of tlieii- p;ipoi's on 
' Medical Topography." 

1841.— The society met May 3, 18 H, in Nashville. 
rhirty-two members were present. The president, Dr. 
Hogg, delivered the annual address. Dr. D. MePhail, of 
Franklin, read a paper on the " Medical Topography of 
Middle Tennessee." Dr. Robertson reported two cases, one 
if dislocation in the cervical portion of the spine, success- 
fully reduced (and must therefore have been only partial) ; 
;he second, dislocation of the humerus. Dr. Stith read the 
iccount of a case of hydrocele cured by a piece of kid-skin 
introduced into the tunica vaginalis to excite adhesion. Dr. 
Robert Martin read the notes of a case of partial paralysis 
!n which strychnine was employed. Dr. Thompson, of 
Rutherford County, gave the particulars of two cases illus- 
. rating the efficacy of compress and bandage in the treat- 
ment of wounds of small arteries. Dr. J. \V. Richardson, 
I case of gun-shot wound of the abdomen, complicated by 
njury to the intestine and kidney. Dr. Buchanan, one of 
1 grain of corn in the windpipe, in which laryngotomy was 
Dcrformed, and in which, after some weeks, the grain was 
;oughed up, deprived of its substance, the pulp, but its 
cortical envelope remained entire. These communications 
ivere published in the Western Journal of Medicine and 
'Surgeri/. Four papers had been received by the committee 
m prize essays. Professor Yandell was the successful com- 
petitor. The subject was bilious fever. 

1842. — In volume twenty-two, August number, of the 
Western Journal of Medicine and Surgery, we learn that 
^.he Medical Society of Tennessee held its regular annual 
ueeting the first Monday in May, 1842, in Nashville, and 
he American Journal of Medical Sciences states that this 
ivas its thirteenth. It assembled in Nashville. A com- 
uittee was appointed to obtain a suitable piece of plate, to 
De presented to Professor Yandell as an award for his prize 
)ssay on fever. Dr. Buchanan, of Columbia, was elected 
oresident, and Dr. George Thompson, of Jefferson, vicc- 
oresident. Dr. Buchanan read a paper on the " Theory and 
Pathology of Fever," which Dr. Drake, then one of the 
I'ditors of the Western Journal of Bledicine and Surgery, 
ieclared " must enhance the reputation of the author as a 
iound thinker and a clear and learned writer." 
: 1843. — The society convened in the City Hall of Nash- 
ville, May, 1843, twenty-five members being present at the 
iipening of the session, and several others united afterwards. 
Dr. J. M. Stout gave an account of a case of osseous de- 
i)osit on the dura mater. Dr. Esselman reported a case of 
laryngitis, for which tracheotomy was performed, followed 
py recovery ; also one of successful extirpation of the uterus 
for chronic inversion. This was done by ligature, the op- 
lirator not knowing at the time what was included in it. 

Er. Robert Martin presented a case of abscess with renal 
Iculi. Dr. Robards, of Columbia, a case of functional de- 
rangement of the heart, with partial recovery. Dr. Felix 
tlobertson read a paper illustrating the extraordinary influ- 
ince of ipecac on himself Dr. Buchanan gave the history 
>f a rare case of cancer. Dr. Yandell delivered a eulogy on 
he life and character of Dr. Hogg. Dr. Brown was fined 
wenty-five dollars for failing to deliver the annual oration, 
'low due two years. For the mutual improvement of its 
35 



members the society established a museum, to be located in 
Nashville. This was undoubtedly the first step towards 
organizing a medical department in connection with the 
University of Nashville, which, at the termination of its 
sixth session, graduated one hundred and thirty-seven 
candidates, and at its ninth course of lectures counted four 
hundred and fifty-six students, being the next highest in 
number that winter, 1859-60, of all the medical schools in 
America, and this, too, by a faculty of seven, only one of 
whom had ever before faced a class, being a success unpre- 
cedented in medical education the world over. Dr. Rich- 
ardson delivered this year a very able address, being prob- 
ably the presiding ofiicer of the meeting. Drs. Robertson, 
Buchanan, and Waters constituted a committee to memori- 
alize the Legislature to have changed the law making it a 
penitentiary offense if detected in obtaining material for dis- 
section. The world has never yet been fully impressed by 
the quaint remark of the able but eccentric Mr. Abernetliy, 
made before the British Parliament on this very point. 
'■ Be sure," said he, " the living must be butchered if the 
dead be not dissected." 

1844. — In the Nashville Whig of the year 1844 we find 
an advertisement for the society to meet on the 6th of May, 
but nothing more. In the Western Journal of Medicine 
and Surgery, number fifty-four, it is stated that the Ten- 
nessee Medical Society met the 1st of May. Dr. Buchanan 
was re-elected president, and Dr. Thompson vice-president. 
It is, moreover, intimated by Dr. Drake that the former A. 
H. Buchanan sustained this society for one year ; certain it is 
he was for a long season its guardian spirit in days of 
neglect and trouble, and this organization owes him a large 
debt of gratitude for its preservation. A Dr. Sappington, 
then of Missouri, but formerly of Tennessee, and a resident 
near this city, ventured to send a book of doubtful charac- 
ter to the society, when it was unceremoniously returned to 
the author. 

1845. — The society convened May 7, 1845, in the City 
Hall of Nashville. Seventeen names were I'egistered, and 
three more added. Dr. Manlove reported a case of gas- 
trotomy (enterotomy) for obstructed bowels, terminating in 
an artificial anus, which healed without operation. This 
was sent to the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. 
Dr. Robards verbally called attention to cases of obstructed 
bowels relieved by forcible and copious injections of tepid 
water, and Dr. Nelson to a case of abortion with retained 
placenta. Dr. Richardson reported two cases of labor ; in 
one there an enormous quantity of liquor amnii, and in the 
other, twins, with malposition of a child and misplaced 
placenta. Dr. Stout, a case of gun-shot wound in the right 
lumbar region. Dr. Robards presented the history of an epi- 
demic erysipelas which prevailed during the spring of 1844. 
This account was ordered to the Louisville Journal of Medi- 
cine and Surgery. Dr. Irwin reported the case of a pebble 
lodged in the bowels and attended with severe symptoms, 
but which subsided when it was discharged per anus. Dr. 
Saudek, who was unavoidably detained, sent an essay on 
the abuse of calomel, venesection, and blistering. Dr. Avent 
reported a case of inversion of the womb as a substitute for 
an essay on the topography of Rutherford County. Dr. 
Overton read his paper on the mucous membranes. A 



271 



HISTORY OF D.WIDSON COUNTF, TENNESSEE. 



committee was appointed to solicit a donation for a museum 
and library from the Lci^islature, but wbicii was, of course, 
refused. Dr. Winston, the president, then delivered the an- 
niial address, on the improvements and discoveries in medi- 
cal science by American physicians. 

1846. — May 6, 1846, the society assembled in tlie City 
Hall of Nashville, nineteen members being present. Dr. 
Buchanan was re-elected president, and Daniel McPhail 
vice-pre?ident. Dr. F. Robertson reported a case of ulcera- 
tion of the bladder communicating with the rectum. Dr. 
Saudex read a paper on smallpox, which was discussed by 
Drs. Buchanan, Winston, and Robertson. Dr. R. Blartin 
reported a case of parturition with an unusual discharge of 
the waters, and presented an encophalous monster in con- 
nection with it. Dr. Nelson, of Rutherford County, a case of 
removal of the ramus and one condyle of the inferior maxilla. 
Dr. Irwin, one of injury of the spine. Dr. Manlove, a case 
attended with all the symptoms of liydrophobia, which he, 
however, attributed to poison by lead. Dr. Overton men- 
tioned a well-authenticated case of hydrophobia, cured, as 
he believed, by a strong decoction of the root of Phi/tolacca 
decandra. Dr. Robertson alluded to a case cured by the 
tincture of cantharides given to strangury. The double 
doubt, first as to the existence of such a disease as hydro- 
phobia per se, and of the efficacy of the means employed, 
may, perhaps, excite skepticism on this whole subject. The 
prize essay on scrofula was at this meeting awarded to the 
distinguished AVilliam L. Sutton, M.D., of Georgetown, 
Ky. Dr. Buchanan delivered the annual address, on the 
difficulties of acquiring accurate knowledge in practical 
medicine. 

1847.— At the meeting for 1847, Dr. John W. Rich- 
ardson read the account of a case of obstruction in the in- 
testines. 

1848. — All we have seen for this year was an advertise- 
ment in the Naskville Whig, calling for a meeting of the 
Society to be held on the 3d of iMay. 

1849.— Nothing. 

1850. — Nothing whatever could be obtained. 

1851. — The twenty-second convocation of the Tennessee 
Medical Society took place in the Odd-Fellows' Hall, Blur- 
freesboro', April, 1851. Fifteen members were present. 
Dr. Buchanan presided and delivered the annual address, 
which was ordered published. Dr. Avent reported a case 
of fungus cerebri, to which was appended the notice of an- 
other, treated by Dr. J. W. Richardson. These were- pub- 
lished in the first volume Nashville Jo-urnal of Medicine 
and Surgeri/. Dr. McCuUoch, a case of rupture of the in- 
testines produced by a fall from a horse ; also one of trau- 
matic tetanus. Dr. Croswaith, one of prolapsus vesicffi. 
Dr. Armstrong presented the museum a rare specimen of 
lumbrici from the liver of a dog. Dr. Lipscomb being 
absent, the secretary read his essay on scarlatina, followed 
by a discussion on the subject by Drs. Winston, Croswaith, 
Thompson, and Bashette. Dr. Young reported a case of 
rupture of the uterus, and Dr. Watson made some remarks 
regarding it. Dr. Knight, a case of acute mania, following 
an attack of bilious fever, which elicited comments from Drs. 
Bashette and Watson. Dr. Thompson, one of puerperal 
convulsions. Dr. W. A. Smith, one of stricture of the 



bowels. Dr. Armstrong, one of indigestion, accompanied 
with extreme emaciation. A committee was appointed at 
this meeting to get the co-operation of the medical societies 
of East Tennessee and the Western District in petitioning 
the Legislature to require the recipe of all secret medicinesi 
registered before their sale, but which was not granted. 
Dr. Wendell moved that the code of ethics adopted by the 
American Medical Association, 1847, be substituted for the 
one heretofore governing this society. Unanimously passed, i 
Dr. Bashette moved, and it was resolved, that the Tennes-I 
see Medical Society regard with pleasure the recent efforts! 
made to organize a medical school in this State, and also to 
establish a medical journal in connection with it; and, 
moi'ever, that the museum of this society be transferred to 
the Medical Department of the University of Nashville. 
Dr. Watson was elected president for the next year. 

1852. — Jlurfreesboro', May 5, 1852, the society again 
convened in the Odd-Fellows' Hall. Present, fifteen mem- 
bers, and several others were subsequently added. The 
president. Dr. Watson, delivered the annual address, on the 
varieties of disease in the same species. Dr. Winston 
made some remarks on prolapsus uteri. Dr. Abernethy 
read a lengthy paper on tetanus. Dr. Avent gave the 
account of three cases of lithotomy and exhibited the cal- 
culi. Dr. Robinson reported a case of ovarian inflamma- 
tion. Dr. W. A. Smith, one of labor resulting in lacera- 
tion of the perineum. Dr. Park, one of retention of urine 
from stricture, requiring puncture of the bladder. Dr. 
Mayfiuld being absent, the secretary read his paper on mam- 
mary tumor. Dr. Lipscomb detailed the history of a case 
of trismus nascentium. Dr. Jones, a case of narcotism. 
Dr. Richardson, one of hour-glass contraction of the uterus. 
These ten communications may be found in the third vol- 
ume Nashville Journal Medicine and Snrgery. 

1853. — Tiie Tennessee Bledical Society convened 'in the 
Medical College, May 4, 1853 ; Dr. Watson, the president, 
occupied the chair. Fourteen members answered to the 
roll-call ; fourteen were added during the day, and several 
others afterwards. Dr. F. Robertson was made the presi- 
dent and Dr. Haskins, of Clarksville, vice-president. Dr. 
Park submitted for inspection instruments of his own in- 
vention for the operation of fistula in ano. Dr. Ransom 
reported a case of paralysis accompanied by several remark- 
able phenomena. Dr. Watson read a paper for Dr. Smith 
Bowlin, of Bedford County, on Fallopian pregnancy. Dr. 
Knight reported a case of gun-shot wound of the leg re- 
sulting in the formation of an aneurism. Dr. Haskins, a 
partial report on the epidemics of Tennessee, and was con- 
tinued. Dr. Buchanan narrated the case of a penetrating 
wound of the chest, with protrusion of portion of the lung, 
which was discussed by Drs. Bowlin, Martin, Haskins, 
and D. W. Yandell. A prize was offered by this meeting 
of fifty dollars for the best original, practical, or experi- 
mental essay, and twenty-five for the next best. The pres- 
ident's address was on the retrospective, prospective, and 
perspective views of medicine. The complete catalogue of 
the membership of the society up to date (1853) was three 
hundred and seven. 

1854.— The meeting of 1854 was held in Nashville the 
6th and 7th of April. The president. Dr. Robertson, called 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



275 



the luecting to order, and thirty-two members answered to 
their names. Not one of all tlic eommittes appointed or 
one noniiaatcd to report cases was prepared. Even the 
orator for the occasion was also absent. Dr. Haskins pre- 
sented the outlines of an analysis ho was engaged in 
making of the Tennessee collection of urinary calculi, em- 
bracing one hundred and eighty specimens, — derived from 
Dr. Eve, one hundred and fifteen ; Buchanan, fifteen ; Es- 
till, of Winchester, twelve ; D. W. Yandell, ten ; Overton, 
seven; Avent, five; Jones, of Springfield, three; Briggs, 
three ; House, of Clarksville, three ; Debow, of Hartsville, 
two; Porter, two; Ilobertson, one; Ford, one; Martin, 
one; Irwin, one; and Evans, of Shelbyville, one, — which 
was ordered published. Dr. Eve made a statement of his 
contributions to the history of surgery in'Tennessee, which 
was ordered published with the proceedings. Dr. Richard- 
son read the notes of an interesting case of tumor in the 
anterior mediastinum, which proved fatal. The society was 

(inforujed that their memorial to the Legislature in rcfer- 

|ence to the registration of marriages, births, and deaths 
had again miscarried. Dr. Bowlin, editor of the Akish- 
v'dle Journal of Medicine and Sargert/, offered to publish 

|the transactions of the society free of expense. 

1855. — The society met in the Firemen's Hall, Nash- 
ville, 10th April, 1855, when the venerable president, Dr. 
Eobertson, occupied the chair, and delivered an address, on 
the "Pioneer Physicians of this City," of the deepest in- 
terest to the profession of Tennessee, and which was or- 
dered published. Dr. Haskins was elected president. Dr. 
Lipscomb, unavoidably detained, sent a paper on "False 
Conception or Mole." Dr. Eve reported a case of " Liga- 

iture to the Brachial Artery for Varicoscd Aneurism," 
which terminated fatally. Dr. Maddin,acase of " Typhoid 

! Fever." Dr. Briggs presented the specimen with the ac- 
count of a case of " Diastasis in the Femur of a Patient 
Fourteen Years Old," which produced such injury to the 
popliteal artery that mortification ensued, and amputation was 
performed. But for the examination of the amputated limb, 
the sanirrene would have been attributed to ti-'ht bandas:- 
ing. These communications were ordered published. Dr. 

I R. Thompson read a paper on his peculiar views of " Treat- 
ing Fever." Dr. Conwell reported a case of tape-worm, in 
which were to be seen an immense number of smaller ones, 
resembling somewhat the silk-worm. Dr. Manlove vras 
made orator for the next meeting. 

1856. — April 1, 1856, the Medical Society assembled in 
the Firemen's Hall, Nashville, and, in the absence of the 

(president, the vice-president took the chair. About thirty 
members were present, and others added during the meet- 

. ing. Dr. Lindsley proposed that the society invite the 

I American Medical Association to hold its next meetinsr in 
i . . . 

our city, which was unanimously adopted. Dr. C. E. 

Winston read a paper on " The Value of Veratrum Viride." 
I Dr. Eve submitted a communication entitled "The His- 
itory of the Ligature to the Brachio-Cephalic Artery." 
Dr. Ford, one on "Unusual Lactation." Dr. J. D. Win- 
ston, a case of " Spina- Ventosa." Dr. Maddin, an essay on 
"Dysentery — its Pathology and Therapeutics." These 
! communications may bo found in the tenth and eleventh 
volumes of the Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surtjcri/, 



to which was added a paper from Dr. R. Thompson entitled 
" A Chapter of Accidents." Dr. Winston's address was 
also ordered published. The transactions of the year make 
a panjphlet of sixty-three pages. 

1857. — The twenty-eighih meeting of the Tennessee 
Medical Society convened in the Mechanics' Institute, 
Nashville, 7th April, 1857, and continued in .session three 
days. Dr. Haskins was in the chair ; about forty mem- 
bers were in attendance, and Dr. Ford was elected presi- 
dent. Dr. Haskins, the retiring president, read an excel- 
lent paper on " Therapeutic Cultivation — its Errors and 
Reformation." Dr. Watson presented his report on " Ob- 
stetric Surgery of Tennessee." Dr. Manlove reported a 
case of intussusception of a portion of the colon, and pre- 
sented the specimen. Dr. C. K. Winston, a case of mixed 
measles and hemorrhage. Dr. Eve presented the statistics 
of forty-six cases of urinary calculi. Dr. Avent, a case of 
successful removal of one-half of the inferior maxilla with 
one of its articular surfaces. Dr. W. P. Moore read a 
paper on " The Influence of the Mother's Mind on the 
Fostus in Utero." Dr. Buchanan, that of the " Removal 
of a large Tumor from the Thigh, Resulting in Death, in 
Connection with the use of Chloroform." The socie^^y, 
computing its actual membership at two hundred and fifty 
of the three hundred and twenty-one names on the roll, 
nominated twenty-five delegates to the American Medical 
Association, to assemble next 3-ear in this city. 

1858. — The president. Dr. Ford, being ill, and the vice- 
president. Dr. Avent, absent. Dr. Richardson called the 
meeting to order, April, 1858, in the city of Nashville. 
Nineteen members were present, and Dr. Manlove was made 
president. Dr. Winston read an interesting paper on " The 
Treatment of Traumatic Tetanus." Dr. Mooi'e, an article 
on " Obstetric Medicine." Dr. AVoodson, one on " The 
Cerebro-Spinal Centres Characterized by Constant Hiccup 
followed by Death." Dr. Eve, " The Treatment of a Case 
of Traumatic Tetanus;" also one in which three teeth were 
swallowed on a gold plate ; also a case of lipoma on a finger 
and one of anterior dislocation of the head of humerus, yet 
the patient could place his elbow on the sternum and the hand 
of the dislocated side on the same shoulder. Dr. Buchanan 
thought that the coracoid process was fractured in this latter 
case. Dr. Maddin read a paper on the action of chloroform, 
and examined the question. How does it cause-death ? Dr. 
Buchanan reported an interesting case of caries of the os 
calcis, produced by the puncture of a nail, in which, having 
scooped out the diseased structure, new bone was deposited, 
and the functions of the foot preserved. Dr. W. P. Jones, 
the orator for the occasion, delivered an addre.ss on the 
virtues and vices of the profession. 

185!). — The thirtieth anniversary of the society was 
celebrated in Dr. Wright's office, April 5, 1859, in Nash- 
ville. As both president and vice-president were absent. 
Dr. Buchanan was called to the chair. Dr. C. K. Winston 
was elected president. Dr. Wright stated verbally the par- 
ticulars of a case in which two foetuses were expelled, each 
having its own membrane and placenta, after ten or fifteen 
days from discharge of waters. Dr. Buchanan exhibited a 
remarkable specimen of exostosis, anchylosis, etc. Dr. 
Manlove reported a ease of monstrosity. Dr. C. K. Win- 



276 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



stOQ read a paper on the use of Vcratrum viride in inflam- 
matory diseases. Dr. Buchanan was appointed to write the 
history of the Tennessee Medical Society, and submit it to 
tlie next annual meeting. 

1860. — The thirty-first annual meeting of the Tennessee 
Medical Society was held in Firemen's Hall, Nashville, 
April, 1860, the president, Dr. C. K. Winston, in the chair. 
Only eleven members were present, and three united during 
the day. Reports were called for, but no one answered. A 
committee, appointed for the third time, on the subject of 
registration, reported that after wailing two months on the 
Legislature, Dr. Peters had the bill acted upon in the Sen- 
ate, but in the House, notwithstanding all the special efforts 
there made, not a member, •' it is believed, ever read the 
bill, or gave it a moment's consideration ; not a voice was 
raised in its advocacy, except to vote in the affirmative, nor 
a voice against it, except to vote negatively." Dr. Newman 
reported a case of typho-enteritis, which was published. 
Dr. Shelby's death was announced to the meeting, and reso- 
lutions were passed deploring his loss to the profession and 
society. 

1861.— Murfreesboro', April 2,1861. The State Medi- 
cal Society met here in the Masonic Hall ; present eleven 
members, but neither president nor vice-president. Dr. 
Ransom was called to the chair ; six new members were 
then admitted, and others at a later period. Dr. Avent 
was made president, and Dr. Nichol vice-president. Dr. 
AV. T. Richardson reported a case of phlegmasia dolens, 
which was followed by an interesting and protracted discus- 
sion. After the usual arrangements for the next meeting, 
to be held in Clarksville, the society adjourned ; but at the 
time appointed that place was inaccessible to its members 
because of the strife between the States. 

1866. — The first meeting of the Tennessee Medical So- 
ciety held after the war convened the 20th of April, 1866, 
in the Episcopal reading-room of the city of Nashville. 
There had been, of course, no sessions in 1862, '63, '64, 
■and '65, and this was, therefore, its thirty-third regular 
meeting. In the absence of Dr. Avent, the late elected 
president, the vice-president. Dr. Nichol, took the chair. 
Seven members alone answered the roll-call, and four others 
"were admitted. But little business was transacted, and after 
the appointment of several committees preparatory to the 
nest one, the meeting adjourned. Dr. Robert Martin had 
been elected president, and Dr. Nichol re-elected vice-presi- 
dent. 

1867. — The thirty-fourth anniversary was held in the 
rooms of the Board of Health, Nashville, April 10, 1867, 
the president. Dr. Martin, in the chair. The secretary. 
Dr. Hatcher, having died. Dr. Plunkett was requested to 
act pro (em. Twenty-four old members registered, and 
twenty-two were added during the meeting. The presi- 
dent delivered the annual address on the advantages of 
social and professional relations, replete with practical and 
fraternal advice. Dr. Lipscomb, of Shelbyville, was elected 
president. Dr. Menees vice-president. Dr. Du Pre cor- 
responding secretary, and Dr. Plunkett recording secre- 
tary and treasurer. Dr. Bowlin stated that he had 
represented the society at the meetings of the American 
Medical Association held during the recent unfortunate 



1: 



political strife, under the impression that he was qualified 
to do so by appointment of its president. Dr. Atchieson 
reported that he had a case under treatment in which the 
patient had passed one hundred and twenty-five gall-stonos, 
and a large amount of what resembled sand. Dr. Thomp. 
son related the instance of a girl having a finger completely 
separated, which on being replaced adhered perfectly. D; 
Eve reported the details of seven successful operations for 
stone in the bladder performed in three consecutive days. 

1868. — April 7,1868, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the 
State Medical Society convened in the hall of the Cit 
Medical Society in Nashville this day. Dr. Lipscomb, it 
president, in the chair, when twenty-six members answerec 
the roll-call. Dr. Buist, as chairman of a committee one 
again, and for th(5 fourth time, appointed to get the Legii 
lature to have registered marriages, births, and deathi 
reported that that body had refused to pass the law' 
Reading essays being in order, Dr. Jos. Jones reported a 
paper on the " Use of the Thermometer in Diseases." Dr. 
T. L. Maddin reported two remarkable cases of traumati 
aneurism. Dr. Eve, by request of tlie president, aft( 
others had declined, road a paper on "Injuries of thei 
Spine," detailing three cases met with during the war. Dr. 
Lipscomb, the retiring president, delivered the annual ad' 
dress, which was referred to a committee. Dr. Bowlia 
submitted to the inspection of members memoirs of Dr, 
Benjamin Rush, liis autograph tickets and diplomas of 
1799. Dr. John D. Winston was made president, and 
Dr. Grant, of Pulaski, vice-president. No reports were 
received from the regularly appointed essayists on the in- 
vasion of Tennessee by cholera in 1866, diphtheria, typho- 
malarial fever, treatment of haemorrhoids, dysmenorrhoea 
and sterility, trichiniasis, results and advantages of exsection 
of bones, history of epidemics in Nashville, epidemics of 
East Tennessee, native medical plants of East Tennessee, 
and rheumatism. 

1869.— Senate Chamber, Capitol, April 6, 1869. The 
thirty-sixth meeting of the State Medical Society convened 
this day, the vice-president. Dr. Grant, in the chair. Dr. 
J. D. Winston, the president, stated that from feeble health 
during the past winter he had been unable to prepare an. 
address, but promised to write one out on the harmony and 
more intimate intercourse of the fraternity. The committee 
on Dr. Lipscomb's address of last year reported the four 
points it contained — viz., that on the subject, " A Glance at 
Some of Our Duties," were first to discourage intermarriage 
with blood relations ; 2d, the riddance of quackery by law, 
making it criminal to practice medicine without proper 
qualification ; 3d, the dissemination through our literary 
schools of a knowledge of anatomy and physiology; and, 
lastly, the establishment of an examining board, independ- 
ent of teachers, to grant license to practice, — each and all 
of them worthy of profound consideration. Dr. Grant was 
elected president, and Drs. S. P. Crawford, W. L. Nichol, 
and Frank Ramsey vice-presidents, one for each division 
of the State. Dr. Searcy read a paper on the question, 
" Can Scarlet Fever be Prevented ?" proposing to do this 
by a strong solution of nitrate of silver to the fauces, mild 
laiatives, and proper diet. The thanks of the society were 
voted to the author. Dr. T. L. Maddin read an able 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



277 



paper on diplitlicria, its history, pathology, and treatment. 
Dr. Eve read an exhaustive article on gun-shot wounds of 
the cranium, in which the vulnific agent lodged in the 
brain. Dr. Lipscomb moved that the thanks of the society 
be returned to Dr. Eve for both this and his paper read 
last year on gun-shot wounds of the spinal cord. Dr. R. 
Thompson presented a communication on the use of medi- 
cated elm-bark, both as pessaries and bougies. Resolutions 
were passed deploring the loss by death of Dr. E. B. Has- 
kins, of Clarksville, as a member of distinguished worth, 
and offering our deepest sympathy to his ftimily. 

1870. — Federal court-room, Capitol, Nashville, April 5, 
1870. The Tennessee Medical Society here assembled, and 
in the absence of the president, Dr. Grant, Dr. Nichol, the 
■ vice-president, took the chair. Twenty-eight members an- 
swered to their names and several others united. Dr. Man- 
love was elected president and Dr. Fowler, of Columbia, 
; vice-president. Dr. Abernethy, of Pulaski, read an inter- 
esting paper-detailing the particulars of two cases of vica- 
I rious lactation by the bowels and uterus. On this subject 
• Drs. Winston, T. L. Maddin, and Briggs had an animated 
j discussion. A paper from Dr. Eve, then in St. Louis, on 
i the life of Dupuytren, was read by the president. Dr. R. 
S. Anderson read an interesting communication on the dif- 
ferential diagnosis between paralysis and progressive loco- 
: motor ataxy. Dr. R. Thompson, one on the powers of 
recuperation. Dr. T. L. Maddin presented a specimen of 
a tape-worm, with its history and successful treatment. 

1871.— Episcopal Chapel, Pulaski, April 4, 1871. The 
thirty-eighth annual meeting of the State Medical Society 
convened this day. Vice-President Fowler took the chair, 
as the president. Dr. Manlove, had been removed by death. 
' Eleven members answered the first call of the roll, although 
more than double that number were subsequently present 
at the sessions. Dr. Eve was elected president and Dr. 
William Batte, of Pulaski, vice-president. Dr. Davenport 
read a paper on cerebro-spinal meningitis, and Drs. Fowler 
i and Wilks commented on it. Dr. J. B. Lindsley was ap- 
I pointed to write the history of the society, since Dr. Man- 
love, previously appointed, had died. Dr. Abernethy read 
an interesting paper advocating the use of the lancet, as 
did also Dr. R. G. P. White. Dr. Eve presented a case 
of amputation at the hip-joint, complicated by complete 
anchylosis. Drs. Abernethy and Roberts introduced several 
patients presenting great interest in a surgical point. A 
resolution was passed recommending that in future the 
profession would patronize those druggists and apothecaries 
who confine themselves strictly to their own legitimate bus- 
iness, and who refrain from prescribing for patients; and 
yet how many ignorant of anatomy, physiology, and pathol- 
ogy daily recommend as well as sell physic to the sick ! But 
. the time is coming, the alarm is already sounded in the 
East, that all prescribers, whether legitimate or not, can, 
by the common law, be held responsible for the promises 
made in their advertisements. 

And now, gentlemen, what think you of tiiis hasty and 
imperfect glance at the transactions of the Tennessee Jledi- 
cal Society ? What of its numerous and valuable contri- 
butions to medical science ; of the elucidations in medicine 
made by its five hundred members ; and what of its many 



martyrs who have fallen gallantly battling with disease and 
death, standing in many instances almost alone between 
the living and dying? Did I then over-estimate the com- 
pliment when unexpectedly called by the unanimous vote 
on the first ballot at Pulaski to this high office, by declar- 
ing it to be one of the greatest compliments ever paid me ? 
All that I could ever expect has been generously bestowed, 
and it would be the basest ingratitude not to acknowledge 
on all suitable occasions my indebtedness to my professional 
brethren. To the profession I owe everything, and am with 
you to serve its interest to the end of life. 

Here ends the outline history of the Tennessee Medical 
Society by Dr. Paul F. Eve, bringing it down to 1872. 
We compile from the medical journals a continuation of 
the sketch to the present time (1880). 

1872. — This year the society held its thirty-ninth an- 
nual meeting in the Senate-chamber of the Capitol, at Nash- 
ville, beginning on the second day of April, at eleven o'clock 
A.M. ; President Paul F. Eve, M.D., in the chair, who de- 
livered the annual address, epitomizing the history of the 
society from its organization, in 1830, to 1871. Dr. S. S. 
Blayfield was elected president, as given above, for the 
ensuing year; vice-presidents. East Tennessee, Dr. P. D. 
Sims ; Middle Tennessee, Dr. B. F. Evans ; West Tennes- 
see, Dr. B. W. Avent. A committee of nine, three in 
each grand division of the State, was appointed for the pur- 
pose of forming and encouraging local societies. The at- 
tendance was large, and many valuable papers were read and 
discussed. 

1873. — The fortieth annual session of the Tennessee 
Medical Society was held in the Senate-chamber, at Nash- 
ville, April 1, 1873. The president. Dr. S. S. Mayfield, 
delivered the annual address, and officers were elected for 
the ensuing year, as follows : Dr. C. C. Abernethy, presi- 
dent ; vice-presidents, Drs. Woodson, of Gallatin; Wright, 
of Chattanooga; and Pearce, of Union City, for their 
respective divisions of the State. Dr. G. W. Currey, of 
Nashville, was elected corresponding secretary. Dr. J. D. 
Plunkett recording secretary and treasurer. 

1874. — The forty-first annual session of the Tennessee 
Medical Society was held at James' Hall, Chattanooga, 
April 7, 1874. The president, C. C. Abernethy, of Pu- 
laski, being absent, ex-President Thomas Lipscomb was 
called to the chair. The ofiicors elected for the ensuing 
year were: Dr. J. B. Murfree, Murfreesboro', President; Dr. 
S. Y. Green, Chattanooga, Vice-President for the Eastern 
Division of Tennessee ; Dr. P. T. Evans, Union City, Vice- 
President for the Western Division of the State ; and Dr. 
T. B. Buchanan, Nashville, Vice-President for the Middle 
Division of the State ; Dr. G. W. Currey, Nashville, Cor- 
responding Secretary. The president. Dr. J. B. Murfree, 
read the annual address of Dr. Abernethy on the second 
day of the session. The following delegates to the Ameri- 
can Medical Association were appointed : Drs. R. N. Burr, 
L. Y. Green, E. M. Wight, J. H. Van Deman, Chatta- 
nooga ; W. T. Briggs, T. B. Buchanan, Paul F. Eve, J. 
D. Plunket, Nashville ; R. F. Evans, S. M. Thomson, 
Shelbyville ; J. W. Duncan, Philadelphia; B. B. Lenoir, 
Lenoir ; J. J. Abernethy, Decherd ; D. A. Slack, Spring 
Hill. 



278 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



The committee on business offered the following resolu- 
tion : 

" Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to 
examine the constitutions and proceedings of the various 
State medical societies and report at the next annual meet- 
ing such amendments and by-laws as may tend to make this 
body, in fact as well as in name, the representative of a great 
State." 

Carried, and Drs. J. B. Liudsley, J. J. Abernethy, and 
P. D. Sims were appointed said committee. 

1875. — Senate -chamber, Capitol, Nashville, April 6, 
1875. The Tennessee Medical Society convened for its 
forty-second annual session. Dr. James B. Murfree, of Mur- 
freesboro', president of the society, in the chair. Twenty- 
three physicians answered to the roll-call. The committee 
appointed at the last meeting of the society to present amend- 
ments to the constitution and by-laws presented an elaborate 
report through their chairman. Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley, set- 
ting fortli the elficiency, utility, and value of a.ssociated effort, 
and recommending the present revised constitution of the 
society, which was unanimously adopted after a full and free 
discussion at the next annual meeting, hold in 1S76. Action 
was taken at tlie meeting in 1875 to have the full proceedings 
of the session published in pamphlet form, a practice which 
has been kept up each year since, thus putting into the hands 
of the profession an annual of gi-eat interest and value to its 
members. A history of the medical profession in Tennes- 
see has also been provided for by the society through its 
historian, Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley, who has collected much 
valuable material for the work, and will no doubt issue it 
under the auspices of the society at no very distant day. 
Dr. Lindsley at this meeting reported progress, and " was 
gi'anted further time for the completion of ' The Medical 
Annals of Tennessee.' " The following were the officers 
elected for 1876 : President, Dr. J. II. Van Deman, of 
Chattanooga ; Vice-Presidents, Dr. P. D. Sims, East Ten- 
nessee; Dr. J. J. Abernethy, Middle Tennessee; Dr. P. F. 
Ewans, West Tennessee ; Corresponding Secretary, Dr. F. 
M. Wight, Chattanooga. The committee appointed at the 
last meeting to memorialize the Legislature in reference to 
the creation of a State board of health reported through 
their chairman, Dr. E. M. Wight, that they had drawn up 
a bill. covering the wishes of the society, which had been 
presented to the Legislature, but had failed to become a 
law. The committee was continued. The following dele- 
gates to the American Jledical Association were appointed 
this year: Drs. J. C. Roberts, J. Saudek, J. D. Plunket, 
Thomas Lipscomb, William L. Nichol, Thomas Mences, E. 
M. Wight, 11. F. Evans, S. S. Mayfield, Duncan Eve, T. 
A. Atchison, W. P. Jones, T. L. Maddiii, D. J. Roberts, 
F. M. Hughes, S. H. Bundy, J. M. Jameson. 

1876. — The annual meeting this year, for the purpose of 
reorganizing the society, was held in the Senate-chamber, 
at the Capitol, on the 4th of April, the president. Dr. J. 
H. Van Deman, in the chair. About sixty physicians re- 
sponded to the roll-call. Rev. J. H. Baird opened the 
meeting with prayer. The following officers were elected 
for the ensuing year : President, J. J. Abernethy ; Vice- 
Presidents, Drs. F. Bogart, East Tennessee ; J. H. Dickens, 
Bliddle Tennessee ; S. T. Evans, West Tennessee ; Dr. R. 



D. Winsett, Corresponding Secretary ; Dr. Duncan Eve, 
Permanent Secretary ; J. W. McAlister, Recording Secre- 
tary ; Dr. J. D. Plunket, Treasurer. Delegates to the 
American Medical Association, Drs. J. M. Towler, G. W. 
Moody, E. M. Wight, J. D. Wallis, F. M. Hughes, E. L. 
Drake, N. G. Tucker, J. F. Grant, J. D. Plunket, Van S. 
Lindsley. Delegates to the International Medical Congress, 
Drs. Paul F. Eve, Van S. Lindsley, D. C. Gordon, W. P. 
Jones, J. H. Van Deman, W. C. Cook, Thomas Menees, 
F. Bogart, J. B. Buist, S. S. Mayfield, H. J. Warmouth; 
A. Blitz. 

1877. — On the 3d of April this year the forty-fourtj 
annual session of the Medical Society of the State oi 
Tennessee began in the Senate-chamber, at the Capitoll 
Dr. J. J. Abernethy presiding. The session was opene( 
by prayer by Rev. T. A. Iloyt, D. D. About sixty dele- 
gates were present. Dr. W. A. Atchison delivered an ad, 
dress of welcome. The annual address by the presideni 
was an able production, and was referred to the committei 
on publications. Dr. B. W. Avent, of Blemphis, wai 
unanimously elected president for the ensuing year. Vice- 
Presidents, Drs. J. W. Copeland, East Tennessee ; R. Fi 
Evans, Middle Tennessee; Heber Jones, West Tennessee;'^ 
Permanent Secretary, Duncan Eve ; Recording Secretary, 

A. Morrison; Corresponding Secretary,, R. D. Winsett; 
Treasurer, J. D. Plunket. Delegates to the American 
Medical Association, Drs. Paul P. Eve, W. T. Briggs, W. 
K. Bowling, C. C. Abernethy, W. P. Jones, R. F. Evans, 
R. B. Maney, E. BI. Wight, W. L. Nichol, S. S. Mayfield, 
D. D. Saunders, D. J. Roberts, J. A. Draughon, P. D. 
Sims, J. G. Sinclair, J. D. Plunket, Duncan Eve, J. B. 
W. Nowlin, F. B. Sloan, W. F. Glenn. 

1878. — The forty-fifth annual meeting of the society 
was held at Cochran Hall, in the city of Blemphis, and be- 
gan at eleven o'clock a.m., on the 2d of April, 1878. The 
session was opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Parsons. A 
large number of physicians were in attendance, and were 
appropriately welcomed in an eloquent speech by Dr. D. D. 
Saunders, of Memphis. The officers elected for the ensu- 
ing year were the following: Dr. R. F. Evans, President; 
Dr. E. M. Wight, Vice-President for East Tennessee; Dr. 
H. J. Warmuth, Vice-President for Middle Tennessee; 
Dr. D. D. Saunders, Vice-President for West Tennessee ; 
Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley, Permanent Secretary ; Dr. Am- 
brose Morrison, Recording Secretary ; Dr. R. W. Mitchell, 
Corresponding Secretary ; Dr. J. D. Plunket, Treasurer. 
Delegates to the American Medical Association, Drs. W. R. 
Mitchell, B. W. Avent, D. D. Saunders, R. B. Maury, J. 
II. Van Deman, S. T. Evans, Thomas Lipscomb, Duncan 
Eve, W. K. Bowling, W. T. Briggs, W. F. Glenn, D. J. 
Roberts, Van S. Lindsley, W. P. Jones, J. B. Murfree, J. 

B. W. Nowlin, Thomas Mences. 

1879. — The forty-sixth annual meeting of the society 
was held at the Capitol. The number in attendance was 
the largest during the history of the society, and the pro- 
ceedings were unusually interesting and important, espe- 
cially as regards the subject of sanitary medicine. The 
session convened April 1, 1879, and continued three days. 
Dr. E. M. Wight, of Chattanooga, was elected president. 
The vice-presidents were as follows : East Tennessee, Dr. 






"l^C.* 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



279 



B. B. Lenoir; iMiddle Tenncssco, Dr. N. G. Tucker; West 
Tennessee, Dr. G. B. Thornton ; Permanent Secretary, Dr. 
J. Berrien Lindsley ; Recording Secretary, Dr. Ambrose 
Jlorrison ; Corresponding Secretary, Dr. 11. W. Mitchell ; 
Treasurer, Dr. J. D. Plunket ; Delegates to the American 
Medical Association, Drs. R. F. Evans, P. D. Sims, S. F. 
Evans, W. K. Bowlin, W. P. Jones, G. A. Baxter, Blar- 
shall Reed, D. J. Roberts, G. W. Moody, H. J. Warmuth, 
Duncan Eve, W. T. Briggs, A. Blitz, Thomas Menees, 
W. F. Glenn, W. T. Hope^T. A. Atchison, B. B. Lenoir, 
Thomas Lipscomb, J. B. Murfree. 

The National Board of Health, being at this time organ- 
ized, sent the following dispatch, which was read by Dr. J. 
D. Plunket, and in answer thereto Dr. W. P. Jones moved 
that the president of the State Board of Health join the 
president of this society in a dispatch of congratulation to 
these ofiScers, which was carried : 

" ■ffASiiruOTON, D. C, April 2, 1S79. 

" To THE President of the State Medical'Society : 
" I have the honor to inform you that the National Board 
of Health is now permanently organized. 

"J. L. Cabell, President. 
" T. J. Turner, Secreimy." 

In accordance with the above resolution, the following 
dispatch was sent : 

"Nashville, April 2, 1879. 
"J. L. Cabell, M.D., President of the National Board 
of Health, Washington, D. C. . . .. 

" We, jointly, by resolution of the Tennessee Medical 
Society, send warmest congratulations to National Board of 
Health upon its organization, and recognize the Hict that a 
brilliant era has but just dawned upon America in regard 
to sanitary reform. 

" E. BI. Wight, M.D., 
" President of Tennessee Medical Society. 
, " J. D. Plunket, M.D., 

" President State Board of Health." 

MEMBERS RESIDENT IN DAVIDSON COUNTY. 

The following is a list, so far as furnished by the pub- 
lished proceedings of the society, of the members resident 
in Davidson County, with the names of the respective uni- 
versities from which they received their diplomas: 

Abbay, J. S., Nasliville, University of Nashville. 

Anderson, R. S., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Atchison, Thomas A., Nashville, Transylvania University. 

Atchison, W. A., Nashville, University of Louisville. 

Atchison, C. C, Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Bailey, P. R., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Baxter, M., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Benson, G. G., Edgefield. 

Beauchamp, J. A., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Blackie, George S., Nashville, University of Edinhoro'. 

Blaekman, William C, Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 

Blitz, A., Nashville, Cincinnati Medical College. 

Bonner, M. II., Jr., Nashville, Vanderbik University. 

Bowling, "W. K., Nashville. 

Briggs, W. T., Nashville, Transylvania University. 

Briggs, C. S., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Bright, W. C, Edgefield, University of Nashville. 

Brodie, C. A., Nasliville. 

Buchanan, T. B., Nashville, Univcrsily of Nashville. 

Buist, J. R., Nashville, University of New York. 



Bundy, S. IT., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Callender, J. H., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania, 
Campbell, M., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Cantrell, G. M. D., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Cheatham, W. A., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Cheatham, Richard, Nashville, Bellevuo Hospital Medical Col- 
lege. 
Clark, H. A., Edgefield, Rush Medical College. 
Cobb, S. J., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Compton, H. jM., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Conwell, Ira, Nashville, Cincinnati Medical College. 
Cook, W. C, Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Carrey, G. W., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Draughton, J. A., Nashville, Bellevuo Hospital Medical College. 
Douglass, J. C, Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Dow, T. Chalmers, Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Du Pre, D., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
East, A. A., Nashville, Nashville Medical College. 
Eve, Paul F., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Eve, Duncan, Nashville, Bellevue Hospital Medical College. 
Foster, R. C, Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Fort, John T., Nashville, University of Missouri. 
Glenn, W. F., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Grizzard, R. W., Edgefield Junction, University of Nashville. 
Hall, B. W., Nashville. 

Haggard, W. D., Nashville, Jefferson Medical College. 
Ilorton, W. D., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Henry, G. P., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Han-ington, J. J., Nashville. 

Hawkins, M. S., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Harwell, J. R, Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Hiirris, J. E., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Hollowell, B. F., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Hubard, G. Vf., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Hughes, F. M., Nashville, University of New Y'ork. 
Jamison, S. SI., Edgefield, University of New Y'ork. 
Jamison, J. M.,' Edgefield, University of Nashville. 
J-ennings^'T. R.-, Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Jordon, J. U:; Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Jones, W. P., Nashville. 

Kercheval, J. M., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Key, B. P., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Kimbrough, T. R., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Lewis, C. L., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Lindsley, J. Berrien, Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Lindsley, Van S., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Lyle, A. J., Edgefield. 

Martin, Robert, Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Manluve, B. F., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Manlove, J. E., Nashville, Transylv.ania University. 
Maddin, Thomas L., Nashville, University of Louisville. 
Maddin, J. W., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
MeAlister, J. "W., Nashville, Vanderbilt University. 
McConnell, J. B., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
McFarland, J. P., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
McLean, J. L., Nashville, University of Louisville. 
Menees, Thomas, Nashville, Transylvania University. 
Menees, T. W., Nashville, Vanderbilt University. 
Menees, 0. H., Nashville, Vanderbilt University. 
Mitchell, Charles, Nashville, University of Louisville. 
Morgan, AV. H., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Morrison, A., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Morton, J. W., Sr., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Newman, John C, Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Nichol, "W. L., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Nowlin, J. B. W., Nashville, Jefferson Medical College. 
Plunket, J. D., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 
Plunket, J. M., Nashville, Shelby Medical College. 
Pool, E. F. P', Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Powell, Thomas L., Nashville, University of Nnshville. 
Reed, Marshall, Nashville, University of Nashville. 
Ristine, C. E., Edgefield, University of Pennsylvania. 
Roberts, G. W., Nashville. 

Safford, J. M., Nashville, University of Nashville. 
SchniCf, G., Nashville, University of Wuersburg, Germany. 



280 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Simmonds, J. H., Nashville. 

Sinclair, J. G., Nashville, University of New York. 

Sneed, J. W., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Saudelv, J., Nashville, Univer:?ity of Louisville. 

Steger, R. W., Nashville, Vanderbilt University. 

Stephens, James B., N.ashville, University of Nashville. 

Stephens, J. B., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Stubblefleld, D. R., Nashville, Vanderbilt University. 

Summers, T. 0., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Thompson, Rezine, Edgefield. 

Tucker, N. G., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Vertrccs, W. M., Edgefield, University of Louisville. 

Weakley, B. F., Edgefield. 

Wharton, AVilliam 11., Nashville, University of Pennsylvania. 

Winston, C. K., Nashville, Tr.insylvania University. 

Winston, J. D., Nashville, Transylvania University. 

Winston, W. C, Nashville, University of Nashville. 

Wbittemore, W. II., Nashville, Nashville Medical College. 

Whitworth, W. E., Nashville, University of Nashville. 

W^kies, J. H., Nashville. 

Winsett, R. D., Nashville, Vanderbilt University. 

We give below a list of physicians of Davidson County 
■who have served as officers, members of committees, or been 
chosen delegates to important medical bodies by the Ten- 
nessee Medical Society since 1875. 

OFFICERS. 

1875. — Recording Secretary and Treasurer, J. D. Plun- 
ket, M.D., Nashville. Dr. Plunket has been elected each 
year since treasurer of the society, and is the present in- 
cumbent of that olEce. 

1876. — Corresponding Secretary, R. D. Winsett, M.D. ; 
Permanent Secretary, Duncan Eve, M.D. ; Recording Sec- 
retary, J. W. McAlister, BI.D., Nashville. 

1877. — Corresponding Secretary, R. D. Win.sett, M.D. ; 
Permanent Secretary, Duncan Eve, M.D., Nashville. 

1878. — Permanent Secretary, J. Berrien Lindsley, M.D. ; 
Recording Secretary, Ambrose Morrison, M.D., Nashville. 

1879.— Vice-President for Middle Tennessee, N. G. 
Tucker, M.D. ; Permanent Secretary, J. Berrien Lindsley, 
M.D. ; Recording Secretary, Ambrose Morrison, M.D., 
Nashville. 

^BELEGATES TO ASSOCIATIONS. / 

American Medical Association. — 1876, J. D. PTunket, 
M.D., Van S. Lindsley, M.D., F. M. Hughes, M.D., N. G. 
Tucker, M.D.; 1877, Paul P. Eve, 5I.D., W. F. Briggs, 
M.D., W. K. Bowling, M.D., W. P. Jones, M.D., wTl. 
Nichol, M.D., J. A. Draughon, M.D., J. G. Sinclair, M.D., 
J. D. Plunket, M.D., Duncan Eve, BI.D., J. B. W. Now- 
lin, M.D., W. F. Glenn, M.D. ; 1878, Duncan Eve, M.D., 
W. K. Bowling, M.D., W. T. Briggs, M.D., W. F. Glenn, 
M D., Van S. Lindsley, M.D., W. P. Jones, M.D., J. B. 
W. Nowiin, M.D., Thomas Menees, M.D. ; 1879, W. K. 
Bowling, M.D., W. P. Jones, M.D., G. A. Baxter, M.D., 
Marshall Reed, M.D., Duncan Eve, M.D., W. T. Briggs, 
M.D., A. Blitz, M.D., Thomas Menees, M.D., W. F. Glenn, 

. M.D., T. A. Atchison, M.D. 

"■' International Medical Congress. — 1876, Paul F. Eve 
M.D., J. R. Buist, M.D., Van S. Lindsley, M.D., A. Blitz, 
M.D., W. P. Jones, M.D., W. C. Cook, M.D. 

Medical Society of Virginia. — 1876, Duncan Eve, M.D., 
R. D. Win.sett, M.D. ; 1877, J. B. W. Nowiin, M.D. 

Medical Society of Kentucky.— \Q1Q, Van S. Lindsley, 
M.D., C. E. Ristine, M.D., T. A. Atchison, BI.D., M. Bax- 
ter, M.D. 



COMMITTEES. 

On Publications. — Drs. J. D. Plunket, Thomas Menees, 
J. Berrien Lindsley, 1875 ; T. L. Maddin, W. C. Black- 
man, Duncan Eve, W. C. Cook, R. D. Winsett, 1876; 
J. D. Plunket, J. R. Buist, C. S. Briggs, J. W. Maddin, 
Duncan Eve, 1877 ; J. Berrien Lindsley, J. D. Plunket, 
Ambrose Morrison, J. W. Maddin, 1878 ; W. L. Nichol, 
J. R. Buist, Ambrose Morrison, Richard Cheatham, 1879. 

On Arrangements. — Drs. Duncan Eves, Van S. Lindsley, 
G. W. Currey, 1875 ; J. R. Buist, W. A. Atchison, C. S. 
Briggs, 1876; W. L. Niehol, J. R. Buist, W. A. Atchi- 
son, W. P. Jones, 1878. 

On Business.— T. L. Maddin, 1875 ; W. P. Jones, 1876; 
W. L. Nichol, W. P. Jones, 1877 ; T. 0. Summers, 1878; 
Duncan Eve, 1879. 

On Essayists.— W. P. Jones, 1875 ; W. L. Nichol, A. 
A. East, 187G; W. P. Jones, W. L. Nichol, 1877; J. B. 
W. Nowiin, 1878 ; Van S. Lindsley, W. C. Cook, 1879. 

On Necrology. — W. K. Bowling, J. Berrien Lindsley, 
1875; J. Berrien Lind.sley, W. K. Bowling, 1876; Paul 
Eve, W. K. Bowling, J. Berrien Lindsley, 1877 ; T. A. 
Atchison, W. K. Bowling, J. Berrien Lindsley, 1878. 

BRIEF MEMOIRS. 

Paul Fitzsimmons Eve, A.B. and A.M. (Franklin 
College — now University of Georgia) ; M.D., University 
of Pennsylvania ; Bearer of the Golden Cross of Honor 
of Poland ; I'rcsident of the American Medical Associa- 
tion, 1857-58 ; President of the Tennessee State Medical 
Society, 1871-72; Centennial Representative of Surgery 
to the Medical Congress of Nations at Philadelphia, 1876; 
Professor of Surgery in the Medical College of Georgia 
from 1832 to 1849 ; Professor of Surgery of the Univer- 
sity of Louisville in 1850, and in the Medical Department 
of the University of Nashville from 1851 to 1868; Pro- 
fessor of Surgery in the Missouri Medical College at St. 
Louis in 1868-69 ; Profes.sor of Operative anS Clinical 
Surgery in the Medical Departments of the Nashville and 
Vanderbilt Universities from 1870 to 1876. and Professor 
of Surgery in the Nashville Medical College, now the 
Medical Department of the University of Tennessee, in 
1877. Died in Nashville, the home of his adoption, in 
the morning of the 3d of November, 1877. 

Besides the duties of a most exacting profession, and 
constant and laborious services as lecturer and teacher, he 
was editorially connected with professional journalism for 
many years, and was the author of very numerous mono- 
graphs upon surgery. He was an associate editor of the 
Nasliville Medical and Surgical Journal, associate editor 
of the Southern Medical and Surgical Journal at Augusta, 
the author of " Remarkable Cases in Surgery," and the 
contributor of more than six hundred articles to medical 
periodicals, being original papers, reports of cases, and bio- 
graphical sketches of eminent medical men of the South- 
west. 

Paul F. Eve was born on the Savannah River, near the 
city of Augusta, Ga., June 27, 1806. He was the youngest 
of ten children of Capt. Oswell and Aphra Ann Eve. His 
parentage on the father's side was English, and on the 
mother's Irish. Drs. Rush, James, and Shippen, of Phila- 




p:: 



\ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



281 



delpliia, were schoolmates of his father, who was a captain 
of the Pennsylvania forces before the American Revolution, 
as recorded in the archives of that State. 

Prof. Eve completed his literary studies of four years in 
the Franklin College of Georgia. During this collegiate 
term he never missed a single recitation, and graduated 
third on the list of his class. He went thence immediately 
to Philadelphia, and commenced the study of medicine 
under the celebrated Charles D. Meigs. He attended two 
courses of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania, and 
received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in the spring of 
1828. His diploma bears the memorable names of Drs. 
Hare, Cos, Jackson, James, Dewees, Chapman, Gibson, 
Horner, and Physick. His thesis was on " Uterine Haemor- 
rhage," a subject on which liis renowned preceptor was 
amply proficient to impart ideas that are standard at the 
present day. 

Immediately after the death of his father, progress in 
his profession being the sole incentive, he sailed for Europe, 
and landed at Liverpool late in the year 1829. After a 
brief sojourn in London, where he had letters to Sir Astley 
Cooper, Abernethy, and others, and became acquainted at 
that time and at subsequent visits with such men as Coul- 
son, Billings, Sir James Paget, Sir James Thompson, Sir 
William Thompson, and others, he crossed over to Paris, 
and followed the courses of instruction given by Dupuytren, 
Laney, Rous, Lispane, Cruvielliier, Trousseau, Rostan, 
Recamier, Andrae, Ricord, Louis, Civiale, and others, either 
during this sojourn or afterwards. 

In May, 1831, when nearly all Europe was ablaze in 
political turmoil and excitement, after having witnessed the 
dethronement of Charles X. in Paris, and having partici- 
pated professionally in the revolution of the three days 
(July 27, 28, and 29, 1830), with a heart ever beating to 
the warm and noble impulses of gratitude, remembering 
well how the gallant Pulaski had fallen at the siege of 
Savannah during our Revolutionary struggle of '76, with 
an earnest desire to repay that debt to the best of his ability, 
lie started for Poland to oifer his services in resisting the 
oppression of Russia. After a short detention in Berlin, 
with the assistance of letters from La Fayette and the 
Polish Committee at Paris, but especially through the in- 
tervention of Dr. Graife (^himself a Pole), and his own 
indomitable energy and untiring will, he at length reached 
Warsaw, and was assigned to hospital service in that city. 

For unremitting devotion to duty, and ample evidences 
of his ability, he was soon promoted to surgeon of the 
Fifteenth Regiment of Infantry, and surgeon of ambulances 
attached to Gen. Turno's division. " The Golden Cross of 
Honor" wa.3 conferred on him by recommendation of Count 
Placa, chief of the medical bureau. During the storming and 
capture of Warsaw, on the 7th and 8th of September, 1831, 
he was, fortunately, out of the city on duty. After an 
imprisonment at Werichaw of thirty days, he finally reached 
Paris late that year, and immediately sailed from Havre for 
New York, where he arrived after a tedious voyage, having 
been absent from his native land more than two years, filling 
his capacious and retentive mind with much actual experi- 
ence and many valuable ideas emanating from the renowned 
men with whom he was in frequent contact. 
3li 



In June, 1832, he was elected professor of surgery in 
the Medical College of Georgia, then just organized in- 
Augusta, in which institution he was engaged in teaching 
during the seventeen consecutive courses of lectures that 
followed, adding greatly to its reputation and prestige. 

In 1850 he was called to succeed Prof. Samuel D. Gross 
in the University of Louisville, Ky. As to how he filled 
the chair vacated by this world-known and eminent com- 
peer is amply evidenced by the fact of his receiving the 
unanimous vote of trustees, faculty, and students, soliciting 
him to remain, when, at the expiration of a year, his wife's 
health failing, and thinking that the locality of Louisville 
did not agree with her, he determined to come to the capi- 
tal city of our own State. 

In 1851 the Medical Department of the University of 
Nashville being in process of organization, he was solicited 
and accepted the chair of surgery, which he occupied until 
1SG8, when, the death of Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell oc- 
curring, he accepted the chair of surgery in the Missouri 
Medical College, at St. Louis, thinking that the great city 
of the West would give him a larger field for future use- 
fulness and success. The extreme rigor of that more 
northern latitude being too severe, in his estimation, for his 
fiimily and his own advancing years, he remained only two 
sessions, resigning his position and returning to Nashville, 
where he again accepted a chair in the Medical Department 
of the university of that city, — viz., that of operative and 
clinical surgery, — which he most ably and creditably filled 
until the beginning of 1877, when he united his last great 
and untiring energies in building up a new institution for 
teaching honorable medicine in the city for which he had 
done so much, the Nashville Medical College, now the 
Medical Department of the University of Tennessee. The 
unprecedented success of this new educational enterprise 
and its flourishing condition at the time of his death — 
having over one hundred matriculants and fifty-seven grad- 
uates in its last session — was but another mark of popular 
confidence in this eminent instructor, additional evidence of 
his tireless energy and indomitable courage, and an elo- 
quent commentary upon his conscientious services in the 
cause of medical education. 

Prof Eve, up to the time of his death, had resigned or 
declined calls not only in the Medical College of Georgia, 
University of Louisville, and the Missouri Medical Col- 
lege, but also to the Philadelphia Medical College, when 
its founder. Dr. McClintook, died; to New Orleans; to 
Memphis; Columbus, Ohio; Medical Department of the 
University of Nashville on two occasions ; and also to 
the University of New York on the death of Dr. Gran- 
ville Sharp Pattison. Yet among all his varied appoint- 
ments lie most highly esteemed that of " Centennial Rep- 
resentative to the Medical Congress of Nations," held at 
Philadelphia in 1876, — "one without a precedent, and to 
which no living man can succeed." 

In the Mexican war, Dr. Eve's name headed the list of 
appointments of volunteer surgeons in the United States 
army made by the President. 

In 1859 he left for the seat of war in Europe, going di- 
rectly to the battle-fields of Solferino and Magenta, commu- 
nicating to the profession on this continent his valuable ob- 



282 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



servations through the pages of the Nasliv'dle Medical and 
Surgical Journal. 

In 1861 he was appointed surgeon-general of Tennes- 
see and surgeon of Johnson's hospitals ; also to serve on 
Army Medical Board for examination of surgeons and as- 
sistant surgeons in the provisional army. On the evacu- 
ation of Nashville, in 1862, where ho lost all he possessed, 
he sadly walked out of the city of his adoption with his 
instrument-case under his arm, sore-hearted and tried, yet 
ever willing to do all in his power to aid and assist those 
who were giving up all they held dear for what they deemed 
a patriotic duty. He was ordered to the " Gate City Hos- 
pital," at Atlanta, where he remained until the battle of 
Shiloh, when he was ordered up to the front, and subse- 
quently did most able service at Columbus, Miss., and again 
in Atlanta and other points in Georgia until the close of 
the struggle, his eminent and varied attainments amply sus- 
taining the daily and hourly demands made upon them. 

In regard to his success as a teacher may be further 
stated the facts that tlie school at Augusta, Ga., increased 
from twenty-eight to one hundred and ninet^'-five in 1849— 
50, a number never since attained ; so also in the Medical 
Department of the University of Nashville the class went 
lip from one hundred and thirty-six to four hundred and 
fifty- four, the largest ever attained on this continent out- 
side of New York and Philadelphia. 

In 1851 he was the reporter on surgery to the American 
Medical Association, and president of the association in 
1857-58, when its annual meeting was held in Nashville. 
In 1870 he reported to the association at its annual meet- 
ing the synopsis and analysis of one hundred cases of lith- 
otomy, chiefly by the bilateral method (his favorite plan 
of operating), and for their identification the name of the 
patient, residence. State, age, sex, race, where performed, 
number of calculi removed, their weight and composition, 
together with the future result, all being appended. This 
communication has been declared to be the chief in value 
of the volume of " Transactions" for that j'car. 

Prof. Hamilton, in his " Principles and Practice of Sur- 
gery," published in 1873, says, " In regard to the bilateral 
method in lithotomy, especially is it proper to mention that 
this operation has been performed scvenfy-eiffht times, in 
persons of all ages, by Dr. Paul F. Eve, of Nashville, Tenn., 
of whom only eiffht have died, — a success which has rarely 
if ever been attained by any other .operator, and which 
justly entitles him to the position he has so long occupied 
as one of the most skillful of American surgeons." 

BuciI.\NAN (A. H.), M.D., professor, was born in Win- 
chester Co., Va., 1808; died at Stone Mountain, Ga., June 
20, 1863. He was a kinsman to one of the editors of the 
well-known newspaper, the National IntcUigencer, published 
in Washington City, and is said to have attracted the at- 
tention of Henry Clay, who advised him to come West. 
He first taught school in a log cabin in East Tennessee ; 
then moved to Columbia, and there began the study of 
medicine. At the end of the first course of lectures in 
the University of Pennsylvania he asked of the faculty a 
rigid examination, pleading poverty and inability to attend 
a second one. It is said, such were his qualifications, that 
they finally agreed to grant what he asked for upon the 



condition that he would not reveal the fact until after the, 
death of all those who would sign it. Dr. Buchanan now 
came to Nashville, and at the organization of a medical 
school in connection with its university was selected one:, 
of its professors, and contributed much to its success. Hd 
was ordered South when Nashville was occupied by thel 
Federals, and died, as has been stated, in Georgia. He! 
was a self-made man, and, but for one unfortunate habifc,; 
might have left the memory of a highly useful life spentl 
in doing great good. 

CuRREr (Richard 0.), M.D., was born in Nashville| 
Tenn., Aug. 28, 1816. He graduated in the University 
of Nashville, and acquired from the celebrated naturalist! 
Dr. Troost, a taste for geology, mineralogy, and chemistry 
He took the degree of M.D. from the University of PennI 
sylvania. He was elected professor of chemistry in the! 
University of East Tennessee, at Knosville, 1846, and alsd 
assisted in organizing the Shelby Medical College, at Nash 
ville, in which he filled the chair of chemistry. For severa 
years he edited the Southern Journal of Medicine and 
Phi/sical Sciences. In 1859 he was ordained a minister! 
in the Presbyterian Church. He was a man wholly de- 
voted to duty, and while in charge of two thousand Fed- 
eral prisoners at Salisbury, N. C, contracted the dLsease i 
from which he died (1865). The United States govern- 
ment ordered Dr. Currey's property returned to his family * 
after the war. 

Dickinson (W. G.), BI.D., came from New England, 
where he had graduated in medicine. He removed to : 
Franklin about the year 1816, previous to which he had, 
spent a short time in Nashville. He was a man of noble ' 
impulses, and did more in surgery than any of his asso- 
ciates. He was brigade-surgeon in the Florida war ; retired 
from practice in 1830, and died soon after. 

DouGL.\ss (Elmore), M.D., was born in Sumner Co., 
Tenn., about the commencement of the present century. 
He studied medicine under Dr. Shelby, in Nashville, went 
to Lexington, Ky., and graduated there in 1820. The 
late disastrous war found him practicing in his native 
county, where he took a firm stand against secession, and 
when foiled by the action of his State went to California 
to see some of his family who had preceded him there, but, 
finding they too opposed his politics, the old gentleman re- 
turned to his native home to die, as it were, of a broken 
heart, about 1865. 

About the year 1795, Dr. William Dickison and Dr. 
James Ilennen came to Nashville and entering into partner- 
ship, opened, as was the custom in those days, an apothecary- 
shop, and soon acquired a large practice. Dickison came 
from North Carolina, and after retiring from business was 
sent to Congress ; he had also been a member of the body 
which framed the constitution of this State. He died 
February, 1816. Dr. Ilennen came from Ireland, and 
went to Louisiana, where he died soon afterwards. 

Epperson (Jacob Pollard), doctor, was born near 
Nashville, 16th March, 1812; died in Pulaski, Tenn., of 
phrenitis, Aug. 2, 1866. He studied medicine in Alabama; 
attended lectures in Cincinnati, where he became the pupil 
of Dr. Drake. In 1840 he settled in Pulaski and acquired 
an extensive practice. Dr. Epperson cultivated a taste for 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



283 



geology and mineralop:y ; wrote some philippics against 
quackery, patent medicine, etc., and demonstrated the con- 
servative and restorative powers of nature. After his death 
was found the evidence of what comfort and strength the 
Bible had been to him in his declining years. 

Ford (John Prior), M.D., professor, was born in Cum- 
berland Co., Va., Jan. 7, ISIO; died in Nashville, Tenn., 
Aug. 17, 1865. When he was three years old his widowed 
mother moved to Fluntsville, Ala., where he commenced 
the study of medicine under two noted physicians, Drs. 
Fearn and Erskine. He took his diploma from the Uni- 

•versity of Pennsylvania, and began to practice in Florence, 
Ala., but soon removed to Columbus, Miss. He was also 
a short time in Clinton, in that State, but in 18-12 settled 
permanently at Nashville, where for nearly a quarter of a 
century he was one of its leading practitioners. He was 
one of the founders of the Shelby Medical College, and 
became its professor of obstetrics and diseases of women 
and children. Dr. Ford secured a high reputation as a 

I Christian gentleman, and died in full faith of a blessed 
immortality. 

EwiNG (Felix), doctor, born in Davidson Co., Tenn,, 

ilSOO, was educated at Nashville, and attended lectures at 
Lexington, Ky. Unfortunately paralyzed amidst a life of 
great usefulness, he was compelled to retire twenty years 

ibefore his death, wliich occurred in 18G2. 

GooDLETT (Adam Gibb), doctor, surgeon United States 
army, was the son of a Scotch- Presbyterian preacher, and 
was born in Orange Co., Va., October, 1782; brought in 

linfancy to Kentucky, where he commenced the study of 
medicine, and went afterwards to Philadelphia to attend the 
lectures of Drs. Rush, Barton, etc. After returning home 

ito Kentucky he began to practice in Lexington, but, the 

Iwar coming on soon after, he joined the army, and was 

imade surgeon to the Seventh Regiment Infantry. He 
served to the close of the war, 1815, and was then sent 
to Europe on a special mission. In 1819 he resigned his 
commission and came to Nashville, Tenn. Here he prac- 
ticed to 1848, when he retired to a farm in Rutherford 
County, and died there suddenly of heart-disease while 
seated in his chair, April 19th of that year. His remains 

lare interred at Mount Olivet, near this city. Dr. Goodlett 
was quite a large man, of strictly temperate habits, very 
energetic, and died in full faith of the Christian's hope. 

Haskins (Edward Banncu), M.D. (honorary), pro- 
fessor, was a Virginian ; took a course of lectures at Tran- 
sylvania University, at Lexington, Ky., and then selected 

iClarksville, Tenn , for his future home. When cholera in- 
vaded that town, he sent so graphic a description of it to 
the faculty of his Alma Mater that they conferred on him 

Ithe honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine, lie was spe- 
cially devoted to chemistry, which he taught in a literary 
college; and at the organization of the second school of 

[medicine in Nashville, 1855, he was elected professor of the 
theory and practice of medicine. After two sessions failing 
health compelled him to resign, and he died April 1-1, 
1858. He was a man of great integrity, was talented, and 
of discriminating judgment. 

Hogg (Samuel), M.D., member to Congress, etc., was 

'born in Caswell Co., N. C, April 18, 1783 ; died 28th May, 



1842. He was one of the most noted of the medical pro- 
fession of Tennessee. Ills father was a major in the war 
of independence. It was lii.s mother who gave Col. Tarlton 
the famous reply when he had expressed a great desire to 
see Col. Washington. " You might have done so," said she, 
" had you looked back at the battle of Cowpens." When 
prepared to practice medicine. Dr. Hogg came with the tide 
of emigration to this State, and settled first at a small 
village on the Cumberland, went next to Lebanon, and in 
1812 accepted the position of surgeon to a regiment, de- 
scended with it the rivers Cumberland, Ohio, and Missis- 
sippi to New Orleans, and was a participant in the celebrated 
battle fought near that city. His military campaigns made 
him very popular, and he was sent to the State Legis- 
lature and to Congress. In 1840 he was made presi- 
dent of the State Medical Society. Dr. Hogg died of 
consumption when near seventy years of age, having, like 
a wise man, set his house in order, and after a life well 
spent in doing good to all about him. 

Jennings (Thomas Reid), M.D., was born in Steuben- 
ville, Ohio, in 1805; died suddenly at Narraganset, R. I., 
July 7, 1874, aged sixty-nine years. Ho was the son of a 
distinguished divine, and inherited uncommon talent. He 
took his literary degree at Washington College, Pennsylvania, 
and graduated in medicine in the University of Baltimore. 
He came to Tennessee in 1828 ; soon after delivered an 
address to the medical society, which received high com- 
mendation ; this, with the invasion of cholera in 1833-34, 
introduced him to a large practice, which he retained to the 
late war. He opened here the first dissecting-rooms, and 
first taught anatomy in Tennessee. For three years he was 
senator in the State Legislature, and afterwards declined a 
nomination to Congress. In 1854 he was elected professor 
of the institutes of medicine and clinical medicine in the 
Nashville University, and in 1856 was transferred to the 
chair of anatomy. The class increased then from two hun- 
dred and forty to four hundred and nineteen, and reached 
in l"859 to four hundred and fifty-six, being the largest ever 
assembled west of the mountains or in the Mississippi Val- 
ley. The death of his wife in 1870, together with a severe 
illness in 1861, and the terrible disasters of the war between 
the States, .so affected his mind that life became no longer 
desirable. Dr. Jennings received a classical education, had 
a fine address, a most retentive memory, so that he could 
recite poems, was a ready debater ; manifested great taste 
for literature, yet was ever devoted to his profession, in which 
few succeeded better. Coming to Nashville a poor boy, he 
not only maintained a handsome establishment and liberally 
assisted his immediate relatives, but accumulated a large 
fortune by his practice. As a general practitioner of med- 
icine he had no superior in Tennessee. 

Gillespie (Richard), doctor, was born July 2, 1785, 
in Sumner Co., Tenn. ; died March 4, 1826. He was the 
son of a pioneer of this State ; received, nevertheless, a 
srood education, and studied medicine under the elder Yan- 
dell (Wilson). He attended one course of lectures in the 
University of Pennsylvania ; practiced at Cairo, then a 
thriving town on the Cumberland River, above Nashville, 
where he had good success for several years. 

McNaiby (Boyd) was born in Nashville, Tenn. ; died 



28-t 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



there in 1859. He was educated by one of the best classical 
teachers of his day, and graduated in medicine at the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania. lie then settled in his native 
place, then a small town, and in time attained to an envi- 
able rank in his profession, for he had good points of charac- 
ter. He was noted for decision and sound judgment, which 
always inspired confidence. He took a decided stand 
against his neighbor, Andrew Jackson, but was an enthu- 
siastic admirer of Henry Clay. 

May (Francis), doctor, came to Nashville in 1790, 
and died there in 1817. He went to Knosvillc in 1804, 
after an unfortunate duel, in which he killed a brother 
practitioner. Returning to Nashville he married a sister of 
the late Hon. Hugh L. White, and became an intimate friend 
of Gen. Jackson. 

Mayes (Samuel), M.D., was born in Carlisle, Pa., in 
1759. He graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, 
and settled first in South Carolina, but removed thence to 
Maury Co., Tenn., in 1808. He was a soldier in the Rev- 
olutionary war. He died in 1841. 

Mayfield (Georue Andrew), M.D., was born in 
Williamson County March 13, 1814; died of apoplexy 
while on duty in a hospital in Nashville, Tenn., July 20, 
1864. Assisted by his brother. Dr. S. Mayfield, the presi- 
dent of the Tennessee Medical Society for 1873, he received 
a good education, and took his degree at the University 
of Nashville. He commenced the practice with his brother, 
then spent a winter in New York, married in Philadelphia, 
and returned to practice in Nashville. He declined a pro- 
fessorship in the second school of medicine in Nashville, 
and left many friends when suddenly cut ofi' in the prime 
of life. 

McPhail (Daniel), M.D., was born in Scotland ; came 
to America in 1828, and settled in Franklin, Williamson 
Co., Tenn. He had a commanding personal appearance, 
was well educated, and made an excellent surgeon. He 
was specially devoted to this department of medicine, and 
died while brigade-surgeon to the Tennessee volunteers in 
the Mexican war of 1846. 

There were at one time three Drs. Martin practicing medi- 
cine in Nashville. When only two they were readily dis- 
tinguished by the color of their hair, but when the trium- 
virate flourished, then came confusion worse confounded, 
especially among the colored population. As black- and red- 
head would no longer answer the purpose of designating 
them, the programme was radically changed, and the words 
" saint, sinner, and the devil" were substituted. The lat- 
ter, we learn, was acquired by the new comer having de- 
manded payment for services rendered his patrons in a 
neighboring town after the usual year's credit. The first 
two bills presented were disputed, ending in both instances 
by the irate Esculapius giving each disputant a sound 
drubbing. After this our doctor's bills were all promptly 
paid on demand. 

Martin (Robert), M.D., was born in Chatham County, 
N. C, 1799. Hi.s father was a physician, and, having 
moved to Alabama, his son commenced there the study of 
medicine, and was licensed to practice 1826. He attended 
a course of lectures in Philadelphia in 1829, then moved 
to Nashville, Tenn., to enhance his practice, and was elected 



physician to the School for the Blind. During the late ; 
war he went to Salma, Ala., and returned to Tennessee | 
after it, where he remained to 1870, when he went to Knox- 
villc, and died there 28lh January, 1873. The degree of 
Doctor of Medicine was conferred on him by the University 
of Nashville. He was a well-known member of the i 
Methodist Church, and always exhibited the Christian 
character in his walk and conversation. 

Martin (Rouert C. K), M.D., a witty and popular 
phj'sician of Nashville, was born near it Aug. 9, 1806; 
died in Nashville Fob. 9, 1871. He commenced practice in 
this city with his relative. Dr. Shelby, in 1833. He soon 
obtained a large practice, for he always exhibited a genial 
spirit, carrying heart and hand ever opened to all classes in 
the community. " Black-head Martin," as he was famil- 
iarly called, was known throughout the State. In 1861 he 
was partially paralyzed, and never again fully recovered ; 
nevertheless he continued to the last to do all he could for 
the sick and afflicted. Ever green should be his memory. 

Newnan (John), a noted physician of Nashville, Tenn., 
was born at Salisbury, N. C., about the year 1770. He 
was the fellow-student of Charles Caldwell, but at no time 
was there much friendship between them. He went to 
Philadelphia in 1790, where Caldwell found him the year 
after in the office of Dr. Rush. Dr. Newnan came to Nash- 
ville about 1810. In manners he was formal, stately, and 
ceremonious, and in temper not very amiable. He never- 
theless succeeded well, for we have heard it said that usually 
to each cedar-bush then on the hill near his residence was 
found at least one horse tied, and every one of them had 
brought to him more than one patient. He bitterly op- 
posed vaccination, and inoculated his own son for the 
smallpox, greatly to the alarm and displeasure gf his neigh- 
bors. He died between the years 1825 and 1827. 

Newnan (Joseph Chalmers), M.D., son of one of 
the earliest settlers of Tennessee, and he a doctor, was 
born in Nashville, 1818; educated in the Literary Depart- 
ment of its university, and while a student volunteered in 
the Seminole war. He subsequently studied medicine 
under his father, and received t!ie degree from the Uni- 
versity of Louisville in 1840. He first practiced in Mis- 
sissippi, whore he married a great-granddaughter of Gen. 
Greene of our Revolutionary war, who dying shortly after- 
wards, the doctor returned to Nashville. Dr. Newnan 
served through the Mexican war as assistant surgeon to a 
regiment, and in the war between the States was appointed 
assistant surgeon-general ; was subsequently attached to 
Gen. Polk's staff, and served also as surgeou-in-chief of 
Morgan's command. His health failing he resigned, and, 
returning to Nashville, died there in 186-. He did good 
service also as assistant physician to the penitentiary in 
1845-50, when the cholera attacked its inmates. 

Overton (Ja.mes), M.D., professor, was born in Louisa 
Co., Va., August, 1785. He first studied law ; was admit- 
ted to the bar; when he abandoned that profession, went 
to Philadelphia and became a pupil in Dr. Rush's office. 
Such was tlie establi.shed reputation of Dr. Overton even 
then that through the influence of Henry Clay he was 
elected professor of materia medica during his lecture 
course in the Medical Department of Transylvania Univer- 






'j 



,'7 




CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



285 



sity, at Lexington, Ky. He delivered only one course of 
llectures, was transferred to the chair of practice, but re- 
jsigned, and came to Nashville, Tenn. lie not long after 
'retired from the profession, became a large planter South, 
and died 23d September, 1865, near this city. 

Porter (Hobert BIassingill), A.M., BI.D., profes- 
'sor, graduate in all of the learned professions in law at 
Cambridge, Mass. ; in theology, at Princeton, N. J. ; and 
in medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania ; each of 
these being the leading schools of their respective de- 
partments in the United States. Dr. Porter next visited 
Europe, where he remained two years, to better qualify him 
to practice his profession. Notwithstanding these special 
advantages, added to good native ability, yet he was ever 
known as the most unpretentious of men ; ever meek in his 
own estimation, but which endeared him the more to all 
' classes of the community. A Protestant by profession, 
even an ordained minister, yet were the Catholics his best 
friends. On the organization of the Medical Department, 
University of Nashville, he was unanimously elected the 
professor of anatomy, and such was his devotion to duty 
that he fell a victim to his zeal in professional teaching ; for 
while lecturing to a small class, by the imbibition of poi- 
son, he became ill, and died July 1, 1856, in his thirty- 
eighth year, having been born in this city April 12, 1818. 
lloANE (James), M.D., was for many years the beloved 
physician of Nashville ; his temper and manners won all 
hearts, and secured him the first position in the profession. 
He was the son of Governor Koane, and was born in Jeffer- 
son Co., Tenn., May, 1790. He acquired a classical edu- 
cation in East Tennessee College. After studying medicine 
he secured a diploma in New York City. He now estab- 
lished himself in Nashville, and succeeded to the reputation 
and lucrative practice of his eccentric preceptor, Dr. New- 
nan. Dr. Eoane was the first president of this society, 
having been elected at its organization in 1830, and his ad- 
dress for the occasion was solicited for publication, but which 
he declined to have done. He was unfortunately cut off in 
the midst of his usefulness by cholera in 1833, falling then 
a victim to his professional zeal 27th of February, having 
been engaged night and day before this for a week. 

Robertson (Felix), M.D., was the first child born in 
the city of Nashville, this event occurring the 11th of 
January, 1781. He was the sixth son of Gen. James 
Eobertson, who emigrated from North Carolina, and be- 
came one of the founders of this city. After acquiring 
what education as best he could, he went to Philadelphia, 
and received in 1806 the degree of Doctor of Medicine 
from the University of Pennsylvania. Returning home 
he entered upon a good practice, which he retained for 
more than forty years. He belonged to the old school ; 
slept at night, would chase the fox at sunrise, and hence 
lived beyond the threescore years and ten. Previous to 
his death he had retired somewhat from the onerous duties 
of his calling, though by no means was he indifferent to 
the interests of medical science. His principal business 
was treating the diseases of children, who became much 
attaclied to the old gentleman. He was also a public-spir- 
ited citizen like his father, took a deep interest in passing 
events ; was twice mayor of this city, president of the board 



of trustees of its university, etc. He was also a friend of 
Gen. Jackson. He descended to the grave in peace 8th of 
July, 1865, leaving a blessed memory to those who had so 
long revered and" loved him. 

Shelby (John), M.D.,was born in Sumner Co., Tenn., 
24th of May, 1786 ; died 15th of May, 1859, in Nashville. 
At his demise resolutions were adopted by the profession of 
our city expressive of the loss sustained of one so honored. 
He received a good education, and graduated in medicine 
at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1813 he joined the 
army as surgeon, and served under Gen. Jackson in what 
is known as the Creek (Indian) war. He received so severe 
a wound during the campaign that he lost an eye. He was 
at one time the postmaster of this city. Shelby Medical 
College was named for him. 

Wharton (William H.), M.D., was born in Albe- 
marle Co., Va., July 6, 1790 ; died in Nashville, Tenn., 
May 4, 1872. He was a graduate in medicine in the Jef- 
ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and commenced the 
practice in North Alabama, at Tuscumbia. Removed to 
Nashville in 1843, he continued in active practice to his 
election of State librarian for Tennessee. Dr. Wharton 
was an excellent practitioner, a man of integrity, and an 
active Christian gentleman. 

Wilson (John Robertson), M.D., was born in South 
Carolina, April 4, 1799 ; died in Davidson Co., Tenn., Aug. 
8, 1854. He worked hard to educate himself, and became 
a thorough classical scholar. He studied under the elder 
Yandell, and then attended lectures at Transylvania Uni- 
versity ; he commenced the practice at McMinnville, Tenn., 
where he made the money for his second course of lectures, 
and obtained the diploma in 1824. On his return home 
he practiced with Dr. Maney in Murfreesboro'. He re- 
moved to the Yazoo country, Mississippi. He .also spent 
part of the year on a farm near Nashville. He unfor- 
tunately became irregular in his habits, but was industrious, 
energetic, and had staunch friends. 

White, doctor, lawyer, divine. Dr. Felix Robertson 
believed he was the first of the profession who settled in 
Nashville, and came here in 1784. He had studied divin- 
ity, law, and medicine, and was therefore well educated, 
but exhibited many eccentricities; would even get on 
drunken sprees, and then became very offensive. He was 
the first delegate sent to Congress from this district. On 
his way to Washington he met a young girl in North Caro- 
lina and married her. Their son was Edward D. White, 
of Louisiana, Governor, and senator to Congress from that 
State. Dr. White lived to a good old age. 

Yandell (Wilson), M.D. (honorary), one of the most 
remarkable and successful physicians of Tennessee. He 
was the senior of all bearing his name in the profession, 
and was a self-made man; was born in Mecklenburg Co., 
N. C, 17th of December, 1774 ; died in Rutherford Co., 
Tenn., 1st of October, 1827. He left North Carolina when 
nineteen years old, came to Dr. Doak's school in East Ten- 
nessee, where, by alternating in study and manual labor, he 
acquired even a classical education. He had studied medi- 
cine nine years before he began to practice. The Univer- 
sity of Maryland conferred on him the honorary degree of 
M.D. without his ever having heard a lecture. For many 



286 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



years he was the leading practitioner of his section. He 
Tvas the father and grandfather of those bearing his name 
so honorably in Louisville, Ky., and was the preceptor of 
several noted physicians of this county and State. Dr. 
Yandell was neither a calomel, lancet, nor opium doctor, and 
was remarkably benevolent and beloved by all. Though a 
good composer and fond of writing, yet never published 
anything on medicine. He educated, too, several good 
physicians. He left the savor of an unblemished Chris- 
tian character, as having been one of the best and most 
charitable of men. 

DENTAL ASSOCIATION. 

The Nashville Dental Association was organized on the 
10th of October, 1865, mainly through the instrumentality 
of John Fouche, D.D.S., then residing in this city, but now 
of Knoxville, Tenn. The following were flie officers chosen : 
W. H. Morgan, M.D., D.D.S.,* President ; J. C. Ross, 
D.D.S., Secretary. 

At the second election, held Nov. 1, 1867, officers were 
elected as follows: W. H. Morgan, M.D., D.D.S., Presi- 
dent ; J. C. Ross, D.D.S. , Secretary. 

Up to this date the association had kept in good work- 
ing order, but during this year, and until May 9, 1869, but 
little was done. At the date last mentioned a meeting of 
the association was held, and the following officers elected : 
J. C. Ross, D.D.S., President; R. R. Freeman, D.D.S., 
Secretary. 

From this date till Dec. 10, 1872, the association held 
eighteen meetings, and did a large amount of profitable 
work. The officers elected Dec. 10, 1872, were R. C. 
Freeman, D.D.S., President ; L. G. Noel, M.D., D.D.S., 
Secretary. 

During the ensuing year the association continued to 
meet regularly ; but soon after, meetings ceased and were 
discontinued till quite a recent date, when officers were 
elected, to wit: J. Y. Crawford, D.D.S., President; A. S. 
Kline, D.D.S., Secretary. These gentlemen are the present 
officers of the society. 

HOMCEOPATIIY IN DAVIDSON COUNTY. 
Its Introduction and Practitioners. 

The first practice of the new school of medicine in 
Davidson County was by Philip Harsch, M.D., a native of 
.Germany, thoroughly educated at the University of Giessen. 
He became acquainted with homa3opathy at Cincinnati, 
under the guidance of Dr. Pulte, and removed to Nashville 
in the year 1844. He was long known as " the Dutch 
Doctor," and some amusing stories were told at his expense. 
His success in the treatment of the Asiatic cholera drew 
much attention from the people, and led his competitors of 
the old school to account for his losing no cases with that 
disease upon the theory that, " while he always cured the 
cholera, his patients would sometimes die mit der weakness." 

The latter years of his life were devoted to agricultural 
and mercantile pursuits. He died, at an advanced age, in 
the year 1870, from injuries received by the overturning 
of his buggy. 

'-'■■' Sec special biography. 



The next homoeopathic practitioner was George Kellogg, 
M.D., of New York, who came to Nashville in 1853. 
Though quite successful and much esteemed, he remained 
less than two years, leaving on account of impaired health. 

In 1855, Henry Sheffield, M.D., a native of Connecticut 
and a graduate of the Cleveland Homajopathic College, in , 
the class of 1852, located in Nashville. Gradually over- 
coming the obstacles usual to new systems, especially in 
medicine, he gained an honorable standing among medical 
men. An active and prominent Mason, he has become 
well and widely known in the State. He is still in active 
medical practice. 

R. M. Lytle, M.D., a native of Tennessee, a graduate of 
the Jefferson College, Philadelphia, and an efficient surgeon 
in the Confederate service, converted to the new medical 
faith, soon after the close of the war located in Edgefield, 
where he enjoyed a large patronage for a number of years. 
He was eminent in the ready diagnosis of disease, and 
always bright and cheering among the sick. He died 
suddenly of heart-disease in the year 1876. 

Dr. P. A. Westervelt, a man of long experience in the 
medical uses of electricity, came to Nashville from Illinois 
in 1860, and here made use of homoeopathic medicines in 
connection with electrical baths. After a period of retire- 
ment in the country, he is again at work in the city. 

J. P. Dake, M.D., a sketch of whose biography appears 
on another page, came to Nashville in 1869. His experi- 
ence as a practitioner and reputation as a teacher and writer 
in the new school gave a fresh and strong impulse to ho- 
moeopathy in Davidson County. 

William C. Dake, M.D., son of Dr. J. P. Dake, a gradu- 
ate of the Nashville High School and of the Medical De- 
partment of the University of Nashville, and educated in 
homoeopathy at the New York College, began practice in 
Nashville early in the year 1873. His success as a practi- 
tioner has been remarkable, placing him already among the 
leading physicians of the State. 

Herman Falk, M.D., a native of Germany, a graduate 
of the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, in the 
class of 1877, came to Nashville several years ago. He 
was first known in connection with an institution for the 
cure of consumptives with the vapor of salt water, and in 
the employment of the Lebenswicker. He afterwards tried 
the oxygen treatment. Since his graduation at Chicago he 
has followed the homoeopathic method more strictly. 

Thomas E. Enloe, M.D.,! a native of West Tennessee, 
and a graduate of the Medical Department of the University 
of Nashville, located in Edgefield in the year 1874. Taking 
the first prize in surgery at his final examination, he has 
been very successful in that line of practice. A brother of 
our talented young journalist and statesman, Hon. B. A. 
Enloe, of West Tennessee, the doctor has been advancing 
to the front rank of medical men. 

Walter M. Dake, M.D., second son of Dr. J. P. Dake, 
graduated at the Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, 
in the spring of 1877, and soon after became associated 
with his father and brother in Nashville. 

Clara C. Plimpton, Bl.D., a graduate from the New York 

f See biography and portrait elsewhere in this work. 







Plii.to. by P,«,l.-, Nasliville 



DR. WILLIAM H. MORGAN. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



287 



Homooopatliic College, located in Nashville in 1878. She 
is the pioneer of well-educated female practitioners of medi- 
cine in Davidson County, and seems likely to demonstrate 
liere both the right and the ability of her sex to hold a 
place in the medical profession. 

R. A. Baker, M.D., a graduate of the Medical Depart- 
ment of the University of Nashville, in the class of 1873, 
and a recent convert to the now school, has lately located 
in Edgefield for the practice of his profession. In the 
avowal of his change of faith the doctor says, " When I 
compare the statistics and the general success of practice in 
.the two schools, I have been compelled to acknowledge that 
there is truth, and a good deal of it, in homoeopathy, or 
that there is nothing at all in medicine." 

Its Organizations. 

The first association of homoeopathic physicians was or- 
ganized in 1870, under the name " The Davidson County 
Homceopathic Medical Society,'' with Dr. Henry Sheffield _ 
president, and Dr. J. P. Dake secretary. 
! The same organization was afterwards enlarged into " The 
■ Homceopathic Medical Society of Middle Tennessee." The 
officers of this society have been as follows : 

1875.— Dr. J. P. Dake, President ; Dr. E. R. Smith, 
1 Secretary. 

1876.— Dr. E. R. Smith, President; Dr. William' C. : 
Dake, Secretary. 

1877.— Dr. T. E. Enloe, President; Dr. W. M. Riddle, 
' Secretary. 

1878.— William C. Dake, President ; Dr. A. R. Barrett, 
Secretary. ' 

1879.— William C. Dake, President ; Dr. Walter M. 
Dake, Secretary. » 

This society, at its regular meetings, besides a special 
subject presented and discussed, has reports regarding pre- 
vailing diseases, their treatment, and also .upon sanitary 
affairs. , .i.'''- • : 

Papers have thus been presented and discussed upon the 
character, prevention, and treatment of yellow fever ; upon 
diphtheria, public hygiene, etc. 

The founding of a public dispensary for the poor desiring 
homoeopathic remedies has been under serious considera- 
•tion. 

The society is every year increasing its membership and 
extending its domain. 

Its Literature. 

The first publication relating to homoeopathy made at 
Nashville was a pamphlet explaining the principles of the 
system and advantages of the practice, in answer to the 
question, " What is Homoeopathy ?" by Dr. George Kel- 
logg, in 1853. No copies are extant. 

In 1869, Dr. J. P. Dake issued a pamphlet of twenty 
pages, entitled " The Remedies We Use," in which an ar- 
gument was made for a more thorough investigation of the 
properties and powers of medicinal substances. 

In 1870 the same writer issued from the press of the 
Southern Methodist Publishing House a second edition of 
his work on " Acute Diseases," the first having appeared in 
1860. 



In 1874, Dr. T. E. Enloe published a pamphlet entitled 
" Honorable Medicine and Homoeopathy," in vindication 
of his right of secession from the old school and acceptance 
of homoeopathy, against the Nashville Journal of Medi- 
cine and Surgery. 

In 1875, Dr. E. R. Smith issued a pamphlet entitled 
" Homoeopathy in Tennessee," in which was sketched the 
rise and progress of the new school in this State. 

In the same year Dr. J. P. Dake published a pamphlet 
entitled "State Medicine and a Medical Institution," for 
the enlightenment of the General Assembly of the State, 
which had before it several bills for the regulation of medi- 
cal men, especially the prevention of medical charlatanism. 

In 1877, Dr. William C. Dake published a work on 
" Diphtheria, its Pathology and Treatment," which has 
had a very wide circulation among medical men, and very 
favorable notices from the medical press in England as well 
as in America. 

In 1878, Dr. J. P. Dake* published a work entitled, 
" The Science of Therapeutics in Outline," presenting a 
complete system of principles to be regarded by men of 
healing. 

-.. The practitioners of the new school in Davidson County 
are generally men of education, acquainted with both sys- 
tems,_interested in public as well as personal hygiene, liberal 
- in spirit, an^= progressive in habit. 

MEDICAL COLLEGES. 

MEbtCAL%)3SPARTMENTS OF THE UNIVEUSITT OF NASUVILLE 
• -.-•.;-■' ,,_AND VANDEEBILT UNIVERSITY. 

A- rpedical- college or department connected with the 
University -of Nashville was part of the original plan of 
its founders. Dr; Philip. Lindsley,* who was president of 
the university from; 1824 to 1850, began early to develop 
his comprehensive scheme of a great university at Nash- 
ville which should include all the departments and appli- 
ances 'of the best institutions of the kind both in Europe 
and. America. In his baccalaureate address, delivered in 
1829, Dr. Lindsley said,— 

." In casting. my eye over the map of Tennessee, it struck 
me from the first that this was precisely the place destined 
by Providence for a great university, if ever such an insti- 
tution were to exist in the State. And in this opinion I 
am fully confirmed by several years' observation and expe- 
rience. I am entirely satisfied that it is physically impos- 
sible to maintain a university (I am not now speaking of an 
ordinary college) in any other town in the State, and for 
this single good reason, were there no other, — namely, a 
medical school, which may be regarded as an essential and 
as the most important part of a real university, can never 
be sustained except in a large town or city, and the larger 
the better. Nashville is the only place where a medical 
school would even be thought of, and physicians know full 
well that such is the fact." 

In many other speeches and addresses delivered from 
time to time during his presidency Dr. Lindsley fore- 
shadowed his grand scheme of education, as embraced 
under the general name of the University of Nashville. 



' See special biography. 



288 



HISTOEY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Of course, a scheme so comprehensive and complete in all 
its arrangements and details could not be carried into prac- 
tical realization in a short time. Such institutions are 
usually the growth of centuries rather than of decades, 
and although Dr. Lindsley labored with a genius for his 
work, and with a zeal and devotion rarely equaled, it is not 
to be wondered at that he did not live to see his great plans 
fully realized. 

With regard to a medical department. Dr. Lindsley dif- 
fered quite widely in his views from the opinions of those 
■who were finally instrumental in establishing the school, 
although he lived to take an active part in its organization 
and to rejoice in its great success. Being a thorough iini- 
versil!/ man, he believed that the medical college should be 
strictly a subordinate part of the university, and entirely 
under the control of its board of trustees. The views of 
Dr. Lindsley will appear as we proceed with this history, in 
a series of resolutions introduced by himself on an occasion 
of one of the many unsuccessful attempts to organize a 
medical college. 

Dr. W. K. Bowling,* in an address delivered in 18G8, 
sketches the origin of the Medical Department as follows : 

" On the 9th day of December, 1843, John 5L Bass, 
Esq., a member of the board, resolved that a committee of 
three be appointed to take into consideration the propriety 
of establishing a medical school attached to the university. 
Messrs. R. C. Foster, Sr., Bass, and Ewing were appointed. 

" On the 8th of February, the following year, this com- 
mittee report ' that the board at once establish said medi- 
cal school.' The committee had opened a correspondence 
with, and received suggestions and a memorial from, J. M. 
Briggs, M.D., of Bowling Green, Ky., a distinguished 
physician and father of our present professor of obstetrics. 

'' On the 17th of the same month President Philip Linds- 
ley submitted the following resolutions : 

" ' 1st. That it is expedient to establish a medical school 
in connection with the University of Nashville. 

" ' 2d. That no portion of the funds of the university 
shall be appropriated to the aid or support of the said 
medical school, and that this board will assume no pecu- 
niary responsibilities whatever in its behalf. 

" ' 3d. That qualification for degrees should be equal to 
those required by the most respectable medical schools in 
, the United States. 

" i4th. That no student shall be admitted to the degree 
of Doctor of Medicine under the age of twenty-one. 

" ' 5th. That no person shall be admitted to the degree 
of Doctor of Medicine except Bachelors of Arts, or such as 
shall be found, on examination, to be adequately acquainted 
with classical literature and the liberal sciences. And that 
the said examination shall be conducted in the manner 
hereafter to be proscribed by this board. 

" ' 6th. That the entire supervision and control of the 
medical school in all respects and for all purposes, together 
with the power of discontinuing the same, do rest in this 
board, and shall be exercised agreeably to the charter and 
for the best interests of the university and of the common- 
wealth.' 

'=■' See special biography. 



" Two days after this a paper faculty was made, of which 
the world lias heard nothing from that day to this. 

" In 1849, Charles Caldwell, M.D., long a distinguished 
teacher in Transylvania University, and the conceded 
founder of the Medical Department of the University of 
Louisville, having had his chair destroyed at Louisville by 
the trustees, in high dudgeon came down to Nashville to es- 
tablish a rival of Louisville here. He got an audience, made 
a speech, a committee was appointed to raise funds, which 
has not yet reported progress. The professor returned to 
Louisville, and so little interest did the newspapers of the 
city take in the matter that the one I took, the Banner, 
had to be paid for mentioning the matter in its news- 
columns, as is evidenced by the notice having a star at the 
end of it. 

" In September, 1850, the name of J. Berrien Lindsley 
was left on my office slate. I had never seen him. The 
next day he called while I was in. We had a long conver- 
sation upon medical men and medical schools. He was 
born and reared in a university, with the lofty ideas of his 
distinguished father. We were both full of medical schools, i 
and rather anxious that a medical school should be partially y 
full of us. By him I was introduced to kindred spirits. We J 
had frequent meetings at my ofiice. All were enthusiastic. 
The club consisted of Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley, Drs. A. H. 1 
Buchanan, Robert Porter, Charles K. Winston, John M. 
Wasson, and myself. The various members conceded to' 
me a higher knowledge of medical men and medical mat- 
ters than I deserved. By their unanimous solicitation I • 
drew up the speech to the trustees, asking for such powers '': 
as astonished university men, and which, if conceded, would 
reverse the president's grand idea of a medical school's 
utter dependence upon the parent institution, — an indefi- 
nite babyhood, or such, alas ! as is too often extinguished ; 
by the sacred but dark waters of the Ganges. Andrew i 
Ewing road the speech to the board, and the powers were 
granted. I drew up the articles of confederation and elab- 
orated a government. Each was acceptable to the club 
and ratified by the board, and the names mentioned above 
as those of our medical club — the board of trustees of the ■ 
University of Nashville — organized into a medical faculty. ;j 
None of them had any experience save as oflSce-teachers, 
but all had enthusiasm, energy, and unfaltering dctermina- ' 
tion of purpose. It seems but yesterday, yet one-half of 
them have passed away like a dream." 

It appears that the main features of the plan upon which 
the medical college was organized were suggested by Dr 
Bowling in a letter addressed to Dr. W. A. Cheatham, lat( 
superintendent of the Tennessee Hospital for the Insane 
written from Logan Co., Ky., where Dr. Bowling then re 
sided, under date of March 5, 1848. We are permitted t( 
copy the letter, as follows : 

"At Home, Marcli 5, 1848. 

" Dear Doctor, — I have determined upon a short serie 
of letters to you with a view of unfolding the elements o: 
an enterprise which have long occupied a prominent position 
in my cogitations. My reflections upon that subject are 
thoroughly digested, and the conclusions to which they di- 
rect me I know to be sound. 

"... Thirty years ago a few physicians at Lexington de- 




r^. /?^7^^^^ 





02/UjZ^7^(:\/ L/H 



'yHcU 




CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



289 



tcnuined upon a medical school. Dudley, a man possessing 
uucommou force of character, put the ball in motion, and 
when everybody Icncw it would fail it succeeded without 
the slightest difficulty. The first school in a place, wher- 
ever instituted, has succeeded. . . . 

" Wiien medical schools have failed they have invariably 
been' neio schools, reared up in open opposition to an existing 
one in the same place. . . . In the whole history of medi- 
cine in the South and West there never was so favorable a 
period to insure the success of one as now at the proper 
point. . . . Louisville ruined Lexington because it became, 
in a professional sense, a ligature upon her artery of nutri- 
tion. The students of the South touched Louisville first 
and were booked. A school soutli of Louisville will cut oif 
her supplies in like manner." 

In other letters of this series, still in the possession of 
Dr. Cheatham, the plan of a medical school is further elab- 
orated. In the plan two leading ideas are kept prominent. 

" 1st. The faculty must be chiefly of Nashville physi- 
cians. Home influence of every importance, for even talent, 
genius, and learning in medicine cannot make head against 
local and partisan opposition. 

" 2d. The school must be an attache of the university, 
to secure the influence of its name at homo and that of its 
ilevts abroad." 

It appears from a diary kept by Dr. J. 15errien Lindsley* 
that he began to move in the matter Oct. 22, 1849, on which 
day he called on Dr. Caldwell, who was in Nashville, at- 
tempting to organize a medical faculty and establish a 
school. In this scheme Drs. Winston and Buchanan took 
an nctive part. They applied to Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley 
to take the chair of chemistry. Nothing resulted from this 
efiort. Dr. Lindsley spent the ensuing winter in visiting 
the medical schools of Louisville, New York, and others. 
[On his return in the spring he had free consultations with 
Dr. Charles K. Winston concerning a plan of a medical 
school as an integral part of the university. Dr. Winston 
fully seconded the plan. The diiiry says : " Aug. 30, 1850. 
— Opened my medical project to 11. J. Meigs (one of the 
trustees of the University of Nashville). Pretty busy at 
; it after this." From the 2d to the 28th of September, Dr. 
'Lindsley was constantly engaged in working up an interest 
land in forming the medical club, which was soon after, by 
the power vested in the trustees of the university, converted 
into the medical faculty. 

The following is the speech of Dr. Bowling, read to the 
trustees by the Hon. E. H. Ewing: 

" To THE Trustees of the Nashville University : 
" We have no hesitation in believing that the popular 
voice here is in favor of a medical school. Many attempts 
jhave heretofore been made in vain to meet the expectations 
of the public upon the subject. The great difficulty in the 
'way of this enterprise, as is shown by its history running 
jthrough a period of fifteen years, has been means to put it 
in successful operation. We propose to supply this desider- 
latum from our private resources, and to chance the result for 
reimbursement. We ask of you, gentlemen, only a recogni- 
tion and the loan of your college buildings for the period of 



37 



' See special biography. 



twenty years. We wish to have the solo management of 
the department ourselves : 

"First. — Because experience and the history of similar 
institutions show that this power is safest with those most 
deeply interested ; and 

"Secondly. — Because this will be an enterprise in which 
we will have invested no inconsiderable amount of money, 
and would, on that account, desire to be untrammeled in 
the management of it. 

" We herewith exhibit the constitution which, in the 
event of our recognition, is to regulate the internal affairs 
of the department, and which will more clearly illustrate 
our plan of a medical college. 

" We ask, if our proposition be favorably received, such 
action on your part as will insure us against molestation by 
your successors in the possession of the buildings and the 
professorships which you will confer upon us. 

" The history of the medical colleges in America is but the 
history of broils and diflicultics. Most of these we are 
firmly persuaded are legitimately referable to the fact that 
in nearly all of them the tenure of the professorship is ex- 
clusively dependent on the caprice of the trustees in the 
first place, and in the second to the fact that the professor 
has no pecuniary interest separate and apart from his fees 
in the institution. In this organization the professors are 
stimulated to exertion by the length of their lease, and by 
the great sweetener of labor, — the hope of reward. They 
will feel that the fruition for which they so zealously toil 
will not be stricken untasted from the lips and conferred by 
capricious taskmasters on new favorites, and that the adage 
' One shall sow and another reap' shall not be the bit- 
ter end of their labors. They will have money invested in 
the enterprise, and that prudence incident to the ordinary 
affairs of man will suggest the energy necessary to make 
the investment profitable. Some of them have grown gray 
in the toils of the profession which they now propose to 
teach, and whatever of reputation has accrued to them from 
a life of labor and self-denial they also invest in this enter- 
prise. Others, younger, bind the bright hopes of a sunny 
future firmly to the destinies of this effort. 

" We prefer no claims superior to those of our co-laborers 
in an arduous and responsible profession. We propose to do 
what we believe ought to be done, and what public senti- 
ment demands, to establish a medical college in Nashville. 
We contend that it is the sublimity of human folly for 
medical men to sit idly prating about the necessity of ele- 
vating the standard of medical literature, and that the mul- 
tiplication of medical colleges tends to depress it, when 
daily observation demonstrates that precisely in proportion 
as regularly educated medical gentlemen decline the labor 
of teaching, and of thus multiplying regular physicians, 
audacious empiricism organizes hot-beds for generating its 
swaggering offspring. 

" Nashville, the great political and mercantile emporium 
of the State, has contented itself with a medical college on 
paper for fifteen years, during which long period it has not 
added a single member to the regular profassion, and tlie 
result of this medical paralysis is that two empirical colleges 
in the State are now in successful operation. f This is ele- 
1 1S6S. 



290 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



vating the standard of mediciue witli a vengeance. It is 
infinitely more sensible for qualified medical men to struggle 
energetically to supply the demands of the public for phy- 
sicians than by ' masterly inactivity' to permit empiricism 
to do it for them. The people everywhere manifest a de- 
cided preference for regular physicians, if they can procure 
them, and whenever, and not before, the supply equals the 
demand, empiricism perishes. The number of medical col- 
leges cannot be limited by the power of trustees of univer- 
sities in a republic. There is a liigher resort which has 
always been found available, the State Legislature, and 
medical colleges will be multiplied by statutory provision, 
irrespective of the wishes or the peculiar views of trustees 
of universities, and a large majority of medical colleges in 
the United States at this hour exist on that basis. The 
argument, therefore, that universities ought not to mul- 
tiply medical departments because there are already 
enough for a healthy condition of medical science utterly 
fails, inasmuch as a constant successful demand upon Leg- 
islatures for additional charters demonstrates that in the 
estimation of the people there are not enough ; and when 
the people and the doctors are at issue, it does not require 
the wisdom of a Solomon to foresee which party will 
triumph. 

" Is it contended that there is not medical talent enou"-li 

D 

in this, the metropolis of a great State, to teach the healin<' 
art ? We reply, it is to just such talent that the health and 
lives of the chivalrous people of Tennessee are entrusted. 

" Is it contended that greater advantages can be secured 
to the medical student in the great transmontane institu- 
tions ? We reply that they will remain open to such as 
have means or inclination to patronize them. 

" All we ask is the privilege of teaching such as are 
willing to be taught at home, and by us, and we have no 
fears of the result. 

" We ask of the university extraordinary powers, — the 
entire control of our own department for a term of years. 
We render to the university in return extraordinary ad- 
vantages, — making oureelvcs liable to heavy expenses for 
the sake of starting this department, when it is quite un- 
certain whether our success will pay for our venture. For 
the time being we serve as active interested agents of the 
university in procuring funds to erect additional buildings 
needed by the department, and in getting up a medical 
library and museum, all of which will be the absolute prop- 
erty of the university when this agreement ceases. 

" We respectfully solicit your early action in this matter, 
with the assurance that, whatever that action may be, we 
shall continue to maintain the conviction of your wise, pru- 
dent, and patriotic intentions. 

" John M. Watson, M.D. 

" W. K. Bowling, BI.D. 

" Robert M. Porter, M.D. 

" A. H. Buchanan, M.D. 

" Charles K. Winston, M.D. 

" J. Berrien Lindsley, M.D. 

"Nashville, Sept. 28, ISoO." 

Immediately after the reading a committee composed of 
Dr. Felix Robertson, Messrs. Washington, Williams, Bass, 



and Meigs, was appointed to confer with the above medical 
gentlemen freely and fully and report at the next meeting 
of the board. Accordingly, at the next meeting, the com- 
mittee report that " the committee to whom was referred 
the proposition for the establishment of a medical depart-! 
ment of the University of Nashville, as contained in the 
plan and memorial submitted to this board by Blessrs. W. 
K. Bowling, Robert M. Porter, Charles K. Winston, John 
M. Watson, John B. Lindsley and A. H. Buchanan, beg 
leave to report that the plan on which said department is 
proposed to be organized and conducted, and the known 
character and ability of those who propose to embark in the 
enterprise, give to the public and this board the stronge.-t 
hope of success, and that it is the duty of the board to give 
to said department the use of what is called the new college 
building, etc., .... for the term of twenty-two years, aa 
proposed in said memorial, and that a committee be ap- 
pointed on the part of this board to prepare articles of agree-;] 
ment, to be executed by the proper officers of this board on 
our part, setting forih the terms on which the grant or 
lease is proposed to be made and said department estab- 
lished. 

" Signed, " Felix Robertson, 

" Thomas Washington, 
" Will. Williams, 
"R. J. BIeigs, 
"John M. Bass. 

" Oct. II, 1S50." 

Agreeably to this report, it was on motion of John M. 
Bass, 

Resolved, That a medical department be established in li 
connection with the university, . . . and that a com 
mittee be appointed to draw the articles of agreement be- '■:, 
tweon the university and the professsors in the medical de 
partment thus created, etc." Messrs. Ewing, Meigs, and 
Bass were appointed on said committee. 

The board then proceeded to an election of professors ij 
the Medical Department in the University of Nashvill 
when the following gentlemen were unanimously elected t|] 
fill the chairs, viz. : John M. Watson, M.D., Obstetrics and 
Diseases of Women and Children ; A. II. Buchanan, M.D., 
Surgery ; W. K. Bowling, M.D., Institutes and Practice of 
Medicine; C. K. Winston, M.D., Materia Medica and 
Pharmacy ; Robert M. Porter, M D., Anatomy and Physi- 
ology ; J. Berrien Lindsley, M.D., Chemistry and Pharmacy. 

At the next meeting, Friday, Oct. 18, 1850, on motion, 
it was 

"Resolved, That the committee appointed at the last meet- 
ing — viz., Messrs. Ewing, Meigs, and Bass — be authorized 
to conclude a contract with the professors of the Medical 
Department of the University of Nashville, and that any 
agreement which they in their discretion might enter into 
with said professors should be binding on this board." 

The indenture between the university and the professors 
in the newly-created medical department, signed by the com- 
mittee of the board of trustees, Ewing, Meigs, and Bass, 
on the part of the university, and by the newly-created 
professors on the part of the medical department, says that 
the latter "shall peaceably and quietly have, hold, and 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



291 



occupy, possess and enjoy the said piece or parcel of ground 
and premises hereby devised, with all its appurtenances, for 
and during the said term of twenty-two years, hereby 
granted without any lawful let, trouble, denial, or inter- 
ruption of or by the said University of Nashville, or any 
person or persons lawfully claiming or to claim by, from, or 
under the same." To the aforesaid professors is further- 
more granted the power " in case of vacancies in any of said 
professorships to nominate successors, and the. right and 
power of changing, abolishing, or vacating professorships 
and right and power of conducting all the affairs of the de- 
partment asfidli/ as the trustees themselves, free from inter- 
ference of said trustees during the term aforesaid." 

The government adopted for the college was extremely 
simple. There were to bo two officers, each to be elected 
annually, — viz., a president of the faculty to call meetings 
and preside at them, and a dean upon whom devolved the 
duty of managing the entire machinery at home and of 
representing the institution abroad. He appoints janitors 
and all operatives, and is the sole custodian of the building 
and its contents. The institution has never had a treasurer, 
the dean managing the public funds. When the graduating 
fees, matriculating fees, and other resources of the dean 
were insufficient to pay the expenses of the college, the 
balance was provided for hj pi'o rata assessments upon each 
professor. In early years, while furnishing the museum, 
those assessments were often very heavy, but in those years 
were cheerfully mot. From time to time attempts have 
been made to increase the number of officers, but always 
failed. Prof. Winston has held the office of president of 
the faculty from the beginning. Prof. Lindsley held the 
office of dean the first six years, when he resigned. Prof 
Eve then held it two years, and Prof. W. K. Bowling 
ten years, and, though re-elected unanimously, on the 30th 
of October, 1867, resigned, his resignation to take effect 
on the 1st of April following. Prof. Lindsley was elected 
to the deanship for the year after the 1st day of April, 
1868. 

The eminently just and conservative rule was adopted 
that a majority of the professors should rule, but should 
have no power to make the fees of different chairs uno(jual. 
J A majority could assess each professor to any amount. The 
(professor's remedy was resignation if ho did not like the 
assessment, and if he did not pay his assessment within 
ninety days after it was agreed on by a majority of the 
faculty and recorded by the dean, that fact was to be taken 
as his resignation without further action of the faculty. In 
prosperous times these rules would be, and were, regarded 
as just and proper, but when assessments, however neces- 
sary, swallowed up fees almost to the last dollar, the more 
■stringently organized could see no beauty in assessments, 
and would defy majorities. 

The medical department of the university being thus or- 
ganized, Dr. Paul F. Eve was added to the faculty as 
Brofessor of surgical anatomy and clinical surgery. 

" All things being now ready," says Prof Thomas 
. .nees, " the next step in the development of a medical 
school was to command a class. The department, guided 
by the wisdom and impelled by the ardor and enthusiasm 
of its gifted founders, burst, like Minerva from the head of 



Jupiter, at once into maturity, in full panoply and rich in 
all the appointments of utility, and commanded the largest 
first class that any institution of the kind had ever done 
in this country, and I doubt not, I may add, in the 
world. . . . 

" So pleased were the trustees with the management and 
success of the department that early in the period of the 
first lease to the faculty they added twenty years' additional 
time to their right to occupy and control it, provided they 
would still add to and amplify their museum and apparatus, 
which was agreed to and done. She continued to add, by 
her success and achievements, to the lustre and brilliancy 
of her fame, until, in the language of the distinguished gen- 
tleman already quoted, ' When the war came, the eagle 
plumage of our medical school was already bathing in the 
sun, the cynosure of the republics of science throughout 
the world.' 

" By the convulsions and vicissitudes of war she was 
crippled, but not crushed. Cato, when informed that his 
son had been slain in battle, answered something like this : 
' I should have blushed had my house stood and prospered 
amid scenes like these.' 

" Though wounded and temporarily arrested in her pro- 
gress, she still lives, and in the spirit of honorable and 
glorious rivalry offers again the gauntlet to those of her 
competitors who were more fortunately situated in relation 
to the calamities of that struggle, with the assurance that 
she will not only deserve victory, but again wrest it from 
temporary defeat. 

" In carrying out this determination we are being nobly 
sustained by the trustees, who, less than two years ago, 
came forward and added thirteen yeai'S to our existing 
lease, giving us an aggregate of thirty years of unexpired 
possession, conditioned that the lessees would build a 
hospital attached to the college buildings. 

" Already, with all modern improvements, the beautiful, 
magnificent, and imposing structure is there, and has been 
utilized during two sessions.* Thus fully equipped, with 
all the appointments of a first-class medical college, I say 
we again kindly and fraternally, yet boldly, offer the gauge 
in honorable rivalry to the most flattered, proud, and petted 
of fortune's favorites, and are willing to abide the arbitra- 
ment of time for the result. 

"The faculty of this institution has furnished to the 
American Medical Association two presidents and five vice- 
presidents, — an honor which I believe has been conferred 
upon no other college in America. 

" I will not stop to panegyrize the great names of its 
founders. Their works are their proudest eulogists. They 
have erected for themselves a monument imperishable as 
the noble profession to the culture and elevation of which 
they have contributed so much, and high upon whose roll 
of fame have inscribed their names in letters of living light, 
to cheer and animate its votaries who are to follow them to 
high resolves, lofty aspirations, and noble achievements. 

" So much for the Medical Department of the Univer- 
sity of Nashville, which has been adopted by Vanderbilt 
University. This medical department now represents each 



» Address of Prof. Mcnccs, delivered in 1877. 



292 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



one of these universities, distinct in their facuhy organiza- 
tions, yet joint in their teaching. We have their endorse- 
ment with the power of conferring the degree of Doctor of 
Medicine in the name of each institution. We teach the 
classes jointly, each having all the facilities of the other." 

This arrangement between the two universities was con- 
summated in 187-1. The college is now known as the 
Medical Department of the University of Nashville and of 
Vanderbilt University. Since 187-1 the courses of lectures 
have been delivered to the medical students of the two 
universities in the same halls, each enjoying like facilities. 
During the past year there have been costly improvements 
in the buildings, one result of which is the most elegant ■ 
auditorium in the United States, lighted, heated, and seated 
in conformity with the most recent modern designs. The 
hospital, under the same roof, has been doubled in capacity 
and refitted in a style to meet all requirements of a first- 
class institution of the kind. The class of 1879-80 is the 
largest which has assembled since the war, numbering' 
nearly three hundred and fifty. It is gratifying to be able 
to state that the class, in its literary acquirements and 
aptitude for study, gives evidence of an active revival of 
education in the South. This school has a great reputa- 
tion. Its alumni, now aggregating two thousand two hun- 
dred in number, are found in all the Southern andin many 
of the Northern States of the Union. From its origin to 
the present time the school has-been remarkably fortunate 
in having a faculty composed of able and.experienced phy- 
sicians, — gentlemen whose reputation is by no means con- 
fined to Nashville or Tennessee. From the start its .success 
was insured. Students flocked from all parts of the South 
to its lecture-halls, which were soon filled to "their utmost 
capacity. 

The buildings of the medical college are situated in the- 
southeastern part of the city, between College and Blarket. 
Streets, and occupy an entire square. 

The following is a synopsis of the iuatriculates and 
graduates of the school from its beginning to the present 
time: 

Dates. Matiiciiljites. GraUu.-iteB. 

1851-52 121 33 

1852-53 152 3G 

1S53-54 220 71 

1854-55 294 93 

1855-56 339 85 

1856-57 J19 137 

1857-58 353 109 

1858-59 436 103 

1859-60 456 101 

1860-6i 399 141 

1861-62 102 24 

1862-63 32 9 

1863-64 45 15 

1864 33 II 

1864-65 75 27 

1865-66 127 54 

1866-67 192 56 

1867-68 209 83 

1868-69 201 71 

1869-70 186 58 

1870-71 203 66 

1871-72 240 82 

1872-73 235 69 

1873-74 245 72 

1874-75 240 71 

1875-76 242 63 

1876-77 248 70 

1877 65 31 

1S77-78 260 101 

1878-79 282 116 

1879-80 340 142 

Total 6991 2200 



Faculties. — In 1854, Dr. Thomas R. Jennings was made 
professor of the institutes of medicine. In 1855, Dr. R. 
M. Porter, professor of anatomy, died, and Professor Jen- 
nings was transferred to the chair of anatomy. During 
the civil war lectures in the medical department were sus- 
pended, but in 1865 its doors were reopened. In 1863, 
Professor A. H. Buchanan died, and, on the reopening of 
the school. Dr. Joseph Jones was made professor of phys- 
iology. In 1866, Professor John M. Watson died, and 
the chair of obstetrics was filled by the election of Dr. W. 
T. Briggs, who had been associated with the institution as 
demonstrator of anatomy since its foundation, and as adjunct 
professor of anatomy for some time. In 1867, Professors 
Eve, Jennings, and Jones retired from the faculty, and, in 
1868, Drs. Maddin, Callender, Nichol, T.B.Buchanan, 
and V. S. Lindsley were elected members respectively to 
the chairs of institutes, materia medica, diseases of the chest 
and clinical medicine and anatomy and surgical anatomy. 
Professor Briggs was transferred to the chair of surgery, 
and Professor Winston from that of materia medica to that 
of obstetrics. In 1870, Professor Callender retired from 
the, chair of materia medica, and was made professor of 
diseases of the brain and nervous system, and Professor 
Nichol' was transferred to the chair of materia medica. In 
1873, Professors J. B. Lindsley, W. K. Bowling, and C. 
K. Winston retired from the school, and Dr. J. M. SafFord 
was elected to fill the chair of chemistry. Professor Mad- 
din was transferred to the chair of practice of medicine, 
Professor W. L. Nichol to that of obstetrics. Professor V. 
S. Lindsley to that of institutes, and Dr. Thomas Mences 
was elected to fill tlie chair of materia medica. In 1874, 
Professor T. B. Buchanan resigned the chair of anatomy, 
and was succeeded by Dr. Thomas 0. Summers, Jr. Pro- 
fessor -Nichol resigned the chair of obstetrics, and Professor 
Menees was transferred to it, and Dr. Thomas A. Atchison 
was elected to the chair of materia medica. The chair of 
diseases of women and children was made at this time, and 
-Professor W. L. Nichol was elected to fill it. In 1875, 
Professor Paul F. Eve renewed his connection with the 
school, filling for two years the chair of clinical surgery. 
In 1877, Professor Bowling also renewed his connection in 
the chair of malarial diseases, which he hold until 1878. 
In 1 880, Professor Summers resigned the chair of anatomy, 
and was succeeded by Professor V. S. Lindsley, and Pro- 
fessor Callender was made professor of physiology and psy- 
chology. Dr. C. S. Briggs was made adjunct to the chair 
of surgery. The demonstratorship of anatomy in the in- 
stitution has been filled, in the course of its liistory, by 
Drs. W. T. Briggs, V. S. Lindsley, H. M. Compton, C. S. 
Briggs, T. W. Menees, and 0. H. Menees. The fliculty is 
at present organized as follows : 

Eben S. Stearns, D.D., Chancellor of the University of 
Nashville. 

Landon C. Garland, LL.D., Chancellor of Vanderbilt 
University. 

i^ac»%.— William T. Briggs, M.D.,* Professor of Sur- 
gery; Thomas L. Maddin, M.D., Professor of the Insti- 
tutes and Practice of Medicine and of Clinical Medicine ; 

■^' See special biography. 




""aHidsm Fiii 



TT-,":/. ^^^^^ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



293 



William L. Nichol, M.D., Professor of Diseases of Women 
and ChilJien and of Clinical Medicine ; John H. Callender, 
M.D., Professor of PJiysiology and Psychology ; Yan S. 
Lindslcy, M.D.,* Professor of Anatomy ; Thomas Menees,* 
M.D., Professor of Obstetrics ; James M. Safford, M.D., 
Professor of Chemistry; Thomas A. Atchison, M.L., Pro- 
fessor of Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and Preventive 
Medicine; C. S. Briggs, M.D., Adjunct Professor of Sur- 
gery ; Orville H. Menees, M.D., Demonstrator of Anatomy. 
Ambrose Morrison, M.D., Assistant to Chair of Physi- 
ology ; W. D. Haggard, M.D., Assistant to Chair of Ob- 
stetrics ; William G. Ewing, M.D., Assistant to Chair of 
Chemistry ; R, W. Steger, M.D., Assistant to Chair of 
Practice ; Orville H. Blenees, M.D., Assistant to Chair 

Ij of Anatomy. 

Thomas L. Maddin, M.D.,* President of the Faculty. 
W. T. Briggs, M.D., Dean of the University of Nash- 

i ville. 

jl Thomas Menees, JI.D., Dean of Vanderbilt University. 

» • James M. Safford, M.D., Secretary of the Faculty. 

SHELBY MEDICAL COLLEGE. 

This institution was founded in 1857 as the medical de- 
partment of a projected university of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church South, and is so designated in the charter 
obtained from the Legislature of Tennessee. The influence 
of Southern Methodism was crystallizing at Nashville. The 
establishment of a " central university" at this point was 
deemed essential. A. L. P. Green, D.D., was in the front 
of this movement. Cornelius Vanderbilt stepped forward 
and solved the financial difSculty. Therefore, out of grati- 
tude to him, it was deemed just and proper that his name 
should be perpetuated and honored by substituting it for 
" Central University," of which Shelby College was the 
medical department. The unprecedented success of the 
educational enterprises of Nashville, and especially of the 
Medical Department of the University of Nashville, in the 
estimation of prudent and wise councilors, justified the 
founding of another medical school. Its organization was 
committed to John P. Ford, M.D., John H. Callender, 
M.D., and Thomas L. Maddin, M.D. 

The buildings were situated on Broad Street, between 
Vine and Spruce Streets, on the site at present occupied by 
that model of beautiful architecture, the United States 
Custom- House. They were commodious, beautiiully situ- 
ated, and admirably adapted for the purposes of medical 
teaching. Immediately adjoining, and under the same 
roof, was the City Charity Hospital, averaging about one 
hundred patients, under the control and management of 
the faculty, furnishing ample material for clinical instruc- 
tion. The equipment in museum, materia medica, cabinet, 
and chemical apparatus was of the most approved plans 
for didactic illustration, and would compare favorably with 
any school in the country. 

The faculty consisted of gentlemen eminent in their sev- 
eral departments, viz. : E. B. Haskins, M.D., Professor of 
Practice of Medicine and Clinical Medicine ; John Freder- 
ick May, M.D., Professor of Surgery and Clinical Surgery ; 

* See special biography. 



John P. Ford, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics and Clinical 
Obstetrics ; Thomas L. Maddin, M.D., Professor of An- 
atomy and Histology ; Daniel F. Wright, M.D., Professor 
of Physiology ; John H. Callender, M.D., Professor of Ma- 
teria Medica and Therapeutics; Henri Ervin, M.D., Pro- 
fessor of Chemistry ; M. Compton, M.D., Demonstrator in 
Practical Anatomy. 

Thus equipped and appointed, Shelby Medical College 
opened its first session in the ftill of 1857 with an ethical 
standard shaped closely upon the requirements of the best- 
organized schools in the country. After a successful career 
of three sessions, the first numbering eighty-five, the third 
one hundred and twenty students, in common with all other 
institutions of learning throughout the South, its doors 
were closed by the events of our civil war. The buildings 
were impressed for hospital purposes, then barracks for sol- 
diers, and finally barracks for refugees, and were thus used 
to the close of the war. With buildings dilapidated, mu- 
seum, cabinets, and chemical apparatus a mass of rubbish, 
and with only a minority of the faculty surviving, the insti- 
tution was in bad plight for reorganization. 

In the reconstruction of the Medical Department of the 
University of Nashville, in 1867, Drs. Callender and Mad- 
din were invited to chairs in that school. Strictly speaking, 
the Medical Department of Vanderbilt University is Shelby 
Medical College resuscitated. Tiiese gentlemen have the 
gratification of having contributed to its union with the 
Medical Department of the University of Nashville, under 
one organization and one faculty. Shelby College exists 
to-day in honored fellowship with the other departments of 
this splendid institution, — the outcome of a great man's 
philanthropy, a pride and benefaction to the present genera- 
tion, and a sure promise of a higher civilization to the future. 

NASHVILLE MEDICAL COLLEGE-MEDICAL DEPART- 
MENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE. 

This institution was organized in the summer of 1876, — 
the national Centennial year. It was founded by Drs. Dun- 
can Eve and W. F. Glenn, who drew from the fiiculty of 
the Medical Depurtment of the University of Nashville and 
Vanderbilt Unive'rsity the renowned Prof. Paul F. Eve, 
M.D., who with Drs. T. B. Buchanan, George S. Blackie, 
W. P. Jones, J. J. Abernethy, and others constituted the 
faculty of the young medical college. 

The first session of this institution was commenced Blarch 
5, 1877, under most flattering prospects ; the number of stu- 
dents graduated was greater than that of any medical col- 
lege, for the first session, in the United States. 

The faculty represented a larger number of specialists, or 
professors of special departments in medicine and surgery, 
than any similar institution in the South. 

In 1879 an overture was made the faculty by the trus- 
tees of the University of Tennessee, formerly the East Ten- 
nessee University, located at Knoxville, Tenn., to become 
their medical department, and an agreement was entered 
into, forming as the college did a most formidable alliance. 
In the spring of this same year a dental department was es- 
tablished, being the first dental school in the South. This 
department, like the medical, has met with the most signal 
success. 



294 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



The Nashville Medical College — Medioal Department of 
the University of Tennessee — has advocated from its estab- 
lishment a high standard of medical education, and to this 
end has required a vigorous examination of its candidates 
for the degrees of M.D. and D.D.S. The college is a mem- 
ber of the American Medical College Association. 

The college is located on the west side of North Market 
Street, just belovp the public square, in the city of Nashville. 

Among the recent improvements added to the college 
building is the erection of several large furnaces underneath 
the floor, to be used in heating the different departments 
during the winter, and the construction of a stack chimney 
in connection with the furnaces, which will also act as a 
ventilating shaft. The greatest improvement of all, how- 
ever, is the new lecture-hall, with a seating capacity for 
four hundred students. The seats are admirably arranged 
and every convenience possible added. The ceiling of this 
department, at a cost of one thousand five hundred dollars, 
has been beautifully frescoed with designs showing the dif- 
ferent industrial enterprises of the State. 

The amphitheatre will accommodate an equal number of 
students. It is well heated and ventilated, and a well- 
arranged skylight floods the apartment with light. 

The dissecting department is probably better arranged for 
the work which its name indicates than that of any other 
medical institution in America. It consists of a long hall 
running the entire length of the building, on each side of 
which are eighteen rooms. 

The library, which is yet incomplete, contains several 
hundred standard medical works and books of reference, to 
which the students have free access. 

The museum is contained in a large and well-lighted 
room. A variety of normal and morbid anatomical speci- 
mens have been collected, besides models in plaster and 
■wax. The museum promises to become one of the most 
extensive in the South. Here can also be seen Dr. Eve's 
private collections in lithotomy, second in number only to 
those of Dr. Gross. 

The following are the professors : 

George S. Blackie, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry 
and Toxicology, and President of the Faculty ; W. P. Jones, 
M.D., Professor of Insanity and State Medicine ; Deering 
J. Roberts, M.D , Professor of Principles and Practice of 
Medicine; J. Bunyan Stephens, M.D., Professor of Ob- 
stetrics and Clinical Midwifery; Duncan Eve, M.D., Pro- 
fessor of Science and Art of Surgery and Clinical Surgery, 
and Dean of the Faculty; J. S. Nowlin, M.D., Professor 
of Medical and Surgical Diseases of Women ; W. M. 
Vertrees, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica and Thera- 
peutics and Clinical Medicine ; T. 0. Summers, M.D., 
Professor of Physiology and Surgical Anatomy ; William 
- F. Glenn, M.D., Professor of Anatomy and Venereal Dis- 
eases ; A. Blitz, M.D., Professor of Medical and Surgical 
Diseases of the Eye and Ear ; William G. Brien, M.D., 
LL.D., Professor of Bledica! Jurisprudence ; J. G. Sin- 
clair, M.D., Professor of Principles of Surgery and Dis- 
eases of the Throat; Robert Russell, M.D. , D.D.S., Pro- 
fessor of Operative Dentistry ; J. Y. Crawford, M.D., 
D.D.S., Professor of Mechanical Dentistry ; Paul F. E\ie, 
M.D., J. A. Rogers, M.D., Demonstrators of Anatomy ; 



W. L. Desmukcs, D.D.S., Gillington Chisholm, D.D.S., 
J. F. Stephens, D.D.S., Demonstrators of Dentistry. 



NASHVILLE INFIRMARY. 

Nashville Infirmary, corner of College and Priestly 
Streets, Nashville, Tenn., under the superintendence of M. 
Baxter, M.D., established in 1876, is situated in the high- 
est and most salubrious part of the city of Nashville. 
Thoroughly equipped and provided with all the modern 
and improved conveniences for the treatment of medical and 
surgical diseases, it offers extraordinary inducements to 
patients coming to the city as a quiet retreat during their 
sojourn. The faculty of the Medical Departments of the 
University of Nashville and of Vanderbilt University con- 
stitute the medical and surgical staff of the infirmary. A. 
skilled corps of nurses is in constant attendance, and a com- 
petent resident physician has immediate charge of th 
patients. The lying-in department constitutes an impor- 
tant feature of the infirmary, and thorough privacy is as- 
sured in such cases. Every effort is taken by the consult- 
ing staff' and the superintendent to render the stay of 
patients pleasant and profitable, and to that end they seek 
to make the infirmary as comfortable and home-like as 
possible. Board in the wards, five dollars per week ; in 
private rooms, from eight to fourteen dollars per week, ac- 
cording to circumstances. 






NASHVILLE BOARD OF HEALTH. 

One of the most important institutions of Nashville is 
its Board of Health. In no city, however naturally healthy, 
can there be permanent immunity from sickness, especially 
from the ravages of prevailing epidemics, where the laws 
and conditions of health are habitually violated. This 
principle was fully recognized by the Nashville Medical 
Society in 1866, when the prevalence of Asiatic cholera 
in many portions of the United States created alarm for 
the safety of the city, and they sounded the note of warn- 
ing to the municipal government to ward off the impending 
danger by wise and timely sanitary measures. In this 
movement the Board of Health of Nashville had its incep- 
tion. The president of the medical society. Dr. C. K. 
Winston, called a meeting of the profession at the oflSce 
of Dr. T. L. Bladdin, on the evening of the 5th of June, 
1866, at which time and place two physicians were selected 
for sanitary work in each ward of the city. The names 
and wards were as follows : 

First Ward.— W. A. Cheatham and J. R. Buist. 

Second Ward. — J. C. Newnan and H. M. Compton. 

Third Ward.— T. L. Maddin and W. L. Nichol. 

Fourth Ward.— J. W. Morton and W. B. Maney. 

Fifth Ward.— J. D. Winston and J. H. Calleiidcr. 

Sixth Ward.— T. B. Buchanan and J. D. Plunket. 

Seventh Ward.— B. F. P'Pool and J. H. Currey. 

Eighth Ward. — C. A. Brodie and J. A. Beauchamp. 

Ninth Ward. — F. M. Hughes and Van S. Lindsley. 

Tenth Ward.— T. A. Atchison and D. Du Pr6. 

The board was organized by the election of Dr. J. C. 
Newnan president. Dr. T. L. Maddin vice-president, and 
Dr. J. D. Plunket secretary and executive oificer. A full 
interchange of opinions took place, and much earnestness 








(2^^ 






CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



295 



of purpose was exhibited by the members. During the 
remainder of the month of June three other meetings were 
licld. The board was divided into committees on hygiene, 
nuisances, endemic diseases, epidemic diseases, meteorology, 
and mortuary reports. On the 18th, Dr. W. D. Horton 
took the place of Dr. J. H. Currey. On the 26th, as the 
result of conferences with the city government, a bill was 
passed to establish a Board of Health. In July and August 
the board met five times. Cholera was then approaching 
from Louisville. Up to August 11th, Secretary Plunket 
reported one case, that of a visitor from Cincinnati. By 
the 31st of August seven deaths had occurred. By the 
15th of September the epidemic was fully under way. By 
the loth of October it was a thing of the past. The JVash- 
ville Dispatch, of that date, estimates that over eight hun- 
dred deaths had been the harvest which the pestilence had 
gathered while it held high carnival in the city, and says, 
"With the single exception of Memphis, the mortality has 
been greater in Nashville, according to population, than in 
any other city it has visited in this country." It also says 
that " the pestilence raged with greater force than during 
its former visitations." 

" Under the smart of this terrible punishment for inat- 
tention to the warnings of medical science, the municipal 
authorities no longer hesitated to make tlie Board of Health 
a reality. On the 11th of April, 1867, the ordinance 
organizing the Board of Health was so amended as to create 
a health officer, with a salary of eighteen hundred dollars 
per annum. With the exception of five months in autumn 
and winter, his entire time was devoted to his duties, while 
during all the year he was subject to the instructions of the 
board. The health officer was to be nominated by the 
Board of Health, and elected by joint vote of both boards 
of the City Council. 

" On April 15th, Joseph Jones, M.D., professor of phy- 
siology and pathology in the Medical Department of the 
University of Nashville, was nominated as health officer, 
and afterwards duly elected. He was the first person who 
filled that office in Nashville or in Tennessee. An expert 
scientist, and a physician who had filled a high position in 
the army of the Confederate States during the four years' 
contest, he was thoroughly furnished for the difficult task 
to which he was summoned. He devoted his entire ener- 
gies to the work, was cordially sustained by the board, the 
city government, and by the citizens generally. 

" Nashville had in earnest entered upon a career of sani- 
tary reform which if continued a few years would have 
made the city as renowned for health as it has always been 
for intellect. 

" All this was frustrated by the strange political anomaly 
which disfranchised the wealth, intellect, and virtue, while 
it enfranchised the vice, ignorance, and misery, of the city. 
From the minutes of the Board of Health it appears that 
on 'Deeember 11th, Professor Jones was unanimously and 
against his own protest nominated as health officer for the 
year 1868. The city government ignored this nomination, 
and elected a candidate of their own. The Board of Health 
did not see proper to contest this illegal step, and virtually 
came to an end, although a futile attempt was made to re- 
vive it July, 1869, when John M. Bass, as receiver, re- 



placed the entire city government. Against the respectful 
remonstrances of the board, he made the fatal mistake of 
economizing at the expense of the public health. 

" In 1873, a year whose fame will long be connected with 
that of Asiatic cholera, Nashville received another severe 
and costly lesson on the importance of sanitary common 
sense, and on May 27, 1874, the ordinance creating the 
present Board of Health became a law. On June 1st the 
board met and organized. Dr. J. D. Plunket being presi- 
dent, and Dr. J. R. Buist, secretary. The other members 
were the mayor T. A. Kercheval, Professor Charles K. 
Winston, M.D., and Henry M. Compton, M.D. Mayor 
Morton B. Howell became a member on Oct. 6, 1874. 
Dr. J. R. Buist resigned Feb. 20, 1875, and W. J. Mc- 
Murray was elected to fill the vacancy. He went out Oc- 
tober, 1875, being elected alderman, and Dr. Buist was 
chosen to fill the vacancy. October, 1875, Thomas A. 
Kercheval again entered the board as mayor. 

"In May, 1876, Dr. John A. Draughon was elected Dr. 
Winston's successor. Dr. H. M. Compton, who died on 
July 20, 1876, was succeeded by Dr. J. B. W. Nowlin. 
Dr. Buist's term expired June, 1877. 

"On June 3, 1874, John Watson Morton, 51. D., was 
chosen health officer. The board at once entered upon its 
work with diligence. Proper blanks were prepared and a 
mortuary register commenced on July 4th. Dr. Morton 
retired from office on June 10, 1876, when Dr. J. Berrien 
Lindsley became his successor. The work accomplished by 
the board during the past three years is exhibited in the 
report of Dr. Morton, Nov. 24, 1875, and in other reports 
since made by the board. 

" The great object of the board has been to lay a perma- 
nent foundation for durable future work. It has endeav- 
ored to carry the people with it, commencing its labors in 
the full tide of the greatest commercial revulsion America 
has ever known ; it has been exceedingly cautious in urg- 
ing expensive sanitary measures, and has contented itself 
with keeping before the citizens and the municipal authori- 
ties the unspeakable importancj of cleanliness on all prem- 
ises, private and public. It has also, in addition to reliable 
and valuable mortality statistics, collected a large amount of 
most important data, which will always be of use in the 
future. 

" The great questions of water supply, of drainage, of 
sewerage, of night and day scavengering, have been taken 
up, and in some cases very satisfactory progress made." 

Dr. Lindsley, in his annual report to the board in 1877, 
says,— 

" Having within the past year studied with care the re- 
ports of fifty or sixty city and State Boards of Health, I may 
perhaps be allowed to congratulate our own people upon 
the fact that the essential elements of permanence, medi- 
cal skill, and freedom from the deadly poison of politics, 
all unite in the composition of the Nashville Board of 
Health."* 

Again, in the third annual report of the board, Dr. 
Lindsley says, — 



-» Extract from Second Annual Report of the Nashville Board of 
Ilcallh, 1S77. 



296 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



." Hitherto the co-operation of our city government and 
of our citizens generally has been kindly and satisfactory. 
The public appreciates the efforts of the board, and there is 
every reason for believing that here in our own beloved 
Nashville medical science will have full opportunity for 
showing how lasting and benign are the benefits it is 
capable of bestowing on a people. No higher honor can 
any one carve out for himself than that of leaving a city 
with a death-rate of seventeen per thousand per annum, 
which he took in hand with one of thirty-four per annum 
per thousand. If the saving of one life in the good olden 
time entitled to the civic crown, with what laurels shall the 
brows of him who saves seventeen lives of each thousand 
of population in every year of a city's continuance be en- 
circled ?" 

On June 19, 1877, the board was organized for the en- 
suing year by the election of Dr. J. R. Buist as president, 
and Dr. J. B. W. Nowlin secretary. 

The Nashville Board uf Health has been one of the most 
active and efficient bodies of the kind in the United States, 
and has received the encomiums of leading sanitarians and 
health officers in the chief cities of the Union. What has 
it done to merit these encomiums ? 

r. It has awakened a vast amount of thought, and fur- 
nished a vast deal of information to the people, on the most 
vital subject, the health of the city. All reforms of this 
kind must proceed upon the assumption that ignorance is 
not only the mother of vice, but of filth, squalor, poverty, 
and disease. Hence the first necessity of the reform is the 
enlightenment of the public mind. Sanitary science be- 
comes a most valuable means of popular education. Recog- 
nizing and acting upon this principle, the Board of Health 
has circulated information of the most valuable kind, and 
which previous to the publication of their proceedings was 
unknown to thousands, who never thought of acquiring the 
information for themselves. The published reports of the 
board form a perfect compendium of sanitary science, such 
as can nowhere else be found in so complete and condensed 
a form. It furnishes all this, in addition to the exhaustive 
special matter relating to Nashville. The reports of the 
board have called forth the highest commendations of wen 
of science in several of our large cities. Dr. Joseph Holt, 
sanitary inspector for the First District of New Orleans, a 
fine scholar and writer, sa3-s in a letter to Dr. Lindsley, 
" Allow me to express my opinion of this work as the most 
complete and satisfactory of any of its kind I have ever 
seen." To the same effect are commendations from Drs. J. 
G. Richardson and Henry Hartshorne, distinguished pro- 
fessors of Philadelphia. 

2. The board, by its wise and skillful management and 
by the weight of character of the members of the pro- 
fession which constitute it, has secured the co-operation 
of the city government and the Legislature, without which 
it would have been impossible to carry out practically the 
reforms propose'd. The importance of this is seen in its 
true light when it is considered that without the appro- 
priations made from time to time by the City Council nothing 
could have been done towards the practical sanitation of 
the city. Take the matter of hospitals, city dispensary, 
water-works, sewage, disinfection, scavengering, etc., as ex- 






amples. Most of these measures, originating with the 
Board of Health, have been taken up and heartily and' 
practically indorsed by the intelligent and liberal city 
government, and thus there has been a happy and hearty 
co-operation between the board and the municipal author- 
ities. 

3. The board inaugurated and has carried out success 
fully a system of registration, upon which has been based 
a most accurate and reliable collection of mortuary statis- 
tics, showing the real state of the health of the city as 
correctly as the thermometer indicates the temperature, or 
the barometer the state of the weather. 

4. It is shown by these statistics that the Board ol 
Health has actually reduced the death-rate of the city to 
a minimum of seventeen and forty-three one-hundredths 
in every one thousand of the white population, and thirty 
three and fifty one-hundrcdths for the colored population 
per year. Assuming the population to be fifty thousand, 
that is a saving of eight hundred and fifty lives a year out 
of the list of mortality for the city. Surely that is a gooctij 
showing for the practical work of the board, and more ma; 
yet be expected of it when the perfect system of sanitar 
appliances which it has in contemplation shall have been 
carried into complete effect. 

5. The agency of the Board of Health in the inaugura 
tion and successful establishment of the new system of !j 
water supply for the city is too important to be passed over 
without notice. 

In 1866 an agitation of the question of a pure as well as 
an ample supply of water was commenced by the then exist- 
ing Board of Health. Their views attracted eager public 
attention. The fearful ravages of cholera in the autumn 
of 1866 and in the summer of 1873 added much to their 
weight and potency with the people. James Wyatt, Esq., 
superintendent of the water-works, early in 1876 brought 
forward his very ingenious idea of using the corporation 
island as a filter. His petition to the City Council asking 
for an appropriation of fifty dollars for a preliminary experi- 
ment was likely not to pass. At the meeting of the board, 
July 9, 1876, Dr. Plunket offered the following resolution, 
which was unanimously adopted : 

'• Resolved, That in the opinion of this board the plan 
suggested to the City Council by Mr. James Wyatt, super- 
intendent of the water-works, of converting the island 
above the city into a filtering apparatus for purifying the 
water supplied the city is of the greatest importance, and in 
appearance quite feasible. 

" Resolved, That we hope the small appropriation asked 
for to test the matter practically will be allowed. 

" Resolved, That we assure the City Council that a system 
of purifying the drinking-water of the city is imperatively 
demanded on the score of health and decency, and that 
our people cannot much longer be imposed upon in the 
quality of the water supply." 

The City Council, with that cordiality which ordinarily 
marks its appreciation of the suggestions of the Board of 
Health when fully explained and understood, at once made 
the appropriation. 

On the 30th of September, 1876, a vote was taken at 
the municipal election on the question of expending one 




Photo, by Arinstroiij;, NasliviUo. 



T. E. ENLOE, M.D. 



T. E. Enloe is of Eiiglisli descent, but liis 
paternal grandfatlier was a native of South Carolina, 
from which State he emigrated to Humphi-eys Co., 
Tenn., about the beginning of the present century. 
Benjamin S. Enloe, Dr. Enloe's father, was born in 
Humphreys County, Sept. 22, 1815, but when very 
young moved to West Tennessee, where he still resides. 

He was tax-collector of Carroll County several 
years, M'as prior to the war of the Rebellion an old-line 
Whig, and when the subject of secession was agitated 
he sided with the Union cause, but took no active 
part in the civil war which ensued. His family 
consisted of five children, — two daughters and three 
sons, of whom T. E. Enloe was the eldest. He was 
born the 12th of March, 1845. His early days were 
passed on the farm with his father, and in 1861, when 
President Lincoln's proclamation was issued calling 
for troops to suppress the Rebellion, he was attending 
college. Like most of the young men of that period, 
his martial ardor was aroused, and he abandoned the 
prosecution of his studies and enlisted in the Federal 
army as a private. He served three years, and when 
"the army was disbanded he had attained the rank of 
sergeant-major of brigade. 

Returning home, he married, Sept. 7, 1865, Miss 
Rebecca A. Spellings; exchanged the sword for the 
plowshare, and continued the avocation of farming 
during the next five years. His predilection for 



medicine led him to commence the study of that pro- 
fession in 1871. He was an earnest and thorough 
student, and graduated at the University of Nash- 
ville in March, 1874, with the highest honors of his 
class. He had previously determined to make his 
home in Nashville, and had brought his family to that 
city in January of the same year. Believing that 
the ])rinciples and practice of homoeopathy were in 
accordance with the laws of nature, he commenced 
his career as a homoeopathic physician in August, 1874. 
Homcenpathy was at that time comparatively in its 
infancy in this county, and the young practitioner 
had many prejudices and strong opposition to over- 
come. In this he has succeeded beyond his most 
sanguine expectations, winning by his care, skill, and 
attention the confidence and esteem of the people. 
He is justly regarded as one of the rising physicians 
of Nashville, and is already in possession of an exten- 
sive and lucrative practice. 

Socially, Dr. Enloe is a pleasant companion, a man 
of decisive character, firm in his opinions and con- 
scientious in his actions. He is ever the friend of 
progress, improvement, and education. Religiously, 
he is an adherent to the Baptist faith, and a sincere 
and conscientious Christian. 

His home circle is blessed with three children, — 
Benjamin H., Nannie E., and Mattie F., — Annie L. 
having died at the age of five years. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



297 



hundred and ten thousand dollars for a new engine, the 
vote being two thousand three hundred and eighty in favor, 
to four hundred and seventy-four against the expenditure. 
Tlius the island filter project was fairly inaugurated. 

When it was determined to expend the large amtiunt 
above mentioned upon the purchase of new machinery, 
which was designed to supply the city w.ith water for many 
years to come, the board at once saw the great importance 
of again arousing the public to the necessity of getting 
good while they were getting plenty of water. Accord- 
ingly it invoked the assistance of seven public-spirited 
citizens, entirely without self-seeking, through whose aid a 
series of public meetings was held for free conference. 
These meetings took place during October, November, 
December, and January, at the health office. Their pro- 
ceedings were fully reported in the daily papers. Many 
prominent citizens took part in the discussions. These also 
became the theme of general conversation at the fireside 
and in the street. 

At one of these meetings Professor Thomas L. Maddin 
read an elaborate paper. This appeared in the Amei-ican. 
The board had four thousand copies printed on a broad- 
side and circulated throughout the city. 

In the American of Jan. 19, 1877, may be found the 
report giving the matured views of the citizens' committee, 
signed by J. M. Hamilton, J. M. Safford, Thomas L. Mad- 
din, John M. Lea, T. A. Atchison, and N. E. Alloway. 
The remaining member of the committee, K. J. Morris, 
was absent. 

In accordance with the tenor of the recommendations 
made by the citizens' committee, efforts were made to pro- 
cure the passage of an act by the General Assembly of 
Tennessee, then in session, authorizing the issuance of 
bonds to a limited amount, and under due restrictions, for 
the erection of a new water-works. Under the guidance 
of Senator Frank P. Cahill this bill passed the Senate 
without opposition. In the House it was killed owing to 
various complications. 

The advocates of pure water were not daunted. They 
still insisted that one hundred and ten thousand dollars 
should not only get a new engine, but go a great way in 
meetiag the expense of bringing good water from the island 
filter, and even if that should, contrary to all probability, 
prove a failure, from the river just above the island, whore 
the water is free from all pollution. The City Council en- 
tered heartily into these views. Their committees were 
very slow and cautious in entering into conti'acts. A 
special committee was appointed to visit the principal cities 
of the West for the purpose of examining their water- 
works machinery. The results of their labors are given in 
an interesting report published in the American, June 17, 
1877. 

As the result of all this patient deliberation and action, 
a new engine is now in use, capable of amply supplying a 
city several fold larger than Nashville. Also great prog- 
ress has been made upon the conduit up the river for pure 
water. For particulars we are under obligations to City 
Engineer Foster's report, from which we extract the fol- 
lowing : 

"On the 10th day of July, 1877, a contract was en- 
3ti 



tored into between the city of Nashville and Dean Broth- 
ers, of Indianapolis, Ind., whereby the latter agreed to 
build and place in position two sets of their double-acting, 
condensing pumping-engines, which together should be 
capable of lilting ten million gallons of water to a height 
of two hundred and seventy-five feet above low-water mark 
in Cumberland River in twenty-four hours, the ' duty' test 
to be sixty million foot-pounds for each one hundred pounds 
of coal consumed. Preparatory to erecting said machinery 
it became necessary for the city to entirely remodel and re- 
build the eastern portion of the old engine-house, in order 
to place the building in proper condition to receive the new 
machinery. This was a work of much magnitude and groat 
difEculty. Many serious obstacles were met during the 
progress of the work, and it was only by the most deter- 
mined perseverance and unflinching determination to suc- 
ceed that the work was accomplished. . . . 

" The engine-house has been completed, and we now have 
in position and ready for service three pumping-engines, — to 
wit, two double engines, built by Dean Brothers, capable 
of running separately or together, and the old machinery 
which has served the city for twenty-five years, and is still 
capable of work in case of necessity. 

" In addition to the work at tlie engine-house there has 
been erected near the old reservoir a new wrought-iron 
stand-pipe, inclosed by a brick tower, the top of which is 
two hundred and seventy-six feet above low-water mark in 
the river. Connecting the new stand-pipe with the pump- 
ing machinery and with the reservoir, there has been laid 
a new rising main pipe, three feet in diameter, provided 
with the necessary check-valves, and also in the reservoir 
with suitable valves, overflow-pipes, and reducers, connect- 
ing with the main pipe leading to the city. The work at 
and near the engine-house and reservoir may be regarded 
as fini.shod. . . . 

" The filtering gallery at the island has been constructed 
and placed in its proper position substantially as originally 
contemplated. An excavation was made at the position 
selected for the gallery, near the centre of the island, until 
the bottom of the excavation reached the level of the water 
in the river. The filtering gallery, one hundred and thirty- 
two feet long, thirteen feet wide, and six feet high, with the 
top and bottom open, was then erected in the bottom of the 
excavation by S. E. Jones & Son, the contractors for the 
same. The material of which it was composed was entirely 
east and wrought iron. The gallery having been erected, 
the gravel and sand were excavated from the interior, and 
thus by undermining its sides it was gradually lowered to 
its intended position, the top of the gallery being only 
slightly above low-water mark when in position. The pro- 
cess was an interesting one, requiring great care and watch- 
fulness, and while in progress the work was visited by largo 
numbers of our citizens as well as strangers. The top of 
the gallery was then floored over with railroad iron, a man- 
hole pipe was erected from its centre to the level of the top 
of the island, after which the gravel was replaced and the 
gallery covered to a 'depth of twenty feet with clean river 
gravel. A cast-iron pipe, three feet in diameter, was laid 
from the gallery to the edge of the island, forming a part 
of the conduit intended to connect with the pumping- 



298 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUxXTY, TENNESSEE. 



engines, and the work at the island was completed. The 
character of the water with which the gallery was instantly 
filled upon reaching its position realized the most sanguine 
expectations, being of the most limpid purity, and even 
then, midsummer, almost as cool and palatable as the best 
spring water. 

" The only work remaining to be done to enable us to 
realize the full benefit of this work, so successfully accom- 
plished, and with such satisfactory results, is to lay the pipe 
which shall connect the work at the island with a receiving- 
well to be constructed near the engine-house, from which 
the water will be taken through suction-pipes by the new 
pumping machinery, and forced through the city mains to 
consumers. Upon the completion of this work Nashville 
will be able to boast a water supply equal, if not superior, to 
any in the United States." 

6. The Board of Health of Nashville has been instru- 
mental in solving one of the grandest practical problems in 
sanitary science. It has been well termed the " Nashville 
Experiment," for until it was demonstrated by the Nash- 
ville Board of Health it was a problem unknown to the 
test of experimental science, so far as the history of the 
country shows. We refer here simply to the fact that 
under certain well-organized sanitary conditions yellow 
fever need not become epidemic, as was demonstrated in 
Nashville during the prevalence of that pestilence in 1878. 
So strong was the faith of the Board of Health in this 
position that, in that terrible autumn when thousands were 
dying and thousands were fleeing from the plague-stricken 
cities, the board refused to establish quarantine, but wel- 
comed the refugees to the bosom of the city, and pledged 
its faith and appliances to take care of all who should come. 
The result was a glorious triumph of science and philan- 
thropy. 

Dr. J. D. Plunkct, in retiring from the presidency and 
as a member of the board, gracefully epitomizes its work, 
etc., for the five years ending June, 1879, as follows : 

" Gentlemen,— Five years ago to-day, in the revival 
and reorganization of this, the Nashville Board of Health, 
the City Council paid me the compliment of electing me one 
of the four physicians to compose the board, and again 
with re-election for the long term in June, 1875. To-day 
as I look around mo, I find things changed; new faces now 
occupy the places of those who began this work with me 
(with but one exception), and the query naturally arises, 
Where are they ? To this the records make answer that 
the energetic, charitable Compton, while in the active dis- 
charge of duty, went down vpith harness on, and now sleeps 
the untroubled sleep of death, and that the sincere and 
noble-hearted Morton, full of years and experience as an 
active member of our profession, too, has laid down the 
thread of life and passed to liis reward ; while the philan- 
thropic Christian physician, Winston, who, possessed of 
such grace and dignity, either in debate or in the discharge 
of a duty, has gone from among us, yet he still lives, though 
practically his soul has passed beyond, and now, amid the 
dreary desolation of a clouded intellect, patiently awaits the 
final summons to rest. 

" The retrospect, though containing much that is sad and 
disheartening, yet also embraces much that is gratifying and I 



encouraging. For from an )ndiflFerQ,nt, if not ignorant, 
public sentiment regarding sanitary science, we have seen 
an active, enliglitened public interest develop under th( 
leadership of the Board of Health, until to-day it is quel 
tionable if there be a reading adult in the entire commt 
nity who has not received instruction in some measure upoi 
the fundamental principles of that all-important subjeci 
hygiene, and who are in many instances adopting the sam' 
in a greater or less degree in their every-day concerns. Th^ 
past has mainly been an era of education, as, indeed, als( 
must the future largely be, and the Board of Health ha 
stood before the community in relation to this great quea 
tion of public health as its schoolmaster, to furnish facts ii 
regard tliereto, with such deductions as were justifiable! 
leaving the application largely to the heads of households 
or to individuals, as circumstances might require. Again, 
latterly, the press, that great factor in human progress, has 
come most generously to the rescue, publishing now columns 
on hygiene where but a few years since it gave only short 
paragraphs, thereby throwing a flood of light and informa- 
tion upon this vital subject, which, in the nature of things 
cannot fail to accomplish, at no very distant day, the mos' 
gratifying results, for is it not alone through the applicatioi 
of these daily lessons upon hygiene that the race is to bJ 
redeemed from that deterioration and ultimate extinction: 
which indifference to and ignorance of the laws of health! 
must inevitably produce ? 

" As pioneers in this service in Nashville, it was proposee 
that the Board of Health should early develop a fixednes! 
of purpose to execute the legitimate objects of its creation 
and not yield an iota to ignorance, though it should confronti 
in formidable array, and through prejudice strive to circum^' 
vent or entirely defeat the operations of the board in its 
unselfish endeavors to improve the condition of all in the 
removal or abatement of such influences as are silently but 
forever at work in and around our homes, producing disease, 
and, not unfrequently, death." 

" These early struggles were prolonged and discouraging: 
as defeat, at least for the time being, attended some of th_ 
best eiforts of the board, encouraging thereby the friends of 
filth and disease to such an extent that they were embold 
ened more than once to make the attempt to have tlft City' 
Council abolish entirely the Board of Health. In this they 
failed, be it said to the credit of the city authorities. It is 
now believed that the darkest Hour of the night has been 
passed, and henceforward the light will become stronger 
and stronger ; and in this connection it is gratifying to be 
able to state that but a few days ago the chief executive of 
the city government of Nashville, in an official communi- 
cation to the City Council, remarked, in subs! an. e, t'lat 
after much observation and reflection he was firmly of the 
opinion that the health department was the most important 
of any in the city. This, while it is the emphatic opinion 
of sanitarians over the world, could, if time and occasion 
would admit, be greatly strengthened by the citation of 
many facts which, if they did not carry conviction to the 
minds of all, viewed as the subject may be from the stand- 
point of each, would at least give an importance and 
consequent prominence to the subject which reading and 
thinking men and women would no longer ignore, and the 



k 



I 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



299 



result would be to require of the public funetionary an in- 
terost and a liberulitj.of support to measures looking in this 
direction which in that respect must contrast most strikingly 
with the past. 

" When we recall the fact that ' the first law of nature is 
.<elf preservation,' is it not a little surprising that we do not 
find the gunius of health inspiring the every act of our offi- 
cials, since the prime object of the several offices they hold 
is to secure the greatest good to the greatest number ? 
Especially it would seem that this should apply with pecu- 
liar force to our law-makers, and we would find their best 
intellectual efforts spent in securing such wise legislation as 
would give to all in its largest measure that grand desider- 
atum, health, — health in our homos — health to the teething 
babe as well as to mitigate the sufferings of the aged — ■ 
health to the poor as well as the rich. The rich are enabled 
to select desirable .localities to construct the most approved 
character of houses and surround them with every comfort 
. that judgment or fancy can dictate, while the habitations of 
I the poor are provided for them. They rent, and from 
necessity are often compelled to take refuge in, those 
nurseries of disease the tenement houses, there to be sub- 
jected to the deteriorating influences of defective ventilation, 
defective lighting, defective surroundings ; to which if you 
add the meagre supplies of food and raiment that they in their 
dire distress are enabled to obtain, you have a combination 
of morbific influences which are mind-distracting, soul-des- 
ttroying, and at last find their final expression in intemper- 
ance, crime, and death. 

" Wise legislation it is believed would modify greatly 
this condition of things. Though the authority has been 
very limited with which the Board of Health has been 
clotlied, and the means which have been placed at their com- 
mand exceedingly sparse and irregular, often amounting to 
Inothing whatever, as in the first annual report of the Board 
of Health is described by Health Officer JNlorton as being 
the situation in the fall of 187-t. Ho says, ' All the facili- 
ties offered the Board of Health to keep the city in a good 
sanitary condition were taken away from it, leaving that 
department to take care of itself.' Notwithstanding all this 
and more as evidence of the capabilities of an active Board 
of Health, I point you to that dial-plate which practically 
is the summing up in a word of all the doings of such a 
board. I refer to the death-rate, as in those two words -is 
io be seen at a glance the character of the air we breathe, 
the water we drink, the food we eat, the soil saturation we 
allow, the houses we live in ; in short, the influences under 
which we live and under v?hich we die. Upon that dial- 
plate the index-finger points to Nashville's death rate for — 



]S7.i 


T.tol 
de:vlli-i:ite. 

:u 55 


Whit.i 
de;ith-i-.ito. 

23.78 
26,31 
21.82 
17.43 


Colored 
deiitli-rate 

44 G9 


1876 

1877 

1878....;.. 


33.25 

27.80 

23.11 


45.55 
38.72 
33.50 



" Thus, you will observe that the figures grow smaller 
year by year, and while this decrease may not be due wholly 
to the work of the Board of Health, yet that it is largely 
idue to its efforts no fair-minded person can doubt. If then 
this be true, is it not the most criminal fully to deny longer 
to this department the most ample m:aas and such powers 



as will make the board most effective in accomplishing the 
end of bettor health to all, and at the same time redeemin"- 
the fair faraa of our city from that shadow which she her- 
self has voluntarily permitted to be oast over her, in being 
ranked among the unhealthy cities of America? 

" Before leaving this subject, perhaps it is but proper that 
I should emphasize the fact that the above figures are 
accurate, as recently they have been brought in question 
somewhat. The mortuary register is kept with the most 
scrupulous care, and all deaths occurring in the suburbs, or 
rual districts surrounding ther city, and who are brought 
into Nashville for interment, are excluded from the pub- 
lished death-rate, and therefore it embraces only the deaths 
occurring within the corporate limits proper of the city, 
with the single exception possibly of occasionally here and 
there an infanticide is perpetrated, and the victim's remains 
are clandestinely dispo.sed of, — with this single exception, 
let me repeat, it is believed that every death is accurately 
recorded. This, with a reliable census, makes it but a 
simple mathematical calculation to tell the exact death-rate. 
Four ye^K ago (1875), at the suggestion of the Board of 
Health, the mayor had the census of the city taken, but as 
the deathrata under it was unexpectedly large, the board 
ordered the census retaken, which was done with the greatest 
care again in 1877, this diffaring from the former census by 
only eighty-five, — an increase. Now, mueh (especially of 
late) has been said in the public prints upon the death-rate 
of Nashville, some going so far as to condemn the publica- 
tion of such information, fearing, as they would say, its 
effect upon the outer world, ignoring in toto that phase of 
the subject, which is as fifty to one more important, its 
effects upon our own people at home, for, as is remarked 
above, the death-rate of a city is a perfect mirror, in its 
minutest detail, of its sanitary condition. If that be bad 
the death-rate will be large, and vice versa : therefore, by 
the publication of such facts, you but give notice to the 
people of the dangers which surround them, and enable 
them thereby to arouse themselves, and, as one man, de- 
mand of the rulers of the city such reforms as a complete 
system of sewers, an ample supply of pure water, a thor- 
ough inspection by competent experts of the food that is 
brought to our city for consumption ; these together with 
other similar and much-needed reforms realized, you will 
find the death-rate go down, and Nashville be recognized at 
home and abroad as one of the healthiest, if not the health- 
iest city on the continent. Prompted therefore by a sincere 
desire to promote what was conceived to be the best inter- 
ests of Nashville, the Board of Health has made such pub- 
lications as facts and the future good of our own people 
would justify. If such publications are unpleasant to see 
and hear of, it is suggested that if the City Council and the 
people will co operate fully with the Board of Health in its 
legitimate work, and practically adopt such measures as it 
from time to time may recommend, the day will be not 
far distant when the large figures complained of will be no 
more. 

" The time having now expired for which I was elected 
a member of this board, and my other duties being such as 
to make it impo.ssible for me longer to give my time gratui- 
tously to this service, permit me, before taking final leave 



SCO 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



of the members of this board, to express my kindest 
personal feelings for each and all of you ; though we have 
differed widely in debate upon many important points, yet 
it is gratifying to recall that upon no single occasion has 
the even flow of friendly feeling between us been disturbed ; 
and especially do I desire to express my many thanks for 
and my high appreciation of the honor you have conferred 
upon lue in selecting me twice as your president. In what 
manner I have discharged the duties of that responsible 
oiEce, and such other duties as the board time and again in 
the past has called me to perform, I will not speak, but 
leave the records of the board, which are open to the in- 
spection of the public no less tlian yourselves, to say. 

" And now, wishing you as an organization godspeed in 
this work, — grand, selfsacrificing, and sublime, — and as 
individuals, including the subordinates of the board, health 
and success, I bid you adieu." 

TENNESSEE HISTORIC.\L SOCIETY." 

Many years ago a society for the collection and preser- 
vation of historical papers, relics, antiquities, etc., existed 
in Nashville. It did not accomplish much, but its very 
organization showed the tendency of the minds in the city 
noted for scholarly attainments to endeavor to rescue from 
oblivion the history of a people»remarkable for patriotism, 
cliivalry, and intelligence. After it ceased to exist for a 
considerable time several public-spirited citizens met in the 
library-rooms of the Merchants' Association to reorganize 
a historical society. This was in Blay, 1849, and the 
organization was effected by the election of Nathaniel Cross 
as President; Col. A. W. Putnam, Vice-President; "William 
A. Eichbauni, Treasurer; John 11. Eakin, Corresponding 
Secretary; and W. F. Cooper, Recording Secretary. This 
society did not exist many years, but was again brought to 
life in 1857, and at the May meeting elected the following 
officers: A.W.Putnam, President; Thomas Washington, 
Vice-President; W. A. Eichbaum, Treasurer; R. J. Meigs, 
Jr., Corresponding Secretary ; Anson Nelson, Recording 
Secretary; John Meigs, Librarian. Contributions of valu- 
able manuscripts, newspapers, relics, etc., poured in from 
all parts of the State, as well as a few from other States. 

A public anniversary meeting took place on the 1st of 
May, 1858, in Watkins' Grove. An immense procession 
of old soldiers of the war of 1812, the Creek war, the 
Mexican war, the officers and cadets of the Western Mili- 
tary Institute, the Shelby Guards, the Nashville Typo- 
graphical Union, the Philomathean Society, the teachers 
and pupils of the Nashville Female Academy, the super- 
intendent, teachers, and pupils of the public schools of 
Nashville, citizens on horseback, in carriages, buggies, etc., 
and citizens on foot, marched from the public square to 
Watkins' Grove, where a collation was served in excellent 
style to all present. The Hon. James M. Davidson, of 
Fayetteville, was the orator of the day. Judge T. T. 
Smiley read a historical account of the services of the 
Third Tennessee Regiment in the war with Mexico. Gov- 
ernor William B. Campbell and Rev. Dr. C. D. Elliott 
delivered eloquent addresses. Bands of music were dis- 

"■■■' Prepared by Anson Nelson, Esq., Kecording Secretary. 



tributed along the line of the procession, and the whole: 
city made it a holiday occasion to commemorate the organ- 
ization of the "provisional government" at Robertson's 
Station, now Nashville, May 1, 1780, and the formation 
of this society, May 1, 1849. 

At the annual celebration, May 1, 1859, Randal W.j! 
BIcGavoek, Esq., mayor of Nashville, and a grandson of 
Hon. Felix Grundy, presented a full-length portrait of 
Judge Grundy, painted by Dury, in a neat little speech, 
to which Col. A. W. Putnam, president of the society, rc-j 
spondcd. The Hon. John M. Bright, of Lincoln, deliv- 
ered an eloquent oration on the life, character, and public 
services of Hon. Felix Grundy, the best criminal lawyei 
in the South. The exercises took place in the hall of thi 
House of Representatives, in the presence of as many' 
people as could obtain admittance. An excellent band of i! 
music enlivened the ceremonies. Several companies, mili-i 
tary and civic, were present. The portrait of the deceased i 
jurist w.iS elegantly framed, and is now in one of the library- 
rooms in the Capitol. ^ 

In September, 1859, a committee, consisting of Ilon.i 
Thomas Washington, Col. A. W. Putnam, and Rev. Dr. 
R. B. C. Howell, was appointed to urge the council of the 
city of Nashville to adopt suitable measures for the removal i 
of the remains of Lieut. Chandler, formerly paymaster in' 
the United States array, from their place of interment in 
the Sulphur Spring bottom, to Mount Olivet Cemetery. 
The committee accomplished their purpose, and on the 23d 
of September the remains were exhumed, and a procession, 
accompanied by a band of music, large numbers of citizens, 
the mayor and City Council, the Historical Society, and 
others, marched to the JIcKendree church, where an ap- 
propriate and patriotic address was delivered by the Hon. 
E. IT. East. Lieut. Chandler died here in 1801, and his 
remains were found in a good state of preservation. 

In October, 1859, at the request of the society, Lieut. 
M^ F. Maury, the distinguished scientist, delivered his 
celebrated lecture on the geography of the sea. 

In January, 18G0, the society received from Egypt the 
fine Egyptian mummy now in the Capitol, sent by Col. 
J. G. Harris, of the United States navy. After the meet- 
ing in September, 18(50, the society ceased active operations 
until several years after the war. Many articles, papers, 
books, etc., were lost during the war, but the small collec- 
tion of coins was all preserved by being taken away from 
the Capitol and placed in a private house, free from the 
dangers of war. 

In 1874 the society elected the following officers: Dr. 
J. G. M. Ramsey, President; Dr. R. C. Foster, Vice- 
President; Dr. John H. Currey, Treasurer; Gen. G. P. 
Tiirustou, Corresponding Secretary; Anson Nelson, Re- 
cording Secretary ; Mrs. P. Haskell, Librarian. 

On the 16th of June, 1874, the society held a called 
session at Knoxvillc, Tenn., the home of the president. Dr. 
J. G. M. Ramsey, who presided on that interesting occasion. 
The recording secretary exhibited the original commission 
of Blaj.-Gen. Israel Putnam, on parchment, issued on the 
19th of June, 1775, signed by John Hancock, president, 
and Charles Thompson, secretary, of the Continental Con- 
gress. The society has also in its possession a vest worn 






CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



301 



by " Old Put" in the Revolutionary war, donated to it by 
Miss Julia C. Putnam, a lineal descendant, then living on 
I Park Street. An invitation was received and accepted to 
partake of the hospitalities of Perez Dickinson, Esq., and 
of Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Humes, president of the faculty 
of East Tennessee University. 

In October, 1874, the society decided to participate in 
I the fourth annual exposition of Nashville, and on the even- 
ing of the Gth of October, the anniversary of the battle of 
King's Mountain, the Rev. Dr. T. A. IToyt delivered an 
address, giving the history of that important battle. The 
reverend gentleman subsequently repeated the oration in 
; Staub's Opera-House, Knoxville, to the largest and most 
■ intellectual audience that ever assembled in that city. The 
1 venerable Dr. Ramsey presided on the occasion. 
I At one of the regular meetings in 1874, Prof W. A. 
I Smith, A.M., M.D., read an interesting paper on the anni- 
' versary celebration of the Icelandic government when that 
government was one thousand years old. The paper was 
published in the Union and American on the 2d of Sep- 
tember, 1874.' 

The centennial anniversary of the signing of the Meck- 
lenburg (N. 0.) Declaration of Independence, May 20, 
1775, was celebrated by the society at the Nashville Fair 
Grounds. The mayor of Nashville, Morton B. Howell, 
read the declaration, Es-Gov. Neill S. Brown delivered the 
oration, while Gen. Thruston and others participated in 
the exercises. 

At the May meeting in 1875 several delegates were 
appointed to attend the Centennial of the Mecklenburg 
Declaration of Independence in Charlottesville, N. C, only 
one of whom attended, — Hon. Hugh Lawson Davidson, of 
Shelbyvillo. It was a grand success. 

Prof. W. A. Smith, of Columbia, read an elegant anni- 
versary address on the labors of the society and kindred 
topics. 

At the annual meeting in May, 1876, the following ofii- 
cers were elected, to wit : Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, President; 
Hon. John M. Lea, Vice-President ; Anson Nelson, Record- 
ing Secretary and Treasurer; Gen. G. P. Thruston, Cor- 
responding Secretary; Dr. John Berrien Lindsley, Librarian. 
The National Centennial was duly celebrated by the so- 
ciety in the hall of the House of Representatives, Dr. John 
H. Callender reading the Declaration of Independence. 
Rev. Dr. T. A. Hoyt read an elegant historical centennial 
address, written by Dr. Ramsey, president of the society. 
An address was delivered by Rev. Dr. D. C. Kelly, etc. 
Excellent music interspersed the proceedings. 

At the annual meeting in 1877 all the old oiEcers were 
re-elected, with Joseph S. Carels as treasurer, that office 
being disconnected with the office of secretary. 

Every attention possible was shown to the members of 
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 
which met here in the latter part of August, 1878. An 
elegant reception was given them by the society at the Max- 
well House, through the liberality of the acting president, 
Hon. John M. Lea. 

In 1878 the society commenced agitating the subject of 
celebrating the centennial of Nashville, and appointed a 
committee on that subject, who afterwards reported a pro- 



gramme for the exercises. Subsequently the idea expanded, 
and finally the society appointed a committee to wait upon 
the mayor and urge him to request the City Council to call 
a public meeting to take action in the matter. This was 
done, and the citizens took hold of the matter with alacrity. 
Various committees were appointed, an exposition was in- 
augurated, the orators chosen by the Historical Society were 
approved, a grand civic procession for the 24th of April 
provided for, and many other matters arranged to give eclat 
to the occasion. All of which was most successfully carried 
out, and the most sanguine expectations of the Historical 
Society were more than realized. Before the exposition, 
the purchase of the Jackson equestrian statue from Clark 
Mills had engaged the attention of many persons as well 
as the society for many years. Blaj. John L. Brown went 
to work obtaining subscriptions for the statue, and finally 
the purchase was made and the statue unveiled on the 20th 
of May, 1880, under the superintendence of Clark Slills, 
the artist. The Hon. John M. Bright was the orator of 
the day, an original ode, written by Rev. F. W. B. Paschau, 
was sung, prayer offisred by Rev. Dr. T. A. Hoyt, a prize 
poem, by Blrs. Bowser, was read by Dr. G. S. Blackie, etc. 
A grand military procession had paraded the streets, in 
which several United States officers, including Gen. Buell, 
Gen. Pennypacker and others. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, 
Gen. Cheatham and others, of the old Confederate army, 
participated. More people were in Nashville on the 20th 
of May, at the unveiling of the statue, than on any other 
occasion. 

RELICS. 

Among the relics of the society may be mentioned the 
musket of Daniel Boone, the veritable " Old Betsey ;" the 
sword of Governor John Sevier, and one of the pistols pre- 
sented to him by the State of North Carolina ; the sword 
of Col. Dupuyser, of the British army, taken from him 
at the battle of King's Mountain ; the red silk .sash worn 
by Gen. Ferguson when he was killed at King's Mountain ; 
one of the chairs of Gen. Nathaniel Greene, of Revolu- 
tionary fame ; one of the chairs of ex-President Fillmore ; 
sword, coat, and epaulette of Capt. Samuel Price, worn in 
the battle of Frenchtown, Raisin River, Mich. ; the pitcher 
used at the treaty of Hopewell, given to President Polk 
and by his wife to the .society ; three canes formerly be- 
longing to President Polk, — one in the form of a. serpent, 
one containing the electoral vote cast for him for President, 
the other a hickory cane from the Hermitage; the first 
greenback five-dollar note issued by the United States ; the 
portfolio owned and used by Hon. Henry Clay in the 
United States Senate ; over thirty battle-flags used by Ten- 
nessee soldiers in different wars, from 1812 to 1865, etc. 

Among the manuscripts of the society are an old book 
in an excellent state of preservation, kept in Nashville by 
a merchant in 1795, presented by our venerable fellow- 
citizen, Col. Samuel D. Morgan ; the journals of Governor 
William Blount from 1790 to 1796,— Governor Blount 
was Governor of the territory south of the Ohio River ; 
the proceedings of the courts-martial during Jackson's 
campaign in 1813, kept by Col. William White, acting 
judge-advocate; journal of Capt. John Donelson and com- 
panions from Holston River down the Tennessee, up the 



302 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Ohio and Cumberland to French Salt Lick, now Nashville, 
1779-80, etc. 

The society possesses a large number of portraits, to wit : 
Governor William Blount, John Sevier, Willie Blount, 
William Carroll, Sam Houston, Newton Cannon, James 
C. Jones, James K. Polk, Aaron V. Brown, Neill S. Brown, 
William Trousdale, William B. Campbell, Andrew John- 
son and one or two other ex-Governors, Prof. Priestly, Dr. 
Gerard Troost, Dr. Philip Lindsley, Hon. Felix Grundy, 
Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, Henry Clay, Dr. Felix llobertsoa 
(the first male child born in Nashville), Davy Crockett, etc. 

The society has a copy of the Polydori Vergilii, in Latin, 
bound in vellum, printed in 1644 ; a copy of Cicero's dis- 
course on old age, printed by Benjamin Franklin in Phila- 
delphia in 1744; " Dioscoridis iMat. Med." (Latiif), bound 
in parchment, 1552; a copy of the Bible printed in Edin- 
burgh, 1678, from Hon. George W. Jones, of Fayetteville ; 
a copy of the Bible, from Churchill, Lanier, printed in 
London, 1757. 

The portrait of Davy Crockett, painted by Miss Louise 
Goodwin, of Nashville, recently presented to the society, 
attracts universal attention from all visitors to the Capitol. 

The present officers are : Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, Presi- 
dent; Hon. John M. Lea, First Vice-President; ex-Gov- 
ernor James D. Porter, Second Vice-President ; J. A. 
Cartwright, Corresponding Secretary ; Anson Nelson, Re- 
cording Secretary; Jos. S. Carels, Treasurer; Dr. J. Berrien 
Lindsley, Librarian. 

nON. JOHN M. LE.\. 

Owing to the advanced age and feeble health of its ven- 
erable president, the meetings of the Historical Society 
have for some years been presided over by its vice-presi- 
dent, the Hon. John McCormick Lea, whose prominence 
and services to the public are deemed sufficiently great to 
entitle him to a more than passing mention in the history 
of Davidson County. 

He was born in Knoxville, Knox Co., Tenn.,.Dec. 25, 
1818, and is the ouly surviving son of the Hon. Luke Lea, 
who during his life filled with honor and credit many pub- 
lic offices, both State and national. 

Fond of study from his youth, and eagerly seizing upon 
all the educational advantages of the time, he completed 
his school education at the University of Nashville in the 
summer of 1837, and at once began the study of the law. 

In 1840 he was admitted to the bar, and in a short time 
thereafter selected Nashville as the place for the practice of 
his profession and liis home. 

His reputation as a scholarly and successful lawyer being 
soon established, he was, in 1842, at the age of twenty-three 
years, appointed United States district attorney, the duties 
of which office he performed with increasing credit to him- 
self and greatly to the satisfaction of the government until 
the time of his resignation, in 1845. 

In 1850, after a spirited canvass, he was elected mayor 
of Nashville, and while occupying that position earned for. 
himself the reputation of an active, able, and upright official. 

During the fearful visitation of the cholera in 1851, 
which occurred while he was in office, he showed himself 
fully equal to the emergency. While not engaged in office- 



duty he spent his time in counseling and encouraging the 
well, in visiting the sick, and in assisting at the burial of 
the dead. Declining to offer for re-election at the end of 
his term, he contiuued to perform the duties of his chosen 
profession until the demands of an increasing private bus- 
iness compelled him to retire from active practice. 

During the war he was, on account of his high char- 
acter and personal influence with the parties then in power, 
enabled to do many acts of kindness, and to secure many 
indulgences for his less fortunate follow-citizens and their 
families ; and doubtless the persons still living are many 
who profited by his kind intervention in those troublous 
times. 

In 1865, at the urgent solicitation of members of the 
bar, he accepted from Governor Brownlow an appointment 
to the office of judge of the Circuit Court of Davidson 
County, and in that capacity presided to the satisfaction of 
suitors, the pleasure of the bar, and with honor to himself 
until his resignation in 1866. 

Soon thereafter he received a commission from the same 
Governor as judge of the Supreme Court jof Tennessee, 
but believing that his services were not imperatively de- 
manded by the public needs, and having a predilection for 
private life, he declined the appointment. 

Though never seeking and but once holding political 
office, he has always had decided views on all public ques- 
tions, and has ever exhibited the liveliest interest in the 
political welfare of his fellow-citizens. Much exercised at 
the discontent consequent upon the disfranchisement after 
the war of all ex-Confederates, he urged unceasingly upon 
the then State authorities their re-enfranchisement, and 
with such success that a special message from Governor 
Brownlow to the Legislature, in 1867, recommending suck 
action, was the result. And thus, it may be said, at his in- 
stance was taken the initial step in a policy which, under 
the succeeding administration of Governor Senter, resulted 
in the removal of all political disabilities entailed by the war. 

In 1869, when a bill to remand the State of Tennessee 
to military control was before the Reconstruction Committee 
of the Congress of the United States, in accordance with 
the request of a public meeting held in Nashville, he visited 
Washington to oppose its passage. Appearing before the 
full committee, he read a carefully-prepared statement, ad- 
mitting the existence of political disorders and race troubles 
in the State, but at the same time showing that reconstruc- 
tion would only make matters worse instead of mending 
them. The failure of the committee to report in favor of 
the passage of the bill was, according to intimations from 
some of its members, largely owing to the effect produced 
by this statement and argument. 

The only political office ever held by him was that of 
member of the lower house of the General Assembly of the 
State of Tennessee, in 1875, to wliich position he was 
nominated while absent from the State, and afterwards 
elected by an overwhelming majority. While in the Legis- 
lature he wrote and secured the passage of a general law 
for the organization of corporations, — a law which is a 
monument to his skill and industry, and which has worked 
admirably in practice, resulting in the saving of much time 
and expense both to applicants for charters and to succeed- 







^ 






CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



303 



ilia; Legislatures. During the same session he also advo- 
cated the payment of the interest upon the entire State 
debt, presuming that the resources of the State, already 
great, would )3e largely increased by such fidelity to public 
obligations. 

He is a man of unusual foresight, of most excellent 
judgment, of exact information, of varied culture, and pub- 
lic-spirited in the true sense of the word, contributing not 
only of his time, but also liberally of his means, to the 
amelioration of society ; and in this connection we may 
mention his gift to the trustees of the Tennessee School 
for the Blind of the beautiful grounds and original house 
where the school now stands, and also his joint donation 
with Samuel Watkins, Esq., of a house and lot to the 
Woman's Mission Home. 

Such are the most salient features we have been enabled 
to gather in the life of this well-known citizen, who, did not 
i his unselfishness and his devotion to duty far exceed his 
ambition and his desire for selfaggrandizement, could 
easily occupy a much more conspicuous, though perhaps 
less useful, position before the public. 

ANSON NELSON, ESQ.,« 
who for many years has been the secretary of the Tennes- 
see Historical Society, was born in Washington County, in 
this State, on the 19th of November, 1821. His flither, 
Daniel Nelson, removed the next year to the Hiawassee 
Purchase, now McJIinn County, subsequently to Blary^- 
ville, and then to Knoxville in 1828. In 1832, having a 
great passion for the printing business, Anson succeeded in 
obtaining a situation in the oi&ce of the Knoxville Regis- 
[ ter, as an apprentice under the venerable Maj. F. S. Heis- 
^ kell, who is still living at the advanced age of ninety years. 
Mr. Heiskell had a remarkable set of boys, first and last, 
under his hand as proprietor of one of the most important 
newspapers of his day ; among them Clayton, of Alabama, 
' Gen. Zollicoflfer, Midshipman Harrell, William Fields (of 
" Fields' Scrap-Book," and a member of the Legislature of 
Texas), and several others, who became men of more or 
less note in different States. 
; Maj. Heiskell sold his establishment in 1835 to Eam- 
sey & Craighead, and Mr. Nelson completed his appren- 
I ticeship with them and became a journeyman printer. 
He came to Nashville in August, 1840, and soon after took 
charge of the A^usliviUe Whig as foreman. In 1849 he 
, bought the Daily Gazette, and established a job-ofiice in 
connection with the publication of the daily. He pub- 
lished, by contract, the Presbyterian Record, a weekly 
paper established by the Nashville Synod ; also the IIW- 
, em Boatman, a monthly, edited by Capt. Embry, but which 
j did not long remain. He bought the Tennessee Organ of 
' Itev. John P. Campbell, and edited that paper some time, 
during which it reached its highest circulation. It was a 
temperance paper, and had considerable influence through- 
out the State. He was identified with the order of the 
Sons of Temperance, a strong and powerful organization in 
that day, and was elected Grand Treasurer of ' the Grand 
Division of the State, and subsequently held all the higher 
offices of that body. 

* Added by the author of this work. 



Disposing of the Gazette and the job-office in 1853, he was 
elected by the mayor and aldermen revenue collector of 
the city of Nashville, and was unanimously re-elected each 
successive year, until all the officers were displaced by 
Andrew Johnson, Military Governor, in 1862. Mr. Nelson 
was idle for more than a year, when he established a real- 
estate office, in which he was remarkably successful, and 
which he carried on until 1869, when he was induced by 
public opinion to take charge of the tax-books of the city, 
under Hon. John M. Bass, who was appointed receiver under 
a decree in chancery. He was urged to remain when the 
Morris administration was placed in possession of the city 
government by the voice of the people. He served through 
K. J. Morris' administration of three years as treasurer, 
Mr. McCann being elected revenue collector. He has held 
the office of city treasurer ever since, under the adminis- 
trations of Thomas A. Kercheval and M. B. Howell. 

BIr. Nelson, in connection with William L. Blurfree, 
Esq., who was his partner in the real-estate business, estab- 
lished the Second National Bank of Nashville in 1865 or 
'66, and was president cf that institution for the first year of 
its existence, and left it in a flourishing condition. He aided 
in the founding of the first street-car line in the city, and was 
president of the South Nashville Street Railroad Company 
the first year after its organization. He was one of the 
directors in the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Com- 
pany immediately after that road was turned over to the 
stockholders by the military authorities, who had possession 
of it during the war. Being on the executive committee, 
which required too much of his time, he declined to serve 
longer than three years in that capacity. He was more or less 
identified with every public movement for many years, and 
was one of the directors in the IMount Olivet Cemetery 
Company for several years. For more than thirty years 
past he has been closely identified with the Tennessee His- 
torical Society, during all of which time he has been its re- 
cording secretary, which position he now holds. Mr. Nel- 
son is a ready and accurate writer, and has compiled many 
valuable contributions to local history, besides his volumin- 
ous correspondence as secretary of the Historical Society of 
the State. 

In religion he is a Baptist, having united with the First 
Baptist Church of Nashville in 1841, under the pastorate 
of Rev. Dr. Howell. He has been an exemplary member 
of that church ever since, of which he is a trustee, and was 
several years ago ordained a deacon. 

Mr. Nelson possesses in a very high degree the confidence 
and esteem of his contemporaries. His popularity and in- 
fluence in business and social circles are very great. He is 
a devoted and earnest worker in all measures for the public 
welfare, and on many committees and in other ways does a 
great amount of work for which he receives no compensa- 
tion save the universal award that his work is always well 
done. 

To no man more than to Mr. Nelson are the citizens of 
Nashville, and of Tennessee generally, more indebted for 
the brilliant success which has attended the Nashville Cen- 
tennial. He is emphatically a peacemaker, and many a diffi- 
culty among men has been amicably and happily adjusted 
by his kindly and wise conciliation. 



304 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



TENNESSEE HOSPITAL FOE THE INSANE. 

This noble institution is situated about six miles from' 
Nashville, on the Murfreesboro' turnpike. The grounds 
include four hundred and eighty acres, a beautiful farm, in 
one of the healthiest localities in Tennessee. The value of 
the building and grounds is about four hundred thousand 
dollars. 

In November, 18-17, the well-known philanthropist, Miss 
D. L. Dix, visited Tennessee, and, finding the accommoda- 
tions for the insane inadequate, memorialized the Legisla- 
ture, and aroused the representatives of a generous people 
upon the subject. Feb. 5, 1848, an act was passed estab- 
lishing a " hospital for the insane." The Governor ap- 
pointed Alexander AlHson| Lucius J. Polk, Andrew Ewing, 
T. J. Player, Samuel D. Blorgan, John J. White, H. S. 
Frazier, D. D. Donaldson, and J. B. Southall as commis- 
sioners. Dr. John J. Young superintendent, and Gen. A. 
Heinian architect of the building to be erected. The su- 
perintendent and architect visited various institutions in 
Northern and Eastern States for the purpose of perfecting 
their plans. Finally, the plan of the Butler Asylum, at 
Providence, R. I., slightly changed in architectural style, 
but similar as to internal arrangements, was adopted. The 
Butler Asylum was erected under the supervision of Dr. 
Bell, of the McLean Hospital, near Boston, and the plan 
was copied by Dr. Bell, when on a visit to England, from 
the asylum at Maidstone. 

The Tennes.sce Hospital for the Insane is of the castel- 
lated style of architecture, with twenty-four octagonal 
towers, of proportionate dimensions, placed on the corners 
of the main building and its wings, while from the main 
building rises a larger octagonal tower, twenty-five feet 
above the roof, and sixteen feet in diameter. A range of 
battlements, from tower to tower, surrounds the whole edi- 
fice, following the angles of the several projections, giving 
a fine relief to it from any point of view. The extreme 
length of the building, from east to west, is four hundred 
and five feet, by two hundred and ten feet from north to 
south. There are two airing courts in this area, each about 
one hundred and fifty feet square. The height of the main 
building, from the ground to the top of the main tower, is 
eighty-five feet. The centre, right, and left of the main 
building are four stories high without the basement ; the 
intervening ranges and the wings are three stories high. 

Its interior construction and arrangement are in accordance 
with a plan which experience has demonstrated as the most 
approved and best calculated to promote the great and be- 
nevolent objects had in view in institutions of this character. 
In all the minutise of detail, the comfort, convenience, and 
health of the patients have been carefully studied. Its 
wards, dormitories, corridors, and various other apartments 
exhibit alike the same happy features of admirable arrange- 
ment. The whole building contains two hundred and sixty- 
five rooms, exclusive of all domestic apartments ; laundry, 
bath-rooms, clothes-rooms, etc. It is capable of accommo- 
dating two hundred and fifty patients. 

The ventilation of the building is a decided feature in 
its construction. It is carried on by means of a centrifugal 
Ian seventeen feet in diameter, driven by a steam-engine. 
The air is conducted through subterranean passages to the 



central chambers in the basement, and thence through the 
steam-pipe chambers into vertical flues, passing through the 
entire building. The quantity of air discharged may be 
carried up to seventy thousand cubic feet per minute, which 
gives about two hundred and fifty feet per minute to each 
occupant. Thus a constant supply of pure fresh air may 
be constantly kept up during the most oppressive weather. 
Means of heating the building are no less complete. The 
series of vertical flues, before alluded to, are constructed in 
the longitudinal walls of the halls, starting from a coil of 
pipe or hot-air chambers in the basement story. From 
these flues the air, heated to any desired temperature, enters 
the halls and rooms ol' the difierent stories near the floors. 
By this arrangement the air supply is constanty without 
reference to any external condition of weather or tempera- 
ture. Water is pumped by the engine from a reservoir to j 
a tank in the centre of the building, and from thence dis- ' 
tributed by pipes to other parts of the institution. There 
are five tanks, holding altogether about eight thousand 
gallons of water. Bath-rooms are on each floor of the 
building. j 

A few years since suitable quarters, removed from the | 
main building, were erected by the State, at a cost of about | 
twenty-five thousand dollars, for the accommodation of the 
colored insane of Tennessee. The usual number of patients 
is about forty. They receive constant attention from the 
physicians in charge. 

Various kinds of amusement have been provided for the 
patients, which exercise a tranquilizing and soothing influ- 
ence over the unfortunate inmates. The grounds surround- 
ing the hospital are perhaps the most beautifully laid out 
in the South. Rare landscape views meet the eye in every 
direction. Lakes, fountains, and splendid gravel-roads and 
walks, lovely lawns, inviting arbors, and a fine collection of 
the rarest exotic and domestic flowers, shrubbery, etc., are 
among the many excellent features placed here to divert the 
patient's mind, 

" Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow — 
E.^se out the written troubles of the brain." 

In extent the floral conservatories attached to the hos- 
pitals are unsurpassed in the South, while the orchards and 
vineyards, and many other peculiar attractions, render the 
place well worth a visit, and all that the State could desire 
as to pleasant surroundings. 

The superintendent of the hospital is Dr. J. H. Callen- 
der. 

THE STATE CAPITOL. 

This fine building is located upou the summit of a com- 
manding eminence almost in the heart of the city. It is a 
parallelogram, one hundred and twelve feet wide by two hun- 
dred and thirty-nine in length, with an elevation of seventy- 
four feetj eight inches above the ground. The eminence on 
which it stands is one hundred and seventy-five feet above 
the Cumberland River, giving to the building, when seen 
from any of the adjacent hills, a sort of aerial appearance, 
as if it were swinging in the. soft surrounding atmosphere. 
To a stranger coming into the city it is the first and chief 
object of attraction among the fine architectural structures 
which adorn many of the principal streets and avenues. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



305 



From carefully prepared statements which have been pub- 
lished, we select the followiug particulars. 

Hlslofi/ of the Buildiiiff. — Previous to (he year 1843 the 
seat of government of the State had not been finally settled 
upon. It had been located at various times at Knoxville, 
Kingston, Murfrcesboro', and Nashville. The Davidson 
County court-house had been used previously for tlie meet- 
ings of the Legislature, but, the building becoming too small 
for the increasing members of the body, the project of 
building a State Capitol was spoken of, but ihe permanent 
establishment of the seat of State government had first to 
be determined. Its location at Nashville was not by any 
means a fixed fact, though the sessions of the Legislature 
had been held there for several years, — that is, 'for the 
years 1812, 1813, 1815, and from 1820 to 1843. Almost 
every town in the State having any pretensions at all to 
eligibility or convenience of position had its advocates. 
Thus the following places were successively voted for : 
Woodbury, MeMiunville, Franklin, JIurfreesboro', Kings- 
ton, Lebanon, Columbia, Sparta, Gallatin, Clarksville, Shel- 
byville, Harrison, Chattanooga, Cleveland, Athens, Knox- 
ville, and finally Nashville. 

The location had once been fixed at Kingston, but, on a 
reconsideration of the vote, Nashville was selected, though 
this result must be mainly attributed to the liberality of her 
citizens, having purchased the site, then Campbell's Hill, 
from Hon. G. W. Campbell, for thirty thousand dollars and 
presented it to the State as a free gift. This act was passed 
Oct. 7, 1843. Jan. 30, 1844, an act was passed making 
the first appropriation for the Capitol, — ten thousand dollars. 
Commissioners were appointed. Governor William Carroll, 
William Nichol, John M. Bass, Samuel D. Morgan, James 
Erwin, and Morgan W. Brown, to whom were added. May 
14, 1844, James Woods, Joseph T. Elliston, and Allen A. 
Hall. John M. Bass was appointed chairman Blarch 31, 
1848, and held the position until Blarch 31, 1854, when 
Samuel D. Morgan was appointed. April 20, 1854, 
Messrs. John Campbell, John S. Young, and Jacob Mc- 
Gavock were appointed commissioners by Governor Andrew 
Johnson. By act of Feb. 28, 1854, Messrs. K. J. Meigs 
and James P. Clark were appointed commissioners, and Mr. 
John D. Winston was appointed by the Governor. The 
following Governors of the State have, ex-officio, held tlie 
ofiice of commissioner : William Carroll, James K. Polk, 
James C. Jones, Aaron V. Brown, Neill S. Brown, William 
Trousdale, William B. Campbell, Andrew Johnson, and 
Lsham G. Harris. Upon the first appointment of the com- 
missioners they were extremely fortunate in securing the 
services of so distinguished an architect as Mr. William 
Strickland, of Philadelphia, than whom no man of his pro- 
fession in the country had a wider or more merited reputa- 
tion. 

Clearing of the ground for the site was begun about Jan. 
1, 1845 ; foundations were dug and nearly finished by the 
4th of July, on which day the corner-stone was laid in the 
southea.st corner of the building with imposing ceremonies. 
An eloquent oration was delivered on the occasion by the 
Hon. Edwin H. Ewing. The building was carried on 
regularly and steadily without error or interruption till the 
time of Mr. Strickland's death, April 7, 1854. His funeral 
39 



ceremonies were conducted in the Representative Hall, and 
he was entombed in a recess in the wall of the north base- 
ment portico. There are but few instances in which so 
noble a work has served as the tomb and monument of its 
designer. Sir Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul's 
Cathedral, London, and the architect of the Cologne Cathe- 
dral, are the noted examples of that sort. 

After the death of Mr. Strickland, the work was for 
several years carried on by his son, Mr. W. F. Strickland. 
The last stone of .the tower was laid July 21, 1855, and 
the last stone of the lower terrace March 10, 1859, which 
completed the stone-work. The building was first occupied 
by the Legislature Oct. 3, 1853. Since that time, chiefly 
from 18G7 to 1873, convict labor was employed in com- 
pleting the grounds, which are now among the most attrac- 
tive and complete in the United States. The entire cost 
of building and grounds was upwards of two million five 
hundred thousand dollars. 

Flail and Siruchirc. — A concise statement of the site, 
plan, and structure of tlie building is indispensable to the 
formation of a correct idea of its appearance. 

The State House is a parallelogram, 112 by 239 feet, 
with an elevation 64 feet 8 inches above an elevated terrace 
walk, which surrounds it, or 74 feet 8 inches above the 
ground. Rising through the centre of the roof is the tower, 
3G feet square and 80 feet high. The main idea of tlie 
elevation of the building is that of a Greek Ionic temple, 
erected upon a rustic basement, which, in its turn, rests 
(in appearance) upon a terraced pavement. The building 
has four fronts, north, south, east, and west, each side 
graced with a noble portico. The end porticoes — north 
and south — are each composed of eight ma'gnificent Ionic 
columns ; the side porticoes — east and west — are composed 
each of six columns. These columns, twenty-eight in all, 
are each 4 feet in diameter, 33 feet high, and rest upon the 
entablature of the basement. This entablature is supported 
by a rusticated pier, rising through the basement-story 
under each column of the portico above. The end porticoes 
are capped by an entablature, which is continued around 
the building. Above this entablature is a heavy pediment. 
The side porticoes are capped by the entablature and double 
blocking-courses. 

The building inside is divided into three stories, — the 
crypt, or cellar; the basement, or first floor; and the main, 
or second floor. 

The crypt is used for the State Arsenal, and for furnaces 
and the like. 

The basement has a passage or hall through the centre 
of the building, 204 feet long by 24 feet wide, crossed 
transversely by three halls, the main one 100 feet long by 
30 feet 3 inches ; height of this floor, 16 feet 4 inches. 
This floor is divided into ofiices for the Governor, the Comp- 
troller, the Treasurer, the Secretary of State, Register of 
Lands, Superintendent of Weights and Measures, and 
Keeper of Public Arms (each of which is 16 by 24 feet)^ 
and by the Archive Room, which is 34 feet square. Be- 
sides, there is a Supreme Court-room" and a Federal Court- 
room, each 35 feet by 52 feet 8 inches, the latter, however, 
now occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
and the Commissioner of Agriculture, Statistics, and Mines. 



306 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



These rooms are fitted up in a handsome manner, with 
book- and paper-cases made of white walnut, and the rooms 
otherwise handsomely furnished. The court-rooms are also 
well furnished, the Supremo Court-room in a very excellent 
manner. 

The main floor is reached by a handsome flight of twen- 
ty-four steps, eleven feet wide, at the west end of the base- 
ment transverse hall. The balusters or hand-railing of this 
stairway are of East Tennessee marble, a most beautiful 
mottled marble, very hard and taking a- high polish. The 
transverse hall of this upper is the same as that of the lower 
floor in dimensions. The longitudinal hall of this floor is 
128 feet 2 inches long by 24 feet 2 inches wide, the side 
passages the same as below. The height of these halls and 
of all the rooms of this floor is 39 feet. The rooms are : 
the Representative Hall, 61 by 97 feet; Senate Chamber, 
34 feet 8 inches by 70 feet 3 inches ; Library Rooms, re- 
spectively 16 by 34 and 34 by 34 feet ; Law Library, 1 G 
by 34 feet ; and committee-rooms, each 16 feet 8 inches by 
16 feet 8 inches. 

Representative Hull. — The Representative Hall is a truly 
noble apartment, and an honor to the taste and genius of 
the architect. The main floor, 61 by 97 feet, is flanked 
on the cast and west sides by eight committee-rooms, 16 
feet 8 inches square. Above these rooms, on each side, are 
the public galleries. The front of each of these galleries is 
graced by eight coupled columns, 21 feet 11 inches high 
and 2 feet 10 inches in diameter, of, the Composite order, 
and fluted. The shaft of each column is of one block of 
stone, capped by exceedingly graceful and elaborate capi- 
tals, the device of the architect. This room is well fur- 
nished and windows curtained. The Speaker's stand and 
screen-wall is composed of red, white, and black Tennessee 
marble. The chandelier is from the establishment of Cor- 
nelius & Baker, of Philadelphia, and is one of the largest, 
most elaborate, and graceful chandeliers in the country, and 
cost fifteen liundred dollars. The chief points in the de- 
sign are representations of the natural, animal, and vege- 
table productions of the State, such as cotton, corn, and 
tobacco. There are also six buifaloes, extremely well exe- 
cuted, a number of Indian warriors, each nearly two feet 
high, and of most excellent proportions. The burners are 
forty-eight in number. 

The Senate Chamber. — The Senate Chamber, 34 by 
70, is also handsomely fitted up, and is surrounded on 
three sides, north, west, and south, by a gallery for the 
public, 10 feet 9 inches wide, supported by twelve smooth 
Ionic columns of red Tennessee marble, each 10 feet 3 
inches high and 3 feet 5 J inches in circumference, with 
black marble bases, and architrave of red and white marble. 
This room has also a chandelier, similar in design to that 
of the Representative Hall, though smaller and of probably 
better proportions. 

There are thirty-four chandeliers, eleven brackets, twelve 
pendants, and eight gaselabras in the whole building, with 
four hundred and twenty burners. There is one chandelier 
of forty-eight burners, three of thirty burners, one of 
eighteen, one of fifteen, two of twelve, six of eight, two of 
six, eighteen of four, etc. 

Tlie Tower. — Above the centre of the building, and 



through the roof, rises the tower, supported by four mas- 
sive piers rising from the ground, ten by twelve feet. Th( 
design of the tower — for it is a splendid work in itself — is 
a modified and improved reproduction of the " Choragidjii 
Monument of Lysicrates," or, as it is sometimes called 
the " Lantern of Demosthenes," erected in Athens aboul 
325 B.C., and still standing. The tower is composed of i 
square rustic base, thirty-six feet square and forty-two feel 
high, with a window in each front. Above this the lantern 
or round part of the tower rises twenty-six feet eight inches 
in diameter, by thirty-seven feet high. It consists of a 
circular cell, with eight most beautiful three-quarter fluted 
Corinthian columns, attached around its outer circumfev^ 
ence with alternate blank and pierced windows betweei 
each two columns, in each of the two stories of the eel 
The columns have each a very elaborate and beautifull 
wrought capital of the purest Corinthian style, and, above 
all, a heavy entablature. The column shafts are two feet 
six inches in diameter by twenty-seven feet eight inches 
high, and capital four feet high. The roof and iron finiS 
ornament are together thirty-four feet high above the last 
stone of the tower, making the whole height of the edifice 
above the ground two hundred and six feet seven inches, 
or over four hundred feet above low water in the Cumber- 
land River. In comparison, it may be interesting to say 
that the head of the statue on the Capitol at Washington 
is but three hundred and seventy-seven feet above tideg 
water ; the height of St. Peter's, at Rome, from the paVj 
ment to the top of the cross, is four hundred and thirt 
feet, and that of St. Paul's, at London, four hundred andi 
four feet. 

Visitors to the Capitol should not fail to ascend the; 
tower, for from its observatory may be obtained a series of 
views — 7-iis in erbe — city and country, ravine and river, ex-i 
ceedingly grand and lovely, and perhaps the most pictur- 
esque in America. 

Table of Dimensions. — The following table exhibitsi 
some of the principal dimensions of the building at 
glance : 

Length 2.39ft. Sin. 

Length, including terrace at ench end, seventeen feet 

wide, and projecting steps sixteen feet ten inclies... .306 ** 8 ' 

Widih ateach end 112 " 5' 

AVidtli at eacli end, including terrace seventeen feet wide 

ateachside 142 " 5" 

"Width at the centre, including side porticos, each thir- 
teen feet wide 13S " 5 " 

THE HEIGHT OF BUILDIXC. 

Lower terrace, or pavement 2 ft. 

Upper terrace 8 '* 9 in. 

From upper terrace to top of entablature of main 

building 64 " 8" 

End pediments, or of thereof 13 " 

Sl(mcwork of tower, above roof of main building 79 " 2 " 

Iron finial ornament, together with tower of roof 34 " 

Total height 206 ft. Tin. 

Some more of the minute details should be mentioned. 
The roof of the building is constructed of rafters composed 
of Cumberland River wrought-iron ties and braces, trussed 
in sections, and joined together by cast-iron plates and 
knees, by wrought-iron purlins ; the greatest span of these 
wrought-iron rafters is over the Representative Hall, a 
distance of sixty-five feet. The whole is sheathed and 



F 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



307 



(overed with copper. The water is convej'cd from the roof 
by cast-iron flutter pipes eight inches in diameter, inserted 
in the walls, and is carried to basins under the terrace pave- 
ments all around the building. Tiiis water is to be used to 
irrigate the grounds. 

The walls of the building for the foundation are seven feet 
thick, upper walls four and a half feet thick, inner walls are 
^respectively three feet, two feet, eighteen inches, and twelve 
inches thick. All of the inside walls are laid with rubbed 
stone ; the terraces, pavements, and the round part of the 
; tower, square-droved or chiseled; outer walls of the first 
[iBtory and square part of the tower rusticated-work and 
tooled. The walls around the grounds are drafted bush- 
hammered. 
i; The material of the building is of a stratified limestone, 
I full of fossils, some of it very hard, of a slightly bluish- 
,gray tint with cloud-like markings. It was procured within 
half a mile west of the building, in a quarry opened by the 
, State on the grounds of Mr. Samuel Watkins. Stones 
;have been quarried from this place weighing, in their rough 
; state, fifteen or twenty tons, and thirty or more feet long. 
.One of the teriaoe stones of the building is eight feet three 
1 inches by fourteen feet, and the cap-stones of the terrace 
buttresses are five feet ten inches by sixteen feet eleven 
.inches, tlie heaviest weighing probably eight or ten tons_ 
jThe stone may be considered, both as to durability and 
beauty of appearance when worked well, equal, if not 
superior, to any building-stone in the Union. The buiid- 
i ing, or parts of it, Iiave now stood the test of the storms of 
over thirty years, and is still without flaw, though our cli- 
mate is exceedingly changeable, and very destructive to 
, building-stone when much exposed. The doors, window- 
frames, and sash are of Tennessee oak. The stairways 
throughout are hanging and of stone, except the tower 
steps and the splendid spiral stairway leading to the upper 
corridors of the library, which are of iron. Nearly the 
i| whole of the work on this building was done by Tennessee 
! mechanics and artisans. The stone-cutting and sotting are 
most admirably done, and not excelled, or hardly equaled, 
;l in the United States or Europe. 

I Ornamental Statues. — On each step buttress, on each 

! front of the building, are ornamental iron lamp-posts (six- 

I teen altogether), made at the establishment of Wood, Perot 

& Co., Philadelphia, which are certainly the most elaborate 

and costly objects of the kind which have yet been put up 

in iron in this country. Each post consists of a composite 

fluted column, resting on a heavy base, and supporting 

I above a large glass lamp with gas-burners. Around this 

. column, and standing on the base, are three youthful fig- 

. ures, nearly life-size, representing " Morning" and " Night" 

I (female figures half draped), and " Noon," a youth holding 

I a torch, — a happy conception of the artist and a credit to 

. him. There are twenty-four of these figures altogether. 

Stale. Library. — In the beautiful and elegant library- 
I rooms of the State-house may be seen a collection of twenty 
thousand volumes, embracing not only a full collection of 
j State and law publications, but many rare and costly theo- 
j logical, scientific, medical, and miscellaneous works, — poets, 
' essayists, critics, historians, etc., — together with a full file of 
all the daily papers published in Nashville, and other points 



in the State, for many years back. In fact, there is no- 
where in the South to be seen such a collection of intellec- 
tual pabulum as in tliis large and varied library, the gath- 
erings of years of constant labor. A good library properly 
sustained by the State would prove, if sufiiciently used, the 
most valuable gift whicli could possibly be made to the 
youth of the country. The present librarian is Mrs. Gen. 
Hatton, widow of the gallant and beloved Gen. Robert 
Hatton ; assistant, the accomplished Miss Emma Hatton. 
These ladies are ever courteous and attentive to visitors. 
The library is opened from nine a.m. till four P.M. 

Museum of the Historical Societi/. — There is still another 
feature about the State-house worthy the attention of the vis- 
itors. It is the collection of rarities and curiosities gathered 
by the Tennessee Historical Society. The museum of the 
society occupies, in conjunction with the State library, the 
same apartments. Here one may see many unique and cu- 
rious objects, — from an Egyptian mummy to the rude battle 
swords of our forefathers, coins of all nations, geological, 
mineralogical, and botanical specimens in profusion, with 
many a relic of the past, — all interesting, all instructive. 
Portraits and paintings, flags and trophies, adorn the walls, 
and form a sight so delightful and entertaining as to well 
repay a visit to the Capitol. 

The Grounds. — The grounds of the Capitol are unsur- 
passed in picturesque beauty by those of any public building 
in America. The esplanade is beautifully terraced and in- 
tersected by splendid stone walks and graveled carriage- 
ways. Lakes, fountains, rustic bridges, arbors, and other 
attractive features in landscape gardening are to be seen. 
Each county in the State has planted a centennial tree, 
and these, when added to the exquisite shrubbery already 
full grown, make the " Capitoline Hill" delightfully ro- 
mantic. 

UNITED STATES CUSTOM-HOUSE. 

This beautiful building occupies the square formed by 
Broad, Spruce, and Vine Streets, very nearly in the geo- 
graphical centre of the city. The site is three hundred and 
thirty by one hundred and sixty-five feet in size ; the build- 
ing one hundred and fifty-one feet six inches by eighty-one 
feet six inches, and three stories high, surmounted by a 
tower one hundred and ninety feet high from the sidewalk. 
The style of architecture is Pointed Gothic. The building 
is constructed entirely of stone and iron, — rock-faced ashlar 
relieved by fine cut stone carvings. The basement is of 
granite from Winusboro', South Carolina ; superstructure of 
cream-colored limestone from Bowling Green, Ky., and 
sometimes called " Green River Marble ;" the columns are 
of polished red Missouri granite, and the roofing of iron, 
covered with slate. 

The first floor, which is nineteen feet high, is arranged 
for use of the post-oifice entirely. Aside from the general 
delivery and the general working room, there are four 
private offices, for postmaster, assistant-postmaster, money- 
order business, and route agents and carriers' rooms. There 
are entrances from Broad and Vine Streets, respectively. 
The iron stairway — the stair-well fifteen feet in width — runs 
to the upper stories, and also a passenger elevator, at the 
Vine Street entrance, runs from the basement to third 
story. On ihe first panel, constituting the exterior of the 



308 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



staircase, is a representation of the prow of a vessel with 
two oars and two dolpliins, the head of Liberty as the 
figure-liead of the vessel, the American eagle, the Treasury 
shield, with the thirteen stars on its bars, the key of Uncle 
Sam's strong box, the United States flag, and the custom- 
house flag. 

The second panel, opposite the staircase, is devoted to 
an allegorical representation of the post-oiEce. Here is a 
locomotive, with its cow-catcher, and a leaf on each side, 
tiie wings of the iron horse. From a scroll are hanging 
packs of letters, and there, too, are seen hounds carrying 
missives, and arrows, which have often been used in be- 
sieged cities to cany messages from one army to another. 
Amid the leaves is observed the winged cap of Mercury, 
the swift-footed postman of Jupiter, king of gods. There 
are also carrier pigeons, the bearers of news, and a telegraph 
pole with its electrical wires. 

On the third panel is a lighted torch, supiporting a scroll 
of parchment on which laws are written. Pens with two 
antique swords crossed behind the scroll are on one side of 
the torch. Next is Minerva's helmet, and on the other side 
a lion's head, intended to suggest the idea of the deities 
of Justice. 

On the frontispiece are emblems of Trade and Justice. 
In the centre of the book of laws, the scales and the sword 
represent Justice. On each side are winged Geniuses, with 
foreheads adorned with the American stars, and holding in 
their hands wreaths of oak, laurel, and olive. 

Next to these are scrolls of foliage, one adorning the 
fasces with the axe, crossed by the roll of the United States 
Constitution. Farther on are two oars for internal naviga- 
tion, and Neptune with his trident for commerce of the sea. 
On the right of the Geniuses is the hand of justice and the 
torch of light. At the end of the frontispiece a winged 
c'.ulnceus — the wand of Mercury — with an anchor are also 
symbolical of commerce. Two pigeons here present also 
the idea of speed and fidelity. 

The second floor, whicli is fifteen feet high, is to be used 
for general customs of the internal revenue service. It is 
divided into eleven oSicos. 

The third floor, corridor, and ofiiees are fifteen feet high, 
but the main portion is divided into United States Court- 
rooms. The main court-room is over the Spruce Street 
end, and is forty by seventy-five feet large ; distance from 
floor to ceiling, thirty-four feet. The minor-court room is 
over the Vine Street end, and is forty by thirty-five feet 
large ; distance from floor to ceiling, twenty-four feet. 

The tower is built in unison with the rest of the edifice. 
It is nine stories in height, each story ranging from fifteen 
to eighteen feet. An iron spiral stairway commences in 
the fifth story of the tower, and extends upward to the 
dormer windows. 

In the construction of the building sixty-eight thousand 
cubic feet of stone have been consumed. The building with 
all its appointments, heating, water, and gas apparatuses, 
and parking the grounds, will cost not far from one-half 
million of dollars. The work of construction was first begun 
in September, 1875, but the plans were changed, and the 
present building was commenced in August, 1876, and will 
probably be completed in the spring of 1831. The build- 



ing was designed under Mr. William A. Potter, govern- 
ment ar'chitect, was pushed forward under Mr. James G. 
Hill, supervising architect, at Washington, and is now 
under the immediate supervision of Maj. James H. Coch- 
ran, superintendent of construction. 

CITY HALL. 

That venerable establishment which serves the city of 
Nashville the double purpose of City Hall and market- 
house is among the oldest and most unsightly of all our 
public institutions. A portion of the building was erected 
in 1827 or 1828. In 18.55 it was remodeled and enlarged, 
and the addition of the City Hall made to it ; but the work, 
as intended, was never fully carried out, as it was proposed 
to build a public hall, extending over the entire market- 
place, and accessible from both the north and south ends. 
Some years ago an efi'ort was made to remove this building, 
but the projectors were met by the stubborn fact that the 
General Assembly of North Carolina, in 1784, reserved 
four acres (the present public square) for public buildings, 
and the question has never been settled whether the city 
could divert the space to other purposes. The writer is not 
a prophet, but he dares prophesy that ten years from now 
the demands of progressive civilization will have removed 
the market-place, and on the present site thereof a superb 
and creditable City Hall will be erected. Furthermore, 
that the " public square" will lose its primitive nomencla- 
ture, and be known to the next generation as " City Hall 
Square" or " Court Square." The present building cost 
fifty-five thousand dollars, and on the first floor has one 
hundred stalls. The upper stories contain the council- 
chambers and the oSices of the municipal authorities. 

CITY WORKHOUSE. 

The city workhouse is on North Front Street, near the 
Louisville and Nashville depot, and on the south bank of 
the Cumberland Iliver. It was built in 1858, under the 
administration of Col. Ilandal W. McGavook, then mayor. 
Tlie property and building is four hundred by seventy feet 
in dimensions, and is valued at forty thousand dollars. The 
prison rooms are capable of accommodating one hundred and 
fifty prisoners, and have had as high as one hundred and 
thu'ty prisoners in " durance vile" at one time. The usual 
number is about fifty. They are chiefly a vagabondish set, 
petty ofi"enders, etc. 

DAVIDSON COUNTY JAIL. 

Davidson County jail is on North Front, between the 
public square and Church Street. It is built precisely on 
the spot occupied by the " fort at Nashboro' " in 1780. It 
is constructed of stone and iron entirely, was built in 1852, 
cost twenty-five thousand dollars. Gen. A. Heiman, archi- 
tect. 

SUSPENSION-BRIDGE. 

A magnificent wire suspension-bridge spans the Cumber- 
land at this place, which has been regarded as one of the 
finest and most substantial bridge structures in America, 
and perhaps the longest in the South. The first suspension- 
bridge at Nashville was built in 1850, but was destroyed by 
having its wires cut when the Confederate forces, under 




Piiotii. liy Poolo, Nasl[\ 




Dr. Egbert Russei.l was born in Bethel, Me., 
II 1832; his family on his father's side are Scotch, 
nd on his mother's side of English descent. His 
ather, Chandler Russell, served three years in the 
[v&T of the Revolution, during which time his family 
:new extreme privations. His avocation was that 
if a farmer, and Robert worked with him until six- 
een years old. He showed at an early age a taste 
or mechanical pursuits, and found in the shops of 
he carpenter and carriage-maker more to interest 
lim than in the ordinary sports of boys of his age. 

At eighteen years of age he sought and secured an 
uigagement with a physician and dentist, and at the 
.ame time pursued his education at the academy at 
jroton, Mass., where he subsequently graduated. 

To perfect his education in mechanical dentistry 
le removed to Boston and placed himself under 
competent instruction in the dental art. At this 
ime there was no dental college in Boston, and to 
earn all the better methods it was necessary for the 
itudent to go from one dentist to another and secure 
he special information of which each was possessed. 

In this manner our young dentist met and gathered 
instruction from such distinguished men as Di'S. 
Ball, Tucker, Harwood, and Keep, practicing his 
profession and pursuing his studies at the same time. 
After leaving Boston he removed to PhiladeljDhia, 
ivhich had then established a dental college, and he 
ivas duly graduated thereat. 



He settled in Tennessee, in Maury County, in 
February, 1852; removed to Nashville in 1857, 
where, in addition to his dental degree, he graduated 
in medicine, and added the title of M.D. to that of 
D.D.S. 

Dr. Russell is to-day regarded as one of the 
fathers of the profession in Nashville ; he has never 
been satisfied with any half-way proficiency in his 
profession. In 1869 he made the tour of Europe, 
studying in the leading capitals whatever pertained 
to his calling, but he found, as others have before 
and since that day, that the standard of perfection 
in American dentistry is far higher than that in 
Europe : this fact is well attested. American dentists 
have received princely honors; the patrons of one 
such include many of the crowned heads of Europe. 
The doctor has kept pace with the improvements of 
the age. 

To Dr. Russell belongs the credit of founding the 
dental department of the College of Nashville, which 
college has been adopted by the University of Ten- 
nessee. At the commencement last celebrated this 
school graduated more dental students than were 
ever graduated by any school of the same age in the 
United States. Dr. Russell's reputation has largely 
attracted this patronage, though due credit should be 
given his eminent associates, among whom may be 
mentioned Prof. Diuicas Eve and Prof George S. 
Blackie. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



309 



Geii. Albert Sidney Johnston, evacuated Nashville, in Feb- 
ruary, 1SG2. The new bridge was built in 1866, at a cost 
of one hundred and forty thousand dollars. The architect 
was Maj. Wilbur F. Foster, now city engineer, and who, 
during the war, served as chief engineer on Gen. A. P. 
Stewart's staff. 

The wood- and wire-work was done under the supervision 
of Col. Albert Fink, the distinguished railroad officer. The 
masonry of the present bridge is the same as that of the 
old one, save the addition of six and a half feet to the piers 
on the East Nashville side, the present pitch of the bridge 
being twenty-five feet lower on that side. The weight of 
the original cables was about 93,800 pounds ; weight of 
present cables 165,000 pounds. The number of wires in 
each of the two cables is 245G, making the total number 
of wires supporting the bridge in the centre 4912. The 
weight of the bridge between the towers is about 648,000 
pounds, and the total strength of the cables is 7,368,000 
pounds. The greatest load which can be placed on the 
bridge at one time, counting forty pounds to the square 
foot, is 604,800 pounds, and this, added to the weight of the 
bridge, gives us 1,252,800 pounds, so that the bridge has a 
strength equal to the support of almost six times the iceight 
that can he loaded upon it. The length of the bridge is 
700 feet; width 35 feet, including the carriage-way 25 feet, 
and two sidewalks, each 5 feet wide. The carriage-way 
is guarded by a heavy framing of timber, firmly riveted 
and bolted, and known as the McCallum Truss pattern. 
This truss is secured to the cables in the centre by heavy 
wrought-iron rods, which increase in length as we go to- 
wards either end of the bridge, until they reach almost to 
the top of the four towers. The height of the bridge above 
low-water mark is 110 feet. 

COURT-HOUSE. 

The court-house of Davidson County is situate in the 
east centre of the public square. It was built in 1857, on 
the site of three former court-houses, and after the burn- 
ing of its immediate predecessor, in the spring of 1856, 
during that extensive conflagration that consumed the old 
Nashville Inn and several other prominent buildings. The 
b"uilding is in the Corinthian style, is one hundred and 
fifteen by seventy-two feet large ; cost one hundred and 
twenty thousand dollars ; architect, James Strickland ; con- 
tractors, Smith, Hughes & Sloan. The lower story is built 
of cut stone, and the two upper of brick. A terrace-wall 
extends the full length of the east and west flanks on the 
first floor. The two upper stories, at their north and south 
ends, open out into handsome porticoes or Corinthian col- 
onnades, running with the pitch of the roof, supported each 
by eight large wooden columns with cast-iron capitals. 
The east and west porticoes are in the centre of the build- 
ing, and are each colonnades of four columns, each support- 
ing a square roof. The corridor of the basement, extending 
the full length of the building, is crossed in the centre by a 
transverse corridor, where two wide iron stairways afford ac- 
cess to the upper floors. On the first floor are the offices of 
the sheriff, trustee, and the clerks of the County, Circuit, and 
Criminal Courts, and the court-room of the County Court. 
The second floor contains the court-rooms of the Criminal, 



Circuit, and Chancery Courts. The third story has a hand- 
some public hall, with a complement of anterooms. In 
this hall the " Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 
1870" was held. It is now the armory of the " Porter 
Rifles." 

lEON RAILROAD DRAW-BRIDGE. 

The finest draw-bridge in Tennessee, and one of the 
finest in the United States, is the splendid iron structure 
built by the Louisville and Nashville and Great Southern 
Railroad in 1859, and spanning the Cumberland from the 
north central portion of the city. The original bridge was 
built under the supervision of Mr. A. Anderson, chief en- 
gineer of the Edgefield and Kentucky road, but the 
wooden structure was burned in the evacuation of Nash- 
ville, Tuesday night, Feb. 18, 1862. In May, 1862, the 
bridge was rebuilt by the Federal authorities. In 1807 the 
wood portion was removed and a splendid iron superstruc- 
ture of the Fink V-truss pattern was put up at a cost of 
seventy-five thousand dollars, under the supervision of Col. 
Albert Fink. The value of the present bridge is about 
three hundred thousand dollars. Its length is 700 feet, in 
four spans, — two fixed spans, one on each side, and two 
draw spans in the centre. Each fixed span is 200 feet in 
the clear between the supports, and the clear opening of 
each draw span is 120 feet, making it the longest railroad 
draw in the world, that at Rock Island, 111., being 120 
feet on one side and 116 feet on the other. The total 
length of draw, from one extremity to the other of the 
movable portion, is 280 feet. The masonry supporting the 
bridge was built by Maxwell, Saulpaw & Co., contractors, 
and consists of two abutments, two main piers, one centre 
pier, and two rest, piers. The centre pier, on which the 
immense draw is turned, is circular, 30 feet in diameter at 
the top, and 34>- feet at the bottom and 68i feet high, and 
contains 2295^ perches of masonry. The eastern main 
pier is 75J feet high, and contains 1208J perches of 
masonry. The western main pier is 70i feet high, and 
contains 10721 perches of masonry. The foundations of 
all the piers are laid upon the solid rock, in water about 
12 feet deep at ordinary low stages. The extreme rise of 
water at the bridge is 47 feet. The total quantity of ma- 
sonry in the bridge is 68001 perches. In the original 
superstructure 454,000 feet of timber and 160,000 pounds 
of iron were used. 

FAIR-GROUNDS AND MILITARY ENCAMPMENT. 

The Tennessee Fair-Grounds, and place of the Centen- 
nial Military Encampment, are located two miles west of the 
city, accessible by the Harding and Charlotte pikes, and the 
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad. The 
grounds are eighty acres in extent, and are admirably situ- 
ated. The buildings are constructed in the Swiss style of 
architecture, are quite imposing, and comprise a grand 
amphitheatre, capable of seating ten thousand people, me- 
chanics' hall, floral and textile fabric hall, pagodas, cot- 
tages, reservoirs, etc. The speed-ring or race-course is made 
in shape of the letter B, and has two excellent fifty-foot 
tracks, — viz., half-mile and mile stretches. The buildings 
and grounds cost one hundred thousand dollars, but are soon 



310 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



to be converted into an immense iron-manufacturing estab- 
lishment. 

NASHVILLE KACE-COUKSE. 

The famous Nashville race-course, established in the 
early days of the city, when such prominent men as Gen. 
Jackson attended the turf contests, is situated two miles 
north of the city, on a beautiful peninsula formed by an 
abrupt curvature in the Cumberland River. The race- 
course farm contains two hundred and twenty-five acres, and 
is the property of JI. Burns, Esq. The course, the grand 
stand, stables, dwellings, etc., are leased from the owner by 
tlie Nashville Blood-Horse Association. There are both run- 
ning and trotting courses, each one mile long and forty feet 
wide. The course is regarded as the softest track in the 
United States to train on, the soil being impregnated with 
fine sand, and at all times kept in the most perfect order. 
Burns Avenue, a beautiful thoroughfare, seventy feet wide, 
is one of the most beautiful drives leading out of Nashville. 

NASHVILLE BLOOD-HORSE ASSOCIATION. 

The rooms of the Nashville Blood-Horse Association are 
at No. 8 Baxter Block, Union Street. W. H. Johnson, 
President ; George W. Darden, Secretary. 

CITY WATERWORKS. 
The City Water- Works are situated on an elevated bluff 
of the river, about one and a fourth miles south of the 
public square. The water-works were first established in 
1833, and so great was the rejoicing of the people that 
" cannon were fired, and a procession paraded the streets, 
headed by a band and composed of hundreds of citizens, a 
large number of ladies, the members of the Legislature, 
then about to assemble, strangers," etc. The original cost 
of the works was $55,000. In 1860 they were greatly 
enlarged and improved, and in 1870 they were valued at 
$1,000,000. The works, during 1878-79, were again 
greatly improved. The large engine, of 250 horse-power, 
was repaired and retained, and two magnificent duplex Dean 
engines, each 500 horse-power, were put in, at a cost of 
$90,000. The filtering process has also been adopted, and 
a new stand-pipe 115 feet high, and with 3G inches inside 
diameter, was built in 1878. The two reservoirs have a 
combined capacity of 2,200,000 gallons, but which will not 
hold 24 hours' supply, the total daily consumption of water 
in the city being near 3,000,000 gallons. In 1870 the 
daily consumption was about 1,100,000 gallons. Then 
again, for the sake of comparison, the length of the main 
pipe in 1870 was about 25 miles, but in 1880 is forty- 
seven miles. In 1870 there were 2800 buildings in the 
city supplied with water, but in 1880 Jive thousand build- 
ings are supplied. The present value of the works is esti- 
mated at $1,500,000; annual revenue assessment, §65,000. 
Superintendent, James Wyatt ; Water-tax Receiver, John 
L. Glenn ; First Engineer, J. T. McKenzie ; Second Engi- 
neer, McFage. Visitors admitted at all hours. Engines 
run from 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

CITY GAS-WORKS. 
The " Nashville Gas-Light Company" was chartered by 
the Tennessee Legislature at its session of 1849-50, with 



a capital of $100,000, and privileged to increase to $500,- i 
000. The original incorporators were Messrs. Washington 
Barrow, John Kirkman, Samuel R. Anderson, N. E. Allo- 
way, and W. T. Berry. The first gas was made Feb. 11, 
1851. The original cost of the works was $100,000, but 
they have since been vastly improved and enlarged, and 
are now valued at $500,000. Of this amount fully $200,- 
000 is laid in pipes, and some idea of the rapid growth of 
Nashville may be obtained when we state that in 1870 the 
value of pipes was but $100,000. In 1851 they began 
business with only about one hundred consumers, and about 
the same number of public lamps. In 1870 the number 
of private consumers had increased to fifteen hundred, and 
the number of public lamps to three hundred and twenty- 
five. Mark, however, the increase: In 1880 the number 
of private consumers is two thousand two hundred, and the 
number of public lamps seven hundred. 

The company claim to have the most complete gas-works 
in the South, employ an improved exhauster and compen- 
sator, and all of the latest improvements and patents in the 
art of gas-muking. They can now supply 500,000 cubic 
feet of gas per diem, or about 150,000,000 cubic feet per 
annum. The lowest estimate of gas now actually con- 
sumed is 175,000 cubic feet per diem, or 54,000,000 feet 
per annum. The quality is " sixteen-candle gas." la 
1870 they had 13 miles of main pipe, and 20 miles of ser- 
vice pipe. Now, in 1880, they have 34 miles of main pipe, 
and 30 miles of service pipe, to say nothing of the many 
miles of pipe running into the premises of private con- 
sumers. They employ coal from the mines of Pittsburgh, 
and Black Creek, Alabama. In 1870 the cost of gas to 
private consumers was $3.60 net. In 1880 the price per 
thousand cubic feet is §2.52 net, and one-half thereof for 
city purposes. Memphis pays $3.00; Louisville, §2.35; 
St. Louis, §2.50 ; Cincinnati, $2.00 ; New York, $2.25. 
The works are on Front and Market Streets, adjoining the 
Union Stock -Yards and Louisville and Nashville and Great 
Southern Railroad. The company's up-town office is 14 
Church Street. Ofiicers: Samuel Watkins, President; 
Thomas F. Kondrick, Secretary ; George H. Wells, Super- 
intendent ; Joseph Gibson, Clerk. 

HOUSE OP INDUSTRY. 

The House of Industry for Females, No. 24 North Vine 
Street, was established in 1837 by that benevolent and 
public-spirited gentleman, Hon. Joseph Elliston, ex-Mayor. 
Mesdames M. R. Fogg, R. N. McEwen, Felix Grundy, 
Dickinson, and Carroll were the board of managers. Mr. 
Elliston made a deed of gift of the site, and the rear por- 
tion of the building, or " L." The front building was 
afterwards erected by subscription. Present value of build- 
ings, etc., about $30,000. It is a home for orphan girls, 
and for young ladies who need homes. Since its establish- 
ment more than forty years have passed, and the House of 
Industry has stood as a monument of genuine benevolence, 
while its protecting roof has sheltered hundreds of young 
girls, who have been reared, educated, and dispatched to the 
world under the most satisfactory auspices, both in a moral 
and material sense. It is under most excellent manage- 
ment. Visitors are cordially welcomed. Mrs. R. H. Mc- 



'^v- 







m>^ 



E. G EASTMAN 



CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



311 



. Ewen, President ; Mrs. E. Elliston, Secretary ; Mrs. A. 
Atcliison, Treasurer; Mrs. Sarah Glasgow, Blatron. Blan- 
agers, Mrs. E. S. Gat-daer, Mrs. Love Woods, Mrs. An- 
drew Anderson. 

MoKENDEEE HOME. 

The benevolent ladies of the McKendree Methodist 
Church have established a comfortable home for the aged, 
infirm, and indigent members of their congregation, on 
Harris Street, near Currey, in the southwestern part of the 
city. Mrs. M. Hamilton is president of the board of 
managers. 

WOMAN'S MISSION HOME. 

One of the most praiseworthy and truly beneficent insti- 
tutions in the city is the Woman's Mission Home, No. 23 
Ewing Avenue. The object of this institution is to reclaim 
fallen women, bring them back to the path of virtue, and 
to provide comfortable homes, where they will be under 

1 proper moral and Christian influence. No higher work 
can claim the attention of our noble-hearted women. The 
Mission Home is under the management of a board of diree- 

j tors from the various Protestant churches of the city. Mrs. 
A. H. Rcdford, President ; Mrs. Thomas Marshall, Secre- 
tary ; Mrs. J. C. Bates, Treasurer. 

PROTESTANT ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

Another excellent humane institution, standing as a mon- 
ument to the philanthropy of the noble-hearted ladies of 
Nashville, is the Protestant Orphan Asylum. It was estab- 
lished Jan. 16, 1845, under the direction of a board of 
managers, with Mrs. H. Hitchcock as the first president. 
It was first located on McLemore Street, near Church, but 
in 1866 was removed two miles from the city, on the Frank- 
lin pike. Subsequently it was removed again to the pres- 
ent location. No. 143 South Spruce. Since its organization 
the asylum has had under its fostering care about five hun- 
dred children, most of whom have found comfortable homes 
among our citizens. The present number of wards is about 
thirty. Mrs. E. A. Richards is matron. Among the mem- 
bers of the board, in their untiring and zealous care of these 
little unfortunates, jMrs. Felicia Grundy Porter and Mrs. 
H. G. Scovel should be mentioned honorably, and be re- 
membered with gratitude. Visitors are admitted, and cor- 
dially welcomed, on any week-day except Friday and Sat- 
urday. 

Mrs. F. G. Porter, President; Mrs. M. Hamilton, Vice- 
President ; Mrs. W. B. Cooper, Treasurer ; Mrs. H. G. 
Scovel, Recording Secretary ; Mrs. J. W. lloyte. Corres- 
ponding Secretary. 

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

This noble charity is situated two miles from the city, on 
the Murfreesboro' turnpike. The location is an admirable 
one, and commands fine views of the city and country for 
miles around. The asylum was founded Nov. 15, 1863, 
by the " St. Mary's Orphan Association," composed of mem- 
bers of the Cathedral congregation. The buildings and 
grounds cost ten thousand dollars, and are in charge of the 
Sisters of the Dominican Order. The grounds include six 



acres, highly ornamented. Usual number of orphans, about 
seventy. Visitors are given cordial welcome. 

THE STATE PENITENTIARY. 

The original building of the Tennessee State Peniten- 
tiary was erected in 1830-31 by David Morrison, under 
the direction of the Governor and board of commissioners. 
In 1857 the west wing was added at a cost of thirty-six 
thousand dollars, and in 1867 two large workshops, known 
respectively as the east and west shops, were built. On the 
21st of June, 1867, the east shops were destroyed by fire, 
but in a few weeks they were rebuilt in a more substan- 
tial manner than at first. The buildings of the prison now 
occupy three sides of a hollow square, bordering on the 
north side of West Church Street, and embracing an area of 
about five acres in extent, the main building being about 
three hundred feet long. The whole property is estimated at 
about six hundred thousand dollars. The number of con- 
victs has been as high as twelve hundred, but it varies, and 
many of them are employed outside of the prison in mining, 
railroad-building, and other labor. They were employed by 
the State, under appointed officers, until December, 1871, 
when the law was changed, and the prisoners and shops 
have since been let by contract for a term of six years. The 
first contract was taken by W. H. Cherry, Thomas O'Con- 
nor, and Gen. W. Y. C. Humes, a practicing attorney of 
Memphis, under the firm-style of Cherry, O'Connor & Co. 
Mr. O'Connor acted as superintendent. The second lease 
was taken Dec. 1, 1876, by Messrs. Cherry, O'Connor, A. 
N. Shook, and William Morrow, under the old firm-style, 
with 51. Allen as superintendent of the works. The 
wagon-shops turn out about twelve thousand farm-wagons, 
which find their chief market in Virginia, Kentucky, and 
the States south and west, including Texas, Arkansas, Mis- 
souri, Illinois, Kansas, Florida, and the Gulf States. Carts 
and wheelbarrows are made in the same shops. 

The foundry consumes about two thousand tons of pig 
iron per annum, making stoves and hollow-ware. 

The furniture-shops use about one million six hundred 
thousand feet of lumber per annum in the manufacture of 
low-priced furniture. These products are placed upon the 
market by various wholesale dealers throughout the South 
and Southwest. 

There is about ten thousand dollars' worth of machinery 
belonging to the State, and twenty-six thousand dollars' 
worth of machinery and buildings additional have been 
placed on the grounds by the contractors. Only about three- 
fifths of the State prisoners are received here, the balance 
being furnished on requisition of contractors at Coal Creek, 
Tracy City, and Suwanee coal-mines, and Ensley Farm, near 
Memphis, and forwarded upon their conviction. The pris- 
oners work nine and a half hours in winter and ten and a 
half in summer. 

The present superintendent for the State is Nathan Boone, 
Esq. 

An unsuccessful attempt to burn the prison buildings 
was made March 10, 1855. Many important government 
prisoners were confined here during the late war. May 14, 
1867, three hundred convicts joined in an attempt to 
escape, and created great excitement. The mutiny, how- 



312 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ever, was quelled without an escape and without bloodshed, 
through the vigilance of the officers, and quiet restored. 

ASYLUM FOR THE POOR AND INSANE. 

The people of Davidson County are justly proud of their 
arrangements for the care of their insane and their needy 
poor. The grounds at present occupied by the county 
asylum comprise one hundred and thirteen acres of choice 
farming-lands, which were purchased in 1874 for thirteen 
thousand dollars. 

A fine home and superintendent's office were built in 
place of the ordinary farm building upon the purchase. 
A lunatic asylum, a row of cottages for colored people, and 
comfortable buildings for the unfortunate white people were 
placed respectively on three sides of an open square, to 
which the family residence formed the fourth side. All 
needed outbuildings were erected, the whole, with the 
lands, costing the county thirty-one thousand dollars when 
completed, — a sum said to have been economically used by 
the builders. 

Water-works, bath-rooms, and all needed facilities for the 
health, comfort, and happiness of the inmates were intro- 
duced. A galvanic battery and other necessary apparatus 
are provided for the resident county physician, Dr. Lofton. 

Although organized under the general law of the State, 
this is not known as a poor-house, and it stands so high in 
the estimation of the citizens that it is considered no dis- 
honor to be permitted to hire keeping there when disabled 
by age or infirmity. 

Previous to 1824, and for some time after, the poor were 
hired out by the county, or, if able to manage their own 
affiiirs, were provided with the necessary means. Through 
the exertions of Herbert Towns, Esq., — now the only sur- 
viving member of the old life-appointed court, — the Quarter 
Sessions of justices established a poor-house about 1830, and 
Mr. John AYesley Baker was appointed by the court as first 
keeper. For several years the county poor were kept by 
him on his own farm. The county then purchased the 
one-hundred-acre farm in District No. 2, now owned by 
Thomas Ballou, Esq., and James Peay was placed in charge 
as keeper. This was afterwards exchanged for the present 
farm of Thomas Harris, in the same district. Mr. Harris 
became keeper at the close of the war, and in 1874 pur- 
chased the farm, when the county moved upon the one now 
occupied. The pauper lunatics were confined in the com- 
mon jail at first, but were afterwards, on petition, admitted 
to the State asylum until a separate department could be 
established by the county. 

The annual expense of the poor and lunatic is about 
fourteen thousand dollars, of which, by skillful manage- 
ment, a large portion is met by the products of the fi»rm. 
There is an average custody of about one hundred and 
ninety persons, of whom one-half are colored. No children 
are sent here ; all these go directly to the orphan asylum, 
under the official supervision of Hon. John Ferriss, county 
judge, whose plan has been to find them good moral homes 
as soon as possible, where they shall be tenderly cared for. 
Through his energetic management these institutions have 
become the models of the State, and furnish many valuable 
suggestions to other counties. 



^ 



The asylum is managed by a commission of three, oi 
which James Haney is chairman and E. H. Childress and 
T. K. Griggs members. Isaac Lanier is local superintend- 
ent in charge of the premises for the commissioners, and 
Mrs. Lanier, his wife, is superintendent of the female de- 
partment. The commissioners are appointed by the County 
Court. 

ECCLESIASTICAL, HISTORY. 
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

First Presbyterian Church of Nashville. — Rev. Thomasi 
B. Craighead is believed to have been the first Presbyterian- 
minister who visited the settlements on the Cumberland^ 
River. He came with a party of emigrants from Kentucky 
early in the year 1785, reaching here on Saturday evenin 
The nest day he held divine worship, using the stump of 
tree for a pulpit. During the year he fixed his residence at 
Haysboro', or Spring Hill, eight miles east of Nashville 
neat rough-stone church was built at once, and in this tb 
Davidson Academy was opened the 25th of September, 1786 
Rev. Mr. Craighead being the teacher. He was a graduate 
of Nassau Hall, Princeton, N. J., of the class of 1775, and 
was ordained by the Presbytery of Orange in 1780, at the 
age of twenty-seven years. He was a tall, erect, dignified- 
appearing man, calm in his style of speaking, but possessed 
of great oratorical powers. He was an earnest advocate of 
education, atid to his exertions more than any other man's 
the Nashville University was indebted for its first endoW' 
ment. The old stone church was occupied by him as 
pastor and as a school-room for more than thirty years. 
Rev. j\Ir. Craighead also preached to a congregation in 
Nashville for several years previous to 1816. He died in 
1824. There was gathered a congregation of Scotch Se- 
ceders in Nashville near the close of the last century. 
Rev. Wm. Hume came to Nashville in 1801, and was ad- 
mitted pastor of the congregation December 2d of that 
year. He preached to them until about 1818, when he 
joined the Presbyterian General Assembly of the United 
States. 

The First Presbyterian Church was organized by him 
Nov. 14, 1814, with the following members: Mrs. Andrew 
Ewing, Mrs. Mary MeNairy, wife of Frank McNairy, Sr., 
Mrs. Josiah Nichol, Mrs. Thomas Talbot and her daughter, 
Blrs. Sophia Hall, wife of Elihu S. Hall, Blargaret L., 
wife of Col. Patton Anderson of the United States 
army, and Robert Smiley, who was made ruling elder. 
This meeting was held in the court-house by Rev. Mr. 
Blackburn and Rev. Robert Henderson, D.D., of Mur- 
freosboro'. George M. Martin and wife, Calvin Jackson 
and wife, and eighteen other persons, all married ladies, 
were soon after added. Rev. Gideon Blackburn, the first 
pastor, told of Dr. Henderson, who exchanged pulpits with 
him sometimes, that he remarked that " he was not in the 
habit of preaching to such a congregation," — composed of 
ladies only. Among their number were Mrs. Felix Grundy, 
Mrs. Sheriff Michael C. Dunn, Mrs. Jesse Wharton, and 
others whose husbands were leading citizens. Though 
never installed, Mr. Blackburn was stated supply from 1811 
to 1818, and moved to Nashville in 1816. He would 
hold week-day meetings in Mr. Hume's meeting-house and 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



313 



oil tlie Sabbath preach to immense congregations in the 
woods near the public square. A Wednesday four-o'clock 
ladies' prayer-meeting, organized by Mr. Ilume, lasted for 
many years. In 1816 a " society house" was erected by 
seven hundred dollars' subscription, and an industrial chari- 
table society held meetings there to prepare and distribute 
clotliing, visit the siek and needy, and distribute tracts and 
Bibles. The members attended the meetings on all occa- 
sions, unless detained by sickness. The building was burned 
in 1S4;8. Rev. Allan D. Campbell, of Pennsylvania, be- 
came the first settled pastor, in 1820, and remained until 

1827. His pastorate was especially marked by the organi- 
zation of a Sunday-school. Kev. 0. Jennings, D.D., of 
Washington, Pa., was installed the next pastor, in April, 

1828. Through his exertions some of the prominent gen- 
tlemen of the city became members of the church. He 
died at this charge, Jan. 12, 1832, after increasing its 
membership to one hundred and sixteen. The meeting- 
house, a neat brick building forty by eighty feet, was built 
in Nashville, fronting on Summer Street, and occupied in 
1816. This was burned on the night of Jan. 29, 1832, 
■«hile still draped in mourning for the late pastor. 

With occasional preaching by Mr. Hume and others in 
the Masonic Hall, the congregation went at once to work 
rebuilding the meeting-house. Rev. Dr. John T. Edgar, 
one of the earliest students of Princeton College, was 
licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, 
N. J., in 1816, and entered upon his labors as pastor of 
this church Aug. 4, 1833. The new church was dedicated 
during the fall. It was one hundred and fifty feet in 
height from the vestibule to the cross of the spire, hand- 
somely finished at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, and 
had a seating capacity of one thou.sand. It was burned 
Sept. 14, 1848. The congregation accepted the use of the 
Masonic Hall in which to continue worship, and imme- 
diately proceeded upon the erection of the third and present 
edifice. The corner-stone was laid on Saturday, April 28, 
1849. The following list of oflicers was, among other relics, 
placed in a zinc box beneath the stone : John T. Edgar, 
Pastor; Elders, N. A. McNairy, R. H. McEwen, M. C. 
Dunn, A. W. Putnam, James Nichol, John M. Hill, A. A. 
Casseday; W. Williams, N. Cross, W. A. Ramsey; Deacons, 
S. V. D. Stout, B. H. Shepherd, W. Eakin, A. Hume. 
Communicants, three hundred and fifty-seven. On Sunday, 
Jan. 5, 1850, worship was held in the lecture-room for the 
first time. The house was completed the following spring, 
at a cost of fifty-one thousand dollars. It is of Pigyptian 
architecture, with two front towers each one hundred and 
four feet high. The main room has a seating capacity of 
thirteen hundred. The building was almost wholly un- 
roofed in 1855 and again in 1859. It was occupied as an 
army hospital by the United States government from Dec. 
31, 1862, until June, 1865 ; after which eight thousand 
dollars were expended in repairs, seven thousand five hun- 
dred dollars of which were received from the government 
as compensation for damages. In 1867 a bell weighing 
four thousand and fifteen pounds was presented by Mrs. 
Adelicia Acklin, afterwards Mrs. Dr. William A. Cheat- 
ham. 

Rev. Joseph Bardwell was installed pastor with Dr. 
40 



Edgar, DiC. 17, 1859. He was installed pastor in April, 
1861, and that relation dissolved June 2G, 1864. Rev. 
J. T. Hendrick, D.D., supplied the pulpit from March to 
August, 1862. Rev. R. F. Bunting, D.D., began his 
labors in July, 1865, was installed June 10, 1866, and 
was succeeded, Aug. 30, 1868, by Rev. T. V. Moore, D.D., 
of Richmond, Va. Rev. Dr. Van Dyke succeeded Dr. 
Moore, and was pastor till 1873. He was succeeded by 
Rev. T. A. Hoyt, D.D., who was called and installed pastor 
in 1873. Dr. Hoyt had previously been pastor at Louis- 
ville, Ky. He was born in South Carolina and educated 
at Columbia, in that State, and at Athens, Ga. 

Deacons.— G. M. D. Cantrell, William K. Hunter, 
elected May, 1850 ; Andrew J. Smith, November, 1865 ; 
Bradford Nichol, May, 1867 ; William C. Collier, Frank 
Porterfield, January, 1870; ByrJ Douglas, Jr., John H. 
Eakin, Wilbur F. Foster, Alfred Hume Lusk, Thomas 
H. Maney, J. Thompson Plunket, Henry Sperry, Decem- 
ber, 1873; L. T. Webb, J. ISIcG. Dickinson, January, 
1876. 

Organization of the Diaconate. — Wilbur F. Foster, 
Chairman ; T. II. Blaney, Secretary ; A. H. Lusk, Treas- 
urer ; F. Porterfield, Assistant Treasurer. 

Ruling Elders. — Adam G. Adams, James M. Hamilton, 
H. Hill McAllister, elected May, 1867 ; Joseph B. O'Bryan, 
January, 1870; Dr. J. II. Buist, Robert S. Cowan, John 
C. Gordon, Robert G. Throne, December, 1873 ; Dr. J. M. 
Safi"ord, January, 1875. 

Members on roll in 1876, sis hundred and four; re- 
newed since, two hundred and forty-one ; present number, 
seven hundred and seven. The total collections for 1879 
were thirteen thousand three hundred and seventy-four 
dollars and seventy-three cents, of which two hundred 
dollars were for the yellow-fever sufferers. 

Sahhath- School Officers. — First Presbyterian Church, 
corner of Summer and Church Streets : Adam G. Adams, 
Superintendent; J. M. Hamilton, Assistant Superintend- 
ent; Robert S. Cowan, Secretary and Treasurer: C. A. 
Thompson, Librarian. 

Cottage Chapel, corner of Bass Street and Stevenson 
Avenue: H. Hill McAlister, Superintendent; Bradford 
Nichol, Assistant Superintendent; Frank P. Elliott, Sec- 
retary, Treasurer, and Librarian. 

Edgar Chapel, jMcGavock Avenue near Cheatham Street: 
Joseph B. O'Bryan, Superintendent; R. S. Cowan, Assist- 
ant Superintendent ; R. S. Gillespie, Secretary and Treas- 
urer. 

Church Society Officers. — Ladies' Benevolent Society : 
meets in the lecture-room first Wednesday of each month 
from October to June: Mrs. D. F.Wilkin, President; 
Mrs. Anna Johnson, Secretary; Mrs. Hu. S. Guynn, 
Treasurer. 

Ladies' Home and Foreign Missionary Society : meets 
in the lecture-room first Wednesday of each month i'rom 
October to June: Mrs. A. G. Adams, President; Mrs. M. 
A. Spurr, Secretary and Treasurer. 

Girls' Missionary Society : ]\Irs. T. A. Hoyt, President 
and Treasurer; Miss Ada Cunningham, Secretary. 

Boys' Aid Society: Mrs. Mary Clare, President; Robert 
Dyas, Secretary; Robert S. Gillespie, Treasurer. 



314 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



SYNOD OP NASnVILLE. 

In 1867 the Synod of Nashville made the northern 
boundary of North Alabama, now Columbia, Presbytery 
to correspond with the northern lines of Perry, Lewis, 
Maury, Blarshall, Lincoln, and Franklin Counties ; and in 
1871, at the request of Nashville and North Alabama 
Presbyteries, the county of Franklin was transferred to 
Nashville Presbytery. 

Tha Presbytery of Nashville, then, is bounded on the 
south by the above line, on the west by the Tennessee 
River, on the north by the Kentucky State line, and on 
the east by the line between East and Middle Tennessee, 
and comprises twenty-nine counties, besides Davidson. 
Eight of its thirty-five churches are witliin this county. 

The First Preshyteriaii Church of Edgefield was or- 
ganized May 8, 1858, in a school-house on Fatherland 
Street, by Rev. John T. Edgar, pastor of the First Church 
in Nashville, Rev. J. T. Ilendrick, and Rev. J. S. Hays, 
who delivered a sermon on the opening of the meeting. 
Jackson B. White, Esq., was then made chairman of the 
meeting, and R. S. Hollins recording secretary. Ten persons 
from the First Church and twenty from the Second then 
presented letters from their respective churches, and were 
enrolled as members of the new church. Officers were theil^ 
elected, as follows : Ruling Elders, Nathaniel Cross and 
Col. W. B. A. Ramsey, who were former elders in the 
First Church, and Jackson B. White and Robert S. Hol- 
lins (who were ordained by Rev. Dr. Edgar) ; Deacons, 
William H. Webb, Arthur C. White, and Josiah Boston. 

Rev. J. W. Lanius was chosen pastor JIarch 31, 1859, 
and remained until his death, September 9th of that year. 
A meeting-house was immediately commenced. Meetings 
were held in the school-house until its completion. It was 
built on a lot on Woodland Street, presented to the society 
by Col. W. B. A. Ramsey for that purpose, and dedicated, 
out of debt, by Rev. Mr. Lanius, May 7, 1859. The 
building, which is of brick and has a seating capacity of 
three hundred and fifty, cost five thousand four hundred 
and thirty-three dollars. 

Rev. J. T. Ilendrick became the nest pastor, May 27, 
1860, and remained until his death. He was a young man, 
son of Rev. J. T. Hendrick, of Clarksville, Montgomery 
Co., and a very promising divine. He died March 14, 
1862, in the twenty-eighth year of his age. 

The church remained without a pastor during the war, 
but the elders met every Sunday, and with the assistance of 
army chaplains and Sanitary or Christian Commission agents 
services were continued through the war. The church 
doors were ever open to any and every one who would come 
and listen to the teachings of the gospel. Thousands of 
soldiers from the surrounding camps attended worship here, 
and thus the church was preserved from injury. 

Rev. E. C. Trimble became pastor May 17, 1864, and 
remained until Sept. 16, 1867. On November 16th, Rev. 
J. H. McNeilly was elected pastor, and served nearly ten 
years, resigning in April, 1877, to accept a charge in Hous- 
ton, Texas. Rev. E. 0. Frierson, the present pastor, 
accepted this charge in April, 1877. 

Col. W. B. A. Ramsey was succeeded as clerk in May, 
1874, by the present clerk, Jackson B. White, Esq. 



The following persons have been elders : Nathaniel Cross, 
W. B. A. Ramsey, William Williams, James Anderson, 
and Joseph A. Bowman, all installed Oct. 13, 1861, 
and since deceased ; William H. Webb, installed July, 
1862, Baxter Smith, installed June, 1875, removed ; andi 
the present elders David P. Rankin, installed March,! 
1868 ; C. N. Ordway and Henry Cooper, installed March,! 
1869; H. F. Banks, installed June, 1875; R. S. Hollins 
and J. B. AVliite, ordained March, 1869. Of the first: 
deacons, Mr. White is dead. Deacons Boston and Webb re 
moved, and Sherwood Smead, since appointed, has move 
to Texas. The present deacons are C. H. Lesueur, F. S 
Hall, Arthur A. Breast, C. D. Longhurst, and William B 
Bell. 

The church property consists of a fine parsonage worth" 
twelve thousand dollars, and church and grounds worth 
seven thousand dollars. There are now one hundred and 
eighty-five members in the church, and a Sunday-school of 
one hundred and fifteen scholars, under the superintendence'^ 
of Deacon F. S. Hall. The contributions for benevolent 
purposes during the last year were four thousand two hun- 
dred and twenty dollars. 

Second Presbyterian Church of Nashville. — From the 
philosophical remark of Rev. Dr. Baker to a young clerk, 
a member of his charge, " There is nothing the matter with 
you ; go to work!" given in answer to an anxious inquiry 
for moral advice, in the spring of 1841 a Sunday-school 
was started by the young man and an older member of the 
First Presbyterian Church among the then few and scat- 
tered homes along Line Street and beyond " Fish Branch" 
towards the north. This Sunday-school was opened April 
13, 1841, in a basement room of Col. Andrew Hynes' 
warehouse, where salt was stored. Samuel Hill and A. G. 
Adams, its projectors, called together the families who would 
come, explained their plans, and opened the school with 
eight teachers and fifteen scholars. From this a series of 
prayer meetings commenced September 25th, and were con- 
ducted at sunrise throughout the winter. A religious in- 
terest thus awakened was concentrated, through the exer- 
tions of Mrs. Alpha Kingsley, and a half-yearly subscription : 
was started for the establishment of a Second Presbyterian 
Church. By the spring of 1843 this sum had increased 
to throe hundred dollars. Rev. Allen Vancourt and Rev. 
R. A. Lapsley preached to them during the summer. 

In the fall of 1843 an application was made by the fol- 
lowing members of the First Church to the Presbytery of 
Nashville, in session at Smyrna, September 28th, request- 
ing that proper steps be taken to organize a new church in 
the city, to be called the Second Presbyterian Church, 
namely : Alpha and Elizabeth Kingsley, James and Mar- 
garet Erwin, James B. Furguson, Samuel Hill, Phoebe 
Caldwell, Harriet Rosser, Lucy and L. A. Wingfield, Agnes 
Norvell, Mary Kelly, Nancy and C. H. Peabody, Elizabeth 
T. Clark, C. F. Williams, M. A. Eastman, A. G. Adams, 
James M. Hamilton, Abram Stevens, Andrew J. Smith, 
John and Janet McCrea, George T. and C. A. R. Thomp- 
son, and Horace J. Berry. 

In response. Rev. John R. Thompson was appointed to 
organize the applicants into a church, and they were accord- 
ingly dismissel for that purpos3 November 10th, together 




^^t 



The Dismukes family are of French extraction. The 
ancestors of the Dismukes of America are said to have 
come over in the colonial days with the Huguenots. 

Paul Dismukes was born in Virginia on May 1, 1762. 
He married a Miss Richardson. Their family consisted of 
seven sons and four daughters. In 1811 he moved from 
Virginia to Davidson Co., Tenn., and settled near the 
Sumner County line. The old homestead is still in posses- 
sion of his descendants. He was two years a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war, having enlisted in his eighteenth year. 
After returning from the war, he engaged in farming, and 
spent his life in that pursuit, living a quiet, retired life, 
never seeking or accepting any office or public trust. He 
died in 1838, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. 

Wm. Miller Dismukes, his son, and whose portrait is 
presented above, was five years of age when he came with 
his father to Davidson County, having been born in Vir- 
ginia, May 30, 180(5, was reared on his father's farm, and 
received such literary instruction as the common schools 
of our county at that day gave. On the 7th of June, 
1836, he married Judith Ann Burks, daughter of Col. 
David J. Burks, of Logan Co., Ky., one of the pioneers of 
that section. After his marriage he continued to reside 
upon the homestead of his father, and during his long life 
followed the occupation to which in his youth he had been 
reared. 

His children were David J., Paul, George R., Sallie 
M., John L., Lizzie P., Sue C, and William M. Only 
three of his sons are living, — David J., farmer and lumber 
merchant ; John L., now a prominent merchant of Nash- 



ville; and Wm. M., who is a farmer, residing upon the old 
home-place. Though never aspiring to public honors, yet 
Mr. Dismukes was a public-spirited and enterprising man, 
always alive to the importance of enterprises tending to the 
improvement of his county. He aided in building the 
Nashville and Gallatin Turnpike, and was for nearly thirty 
years secretary and treasurer of the company controlling the 
same. 

Both himself and wife were devoted members of the 
Old School Presbyterian Church, in which church he was 
for many years an elder. In politics he was prior to the 
civil war a Whig, and when the question of secession 
arose he voted for the Union, but when Lincoln issued 
his proclamation calling for troops to suppress the Rebellion, 
he gave his vote in favor of the Confederacy, preferring, as 
he expressed it, " secession to coercion." Being, however, a* 
that time quite aged, he took no active part in the war; but, 
in common with the rest of his neighbors and friends who 
had espoused the cause of the South, he suifered much 
persecution, and was for quite a while imprisoned in con- 
sequence of his refusal to take the " oath of allegiance." 
While his views were by no means radical or extreme, yet, 
being based as they were upon honest conviction, he was 
too true a man to sacrifice them to per.sonal comfort or ad- 
vantage. His firmness in this matter was so much admired 
by Governor John.son that he granted him an indefinite 
parole, and he was not molested further. Mr. Dismukes 
died Nov. 11, 1878, and his wife on Jan. 1, 1880. Their 
loss was deeply mourned by the lai-ge circle of friends 
whom they won by an upright, honest life. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



315 



witli seven otliers, among whom was Samuel Seay, a ruling 
elder, and were organized as a second church Nov. 12, 1843- 
Others joined, and the organization was formed in the old 
warehouse with thirty-five members. William H. Marquis 
was made ruling elder, and Abram Stevens, Samuel Hill, Fos. 
ter Williams, and John SlcCrea deacons. Ten days later a 
plan was adopted for a church, to be built upon land on Col- 
lege and Gray Streets donated by Mr. Erwin. The corner- 
stone was laid in April, 1844, by Rev. Philip Lindsley, 
D.D., assisted by Rev. J. T. Edgar. The house was com- 
pleted in August, 1846, at an expense of eleven thou- 
sand one hundred and five dollars and eighty cents, eleven 
hundred dollars of which were furnished by a ladies' fair. 
Rev. Mr. Lindsley dedicated the house September 6th ; Rev. 
R. A. Lapsley was supplying pastor until May 9, 18.50, when 
he was regularly installed. Ho retired from poor health 
in 1855, after eleven years' service, and died soon after. 
Rev. B. H. Charles, of Springfield, Ky., became supply in 
October, 1850, John S. Hayes in March, 1857. He was 
installed the next year, and remained until 1860. His 
ministry was marked by an increase in the church, and the 
dismissal of some fifteen families to form the First Presby- 
terian Church of Edgefield. In the latter part of 18G3, 
Rev. R. H. Allen, from the Walnut Hill Presbyterian 
Church, Cincinnati, was installed pastor. He removed to 
Philadelphia, Pa., in the spring of 1867, and in September, 
Rev. W. W. Campbell, of Pennsylvania, took charge. He 
was installed Jan. 5, 1868, and remained until February, 
1870. The church was transferred from the General As- 
sembly North to South in the fall of 1871, and attached to 
the Presbytery of Nashville by its own request, and with 
Rev. J. W. Hoyte, stated supply. He was installed pas- 
tor May 1, 1872, and succeeded by the present pastor, 
Rev. John S. Young, in March, 1876. 

The present membership is one hundred and twenty-three, 
besides which there is a Sunday-school of one hundred and 
twenty-nine members. The officers are: 

Elders. — James Geddes, Clerk; James E. Wilson, Wil- 
liam A. Hartwell, Horace C. Smith, John Rahm. 

Deacons. — N. T. Freeman, William M. Cassetty, A. G. 
Turner, S. G. Wood. 

COTTAGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

About the year 1850, Col. A. W. Putnam, W. K. Hun- 
ter, and Alfred Hume resolved to open a Sabbath-school 
on the vacant grounds south of the railroad, near Franklin 
pike, which were used on the Sabbath for ball-playing 
and other riotous assemblies. Fifteen or twenty children 
livins; in the neighborhood were sometimes assembled in 
the small brick kitchen of the Stephens house, but chiefly 
taught in the shade of a large apple-tree. The first class 
of Col. Putnam occupied the tongue of a convenient ox- 
wagon for their seat. From this beginning the school con- 
stantly increased, and a larger room near the Franklin pike 
was rented and supplied with a stove. After two years 
more of continued schools the Cottage church was erected, 
at a cost of eleven hundred dollars. This is the property 
of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Hume did not long 
aid in the work, but was succeeded by Nathaniel Cross and 
his son, N. Davidson Cross, as teachers. Each Saturday 



afternoon and Sunday morning one of those workers rode 
through the neighborhood to solicit the attendance of chil- 
dren and parents. The building was dedicated by Rev. 
John T. Edgar, D.D. Regular services were afterwards 
held by Rev. W. H. Thompson, city missionary ; Rev. J. 
Twitchell, of New Orleans. A day-school was also taught 
previous to 1859. During the war the building was used 
as a hospital. In 1865, Mr. McAllister reorganized the 
school, and the United States quartermaster restored and 
partially repaired the house. There is here a fine library 
and constant attendance under the auispices of the First 
Presbyterian Church. 

CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church have furnished, as 
fruits of their revivals, both ministers and lay-members to 
all other Christian churches. Seats are free, and a cordial 
welcome is extended to visitors in all their churches. Be- 
fore a church was organized revival meetings produced 
converts whose only choice was to join some of the already- 
existing societies. Robert Donnell, who appeared before 
the first session of the Presbytery in March, 1810, as a 
candidate for the ministry, was the first preacher here. 
He had made a profession in 1800, at the commencement 
of the great revival, and soon began to preach. Though 
not educated to the ministry, he was especially endowed. 
He boldly courted the largest a,=semblages of his opponents. 
At Nashville he first preached in the old market-house, 
at the courtrhouse, and under the shade of the trees. Af- 
terwards a bush-arbor was built on Summer Street and a 
two days' meeting held, which resulted in one hundred and 
thirty-four conversions. He was assisted by Thomas Cal- 
houn, but neither them was ordained. A lady opponent, 
thinking to embarrass Mr. Calhoun, asked him, " In what 
school did you study ?" " In the third heaven !" was his 
quick reply. It was not until 1828 that a church was 
formed, and then with but seven members, — Mrs. Eleanor 
Whitson, five other ladies, and one gentleman. These met 
in the legislative hall of the court-house. A house of wor- 
ship was built in 1832. Rev. James Smith, a learned 
Scotchman, came and remained two years, rendering service 
which proved a source of disaster. The church was sup- 
plied by many different revival-workers in those early days. 
Rev. Dr. Samuel G. Burney was pastor for two years when 
the house was finished. The next preacher remained a 
year and a half, and was succeeded by Rev. John Smith, a 
preacher of ability, but of poor health. Rev. Dr. Baird, the 
present pastor, came here first to assist him, and found a 
congregation of thirty-seven. These were increased to 
above sixty, and Rev. J. C. Provine was called to the pul- 
pit. The church was then a small building with basement 
and galleries around the main room. A little cracked bell 
hung in the box which answered for a steeple. The galle- 
ries were afterwards taken down, and the bell was sold for 
twenty-one dollars to a neighboring church. Rev. Wiley 
M. Reed, the next pastor, came in 1858, and opened regu- 
lar prayer-meetings in the old low basement with a con- 
gregation of eleven. Seven of these were of one family 
name. Mr. Reed was discouraged and was going to leave, 
but was restrained by Rev. Mr. Provine, and soon the 



316 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



people became interested, repaired the meeting-house, and 
gave liim a Mr support. When Rev. Dr. Baird came to 
assist him, in 1860, the churcli had ninety-seven members. 
Sixteen members were added. Rev. Mr. Reed was forced to 
leave in February, 1862, and the liouse was occupied as a 
United States army hospital. In 1864 the late pastor died. 
At the close of hostilities. Rev. Dr. Andrew J. Baird, then in 
the service of the American Bible Society, received a call 
from " the congregation," and, there being no seats in their 
own church, preached to them in ^IcKendree. Y. B. Jones 
was the only elder left. Judge Caruthers, Dr. Ward, and 
the ladies signed the call, the learned judge remarking that 
" the circumstances warranted a little irregularity in the 
proceedings." For Itco montlis Dr. Baird made daily calls 
upon the quartermaster for means to repair the church, and 
then appealed to President Andrew Johnson, whoso response 
immediately secured an indemnity of eleven hundred dollars, 
with which the house was refitted. This church did not divide 
over politics during the war. On the reorganization a Bap- 
tist brother led the choir, which contained — as it always 
has since — men who had worn both the blue and the gray 
in the opposing armies. An ex-aide-de-camp of Confederate 
Gen. Stuart and an officer of the Federal army together 
took the lead in organizing and sustaining the Sunday- 
school. 

The cliurch, which commenced with thirty-four mem- 
bers at the close of the war, has now five hundred and 
fifty-one members, a beautiful house of worship splendidly 
furnished, and is free from debt. Over one hundred and 
seventeen thousand dollars have been expended during 
that time. The Sunday-school has two hundred and forty 
members, with an average attendance of two hundred and 
sixteen. The oflicers of the church are : 
A. J. Baird, D.D., pastor. 

Elders: James A. Adeock, R. L. Caruthers, Jr. ; R. A. 
Campbell, W. L. Danley, Dr. R. R. Freeman, John M. 
Gaut, C. B. Glenn, Y. B. Jones, L. II. Lanier, P. H. 
Manlove, R. L. Morris, W. C. Smith. 

Deacons: L. D. Baker, R. L. Campbell, W. T. Cart- 
wright, B. F. Cornelius, R. T. Creighton, Nat. F. Dortcli, 
J. D. Dean, C. H. Freeman, William Porter, W. J. Wal- 
lace, W. H. Wood, W. A. Wray. 

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church has fur many 
years past been concentrating its publishing business in 
Nashville, under the direction of the General Assembly. 
Their Board of Publication and book-store are at No. 41 
Union Street, where are kept all the books of the church, 
— the initial founding, as described in the " Old Log House" 
by Rev. Dr. T. C. Blake, and their belief, as established in 
the Word of God and detailed in a large collection of de- 
nominational works. This publishing house was organized 
on its present basis in 1874, and is a union of all the 
former scattered works of the kind. The officers of the 
board, who are named below, are but a \'q\^ of the many 
able writers and workers in this especial branch of moral 
instruction, the press of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church. 

Cumberland Board of Puhlication, 1879-80. — John 
Frizzell, President; John M. Gaut, Corresponding Secre- 
tary ; Robert L. Caruthers, Recording Secretary ; P. H. 



Manlove, Travis Winham, Members of tlie Board, all o^ 
Nashville. President of the Trustees, Rev. J. M. Gill,| 
Elk ton, Ky. 

Edgefield Ctiinherland Presbyterian Church. — This is ■ 
the outgrowth of a Cumberland Presbyterian Church or- 
ganized in the south part of Nashville in 1857, by members 
of the First Church in that city, under the leadership of I 
Rev. A. G. Goodlett. A meeting-house was built at the 
corner of Summer and Elm Streets, but the society were 
unable to pay the debt incurred in building, and it was 
traded in 1867 for the Methodist Episcopal South church, 
at the corner of Mulberry and College Streets, and some 
securities in addition. April 11, 1872, the pastor in !' 
charge. Rev. J. D. Kirkpatriek, called a meeting of his 
church to consider the financial embarrassment, when it 
was decided to dissolve the church and regularly establish 
a church of the same members in Edgefield, who should, 
when organized; be proprietors of the church property, on 
condition of paying the entire indebtedness. The Edge- 
field congregation were to assist in building a house of wor- 
ship whenever it should be advisable to reorganize the 
South Nashville Church. 

There were then forty-one members, of whom twenty- 
eight joined in the act of conveyance and dissolution. 
These all united in organizing the Edgefield Cumberland 
Presbyterian Ciiurch, in a meeting held at the Russell 
Street school house, on the afternoon of Sunday, Blay 5, 
1872, after the delivery of a sermon by Rev. A. J. Baird, 
D.D., pastor of the First Church. 

J. M. Bruce, John Frizzell, Oliver II. Hight, Hugh C. 
Thompson, and S. B. Hogan were elected ruling elders, 
W. R. Cornelius and John E. Gilbert deacons, 0. H. 
Hight clerk, and John E. Gilbert treasurer. May 12th, a 
Sunday-school of eight persons was organized. Twenty-one 
new members were admitted during the first year. In 
January, 1874, a lot was purchased on Russell Street, near 
Sixth, from Dr. Morrow, who donated two hundred and 
twenty-eight dollars towards its purchase. The old house ' 
in South Nashville was sold for two thousand six hundred 
dollars, and a beautiful house was built of wood, with cut 
stone basement, by John Frizzell, W. R. Cornelius, and 
James J. Pryor, committee. This was dedicated, free from 
debt, April 4, 1875, in the presence of a large congregation 
of visiting brothers, by Rev. Dr. Beard, in a sermon from 
Isaiah vi. 7, and prayer by Rev. BI. B. De Witt. The 
sacrament was then administered by Rev. Mr. Kirkpatriek, 
the pastor. Rev. Mr. De Witt became stated supply Jan. 
1, 1876, and remained until May 13, 1877. He was .suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Robert M. Tinnon, the present pastor, July 
1, 1877. The church has now one hundred and fourteen 
members and a Sunday-school numbering one hundred and 
twenty-five., There is also a summer mission Sunday-school 
sustained in North Edgefield. There has been no change 
in the church officers since the first election. 

The Moore Memorial Presbyterian Church of West Nash- 
ville is the outgrowth of a mission Sunday-school held for 
several years in a cabin on McNairy Street, under the man- 
agement of l\Ir. George B. O'Bryan, superintendent, and 
several members of the First Presbyterian Church of Nash- 
ville, among the most prominent and active of whom were 




photo, by Armstrong, Nashville. 



^^. A<^^a^^^^^d^^^2^^^t.,ai^ 



Alexander Beaty Shankland is descended in a direct line from 
tlie Shanklins of Scotland, the present orthography of the name being 
a corruption. His ancestors emigrated from Scotland to the north of 
Ireland. The name still prevails extensively in Aberdeenshire. At 
the battle of the Boyne, July, 1690, one of the Shanklins was in com- 
mand of a regiment of dragoons, and by his gallant conduct so dis- 
tinguished himself that he received in aoknowledguient of his 
services an estate called Butler's Hill, near Inniskillen, in Ireland. 
About the year 17-10 his grandson, Robert Shanklin, then a young 
man, went to Dublin to attend the university ; but, the study of the 
sciences not being exactly compatible with his impetuous naUire, he 
boarded a vessel bound for America, and, after landing in New York, 
proceeded up the Hudson to Orange County, where he found the Clin- 
tons and other settlers, who were formerly from his father's neighbor- 
hood in Ireland. Here he married a Miss Beaty, a relative of Gen. 
James Clinton, of Revolutionary fame. Upon his arrival in the United 
States, Robert Shanklin, for some reason not at present known, changed 
his name to Shankland. Three of his brothers subsequently came to 
America, and one of them also adopted Robert's orthography of the 
family name, while the other two refused to corrupt the original; 
hence there arose two different names of the same family. Robert 
Shankland performed gallant service during the war of the Revolu- 
tion, and died in 1794, leaving six children, — four sons and two 
daughters. One of the sons, Alexander, is the grandfather of A. B. 
Shankland. His father, Jesse Shankland, was born in New York, 
Sept. 7, 17S9, and after his marriage resided at Pompey, N. X.. where 
A. B. Shankland was born, Sept. 17, 1816. About nine months later 
his father died, and his mother removed to Homer, N. Y., where Mr. 
Shankland grew up to manhood. He was educated at Homer Academy. 
In 1839 he went to Albany, N. Y., to live, and there, in 1842, he mar- 
ried Miss Sarah E. Scovei. eldest daughter of Col. Hezekiah Scovel, 
a prominent merchant of that place, and whose family have for many 
generations been noted for their literary tastes and culture, and many of 
whom have figured prominently in the learned professions. Soon after 
his marriage Mr. Shankland came to Nashville, Tenn., where he resided 
till the time of his death. Soon after his arrival in Nashville he be- 
came associated with J. R. Graves in the proprietorship and as as- 
sociate editor of The Tennessee Baptist, then a small sheet called The 
Baptist, and it is in a great degree owing to his financial skill and 
untiring energy that the paper subsequently acquired the circulation 
and high character which it eventually attained. In 1852 he disposed 



of his interest in the paper to Marks, a brother-in-law of Graves, 
and began operations as a real-estate broker, in which occupation he 
continued to the time of his death. There has probably never been- 
a man in Nashville more thoroughly oonvers.ant with the value of 
lands and property in and about the city than Mr. Shankland. 

In politics he was alvpays an old-line Whig, and at the outbreak of 
the civil war both his education and political principles led him to 
warmly espouse the cause of the Union. While he had no political aspi- 
rations or desire to figure in the turmoil of party strife, yet being a man 
of positive character, and entertaining as he did decided opinions, the 
result of earnest and honest convictions, he always, when called upon, 
expressed them; yet, notwithstanding his pronounced Union procliv- 
ities, he acted the part of the Good Samaritan to many a poor Southern 
soldier, and many a Southern mother's heart has poured forth its vol- 
ume of thanks to the generous Christian spirit that prompted Mr. 
Shankland to secure the release of her son from some Northern 
prison. 

As an evidence of the confidence and esteem in which he was held 
by his fellow-citizens, we will mention a few of the many positions of 
trust which they conferred upon him. 

He was for over thirty years a deacon in the Baptist Church, and 
most of the time chairman of the board of deacons ; was for many 
years treasurer of the General Association of Middle Tennessee and 
Northern Alabama, and was always placed at the head of building 
committees, etc. He was at one time a member of the County Court, 
and president of the city council, city revenue collector, and for one 
term director of the penitentiary; an active member of the State 
Historical Society, and for many years a member of the educational 
board of Union University, at Miirfreesboro', to the e.stablishment 
and maintenance of which institution he contributed largely. 

Owing to heavy investments in real estate and the subsequent rapid 
depreciation of v.alues, Mr. Shankland lost very heavily; yet with all 
his financial embarrassments he never abused a trust or deserted a 
friend, as is evidenced by the fact that since the war he has paid many 
thousand dollars securities, denying himself and family all of the 
luxuries and many of the comforts of life to meet these liabilities. 

A marked trait in his character was his persistence of purpose and 
wonderful executive ability. He died Jan. 8, 1877, leaving behind 
him his wife and two children, — a son and daughter, — the former of 
whom, James H. Shankland, is now a prominent lawyer in San Fran- 
cisco, Cal. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



317 



some lady members. The church was organized Nov. 23, 
1873, ill the First Church building, by members of that 
church who were transferred by letter. Rev. Frank B. 
Moore, of Covington, Ky., then a young man just entering 
the ministry, was active in forming the church, was its first 
minister, and was complimented by the society giving to 
their house of worship the name of " Moore Memorial." 
This house, which is a fine brick structure, was erected in 
1873, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. The lot on 
Broad Street cost four thousand dollars more. Rev. Mr. 
Moore remained until November, 1878. During the en- 
suing year Rev. J. H. Boyson was temporary supply. The 
church then called Rev. J. H. McNeilly, of Houston, 
Texas, who had formerly been pastor of the First Church in 
Edgefield. There has been no change in the organization. 
The oflScers are C. A. R. Thompson, J. P. McGuire, Wil- 
liam. Henry Smith, and C. F. Ordway, Ruling Elders ; Rob- 
ert J. Gordon, Ruling Elder and Clerk ; Edgar Jones, George 
B. O'Bryan, William D. Kline, James T. Grigsby, James 
H. Bryan, Alexander McKay, and William B. Lawrence, 
Deacons. Mr. O'Bryan still remains superintendent of the 
large and flourishing Sunday-school from which the church 
took its rise. 

1; Second Freshyterlan Church of EJgeficld. — In response 
to a petition of citizens of Edgfield to the committee of the 
Presbyterial missions of the Presbytery of Nashville, asking 
that a second church be organized in Edgefield, a meeting 
was held in Sharp's Hall, Jan. 24, 1875, over which pre- 
sided Rev. James H. McNeilly, chairman of the committee 
of missions of this Presbytery, and Elders J. B. White, R. 
S. Hollins, and D. P. Rankin, of the Edgefield Presbyterian 
Church. They at once proceeded to organize the Second 
Presbyterian Church of Edgefield by accepting as members 
fourteen persons who presented certificates of good and 
regular standing in evangelical churches, and eight who 
were examined and admitted on profession of faith. 
\ Nelson P. Powers and George R. Brooks were elected 
ruling elders, and Samuel A. Fletcher and Johnson P. 
Hutchison deacons and trustees. Among the first mem- 
bers were Dr. Joseph A. Bowman, who united as elder 
Ifrom the First Church, S. M. Ware and wife, BIrs. J. P. 
Hutchison, Mrs. N. P. Powers, William Coltart, Mrs. 
Grace Cameron, Mrs. A. A. Cowan, and Mrs. Eliza McGill. 
The elders and deacons were installed Jan. 31, 1875. 
Rev. Mr. McNeilly at once entered upon the duties of 
pastor, and remained nearly three years. Rev. Alexander 
Cowan succeeded him for about sixteen months. Rev. H. 
S. Yerger, the present pastor, became stated supply in No- 
vember, 1879. At this time the church, which had held 
jworship in Sharp's Hall, were ofiered and accepted the use 
:of the Edgefield meeting-house of the Methodist Episcopal 
iChurch South. A house of worship was commenced on 
ithe corner of North Second and Wetmore Streets in 1878, 
land first occupied for worship Jan. 1, 1880. This is a 
Ifine brick building forty by sixty feet in the main, with a 
beautiful spire one hundred feet in height, the whole cost- 
ing about four thousand five hundred dollars. It was 
jnamed McNeilly Chapel, in honor of Rev. James 11. Mc- 
Neilly, the founder and first pastor of the Second Church. 
There are now about forty members and a Sunday-school 



with seventy scholars. The present ofiScers are Rev. H. S. 
Yerger, Pastor ; N. P. Powers, Clerk and Elder ; R. G. 
Brooks, Elder; S. N. Fletcher, J. P. Hutchison, 0. A. 
Kellum, and P. H. Ross, Deacons, the last two of whom 
were ordained Sept. 25, 1879. 

llie Westminster Preshyteriau CJmrch was organized in 
the Associate Reform church building, at the corner of Col- 
lege and Ash Streets, on the 6th of April, 1879. The 
building, a small wooden structure, had been erected by the 
Reform Society in 1859 and abandoned to the use of the 
United States government, who turned it into a stable 
during the war. Although they renewed their occupation 
and worship with the return of peace, they were unable to 
keep up an organization, and as such soon ceased to exist. 
In 1874 a mission Sunday-school was opened under the 
auspices of the First Presbyterian Church of Nashville, and 
mainly through the exertions of Mrs. James H. Wilkes. 
Mr. Wilkes was made superintendent of the Sunday-school, 
and remained so for the four years previous to the organi- 
zation of Westminster Church, contributing liberally to the 
enterprise. Rev. T. A. Hoyt, D.D., of the First Church, 
effected the organization, with furty-six original members, 
representing thirteen different churches in their former 
membership. From these. Dr. A. S. Duval and James H. 
Wilkes were selected as ruling elders, and C. P. Gray, J. 
L. Elder, and J. McG. Liudsley deacons. Blr. Wilkes 
was made clerk. Rev. Thomas BI. McConnell was imme- 
diately installed pastor. March 15, 1880, R. G. Roth- 
rock was also made an elder, and G. W. Giffbrd and R. B. 
McLean deacons. The present membership is seventy- 
five. There is also a flourishing Sunday-school, under 
the superintendence of Dr. A. S. Duval. Their library 
numbers four hundred volumes. The house of worship, 
with the lot, one hundred and eight by one hundred and 
thirty-five feet, became the property of Westminster Church 
in March, 1880, and the work of improving and beautify- 
in": the house and grounds was at once commenced. 

BAPTIST CHURCHES. 
The first Baptist organization in Middle Tennessee was 
gathered by Rev. John Grammar, on Sulphur Fork of Red 
River, in 1786. The pastor removed soon after, and the 
organization became extinct. The present Red River 
Church was organized in 1792. Some families from North 
Carolina are said by Rev. Mr. Bond, in his " History of 
the Concord Association," to have come across the moun- 
tains with their minister in 1795-96, ready organized, and 
to have planted their church at the head of Sulphur Fork. 
John Dorris was their minister. The church on White's 
Creek was organized early enough to be one of the original 
members of the Mero Association, which was organized by 
five churches, — one at the mouth of Sulphur Fork, one at 
White's Creek, one six miles east of the city, one on Middle 
Fork, and one on the west fork of Station Camp Creek, in 
Sumner County. The church at the mouth of Sulphur 
Fork was organized in 1791. Mill Creek, or Gethsemane 
Church, was organized in 1797, and was represented at the 
second annual meeting of the Association. This church was 
some three miles from Nashville. It was long the centre 
of the Baptist organizations in the surrounding country. 



318 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Rev. James Whitsitt was pastor from 1797 to 1846. 
He helped to build three brick meeting-houses on Mill 
Creek previous to 1810. The one of which he continued 
pastor had three galleries ; they were all three forty by sixty 
feet in size and well finished. This organization is still in 
existence. 

The association was reorganized in 1803, under the name 
of the Cumberland Association, with fifteen churches. 
The church of which Mr. Dorris is pastor and three other 
small churches remained separate. 

That territory lying east of a line beginning at Red River 
Ridge, at the crossing of the Lexington and Nashville 
Railroad, and thence by Haysboro' to Nashville and 
Harpeth Lick and south to the Tennessee River, was or- 
ganized into the Concord Association at the annual meet- 
ing held in 1809. This association divided in 1827, and 
formed two Concord Associations, one Calvinistic and the 
other Armenian in its doctrines. Still another difference 
of opinion arising in one of these divisions in 1836, Stone's 
River Primitive Baptist Association was formed of one part, 
while the remainder reunited with the old Concord Associ- 
ation in 1842. 

The name of Cumberland was again revived in 1870, and 
assumed by a new Association containing most of the Nash- 
ville Baptist churches, and several also in the counties of 
Sumner, Robertson, Cheatham, and Montgomery. White's 
Creek Baptist Church was constituted in the year 1794. 
It is two miles south of Goodlettsville and nine and a half 
miles by road from Nashville. The name has been changed 
to New Bethel, and the old name long since become forgotten 
by those not familiar with its history. The church records, 
containing much valuable and interesting historical matter 
extending through a third of a century, liave been lost. 
The second volume begins with the year 1827, when Elder 
James Whitsitt, long settled over the Mill Creek Church, 
was their preacher. 

Among the first names on the oldest existing roll are 
those of Edward C. and Martha S. Butler, Deacon Martin 
Pierce, Polly Pierce, Drewry and Edward Scruggs, Enoch 
Cunningham, Sr. and Jr., Eppy, John, Robert, and Harriet 
Cunningham, Andrew Hoover, Robert, Preston, Eliza, and 
Penina Dorris, William and Mary Kirk, George G. Brown, 
Lancelot Foster, Henry Cole, Tliompson Dickinson, Alfred 
Ray, James Rayner, James Hitt, and fourteen others, female 
members. Of all these, Robert Cunningham and Penina 
Dorris are the only survivors. 

Among the pastors are names sacred in the memory of 
many of the members of other churches in Middle Tennes- 
see. Rev. William Herring was pastor from March, 1828, 
to 1830; Rev. William Kirk, 1830-34; Rev. Mr. Phil- 
lips, 1834-39 ; Rev. Peter Fuqua, 1839-42 ; Rev. W. D. 
Baldwin, 1842 to December, 1858. During his pastorate 
a new house of worship was built, and given the present 
name of New Bethel on its completion, in 1854. 

Rev. E. D. Stephenson was pastor from December, 1858, 
to 1859 ; Rev. A. C. Dayton, 1859-60 ; Rev. W. D. Bald- 
win, from December, 1800, to his death, wliich occurred 
Aug. 23, 1863. The church was then without a pastor 
until February, 1866, when Rev. D. B. Haile became pas- 
tor and remained until September, 1867. Rev. W. G. In- 



man, the next pastor, remained from February, 1868, toi 
December, 1869. Rev. Eugene Strode succeeded for a 
short time in 1871, when his death left the pulpit again 
vacant. Rev. R. S. Blankenship was pastor from February, 
1872, to December, 1873, and Lewis Lindsay to September,! 
1875. Rev. W. S. Adams, the present pastor, was called 
to the charge in December, 1875. 

Among the deacons have been Martin Pierce, who waaii 
ordained many years previous to the earliest record made in 
1827 ; John Cunningham, ordained 1836 ; James S. Hiltl 
and William Berry, ordained July, 1838; W. B. Trenary, 
ordained 1846 ; S. T. Fryer and Robert Cunningham,' 
ordained 1855; Eppy Cunningham and G. C. Kemper, 
ordained July, 1859 ; G. W. Kemper and A. W. Hilt,i 
ordained March, 1869; D. H. Hall and AV. F. Lassiter,; 
ordained November, 1876; G. E. Cunningham, ordainedi 
April 11, 1880. 

Clerks: Edward Butler, to 1830, Eppy and Robert Cun^i 
niiigham, R. S. Hilt, and on his death, Dec. 5, 1855, Gi| 
W. Kemper, the present clerk. 

The following members have become ministers : William i 
Kirk, W. N. Chandoin, W. B. Trenary, G. W. Trenary, 
W. H. Baylis, L. A. Woolfork, R. H. Jones, J. J. James, 
James Guy. 

There have been four hundred and forty-one persons 
members of this church since 1827. Present membership, 
one hundred and ten. 

First Baptist Church of Nashville. — Jeremiah Varde- 
man, of Kentucky, a man of marked ability, learning, and : 
power, came to Nashville during the month of May, 1820, 
and opened a series of protracted meetings, assisted by Rev. 
James Whitsitt. These continued several weeks and made i 
many converts, who became members of the Mill Creek .| 
Church, three miles south of the city. On June 22d letters ■ 
were given to those who desired to form themselves into 
the Baptist Church of Nashville, and that body was then 
organized. Richard Dabbs, a Virginian, of thirty years' 
experience in the ministry, became the first settled pastor, i- 
in December, 1822. Mr. Dabbs is mentioned in Taylor's 
" Lives of Virginia Ministers" as a man of great energy 
and remarkably successful in his ministry. He died May 
21, 1825. 

In May, 1826, Philip S. Fall became pastor. It soon 
became manifest that he sympathized with the doctrines 
taught by Rev. Alexander Campbell, and the church found 
themselves hopelessly involved in controversy. A meeting 
was called in July, and the Mill Creek Church, as senior, 
was requested to take action in the matter. The Nashville 
Church declined to appear before their bar, and were, in 
turn, refused fellowship. They then assumed the ordinance 
of weekly communion. The minority, who adhered to the 
old faith, were powerless. In January, 1828, the church 
adopted the full form of the Disciples' worship. In May 
ensuing the whole creed was repealed. The church at this 
time numbered between three hundred and four hundred 
souls. The minority met for worship at the court-house, 
Oct. 10, 1830, and there, after denouncing " Campbellism," 
organized the First Baptist Church of Nashville, and aban- 
doned their handsome church to the " Reformers." 

Meetings were regularly held at the court-house, then at 





w^ 



Dr. E. F. P'Pool, was born Nov. 12, 1814, in Bleck- 
lenburo; Co., Va. His ancestors were from Wales, and 
the original orthography of the family name was Petty 
Pool. This has been abbreviated in the course of years 
to P'Pool. 

Stephen P'Pool was a captain in the war of 1812, and 
at one time represented his county in the State Legislature. 
He was a farmer and miller and a man of considerable 
wealth and influence. When his son. Dr. P'Pool, was 
about fourteen years of age, however, unfortunate security 
debts took from him the bulk of his property, forcing our 
young student (who was the youngest, save one, of eight 
children) to relinquish school and accept a position as 
salesman in a country store. Here he remained until 1832, 
when he removed to Montgomery, Ala., where he engaged 
as salesman for two years. His health failing him, he re- 
turned to Virginia, where, on April 20, 1836, he married 
Miss Sarah, daughter of Arta Gregory, Esq. After his 
marriage, Mr. P'Pool engaged in farming, surveying, etc., 
pursuing at the same time his medical studies. He was 
naturally of a mechanical turn of mind, quick to compre- 
hend and grasp anything in that direction, and conducted 
to success everything of that nature which he under- 
took. This life he led for several years, when he com- 
menced merchandising in Halifax, Va., connecting with it 
a saw- and grist-mill, a foundry, plow-factory, etc., still 
keeping his farm. He held the positions of magistrate 
and captain of militia for many years, and was at one time, 
in early life, deputy-sheriff. 

In 1857 he removed to Nashville, and engaged in the 
publishing business as one of the firm of Graves, Marks & 
Co. This partnership continued until 1862, when, quitting 
business, he resumed his medical studies, neglected for years, 
and received the degree of M.D. at the University of 
Nashville in 1865. He engaged immediately in a large 
medical practice, and continued at work in his chosen pro- 
fession until his death, which occurred May 16, 1880. 
He rejected every proffer of political advancement, .sought 



no office, and neglected many things that others would de- 
sire in order that all of his lime might be given to his 
patients. He was at home in the sick-room, and his gentle, 
soothing care seemed ofttimos to accomplish as much good 
as the medicine given. He would not trust a difficult or 
critical case with any one, but would sit all night, if he 
deemed it necessary, by the sufferer's bedside to catch the 
first indications of change. He was truly, as has been often 
said of him, " the faithful physician.' 

Of his twelve children attaining maturity, eleven now 
survive, — seven sons and four daughters. The other, 
John E., was sergeant in a Virginia battery of artillery in 
the Confederate service, and fell at Gettysburg, July 3, 
1863. Pour of the sons — Elbert S., Emmet J., A. Greg- 
ory, and Frank E. — are practicing physicians, and all gradu- 
ates of the University of Nashville. Harvey B. is residing 
in Virginia, a farmer and miller. Laurence D. is a book- 
keeper in the employ of the Louisville, Nashville and Great 
Southern Eailroad. Calvin E. resides with his mother in 
the pleasant home on South Cherry Street, Nashville. 
Roberta A. (Mrs A. M. Griffin), Addie S. (Mrs. T. A. 
Knowles), Jennie M. (Mrs. W. 0. Griffin), and Ella E. 
constitute the remainder of the family. 

Politically, Dr. P'Pool was conservative, — in early life an 
old-line Whig, in later years a Democrat. 

Both Dr. and Mrs. P'Pool were members of the Mis- 
sionary Baptist Church. He was a deacon for nearly 
thirty years, and their children, with but three exceptions, 
belong to the same organization. 

Dr. P'Pool was a member of Claiborne Lodge of Free 
and Accepted Masons, and Myrtle Lodge of the Order of 
the Golden Cross, of which he was physician. 

Strong in local attachments, home was to him the dearest 
place on earth, and he was always devising something new 
to add to its comforts. He was a warm, staunch friend, an 
unostentatious gentleman, and an earnest Christian. He 
had a large circle of personal friends, who were attracted 
to him by his geniality and worth. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



319 



the city scliool-liouse, on High Street, and at Masonic Hall. 
Kev. Peter S. Gale became their pastor in July, 1831. At 
the close of his three years' efficient service the church 
numbered about fifty members. He was succeeded in the 
ministry by Robert B. C. Howell, D.D., a graduate of Co- 
lumbian College, in 1826. Rev. Dr. Howell came to Nash- 
ville in July, 1834, in response to a call of the American 
Baptist Home Jlission. He became the settled pastor in 
January, 1835, and soon after began the publication of The 
Baptist, a weekly religious newspaper. 

The announcement from his pulpit that on the first 
Sunday in April a Sunday-school would be organized 
created much excitement, and was received by many with 
suspicion. On the day appointed a large congregation 
from far and near was assembled, some of them having 
come twenty miles, and listened with deep interest to an 
explanatory sermon on that subject. Active opposition was 
withdrawn, and the school became an important auxiliary 
to the church, with which it continued uninterruptedly 
until closed by the disasters of the civil war.* 

A beautiful Gothic house of worship was built on Sum- 
mer Street, between Union and Deaderick Streets, in 1838. 
The Baptist State Convention of Tennessee was organ- 
ized by those styling themselves United Baptists, at the 
Mill Creek church, Oct. 25, 1833, for the purpose of more 
effectually supplying preachers of the gospel in destitute 
places throughout the country. This union was stren- 
uously opposed in all parts of the State where it claimed 
jurisdiction, as usurping too much power. On his arrival. 
Dr. Howell had at once entered into missionary work, 
which he supported from his pulpit and through his paper, 
which soon attained a circulation of sixteen hundred copies. 
Missionary work in the church, as a part of their- duty, 
became a subject of controversy, and after several years 
caused an open rupture, resulting in much opposition. A 
convention was held in which Sunday-schools and various 
modern innovations were opposed as not Baptist in object 
or sentiment. Majorities expelled minorities everywhere, 
seized records and meeting-houses, and declared themselves 
the " Orthodox and Orderly Church." The annual Asso- 
ciation, reorganized by each faction, brought order out of 
chaos, with two churches bearing the same name where 
there had formerly been but one. The First Church in 
Nashville was the only one which escaped this division. 
This church was now attacked by the opposition, and in 
May, 1838, a minority report was passed in Washington 
Lowe's place of worship, on Broad Street, in which they 
declared themselves the First Church, and elected Mr. 
Lowe pastor. Some twenty persons, members at Blill 
Ci'eek, McCrory's Creek, Antioch, and the surrounding 
churches, joined this organization. The two Concord Asso- 

* Just after the opening of the Sunday-school in connection with 
the church, it became the subject of conversation between two young 
men of the city one Sabbath morning, when one suggested to the other 
tlittt they should go. He was answered in a jesting manner that if 
he would go, and '' stick," he — the speaker — would give one hundred 
dollars to start a library. Tbe young man, the late honored Alfred 
H. Hicks, went to tbe school that morning, stated the proposition, and 
joined the Sunday-school. The one hundred dollars were paid in, a 
library bought, and Mr. Hicks was made librarian. He continued to 
hold this office until his death, — a term of more than forty years. 



ciations, which had lost some of their elements and were 
once more in harmony, united in 1843. There were four 
hundred and sixty-three members received into this church 
in the decade ending with 1845. A part of these left to 
form two new churches. In 1846 it was one of the first of 
the Concord connection in numbers and prosperity, and re- 
ported three hundred and twenty-nine members. 

The others numbered: Mill Creek, 225; Bradley's 
Creek, 231 ; Pleasant Grove, 129 ; McCrory's Creek, 335. 

Rev. Dr. Howell left the First Church to become the 
pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Richmond, Va., 
in April, 1850. He was immediately succeeded by Sam- 
uel Baker, LL.D., an Englishman, and then settled pastor 
at Hopkinsville, Ky., who remained until December, 1853, 
'when he accepted a call to Williamsburg, N. Y. 

William H. Bayless, a graduate of the State University 
of Georgia, and previously a member of the bar, aban- 
doned his profession in Memphis to enter the ministry. 
He became the next pastor, and remained until August, 
1856, when his resignation was accepted, and Dr. Howell 
returned. The church was incorporated by act of the 
Legislature, Feb. 17, 1858, and a faction following the 
sentiments of Dr. Graves were separated from the organi- 
zation. These held a session in the church and voted the 
others out, but soon afterwards established themselves in 
Firemens' Hall and assumed the name of Spring Street 
Baptist Church, which has ceased to exist. 

During the civil war the churches encountered many 
trials. In June, 1862, the pastor of the First Baptist 
Church, with several other ministers who declined to take 
the oath of allegiance presented to them, were arrested by 
order of the military authorities occupying the city, and 
confined for two months, the church meanwhile being de- 
prived of preaching and other pastoral assistance. During 
this period regular services were held by the members of 
the church. In January, 1863, the house of worship was 
taken possession of by military order, stripped of its pulpit, 
pews, and furniture, and turned into a hospital. On the 
ensuin"- Sunday the congregation and Sunday-school met 
in an upper room over a store on College Street, where they 
continued to hold services for several months. In the fol- 
lowing August the church was restored and once more 
occupied for worship. Two months later it was again dis- 
mantled and occupied as a hospital. The manager of the 
new theatre having offered his building from morning 
until midnight every Sunday, it was gladly accepted. 
Week-day meetings were held in the Christian church. 
Dec. 23, 1863, their own house of worship was again re- 
stored to them, but twenty days later it was converted into 
a barrack for soldiers passing through the city. In May, 
1864, an order was issued directing the house to be put in 
good condition and restored ; but this was countermanded, 
and the house occupied thirteen months as a hospital. The 
military authorities finally returned it to the officers of the 
church, June 26, 1865, with five thousand dollars in cash 
from tbe government as compensation. It was then re- 
fitted at an expense of twelve thousand four hundred dollars. 
In April, 1867, twenty members obtained letters of dis- 
mission, and with others constituted the Edgefield Baptist 
Church. Rev. Dr. Howell resigned his pastorate of the 



320 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



First Churcli in July, 1807, and was succeeded in Novem- 
ber by Rev. Tliomas E. Skinner, of Raleigh, N. C. April 
7, 1868, he performed the last earthly rites over the re- 
mains of the late honored pastor, Rev. Dr. Howell, at 
which every evangelical minister in the city was present. 
He died April 5th. He was succeeded in 1871 by the 
present pastor, Rev. Tiberius Gracchus Jones, D.D., of 
Norfolk, Va., a writer and speaker of great power. Soon 
after. Rev. Dr. A. B. Earle, of Newton, Mass., :(ssisted in 
a revival, adding nearly one hundred members to the church, 
increasing the membership to above three hundred and 
seventy. This church has now five hundred members, 
after granting letters of dismission to over fifty, who were 
constituted a church in North Nashville, known as the 
Third Baptist Church of Nashville. The present deacons 
of the First Church are James Thomas, Sr., James Thomas, 
Jr., Dr. C. K. Winston, Dr. W. P. Jones, A. C. Beech, 
W. L. Murfree, Anson Nelson, Capt. M. B. Pilcher, S. L. 
Demoville, A. E. March, and E. W. Baker. 

Peter R. Calvert is clerk, and James Thomas, Jr., is 
treasurer of the church. There are nine trustees. 

The " Baptist Educational Society for Ministerial Im- 
provement" was organized in the First Church of Nashville, 
Oct. 8, 1836, for the special improvement of those entering 
the ministry. Their efforts resulted in opening the univer- 
sity at Murfreesboro' in 1841. 

The Baptist Publication and Sunday-School Society was 
organized at that church in October, 1841. A Bible So- 
ciety was organized there in 1836. Oct. 15, 1839, twenty- 
two years after the first effort in that direction, the West 
Tennessee Baptist Foreign Jlissionary Society was organ- 
ized there. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 
of Greenville, S. C, since removed to Louisville, was origi- 
nated there. The Bible Board was organized in the First 
Church in 1851. Prominent in these enterprises and many 
others was Rev. Dr. Howell, who spent the greater part of 
his useful life as pastor of this church, and by his labors 
contributed to the support of many others in the surround- 
ing country. He was the author of several religious works, 
one of which was republished in England. " Howell on 
Communion," Howell's "Evils of Infant Baptism," "The 
Way of Salvation," Howell on the " Deaconship," " The 
Cross," etc., all met with ready sale. He left more than 
eighty bound volumes of written sermons ; also a manu- 
script " History of the First Baptist Church of Nashville" ; 
also a large and strong work, entitled " Christology of the 
Pentateuch" ; also a work in manuscript, entitled " The 
Family." He was often the moderator of Associations, the 
president of conventions, etc., and especially of the South- 
ern Baptist Convention on different occasions. 

The colored people of the First Baptist Church, whose 
tastes were somewhat difierent from those of the more cul- 
tured white members, were provided by Dr. Howell with sep- 
arate semi-weekly instruction, where the general discourse 
of the Sabbath was more fully explained to them, and instruc- 
tion given more adapted to their circumstances in life. Two 
members named " Andrew" and " Brentz" were early 
licensed to preach. About 1845 the old city school-house 
was obtained, and Samuel A. Davidson, of Lynchburg, Va., 
was ordained and placed in charge. A colored mission was 



formed, with authority to hold conferences, baptize, dismiss! 
expel, or do anything usually pertaining to Baptist churches 
and to report quarterly to the First Church for approval 
Mr. Davidson was succeeded by Rev. Thomas B. Ripley 
of Portland, Me., and Nelson G. Merry, a free colored man 
under whose successful ministry a brick church was buill 
on Blartin Street, west of the Capitol. This was much en- 
larged previous to the war. (See article headed " Colored 
Baptist Churches.") 

The First Baptist Church of Nashville has always occu- 
pied a high position in the community in which it is loeate4jlf 
as well as in the surrounding country. It has contribute 
a large amount of money for the cause of domestic, Indian 
and foreign missions. Its members have, at different pa 
riods, aided largely in the promotion of the cause of eduea 
tion, — theological, literary, and primary education. The 
have always kept up mission Sunday-schools, some of whiea 
as already mentioned, have grown into organized churche 
Before the war the contributions of this church for mission- 
ary, Sunday-school, and educational work amounted to 
several thousands of dollars annually, while since the war 
these contributions have amounted to no inconsiderable sum. 
The training of the church iu these matters by the Rev. ; 
Dr. Howell, who was the pastor for more than a quarter of 
a century, brought about these gratifying results. This 
church now has an active mission Sunday-school at work 
in the western portion of the city. 

The Central Baptist Churcli is in line of regular descent 
from the First Baptist Church of Nashville, constituted in 
1820. Of the nineteen original members, Mrs. Lucinda 
Garner is the only one still living, and is a member of 
the First Church. 

On the 10th of October, 1830, two years and a half 
after the general change of sentiment in the majority of 
the old First Church, five of the minority members reor- 
ganized by formally adopting the original declaration of 
faith. A house of worship was erected by them in 1837, 
after they had increased in numbers and become a pros- 
perous church. 

Those members of the First Church residing south of 
Broad Street met at the house of John Corbitt, Esq., in 
1844, and there organized the Second Baptist Church of 
Nashville, adopting the covenant and articles of faith of the 
parent church. Rev. T. W. Haynes was elected pastor. A 
house of worship was built on Cherry Street, soon after, 
near the university. A second house of worship was com- 
menced in 1858, then known as the Cherry Street church. 

The corner-stone of the present large and substantial 
house of worship, on the corner of Cherry and Elm Streets, 
was laid by the Cherry Street Church in 1853. The house 
was first occupied in 1859. That church never outgrew 
the disasters of the war. April 14, 1870, soon after the 
death of their excellent pastor, Rev. Reuben Ford, the or- 
ganization was disbanded, and fifty-one members joined the 
Central Church, to which their meeting-house had already 
been transferred. Thirty-nine more subsequently joined. 
The Central reported one hundred and fifteen members 
that year, which, with the new members, was increased to 
two hundred and four. There are now three hundred and 
fifty-four names upon the church rolls. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



321 



The following is the list of pastors since 1858 : Rev. J. 
R. Graves, LL.D., July 1, 1859, to Feb. IG, 18G2; Rev. 
J. T. Westover, supply, April to June, 1SG4 ; 11. L. Way- 
land, D.D., 186-t to March, 1865 ; D. W. Phillips, D.D., 
to October, 18G7 ; Rev. Wm. G. Innian, April, 1870, to 
November, 1875; Rev. Marshall H. Lane, 1875 to 187G; 
0. C. Pope, to 1877 ; and G. S. Williams until the present 
time. The first deacons of the Central Church were H. G. 
Scovel, Aaron Wright, and A. B. Shankland, who was also 
clerk. 

This church has a flourishing Sunday-school numbering 
about three hundred and forty members. 

Tlie Third Baptist Church of A^ashville had its origin 
in the efforts of some young men of the city, who organ- 
ized a Sunday-school in a stonecutter's building. Ed. 
Baker, Esq., now a prominent young lawyer, was secretary 
of the organization. A. I. Wlieoler, of Wheeler Bros., 
was the indefatigable superintendent of the school. Interest 
was at once awakened, and a large and. constant attendance 
was the result. At a meeting held there in May, 187G, a 
church of fifty-four members, most of whom had belonged 
to the First Church, was formed. Harry Dunn was made 
clerk of the new organization, and T. J. Robertson, John 
Adier, and A. J. Moulton deacons. Rev. L. B. Fish, 

. an evangelist, then living at Atlanta, Ga., and known 

I as the " sweet singer of Israel," became the first settled 
pastor, in July ensuing. The corner-stone of the present 

i neat brick church was laid in 1878, by John Frizzell, 
M. W. G. Master of Cumberland Lodge," No. 8, of Free- 
masons, assisted by Revs. George L. Blake and L. B. Fish. 

: The lower rooms of this house were finished and occupied 
for worship in June, 1879. The building has thus far cost 
two thousand six hundred and twenty dollars, and is en- 
tirely free from debt. Weekly prayer-meetings, young 

i people's meetings, a Sunday-school, and a mission-school 

i are maintained, besides the regular Sabbath sermons and 
prayer services. The subsequent deacons have been Z. T. 

. Sweeney, who succeeded Mr. Moulton, William F. Sloanc, 
and John Warren. In compliance with the early practice 

I of the church, four deaconesses have been appointed: Mrs. 
Fletcher, Mrs. John Richardson, Mrs. Rev. L. B. Fish, and 
Mrs. George Leascher. The church numbers one hundred 

. and forty-eight members. 

The Primitive Baptist Church. — With the first settle- 
ment of Middle Tennessee the Baptists organized them- . 

i selves into a body named in 1791 the " New .District Asso- 
ciation." In 1809 they re-formed into a body named the 

1 Concord Baptist Association, and in 1810 amended their 

i name by adding the word Cumberland after Concord. 
About the next year they divided, with the agreement 
that the road leading from Lexington, Ky., via Nashville, 
to Huntsville, Ala., should be the dividing-line. The 
churches along the line of the road were permitted to unite 
with either body, — the Concord on the east, or the Cum- 
berland Association on the west, of thut road. 

In May, 182G, Elder Philip S. Fall entered upon his 
labors as pastor. In the course of two years he espoused 
the doctrines introduced by Alexander Campbell, and a 
majority of the members united with him in the change of 
belief 

41 



Oct. 10, 1830, Henry Cartmell, Sarah Cartmell, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Smitii, Deacon Lipscomb Norvell, and IMrs. Celia 
Fairfax met in the court-house to reorganize under the 
original faith and tenets of the Baptist Church. These 
were joined by others to the number of fifty in the next 
three or four years. July 11, 1831, Rev. Peter S. Gaylo 
was chosen pastor and entered upon his duties. At the 
end of three years be removed to the church in Browns- 
ville, Tenn. The fourth pastor was the Rev. R. B. C. 
Howell, who entered upon his duties in January, 1835. 

At the meeting of the Concord Association at Mc- 
Crory's Creek meeting-house in August, 1836, after a 
painful strife of several days upon the maintenance of mod- 
ern missions upon the plan of a State convention and gen- 
eral association of all the churches, the Association voted to 
dissolve the organization by a vote of twenty-two for disso- 
lution and fifteen against. 

The churches favoring the dissolution met on the last 
Saturday in October, 183G, at Ridge meeting-house in 
Wilson County, and agreed upon a call to the churches to 
organize an Association disconnected with a State conven- 
tion and other modern innovations then creeping into the 
Baptist churches. 

In response to their call a meeting was held at the Ridge 
meeting-house, commencing on the fourth Saturday in 
August, 1837. At this meeting the Stone's River Asso- 
ciation of the Primitive Order of Baptists was formed. 

Meanwhile, the discontent growing out of the practice of 
innovations caused nine of the members of the church at 
Nashville and five from Mill Creek Church to unite in the 
formation of a Primitive Baptist Church, May 23, 1838, 
upon principles and practices formerly held. The Presbj'- 
tery consisted of Elders James King and Jesse Cox, Cum- 
berland Association ; James T. Tompkins and John M. 
Watson, Stone's River Association ; William Felts and AY. 
Lowe, Red River Association ; and James Osbourn, of 
Baltimore, Md. 

A colored church was organized in the city under the 
auspices of the Primitive Baptists (white), away back in the 
slavery-days. Austin Williams, a slave of William Wil- 
liams, Esq , who died at the close of the late war, aboutr 
eighty j'ears of age, was for many years their preacher. 
Meetings were long held on Spring Hill under the trees, 
and at " Old Hinney-Hope School-House" during the war. 
A sm:ill wooden building, on Lewis and Leigh Streets, for- 
merly occupied by the.\5^hite Methodists, was purchased by 
this society in 18747'and has since been their place of wor- 
ship. Luke Mason succeeded William Cooper as pastor in 
1876. This church has one hundred and forty-three mem- 
bers, and is well sustained. 

Broad Street Primitive Nun- Resurrect ion Baptist 
(colored) Church was organized by Alfred Nichols, a former 
slave, in 1876, with about one hundred members. Though 
calling themselves Primitive Baptists, they differ from them 
in denying the final resurrection of the body. Meetings 
were first held in an old church on Locust Street, and after- 
wards in the military barracks, on the site of their present 
meeting-house, 335 Broad Street, which they bought from 
the United States government. After meeting in the bar- 
racks for six years they were torn down, and a large sub- 



322 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



stantial stone foundation and basement-walls erected for a 
house of worship, when, their funds becoming nearly ex- 
hausted, a low roof was placed over the entire structure, and 
it was occupied for regular worship. It is still awaiting the 
brick for the superstructure. In this room, which exter- 
nally resembles a huge refrigerator, there assemble some 
three hundred members and crowds of visitors throughout 
the year to listen to the quaint sermons of Eev. Alfred N. 
Williams, who has been their pastor since 18G6. 

Ricldand Creek Chnrch. — Elder John Dillahunty* was 
converted in Virginia, his old home, and with his wife 
united with the church the same day. He emigrated to 
Davidson County, Tenn., about the year 1794, and organ- 
ized the first church of any denomination west of Nashville 
about the year 1795 or '96, on the bank of Richland Creek, 
at Gen. Harding's, and called it Richland Creek Church. 
He continued to have the care of that church till his death, 
which occurred in 1812 or 1813. He and his wife were 
buried in the same grave, he being ninety-six years old. 
After the death of Eider Dillahunty, Elder Joel Anderson 
preached to the church for a time, during which it was 
moved a mile or two farther west, and the name was 
changed to Providence. Elder John Little was the next 
pastor, and after his removal to Kentucky, Rev. Jesse Cox 
was called to the care of the church, and continued to 
serve it in that capacity forty-two years in succession. Mr. 
Cox, in writing of it, says, " I am now eighty-five years old, 
and too feeble to ride a distance of eighteen miles to preach 
to the church. This church has had three framed houses 
of worship destroyed by fire, and a brick house destroyed 
by the soldiers. It now has a comfortable house, and keeps 
up regular monthly meetings. The land occupied was 
deeded to the church by Joseph Hopkins in 1S12. Six of 
the present members are descendants of the Dillahunty 
family. I heard Elder Dillahunty preach regularly once a 
month for about eight years ; he was a man of small stature, 
and was, being old, quite feeble. He was not an orator, but 
sound in the faith, of unblemished character, and com- 
manded large congregations. Some of his members were 
among the best citizens of Nashville." 

Mill Creek Church was the second one organized south 
of the Cumberland River. It was organized in 1798, and 
went off with the missionaries, where it still remains. 

Elder Peyton Smith, who had the care of Overall's 
church, a fluent speaker and popular among the Baptists, 
went oflF with Kurlee, another Baptist minister, to the Frce- 
Will Baptists, and carried a majority of the members of 
Overall's, Stewart's Creek, and others with them. They 
remained but a few years with the Free Church, and finally 
went to the Campbellites and took another portion of the 
members of those churches with them. This event occurred 
previous to 1810. 

The church at Stewart's Creek continued to decline until 
it was finally dissolved, and has never been revived. 

Nashville Primitive Baptist Church. — In 1834 or 1835 
the modern missionary system was introduced into the Cum- 
berland Association. Elders Howell, Whitsitt, Fuqua, and 
Bond embraced the new order of things, and carj-icd several 

* A contraction of the French Huguenot De La Hunte. 



whole churches with them, and, having a majority, they 
claim the name. The First Baptist Church of Nashville 
went with the New School party in a body, except one 
member, old Brother Norvell. Says Rev. Jesse Cox, "I^k 
was preaching at White's Creek church at the time, and; 
in passing through Nashville I was requested to preach at 
a private house at night, and tlien for a time in the cor- 
poration school-house. A few members returned from the 
missionaries, fitted up Norvell's warehouse, and organized a 
Primitive Baptist Church, consisting of about nine mem- 
bers of the old church." ; 

This was in the spring of 1838. The Presbytery wai 
composed of Elders James King and Jesse Cox of tl 
Cumberland, and Elder John M. Watson and James 
Tompkins of the Stone's River, Association, and otherslj 
In December, 1850, the congregation met for the first timejj 
in their present house of worship, on South College Streei 
near p]lm. David Road and Shadrach L. Allen were or- 
dained deacons in, August, 1838; I. I. Garrett, W. C. 
Turner, A. G. Byron, and J. C. Hood, in April, 1873; 
S. J. Underwood, W. H. Corbitt, and Samuel M. Dickens, 
in September, 1878; and AViliiam G. Gilliam, in Decem- 
ber, 1879. William L. Nance, the present clerk, was ap- 
pointed to that position in June, 184G. The church num- 
bers one hundred and twenty-three members. 

liitj Ilarpetli Church was organized in the south part of 
the county, eighteen miles from Nashville, in the latter 
part of May, 1800, with twenty members. Throe houses 
of worship have been built there. The first one was 
shaken ofl' its foundations by the earthquake of 1813. 
Elder Garner McConieo was ordained a minister at the time 
the church was organized, and was its pastor until his 
death, which occurred in August, 1833. Elder Jesse 
Cox, an old and highly respected minister, and the only 
surviving member of that date, was one of the deacons in 
1830. Elder McConieo died in the same hour in which 
Elder Cox preached his first sermon. Eev. James King 
was pastor for one year, and was then succeeded by Elder 
Cox, until after 1850. The present church is south of the 
county-line, and in Williamson County. 

The KJgcJuhl Baptist Church was organized in April, 
1SG7, by twenty members of the First Church in Nashville. 

Rev. Dr. W. A. Nelson became pastor in September, 
1871. There were then but twenty-seven members, who held 
their regular meetings in a rented office. The membership 
was largely increased during his pastorate, and a fine brick 
meeting-house with basement rooms erected on Woodland 
Street, at an expense of sixteen thousand dollars. A par- 
sonage, costing two thousand dollars, and a mission building, 
worth one thousand dollars, were also erected through his 
efforts. A thriving Sunday-school and two mission-schools 
are also supported. In a letter to the church, Aug. 7, 1878, 
Eev. Mr. Nelson writes : " Unremitting toil, together with 
the most anxious pastoral solicitude, reaching through a 
period of seven years, have so impaired my health as to 
make it necessary to sever those tender ties which bind me 
to a church worthy of a better pastor." In response to his 
letter of resignation, from which these words wore taken, an 
earnest response came from the church acknowledging his 
faithful labors in increasing the membership from thirty- 






EzEKiEL Truett was born July 28, 1812, in what is 
now known as Hickman Co., Tenn., about ten miles east 
of Centreville. It was then a part of North Carolina. By 
oral tradition he could trace his ancestry back to the Scotch- 
Irish settlers of the State. His physique and his sturdy 
integrity manifested all the traits of character for which 
we respect those people so highly. He had none of the 
advantages of an education at school during his boyhood, 
and he grew up a poor boy, contending bravely for a foot- 
hold among brave men. His early struggles for a liveli- 
hood developed a strength and tenacity of character that 
served him well in raaturer manhood. He was married to 
Winnie Adams, Nov. 1, 1832. They reared a fiimily of 
seven children, who looked to him for support and an edu- 
cation, which, though expensive in the absence of the free 
schools, was won and gained and given to each. 

He won success and a fortune from the hard surroundings, 
and his later days were peaceful and quiet, although he 
maintained an interest in business until within a few months 
before he died, April 25, 1872. He was the founder of the 
famous enterprise known as " Rosebank Nurseries," the 
products of which, in later years, have been scattered from 
the Carolinas to Texas, and from Kansas to Florida. His 
sterling integrity of character inspired confidence in the 
products of his nursery, and in after-years, under a new 
management, with his sons as successors, the business 
was largely increased, and its products widely scattered. 



Eleven States were tributary to its enterprise ; the name 
Truett's Sons & Morgan made it easy to prosecute the 
business, because " Truett" was a synonym for honesty. 

In appearance he was tall and slender, with an erect 
bearing in his young manhood. In later days, when de- 
clining health brought a stoop to his shoulders, his energetic 
spirit held sway, and the observer would involuntarily be 
reminded of Andrew Jackson. He was, however, gentle 
and kind and loving in his disposition, never captious or 
faultfinding, but charitable in all his thoughts and actions 
towards those with whom he came in contact. He was 
peculiarly careful not to be strong in his expressions of op- 
position, although he was as peculiarly tenacious of his 
opinions of right or wrong. With a quiet, steady, purpose, 
he won his aim,— never violent. For many years he was a 
consistent Christian, and a liberal member of the Baptist 
Church. During the later years of bis life he contributed 
liberally to the success of the Baptist Church in Edgefield. 
By his wise counsel the first steps of success were taken, 
and just before he died, almost entirely by his own means 
he built a parsonage for the occupation of his beloved pastor. 
He lived to see his children grown to manhood and woman, 
hood, married, and settled in life, and all members of a 
Christian church. By his success in business, and the win- 
ning of a fortune from the peculiar surroundings and under 
the'disadvantages of his early life, he certainly deserves a 
prominent place among the representative men of liis time. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



323 



one persons to more than three liundrcd, testifying their 
deep sentiments of regard for him, and consenting to his 
dismissal only upon the assurance that his physical health, 
and possibly his life, required of them the saerifioo. 

L. A. Truett, G. W. G. Payne, Andrew McClain, T. E. 
Enloe, A. W. Webber, and John D. Anderson, all promi- 
nent citizens, were appointed a committee to wait upon him 
and present the sentiments of the church. During the 
next nine months the services were conducted without a 
settled pastor. Rev. James Waters, of Passaic, N. J., the 
present pastor, succeeded to the charge in May, 1879. A. 
W. Webber is clerk of the church, which has now three 
hundred and fiftj'-six members. Deacons, G. W. G. Payne, 
E. H. Hill, L. A. Truett, John E. Lesueur, A. W. 
Webber, H. W. Buttorff, J. B. Patton, W. H. H. Truett, 
Charles E. Burton, John W. Ottey, John D. Anderson, 
AV. SI. Woodcock, A. J. Harris ; Pastors, Rev. George W. 
Harris, from April 14, 18G7, to June, 18G7, a portion of 
which time was unsupplied ; Rev. Eugene Strode, Nov. 1, 
18G8, to June 5, 1870; A. W. Nelson, Aug. 1, 1871, to 
Sept. 1, 1878 ; James Waters, from May 25, 1879, present 
pastor. 

The Uhwii Rill Baptist CInirch was organized four miles 
west of Goodlettsville, on the Wliito's Creek road. May 28, 
1S59, with twenty-one members. The first deacons were 
S. T. Fryer, W. G. Blair, and Andrew Rolen. Mr. R. W. 
Foster was the first clerk. A comfortable frame house 
was soon after built. The present house of worship was 
built in 1878, and has a .seating capacity of about two 
hundred. The present membership is fifty-nine. J. 51. 
Forester is the present clerk. Rev. W. B. Trenary is pastor. 
Rev. Samuel Carter is also a member of this church. J. 
R. Cole, R. M. Forester, and Q. C. Fryer are deacons. 
David Rice, whose death occurred in October, 1878, was 
for many years a deacon of this church. 
i ^ Mill Creek Cliurcli was organized in 1797 by Elder 
; James Whitsitt. This was one of the most vigorous and 
important of the early Baptist churches in this region, and 
contained upon its rolls the names of many of the earlier 
pioneers of Davidson County. In 1846 it reported to the 
Concord connection, to which it belonged, a membership of 
two hundred and twenty-five. As the population increased 
I its members divided to form other churches in the surround- 
' ing districts. No higher honor can be awarded to the Mill 
Crook Church than to connect with its history a brief sketch 
of Elder James Whitsitt, its pioneer preacher. 
I James Whitsitt, one of the most noted and successful 
j early Baptist ministers of Davidson County, was converted 
i in 1789, at the age of nineteen years, and immediately took 
upon himself the duties of the ministry. Ho received a 
license to preach within a few months. In 1780 he 
traveled with the family of his uncle, James Menees, Esq., 
to the valley of the Cumberland. He soon returned to his 
old home in Virginia, whence, ten years later, he returned 
to Tennessee, and in 1792 settled upon Mill Creek. During 
his stay in Virginia he had ceased from Christian work. 
In 1794 he became awakened, and was restored to fellow- 
ship in the Jlill Creek Church. He soon assumed pastoral 
charge of four churches in .succession, as they were organ- 
ized, dividing his time between them. These were Mill 



Creek, Concord, in Williamson County, and Rock Spring 
and Providence, in Rutherford County. A few years later 
the Antiooh Church was organized, and he exchanged one 
of his charges outside the county for that. 

For his second wife he married Sirs. Elizabeth Wood- 
ruff, a member of the Mill Creek Church. In his old age 
he was connected with the Second Baptist Church of Nash- 
ville, which he supplied during the summer and autumn of 
1848. In October he preached his farewell sermon, ending 
in these words : 

" This is our last interview. I am old and rapidly sink- 
ing. The winter is almost upon us, during which I cannot 
visit you, and before the spring comes I shall die. Fare- 
well." 

This was, indeed, his last appearance in public. He died 
April 12, 1849, in the seventy-ninth year of his age and 
the fifty-third of his ministry. 

The Smith's Sjmiiff Baptist Church was organized Nov. 
15, 1874, in the third civil district, nearly two miles south 
of Stone's River, by Revs. T. N. Fuqua and W. A. Whit- 
sitt, with twenty-one members. Rev. Mr. Fuqua was pas- 
tor until his death, when he was succeeded by Rev. W. A. 
Whitsitt, the present pastor of Gethsemane Church. Rev. 
J. H. Casson is the present pastor. The deacons are J. T. 
Towns and R. F. Sweeney ; clerk, J. H. Towns. 

A house of worship was built in 1877. There is a pros- 
porous Sunday-school in connection, of which Mr. J. B. 
Fuqua is superintendent. This church is connected with 
the Concord Association. For many years this was known 
as McCrory's Creek Church. In 184G it numbered three 
hundred and thirty-five members, and was the largest so- 
ciety in the Concord Association. 

The name of Providence Church has disappeared from 
the records. This was located at Reynolds' Mill, in civil 
district number fourteen, and was a member of Stone's 
River Association in 1837. In 1845 it reported one hun- 
dred and fourteen members. 

Colored Baptist Churches. — The First Colored Baptist 
Church of Nashville was organized in 1852, by the colored 
portion of the First Baptist Church of that city, with one 
hundred and forty members. Rev. Nelson G. Blerry, the 
janitor of the present church, became pastor, and has con- 
tinued to occupy that position until the present time. 
Elder Merry was an " Old Virginia" slave in his younger 
days, but his mistress, a Christian lady, removed to Ten- 
nessee, and on her death freed her slaves, among whom was 
Mr. Merry, then a young man. A meeting-house had been 
built for the colored members of the white church in 1849. 
It was again rebuilt and enlarged in 1859 and 1865, and 
torn down to make way for the present church, which was 
built in 1873. This is one of the finest churches owned by 
colored people in the South. It is of brick, with stone 
finish, and cost twenty-eight thousand dollars. Through 
the original eloquence of the pastor, who is also president 
of the State Colored Baptist Convention, this church has 
obtained a wide reputation, and is much frequented by 
visitors of both races. The membership is twenty-three 
hundred. The house of worship was seriously injured by 
the gale of February, 1880, but was at once repaired. 

A Second Church was established in Nashville in 1855, 



32-1 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



and now numbers six hundred members. Rev. A. 
Buelianan is pastor. 

There are four Baptist colored churches in Edgefield, 
with eleven hundred and eighteen members. The First, 
Rev. R. Vandavell, pastor, has five hundred and fifty mem- 
bers. Mount Zion, Rev. I. Bransford, pastor, has five 
hundred members. Mount Nebo Church, Rev. P. H. Ben- 
son, pastor, has twenty-five members, and the Fourth Bap- 
tist Colored Church has forty-three members Rev. J. 
Stubbs is pastor. 

All these churches were organized since 1864. They, 
together with t.he Second Church of Nashville, hold prop- 
erty valued at fourteen thousand four hundred dollars. 

There are thirteen colored Baptist churches in the 
county, outside the city of Nashville. These are as 
follows : 

Trimble Spring Mission, J. "\V. Husky, pastor. 

Otter Creeic Church, Rev. J. Litton, pastor. 

White's Creek Church, Rev. W. Shelby, pastor ; four 
hundred and five members. 

Ebenezer Church, Rev. II. Fuller, pastor. 

St. James' Church, Rev. II. II. Harding, pastor; two 
hundred and ten members. 

Olive Branch Cliurch, Rev. W. G. Parks, pastor; one 
hundred members. 

Edgefield Junction Church, Rev. S. Pride, pastor; thirty- 
seven members. 

New Hope Church, thirty members. 

Mount Gillem Church, Rev. G. Amos, pastor ; sixty-five 
members. 

Hermitage Church, Rev. N. Drake, pastor. 

Shiloh Church, Rev. M. Mason, pastor. 

Ewing Hill Church, Rev. James Burton, pastor. 

Neely's Bend Church, Rev. S. Dismuke, pastor. 

METHODIST CHURCHES. ,., 

Methudist Episcopal Cliurch South. — In the year 1837, 
BeiijamiVi Ogden, a young minister who had been admitted 
on trial the year previous with Presiding Elder James Haw, 
passed from the wilderness of Kentucky into " the Cumber- 
land Country" of Middle Tennessee, and became the first 
Methodist preacher in the beautiful and fertile basin of 
which Davidson County forms a part. He was then a 
j'oung man twenty-three years of age, inured to hardships 
as a soldier of the Revolution, naturally brave, and espe- 
cially adapted to the life of a messenger of the gospel in 
the new settlements along the Cumberland and its tributa- 
ries. At the close of his first year's labors he reported 
sixty-three members, four of whom were colored persons. 
Richard Dodge and Frank Piiuco were the first persons 
who joined the Methodist Society. The hostile savages 
kept the feeble and scattered settlements in a state of alarm 
which forced them to go armed to worship, while the 
preacher, trusting in the truths he was sent to preach, 
passed unprotected, or sometimes accompanied by an armed 
escort, through the dense and unbroken wilderness from one 
settlement to another. Mr. Ogden, who formed the Cum- 
berland Circuit, was succeeded in 1788 by James Haw and 
Peter Massie. Francis Poythress came to the Cumberland 
in 1789 as presiding elder, with Thomas Williamson and 



Joshua L. Hartley, preachers. Their field of labor extended ] 
through all the new settlements in Sumner County and 
the surrounding country. 

Among the prominent first members were Isaac Linsley, 
William McNeilly, and Lewis Crane, father of Rev. John 
Crane. Mr. Linsley, a man of talent, who settled at Eaton's 
Station in 1780, began to exhort soon after his conversion 
in 1787. His son, Isaac Linsley, became a prominent 
preacher. John Bell, Jonathan Stephenson, Henry Birch- 
ctt, and others preached successively in Nashville and vi- 
cinity. Rev. Mr. Massie, the first to pass from this life 
while here, died suddenly Dec. 19, 1791, at the house of 
Blr. Hodges, near Nashville, and was buried by a negro ser- 
vant,* who alone felled an ash-trce, framed a receptacle for 
the body in the open grave, and completed the solemn rites 
of burial during the sickness of his master, Mr. Hodges. 

Another early preacher was Rev. Col. Green Hill, a 
member of the Provincial Assembly in 177-1, and financial 
agent of North Carolina in 1776, whose journal records: 
"1796, Tuesday, June 21. — I preached at Mr. Thomas 
Edwards, to very attentive people. Wednesday went to Mr. 
Colliers, at Irish Station, nine miles above Nashville. Sun- 
day heard Brother Duzan at Nashville, and preached from 
Colossians i. 27, 28. Some people went away, but the 
greater part quietly attended. June 29, we came to brother 
Richard Strotliers', three miles from Nashville ; an appoint- 
ment at the preaching-house at this place for circuit preach- 

• II 
mg. 

At this time the rides were long, the pathways narrow 
and dim ; deep and narrow streams were to be crossed, with 
no bridges. It was common to lie in the woods or swim 
and make your way wet, hungry, weary, and cold to an 
open cabin, where, after a repast of the coarsest kind, sleep 
was had upon the floor or a rude hard bed, exposed to the 
inclemency of the weather in winter or to vermin in sum- 
mer. The preachers were gladly received by good people 
who loved the gospel, and who sometimes gave them home- 
spun clothes, of which they were not ashamed. 

Thomas WHkerson preached here as early as 1802, in 
company with Levin Edney, who continued on the Nash- 
ville Circuit the next year, and then settled on the Harpeth 
River, at what has since been known as Edney's Chapel. 

Zadok B. Thoxton, a native of North Carolina, who had 
immigrated to Middle Tennessee in 1791 or '92, was con- 
verted at a prayer-meeting in Cage's Bend, commenced 
preaching about the year 1800, and in 1805 was assigned 
to Nashville Circuit. 

Previous to 1790 the Yearly Conferences met at various 
places, to suit the convenience of the preachers. The jour- 
nal of 1796 bears record that " for several years the Annual 
Conferences were very small," and that " they wanted that 
dignity accompanying a large body of ministers, and which 
every religious synod should possess." These and other 
inconveniences were removed by the formation of six Annual 
Conferences, of which the Western Conference embraced 
Kentucky and Tennessee, and held its first session at 



-' This servant's name was Simeon. He became a local preacher, and 
lived to about the age of ninety years. He was universally respected 
both by white and colored people. 





Robert Anderson Young, D.D., is a Tennessean, 
having been born at Campbell's Station, Knox Co., Jan. 
23, 1824. Few ministers of bis age are more widely 
known in the South than Dr. Young. He is probably the 
most successful pastor in the Church. He can take charge 
of a run-down station, and make an eminent success where 
other men failed. He leaves no part of his work undone ; 
he accomplishes a great deal, but does it in such a quiet, 
systematic manner that one never suspects what he is doing. 
He works untiringly, and manages so as to make the bgst 
possible use of all the material in his church. He is pro- 
verbial for his punctuality, — never a moment behind time, 
and yet never in a hurry; his services commence at the 
appointed time, and if he says he will pay a debt on the first 
day of the montli, he does exactly what he has agreed to 
do. As a preacher he has few equals ; he is a power in 
the pulpit, and after preaching for four years to one congre- 
gation will have more hearers the fourth year than the 
first, — in other language, we may say that he wears well. 

The doctor, physically, is a remarkable specimen, standing 
six feet seven inches in his socks, and weighs two hundred 
and twenty-five pounds, and has no surplus flesh. He has 
published, we think, only two works, — one called " Person- 
ages," and the other " A Reply to Ariel ;" and in addition 
he has for many years contributed a great deal to magazines 
and Christian Advocates. He is a fine correspondent, and 
a general favorite as a writer. 

He is the son of Capt. John C. Young, United States 



Army, who was a graduate of the University of North 
Carolina. Dr. Young united with the Methodist Church 
in August, 1842; was licensed to preach in January, 1845, 
when about twenly-one years old. He was ordained deacon 
by Bishop Paine, at Clarksville, Tenn., in 1848, and elder 
by Bishop Andrew, at Athens, Ala., in 1850. Without 
his knowledge or consent he was transferred from the 
Tennessee to the St. Louis Conference, where he remained 
seven years, returning to Tennessee in 1860. He has been 
secretary of the Tennessee Conference for twelve consecu- 
tive years. He was first elected to the General Conference 
of 1860, and has been re-elected to every subsequent ses- 
sion, and has served in that body on the committees of 
Itinerancy and Missions, and is at this time a member of 
the Board of 3Iissious. He received his A.B. from Wash- 
ington College, East Tenn. ; D.D. from Florence Wesleyan 
University, of which latter he was president for three years. 
He was elected secretary of the Vanderbilt University May 
9, 1873, and the Tennessee Conference at its last session 
assigned him to that work, which now occupies his entire 
time, and will require him to travel extensively. Dr. 
Young has done all kinds of ministerial work, having 
traveled circuits, filled stations, and served five years as a 
presiding elder. He preaches well, yet never writes his 
sermons, and does not even use notes in the pulpit. Take 
him either as a preacher, pastor, presiding elder. Conference 
secretary, president of a university, financial agent, or as a 
business man, he is a success. 



F. ^A^ 



nyx ^ 21 E Y. 



The nativity of tiie subject of this 

biographical sketch was in the county 

whose history we write, and the whole 

of his useful and honorable life was 

spent there. The prominent part he 

bore in shaping its history during an 

active career of manhood for more 

than forty years properly deserves 

to be incorporated in this record. 

Powhatan AVooIdrige Maxey was one 

of fourteen children — seven sons and 

seven daughters — of AVilliam and 

iMargaret Maxey, who moved from 

Virginia in lSO-4 and settled in David- 
son County. Of this large family but 

one was hie junior. His parents were 

in comfortable pecuniary condition, 

and enabled to rear their children 

becomingly and with a fair share of 

education procurable at the time, and 

to dispense in addition a generous 

hospitality, for which they were 

noted. Members of the Methodist 

Church, they kept open doors for the 

preachers of that faith in the early 

day, and those patriarchs of the 

Church, Bishops Asbury and McKen- 

dree, as did all others, found a place of 

welcome sojourn beneath their roof- 
tree. 

He was born within a stone's throw 

of the spot at which he died, — a few 
miles east of Nashville,— May 7, 1810. At the uge ul si.ilefn years he 
was entered an apprentice to the trade of tinsmithing with "William H. 
Moore, a venerable citizen of this county, still surviving beyond his four- 
score years. This pursuit he followed, engaging in it on his own account 
in lSo5 or 1836, until his retirement from active business in 1864. His 
establishment was for many years one of the leading houses, in that line, 
in the city of Nashville. His character a-s an artisan and merchant was 
irreproachable for fair dealing and integrity and marked by industry and 
energy, which enabled him to acquire quite a fair estate. He resided in 
the city until the year 1850, when he purchased a farm three and a half 
miles on the pike leading to Gallatin, adjoining the homestead of his 
father, on which he built a new residence. 

In 18.35 he was made an alderman of the city, and served in that capacity 
for six terms. Active and public-spirited as he was, he took a loading part 
in municipal affairs, and the history of the city government, not less than 
that of the county, shows the impress of his labors. In 1813, after a 
spirited contest with an old and prominent citizen, he was elected mayor 
of the city, and re-elected in the following year by an increased majority. 
Not long after his withdrawal from municipal service he was elected a 
justice of the peace, and continued a member of the County Court for nearly 
thirty years. In that comparatively humble yet highly important and 
honorable sphere of public duty, he was conspicuous for the best qualities 
composing the character of an official in any station, — rigid integrity, su- 
perior intelligence, and unquailing firmness. 

His vigilance in protection of the public interests was proverbial. No 
job or semblance of one evaded his penetration or escaped his opposition. 
In speech he was frank to bluntness, and sometimes warm and vehement, 
provoking criticism ; but believing himself to be right he cared not, and 
all knew him to be sincere as he was incorruptible. He was liberal in his 
views of the public service, but had no toleration for anything attempted 
indirectly or illegally. It was a misnomer to call his tenacity of purpose 
obstinacy, for he stood upon his rendered reasons, though like a rock. The 
minutes of Davidson County Court constitute a worthy portion of the 
history of his life, and that body never had an abler or truer man in its 
councils. 

Esquire Maxey held no other public position, with the exception of the 
United States pension agency at the city of Nashville, to which he was 
appointed by President Johnson in 1865, and whose duties he performed 
during the remainder of that executive administration. Sanguine and 
earnest in temperament, his convictions were decided, and not less in 
politics than other matters. He was a devoted Whig, and took a strong 
and leading interest in the success of that party, and for a number of years 





was an influential member of its Sta 
executive committee. An ardent ar 
unselfish patriot, the event of tl 
civil war gave him deep coneei 
and anguish. His sympathies flowc! 
freely and warmly in one directio' 
while his conservatism could noteo;i 
sent to a severance of the governmecl 
and during the storm he quietly b; 
firmly adhered to the cause of i 
unity. Regard for the sincerity [ 
his character commanded the reape'l 
even of those who widely and whol 
differed in views. He was a memb 
of the Masonic brotherhood, and ha 
served as Worshipful Master of or 
of the Nashville lodges, and also i 
the lodge in Edgefield. He had passe, 
through many of the higher degree 
and was a Knight Templar. 

Early in life he connected himse 
with the Methodist Church, and h; 
way of life was consistent with hii 
profession. He worthily filled tt 
offices of steward and trustee in th 
congregations with which he waj 
affiliated, and was a zealous and Hi 
eral supporter of all the institutions ( 
the Church. In the work of the Suri 
day-school he was an earnest an 
devoted participant. Leading a 
active career, and having diversifie 
ciilUiigs and duties, which often divert attention from religious though 
and obligations, his course to the contrary in that regard was one to b 
commended and imitated. He was in all respects a faithful layman, an 
his walk and conversation exemplified his faith and exerted a wholesomii 
influence. i 

He was married to Miss Julia Hobbs, Oct. 18, 1832, and to them were bori' 
two sons and a daughter; both of the former attained manhood, and die' 
during the period of the late civil war. He died Aug. 8, 1876, and hij 
estimable wife survived him but a few years, and the only living membe' 
of hi.5 family is the wife of Kev. J. W. Hill, of the Tennessee Conference o 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and at present pastor of West En 
Church, Nashville. His sister, Miss Ann Maxey, is the sole survivor of th 
numerous family of sons and daughters of which he was a member. 

No man in the community of Davidson County was more generally know: 
than Esquire Maxey, and for the substantial elements of good citizenship 
in the broadest sense of that term, none was more highly esteemed. H' 
was conspicuous for his physical appearance, being a person of large anti 
bulky frame, but equally so for strong and forcible qualities of character. 
He was independent, candid, and positive, but conscientious, and unde 
a manner sometimes brusque always regardful of the rights and feeling 
of others. He had confidence in the correctness of his convictions, an 
was not easily moved in his opinions, but was open to reason always, an. 
yielded his views, when convinced, as heartily as he held them. Thes 
characteristics gave hiin influence in society, and it was wielded for tb 
public good. He was liberal and hospitable both in public and privai 
circles. One with traits so marked, and engaging so actively in the affair 
of life, could not pass without collisions : but he cherished no animositie 
and '* to true friends who sought him was sweet as summer." 

Beneath his rugged strength there beat a big and tender heart, and noni 
knew this so well as his neighbors and those who had close relations witl 
him. In the history of the past century of the community in which h' 
lived his service as a leading citizen justly claims a place of honorabk 
mention. We close with the following lines, written, on the occasion o 
his death, by Mr. Irby Morgan, and which strike the points of his characte; 
better than a biography : 

Rough, grand old man ! 

Match him who can ? 
Torn from the cliffa where men are made ! I 

Daring and bold, gentle and good. 

Where can you match him, if you would? 
An "ashler from the mountain side," 
Upright and pure be lived and died. 



CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



325 



Bethel Acadciiiy, Ky., May 1, 1799. Rev. John Page 
was appointed to the Cumberland Circuit. He was very 
successful in his ministry, and one of the most active 
workers in the " great revival" of ] 800. William Lam- 
beth was appointed to this circuit in 1801, and William — 
afterwards Bishop — -McKendree succeeded Mr. Poythress 
as presiding elder. He traveled from Nashville through 
Kentucky and into Missouri, a district of over fifteen hun- 
dred miles, thus gaining valuable experience which fitted 
him in an especial manner for the high position he was 
destined to occupy. John Page and Lewis Garrett suc- 
ceeded as presiding elders during the next three years, 
when Mr. McKendree returned. 

In 1806 the name of the Nashville Circuit first appears 
upon the record. Some writers have placed its organiza- 
tion as early as 1802, which is correct, as in tliat year the 
Red River and Barren Circuits were formed of the re- 
mainder of the old Cumberland Circuit. At the Confer- 

I ence which met at Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 1, 1811, a new 

I presiding elder's district was formed under the name of the 
Nashville District, confined almost exclusively to what is 

^ now Middle Tennessee. The past year had been a marked 

I period of increase in the church. The membership had 
increased from ninety in 1787, of whom sixty-three were 
reported by Benjamin Ogden, to thirty thousand seven 
hundred and forty-one, included in the membership of the 
AVestern Conference. Of these, three thousand six hun- 

i dred were the last year's increase. This necessitated a re- 
organization, and the Tennessee Conference was formed at 
Fountain Head, Sumner Co., Nov. 1, 1812. In 1818 the 
town of Nashville, which had previously been the head of 
a circuit, became a separate charge. 

At the General Conference of 1840 the Memphis Con- 

I fcrence was organized, and the three Conferences, Tennes- 

i see, Holston, and Memphis, covered the whole State. 

In the division which began in May, 1814, and resulted 
in the formation of the Northern and Southern General 
Conferences, the churches in Davidson County adhered 
almost unanimously to the Southern branch of the con- 

■ nection. 

I Aug. 10, 1795, Absalom Hooper, Esq., deeded to 
" Bishop Asbury, his elders, deacons, and helpers," a lot of 
land on White's Creek for the location of a meeting-house, 
which was built soon aftei', and became known as the Hooper 

' Chapel. Claiborne Y. Hooper and his noble wife, Mary 
Ann Keeling, were long members of the church in this 

i neighborhood. 

In 1802, Matthew Talbott deeded to Aquila Sugg, 
Thomas James, Thomas Hickman, George Ury, and Jere- 

; miah Ellis, trustees, a lot on Lower White's Creek, two 

j miles north of Hyde's Ferry, where a house, known as 

' Zion Church, was erected, and was for many years a pop- 
ular meeting-house. It has long since disappeared, and 

j another church erected on the adjoining lot supplies its 

! place. 

j From these churches went forth an influence which re- 
sulted in building others. Methodism took strong hold on 

( the public mind. Woodward's Camp-ground was estab- 
lished and annual meetings held there, resulting in the 
conversion of hundreds of souls. 



Sept. 5, 1809, Newton Edney conveyed to Levin Ed- 
ney, Aquila Sugg, and William Roach a lot, upon which a 
church was erected. This was west of Harpeth River, 
near the Williamson county-line, and was known as Ed- 
ney 's meoting-house. It was consumed by fire and a more 
elegant structure built in its place. 

The first Methodist meeting-house in Nashville was 
built of stone, as early as 1789 or 1790, and stood upon 
the public square, between where the court-house now 
stands and the old City Hotel. This was removed to make 
way for public improvements, and meetings were transferred 
to the jail, of which Edward D. Hobbs, a zealous member 
of the church, was keeper, and also to the residence of Mr. 
Garrett, on the Franklin road, two miles from the court- 
house. 

The act of Legislature securing to them the house of 
worship upon the square was passed in October, 1796, and 
recites that " Whereas, the religious society called the 
Methodist have erected a meeting-house on the public 
square in Nashville, and ought to have the use thereof se- 
cured to them ; Be it enacted, that the trustees of the town 
shall execute a deed to five persons, such as the society 
shall appoint, for the land whereon the house stands," " to 
include twenty feet on each side and end of said house," 
and which was subject to the following limitations : " Said 
meeting-house shall be and remain to the use of the said 
society so far only as to give a right to their ministers to 
preach therein ; but shall not extend to authorize them to 
debar or deny to any other denomination of Christians the 
liberty of preaching therein, unless when immediately oc- 
cupied by the said society ; nor shall the said appointees 
have power to alien their title to the same." 

The trustees were further empowered to lay off other 
places upon the square for any other religious sect for like 
purpose. 

In the year 1812 a lot was secured in the outskirts of 
the city, now Broad Street, nearly opposite the new cus- 
tom-house, and a brick edifice was erected. This, a small 
square-looking building, was changed to a residence after 
having been abandoned as a place of worship, and was the 
home of the late Judge John White. The Legislature of 
the State at one time met in this building. The Garretts, 
Mannings, and Gen. James Robertson and family were 
members of the society. In 1817 the house of worship 
was found to be too remote from the centre of population, 
and another was erected on Spring Street, between Cherry 
and College Streets, covering one entire lot. It was built 
high, with galleries on three sides. This was the principal 
Methodist church in Nashville until 1832, and was the 
scene of many memorable revivals. 

With the occupation of the new house, Nashville, which 
had previously been the head of a circuit, became a station, 
and Rev. John John.son was assigned to it, with an allow- 
ance of his table expense, one hundred dollars each to 
himself and wife annually, and sixteen dollars for each 
child under seven years of age. " This," his wife says, in 
writing of her husband, " was an ample allowance." His 
salary was afterwards fixed at six hundred dollars a year. 

Here the first Methodist Sunday-school in Middle Ten- 
nessee was organized, and from this church went out the 



326 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



influence resulting in a church in South Nashville, or " Col- 
lege Side," as it was then called, at New Hope across the 
river, at the camp-ground in Robertson's Bend, and among 
the colored people in the northern part of the city. From 
this Old Spring Street Church swarmed also, as bees from 
a hive. Elm Street Church, North High Street, West End, 
Carroll Street, Tulip, Hobson Chapel, North Edgefield, Ar- 
lington, Trinity, Woodbine, and Caper's Chapel (colored). 

As the result of a great revival in 1831-32 a spacious 
edifice was erected under the pastoral efforts of Revs. L. D. 
Overall and J. B. McFerrin, and completed during the 
pastorate of Revs. A. L. P. Green and P. B. Robinson in 
1833. The first sermon in this church was delivered by 
Rev. Bishop McKendree, who was followed by Rev. John 
Newland Maffitt in a revival of some weeks' duration. Much 
of the best talent of the church has been employed here, 
from the days of Learner Blackman and John Johnson to 
the present time. 

This church takes its name from the late venerable 
Bishop William McKendree,'^ and exercises a wide-spread 
influence as being at the head of the Methodist Church 
South. It is here the bishops hold their annual meetings. 
Among its principal laymen have been Joseph T. Elliston, 
John Price, Richard Garrett, Joseph Litton, Joel M. Smith, 
W. H. Jloore, Robert Weakley, H. R. W. Hill, Thomas 
J. Read, and, more recently, S. P. Ament, Isaac Paul, 
Washington Cooper, P. W. Maxoy, Sterling Brewer. Mat- 
thew H. Quinn and Simpson Shepherd were local preach- 
ers. 

When a new churcl\ was decided on, November, 1876, 
a building committee was appointed, consisting of George 
W. Smith, chairman. Dr. W. H. Morgan, James Whit- 
worth, James Hawkins, and Newton McClure, who still 
constitute the committee. Hugh C. Thompson, of Edge- 
field, was chosen architect. In April, 1877, the Sunday- 
school room was ready for use. One unusual feature in 
the work was the construction of the lecture-room so as to 
be finished and occupied while the main building was being 
completed, so that the old house was not pulled down until 
the basement room was ready. This was successfully ac- 
complished, and the worship in the building was only in- 
terrupted during one Sunday, April 8, 1877, when the 
congregation worshiped at the First Cumberland Presby- 
terian church. 

On Easter Sunday, the 1st day of April, 1877, the main 
room of the old church was used for the last time for 
church services. Though the rain was pouring down, the 
church was crowded with those to whom the old building 
was endeared by many past associations. 

The corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies. 
May 8, 1877, Bishops Paine, Pierce, Wightman, Kava- 
naugh, Keener, Doggett, and McTyeire being present. 
Suitable addresses were made by Bishops Kavanaugh and 
Doggett ; Bishop Pierce ofi'ered the prayer, and Bishop 
Whitman read. The stone was then laid by Bishop Paine. 
In this stone among other things were placed portraits of 
Rev. Dr. Baldwin and his wife and a list of the survivinn; 



» The last sermon precichcd by Bisliop McKenJrce was delivered 
in tliis church, Nov. 23, 1S34. 



members of the first year's existence of the church. 
Twelve of these members were then living and holding 
their membership in the church. Of these, nine still sur- 
vive, — Mortimer Hamilton, BIrs. Mortimer Hamilton, Mrs. 
Sallie W. Hill, Mrs. W. B. Cooper, Mrs. Jesse Thomas, 
Mrs. A. L. P. Green, Mrs. Sarah Mitchell, William Cam- 
eron, and James A. MoAlister. 

This building was eighty by one hundred feet, exclusive 
of an alcove in the rear. The front trimmings were of 
stone and the roof of slate. There were three towers on 
the front, the centre one two hundred and thirty-two feet 
high, and one on each side one hundred and thirty feet in 
height. The centre tower cost two thousand eight hun- 
dred dollars. 

In the tower was hung the bell of the old McKendree 
church. This bell, a fine one, was donated to the church 
in 1833 by Harry Hill, then a well-known cotton merchant, 
and still well remembered here. The entire cost was about 
thirty thousand dollars. 

This beautiful building was destroyed by fire in Novem- 
ber, 1879, soon after its completion. A still finer building 
is now being erected upon the same ground. 

The first Sunday-school in Middle Tennessee was organ- 
ized by Mrs. Grundy, wife of Hon. Felix Grundy, on the 
first Sunday of July, 1820, in a small frame house standing 
in a grove near t)ie site of the late McKendree church. 
There were present Mrs. Grundy, Nathan Ewing, Mildred 
Bloore, Samuel P. Ament, and about fifteen children. The 
school was opened with prayer by Mr. Ewing, followed by 
singing and instruction in Webster's Spelling-Book and the 
New Testament. 

In the year 1823, Isaac Paul, an apprentice-boy, opened 
a Sunday-school in the " Old Barracks." This finally be- 
came the Andrew Church Sunday-school. 

In 1832 the presiding elders were instructed by the 
Conference to use their best exertions in the establishment 
of Sunday-schools, and each assistant preacher was instructed 
to organize schools at every meeting-place possible, under 
the auspices of the Sunday -School Union of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

In 1828 preaching was held and a church organized in 
a small log cabin on Front Street. New Hope, a small 
frame house two and a half miles out of the city, on the 
Gallatin road, was also a preaching-place. Here, among 
others, the Weakleys, Vaughns, and Maseys held member- 
ship. AVilliam Maxey's house was a favorite stopping-place 
for Bishops Asbury and McKendree. At Robertson's 
Bend was the Nashville camp-ground, a regular station. 

Near the Sulphur Spring a commodious brick house, 
erected for the colored people in 1826, was thronged with 
hearers every Sabbath. To supply all these stations was 
the work of two men, assisted by local preachers. The 
returns at the next Conference were, whites, three hundred 
and ninety-two ; colored, two hundred and eighty-three. 

In 1834, James Gwin was appointed to the African 
mission in Nashville and vicinity. He had an almost un- 
limited influence with the colored people, and accomplished 
much good among them, returning eight hundred and ten 
members at the next Conference. The white membership 
was increased to seven hundred and eighty. The Front 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



327 



Street church having become dilapidated, a lot was selected 
on the corner of Market and Franklin Streets in 1837, and 
a comfortable house built. Here the College Hill congre- 
gation worshiped until 1847, when seventy-two feet front- 
ing on Franklin Street were procured, and the Andrew 
church — named in honor of Bishop James 0. Andrew — 
erected thereon. In course of time IMulberry Street church 
was built, and occupied as a second station on College Hill. 
This resulted from preaching in the " Elysian Grove," on 
the premises of Isaac Paul, a leading spirit in the enterprise. 
Within a few years both the Andrew and Mulberry Street 
(Elysian Grove) houses have been sold, and their congre- 
gations united in a new house of worship on Elm Street. 

Spruce Street Chitrch, a neat little brick house west of 
the State Capitol, numbered one hundred and fifty members 
in 1854. This building was destroyed by fire during the 
late war. There were at that date. South Nashville, num- 
bering ninety members, and at Edgefield one hundred and 
six, making, with the old churches, an aggregate of one 
thousand and thirteen white — besides the six hundred and 
sixty-eight colored members and a school-house charge on 
the Gallatin Pike — in Nashville alone. The reports for 
1860 included also Hobson Chapel, Trinity, Russell Street, 
German, and City Missions, with four hundred and seventy- 
one new members. 

At the outbreak of the war there were McKendree, 
Andrew, and Blulberry churches, Claiborne chapel, in the 
eastern part of the city, Spruce Street, Caper's chapel, a 
large brick edifice erected near the Chattanooga depot, for 
colored people, Andrew chapel for colored members, Tulip 
Street, partly built, and those above mentioned, of which 
Trinity, a fine brick building, was two miles from the city. 

On the Federal occupation the churches which were not 
destroyed were turned into hospitals for sick and wounded 
soldiers, or occupied by Northern preachers who accom- 
panied the army, and were sent by Northern bishops of the 
Metliodist Episcopal Church, under orders from the Secre- 
tary of War, to take possession of church property. When 
the Confederate troops and citizen refugees returned, at the 
close of the war, the McKendree church and parsonage were 
occupied by Rev. Mr. Gee, an appointee of a Northern 
bishop ; Andrew, by colored people, protected by United 
States troops ; Claiborne and Spruce Street, destroyed ; 
Hobson chapel, a government moat-house; North Edgefield 
church, torn down for the materials, and the African 
churches occupied by colored refugees ; Trinity and the 
German church had no congregations; Mulberry was a 
forage depot. 

At the Conference which met in October, 1865, at the 
Tulip Street church, there were reported, SIcKcndree and 
Caper's chapel, colored ; Andrew and Andrew chapel. Mul- 
berry, Claiborne, Hobson, City Mission, Tulip, Edgefield, 
and Trinity, with a membership of only six hundred and 
seventy-nine, all told. 

The churches were returned by order of the President, 
and the pastors and people went to work to build up the 
cause of religion anew. From that time the church has 
pi'ospered. McKendree had attained to eight hundred 
and ninety-one membership by 1873. A new and elegant 
church, on Elm Street, replaced Mulberry and Andrew, 



Sawrie, a brick church at North Nashville, was built. Tulip 
completed, and Caper's chapel restored. Trinity was repaired 
and a new house erected at North Edgefield. These repre- 
sented a white membership of one thousand two hundred 
and sixty in 1872. 

The Claiborne church was replaced by a new house on 
Carroll Street, and another erected at West End. 

Hobson chapel was built in Edgfield in 1850, and used 
as a house of worship until 1867, when a fine building was 
erected a mile flirther east, and it was sold. The old chapel 
has since been occupied as an academy. A fine parsonage 
joins the new church. 

A church was built in Lower Edgefield in 1854, and was 
for many years known as " the Railroad Church." Mr. 
D. B. Hicks donated liberally for its erection, and Dr. 
Shelby gave the land it occupied. It was dedicated by Rev. 
Bishop Andrew in 1855, and continued to be used for wor- 
ship until the opening of the war. It was moved a short 
distance in 1857, to make way for the railroad, and was 
destroyed in 1862. 

27ie Andrew Chitrch, which stood near the medical col- 
lege, was sold for the use of the colored people, and became 
known after the war as the Clark Chapel. 

The Tulip Street Church -was built in 1859-60, on lands 
fronting on Russel and Tulip Streets, Edgefield. This is 
now one of the most flourishing churches in the city, and 
has a well-supported Sabbath-school. 

The table on the following page shows the strength of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South in Davidson County 
in 1880. 

Arlington includes also Merril's chapel. 

Greenland, or Alexander Green, is a part of Nashville 
District. 

Hermitage Circuit includes McWhortersville, in District 
No. 2; Dodson's chapel, in No. 4, near the Hermitage; 
Pleasant Grove, in No. 14, on the Richland pike ; Penning- 
ton chapel ; and Gower's chapel, south of Bell's Bend and 
near the centre of District No. 12. 

Midway Circuit, which is a part of the Gallatin District, 
includes Midway, Goodlettsville, in District No. 20, near 
the Sumner county-line, and Beech Grove and Cool Springs 
churches in District No. 22, on White's Creek, in the north 
part of the county. 

Forest Grove mission includes Luton, Slater's, and Simp- 
son's chapels, in District No. 3, and north of White's Bend. 

In Murfrecsboro' District, Woodbine is included with 
Thompson's Chapel in District No. 8, on the Nolinsville road. 

Hamilton's Chapel, in District No. 5, on the Murfrecs- 
boro' pike, is the only church of the Hollandale Circuit 
within the bounds of this county. 

The various dates at which these were organized can 
only be fixed in a few cases, and that chiefly by tradition, 
owing to the few local records kept and the changes brought 
about by the war. Circuits have been made and preachers 
appointed who traveled them, changing the place of worship 
as convenience demanded. Houses of worship disappeared 
before the invading armies, that their materials might be 
used in supplying the pressing needs of the day for building 
field-quarters and for fuel, until, at the return of peace, an ^ 
almost entirely new beginning was made, as in the city. 



328 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



DISTRICT. 


1 

12 
2 


Sunday-Schools. 


Chobches. 


Parson- 
ages. 


= 1 

II 

^3 


Moneys Expended, ^^i 

i 


S 

s 
a 


S 

3 

12; 


-3 

£•3 
St 

o 


'o 

1 


"" >> 

ll 
> 


i 

e 


a 

s 
in 




s 
e 

3 


2 
1 


■O- TO 

III 


Si 

— P 


Nashville. 
West End 


279 
301 

88 
116 
420 
152 

83 
252 
296 
570 
100 
866 
743 

312 
230 

260 
68 


1 
1 
2 

1 
1 
1 
1 
3 
4 
4 
1 
1 
1 

5 
6 

5 


21 
23 
21 
16 
37 
15 

7 
18 
36 
28 

6 
36 
39 

29 

42 

26 


221 
200 
124 
211 
279 
109 

47 
160 
263 
110 

30 
270 
360 

225 
125 

222 




1 

1 

2 
1 

1 
1 
1 

2 
3 
6 

1 
1 
1 

4 
5 

3 


300 
900 
300 
.300 
500 
285 
300 
550 
750 

1,650 
100 

1,250 
524 

830 
1,200 

950 


S5,000 

7,000 

3,000 

3,000 

8,1100 

2,700 

4,300 

4,000 

2,000 

3,330 

500 

60.000 

1&,000 

.4,200 
2,200 

2,500 








$110.00 
177.37 
61.56 
72.65 
400.00 
51.50 
51.75 
68.35 
33.25 
10.00 


$251.27, 

1,176.80 ' 

438.00 ' 

480.00,i 

300.00 ' 

48.00 ; 

13,273.50 
177.8(H 

■j 


Carroll Street 


208 
284 
517 
1150 
185 
300 
245 
310 
120 






S450 










3 

5 
2 
1 


Tulip Street 


1 


$4,000 


600 
100 
100 
150 


North Edo-eficld 


Hobson Chapel 


1 


1,700 




1 
5 
2 
6 
3 

2 
5 

1 
1 




















625 




324 
374 

300 
300 

200 


2 
1 


7,500 
1,000 


245.00 
439.91 

39.20 


Elm Street 


300 
SO 


Gallatin. 










MURFREESDORO'. 


1 


600 




75.00 




Ilollandalo 




1 


Total 
























51 


4594 


38 


400 


2956 


4817 


33 


10,689 


$126,730 


6 


S14,700 


$2305 


$1835.44 


$16,145.37] 





The following is a list of the presiding elders for the 
territory of Davidson County, now included in the Nash- 
ville District, and parts of Murfreesboro' and Gallatin Dis- 
tricts, with their stationed and circuit preachers : 

1802. — -William McKendree, Presiding Elder; Levin 
Edney. 

1803.— John Page, Presiding Elder; Thomas Wilker- 
son, P. C. Edney. 

1804. — Lewis Garrett, Presiding Elder; Levin Edney, 
Fletcher Sullivan, William Crutchficld. 

1805. — William McKendree, Presiding Elder; Nash- 
ville, Zadok B. Thaxton. 

1806. — William McKendree, Presiding Elder; Jacob 
Young,* Hezekiah Shaw. 

1807. — James Ward, Presiding Elder; Joseph Oglesby, 
David Young. 

1808.— Miles Harper, Presiding Elder ; Elisha P. Bow- 
man. 

1809. — Learner Blackman, Presiding Eider. 

1810. — Learner Blackman, Presiding Elder; William 
B. Elgin. 

Nashville District. 

1811. — Learner Blackman, Presiding Elder. 

1812. — Learner Blackman, Presiding Elder; John John- 
son. 

1813. — Learner Blackman, Presiding Elder; Thomas 
L. Douglass, Nashville ; John Henninger, Nashville Cir- 
cuit. 

181-1. — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; Baker 
Wrather, Nashville. 

* Elder Young says of himself in his autobiography, "McKendree 
went towards Nashville, David Young towards Eddyville, and I to 
Nashville Circuit. This was the largest field of labor assigned me 
by the bishop, and I trembled under the responsibility. I found by 
looking over the minutes that the membership was very large, and 
the local preachers upwards of ioriy, many of whom had been trav- 
eling preachers, and wore men of splendid talents." 



1815. — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; Hardy 
M. Cryer, Nashville. 

1816. — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; Willian 
McMahon, Nashville. 

1817. — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; Nil^ 
Harper, Nashville. 

1818.— William McMahon, Presiding Elder; Johi 
Johnson, Nashville ; Hartwell H. Brown, Thomas L. 
Douglass (Supernumerary), Nashville Circuit. 

181D. — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; John i| 
Johnson, Nashville; Sterling C. Brown, Nashville Circuit. 

1820. — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; Hartwell' 
H. Brown, Nashville ; Samuel Hartwell, Kichard W. Mor- 
ris, Nashville Circuit. 

1821.^ — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; Thomas 
Stringfiold, Nashville ; Benjamin P. Seweli, John Brooks, 
John Rains, Nashville Circuit. 

1822. — Thomas L. Douglass, Presiding Elder ; Benjamin 
P. Seweli, Nashville; R. Ledbetter, N. D. Scales, T. J. 
Neely, Nashville Circuit. 

1823. — James Gwin, Presiding Elder; Lewis Garrett, 
Sr., Nashville ; Joshua W. Kilpatrick, William Johnson, 
Nashville Circuit. 

1824.— Lewis Garrett, Presiding Elder; Robert Paine, 
Nashville; Elijah Kirkman, William V. Douglass, Thomas 
L. Douglass (Supernumerary), Nashville Circuit. 

1825. — Lewis Garrett, Presiding Elder ; Robert Paines, 
Nashville; E. Kirkman, A. B. Rozell, T.'L. Douglas 
(Supernumerary), Nashville Circuit. 

1826.— Robert Paine, Presiding Elder ; James W. Allen, 
Nashville ; John Page, D. C. McLeod, J. W. Kilpatrick 
(Supernumerary), Nashville Circuit. 

1827. — Robert Paine, Presiding Elder; James Rowe, 
Nashville ; John M. Holland, J. B. Summers, Benjamin S. 
Clardy (Supernumerary), Nashville Circuit. 

1828. — Robert Paine, Presiding Elder; James Gwin, 
Nashville ; James Tarrant, H. B. North, Nashville Circuit. 




^^,^^,a 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



329 



1829.— L. Garrett, Presiding Elder ; James Gwin, A. L. 
P. Greon, Nasliville. 

1830.— L. Garrett, Presidinp; Elder; John M. Holland, 
A. L. P. Green, James Gwin (Supernumerary), Nashville; 
G. W. D. Harris, Edward D. Sims, Nashville Cireuit. 

1831.— L. Garrett, Presiding Elder; Lorenzo D. Over- 
all, John B. MePerren, James Gwin (Supernumerary), 
Nashville; Fountain E. Pitts, Greenbury Garrett, Thomas 
L. Douglass (Supernumerary), Nashville Circuit. 

1832.— William McMahon, Presiding Elder; A. L. P. 
Green, Pleasant B. Robinson, J. Gwin, African Missions, 
Nashville ; Greenbury Garrett, E. J. Dodson, T. L. Doug- 
lass (Supernumerary), Nashville Circuit. 

1833. — T. L. Douglass, Presiding Elder ; Fountain E. 
Pitts, S. S. Moody, D. F. Alexander, Nashville ; James 
Gwin, African Blission ; E. J. Dodson, Erastus B. Duncan, 
Nashville Circuit. 

1834.— T. L. Douglass, Presiding Eider; F. E. Pitts, 
Nashville ; F. G. Ferguson, College Hill ; James Gwin, 
African Mission ; D. C. McLcod, S. S. Yarborough, Nash- 
' ville Circuit. 

1835.— T. L. Douglass, Presiding Elder; J. B. BIoFer- 
rin, R. Jones, L. Garrett (Supernumerary), Na.shville ; J. 
Wiliiams, B. F. Weakley, Nashville Circuit. 

1836.— P. E. Pitts, Presiding Elder; Robert L. An- 

■ drews, T. L. Douglass (Supernumerary), Nashville ; George 
AV. Morris, George R. Jordan, Circuit; James Gwin (Su- 
pernumerary), African IMission. 

1837.- F. E. Pitts, Presiding Polder; A. L. P. Green, 
Alexander Wiubourne, Nashville ; William Mulkey, George 
W. Sneed, Circuit. 

1838.- F. E. Pitts, Presiding Eider; A. L. P. Green, 
D. F. Sawrie, Nashville; Cornelius Evans, Warren M. 

■ Pitts, Circuit. 

1839.— F. E. Pitts, Presiding Elder; J. B. MoPerren, 
McKendree ; S. S. Yarborough, College Hill; John Rains, 
African Mission ; John Kelley, T. N. Lankford, Circuit, 
i 1840.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; J. W. Han- 
ner, McKendree ; S. S. Yarborough (Supernumerary) ; John 
Shcrrill, College Hill; G. W. Martin, Circuit. 

1841.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; J. W. Ban- 
ner, McKendree; AV. H. Wilkes, College Hill; Martin 
Clark, Thomas B. Craighead, Circuit. 

1842.— A. L, P. Green, Presiding Elder; Thomas 
Handle, McKendree; Joseph B. Walker, College Hill; 
John H. Mann, H. A. Graves, Circuit. 

1843.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; Philip P. 
Neely, McKendree ; Adam S. Riggs, College Hill ; Martin 
Clark, African Mission. 

1844. — John W. Hanner, Presiding Elder; Fountain 
•B. Pitts, McKendree; W. D. F. Sawrie, Andrew; Robert 
G. Ervine, North Nashville; J. Willis, African Mission; 
Benjamin R. Gaut, James R. Plummer, Circuit. 

1845.— John W. Hanner, Presiding Elder; F. E. Pitt.s, 
McKendree ; Lewis C. Bryan, Andrew ; J. Willis, African 
Mission; Mark W. Gray, Joseph S. Slalone, Circuit. 

184G.— J. W. Hanner, Presiding Elder; Edward C. 
Slater, McKendree ; F. E. Pitts, Andrew ; Joseph B. West, 
Spruce Street; F. E. Pitts, African IMission; Mark W. 
Gray, John A. Jones, Circuit. 
42 



1847.— J, W. Hanner, Presiding Elder; E. C. Slater, 
McKendree; F. E. Pitts, Andrew; Joseph B. West, 
Spruce Street ; F. E. Pitts, African Mission ; C. C. May- 
hew, Ferdinand S. Petway, R. Ledbetter (Supernumerary), 
Circuit. 

1848.— Samuel S. Moody, Presiding Elder; Adam S. 
Briggs, McKendree ; Joseph S. Malone, Andrew ; Thomas 
G. Marks, Spruce Street ; F. E. Pitts, African Mission ; 
C. C. Mayhew, J. Hill, G. W. Sneed, Circuit. 

1849. — -Ambrose F. Driskill, Presiding Elder; Lewis C. 
Bryan, McKendree; Garrett W. Martin, Andrew; Joseph 
S. Malone, Spruce Street ; Thomas B. Marks, African 
Mission ; John S. Williams, Cireuit. 

1850. — A. F. Driskill, Presiding Elder; Joseph Cross, 
McKendree ; Robert C. Hatton, Andrew ; William H. 
Johnson, Spruce Street; William H. Johnson, African 
Mission. 

1851. — A. F. Driskill, Presiding Elder; Joseph Cross, 
McKendree; John Mathews, Andrew; Arthur W. Smith, 
Spruce Street; William H. Johnson, African Mission. 

1852. — A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; Edward 
Wadsworth, McKendree; Thomas N. Lankford, Berry; 
M. Stevens, Thomas J. Neely, William F. Shapard, F. E. 
Pitts (Supernumerary), other station; Elisha Carr, African 
Mission. 

1853. — A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; Edward 
Wadsworth, McKendree; C. C. Mayhew, James H. 
Ritchey, Simon P. Whitten, William Shapard, Thomas N. 
Lankford, William R. Warren, Station ; Elisha Carr, 
Colored Charge. 

1854. — A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; Alexander R. 
Erwin, McKendree ; Edward Wadsworth, C. C. Mayhew, 
F. S. Petway, Lewis C. Bryan, W. R. Warren, Station ; 
Thomas N. Lankford, Colored Charge. 

1855. — A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; A. R. Erwin, 
McKendree ; Caleb B. Davis, Elisha Carr, John R. Har- 
well, William R. Warren, William C. Johnson, Station ; 
Philip Barth, German MLssion ; John A. Ellis, City Mis- 
sion ; Thomas N. Lankford, J. S. Malone, Colored Charge. 
1856.— W. D. F. Sawrie, Presiding Elder; Adam S. 
Riggs, McKendree; C. B. Davis, William R. Warren, Wil- 
liam Large, Station ; William P. Hickman, Circuit; Philip 
Barth, German Mission ; T. N. Lankford, Colored Charge. 
1857. — Adam S. Riggs, Presiding Elder; William G. 
Dorris, McKendree; S. P. Whitten, Jesse J. Ellis, B. M. 
Stevens, William Burr, F. E. Pitts, J. A. Ellis, W. R. 
Warren, E. Carr, Station ; Henry AVheeler, Circuit ; Philip 
Barth, German Mission ; T. N. Lankford, Colored Charge. 
1858.— Adam S. Riggs, Presiding Elder; William D. 
F. Sawrie, William R. V/arren, McKendree; Thomas 
Wainwright, Andrew; Berry SI. Stevens, Elysian Grove; 
Philip Barth, German Mission ; William Burr, F. E. Pitts, 
Hobson Chapel ; R. S. Hunter, Edgefield and Trinity ; J. 
R. Harwell, P]lisha Carr, City Mission; William Randle, 
African Mission ; James M. Campbell, Circuit. 

1859.— Adam S. Riggs, Presiding Elder; John ^Y. 
Hanner, William R. Warren, McKendree; W. Randle, 
Colored Mission ; S. Barth, German Mission ; Robert K. 
Brown, Mulberry Street; Simon P. Whitten, Andrew; C. 
C. Blayhew, Elisha Carr, City Mission ; William Burr, 



S30 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Edgefield, Trinity, and Eussell Street ; Joseph S. Malone, 
Robert S. Hunter, Circuit. 

18G0.— A. S. Eiggs, Presiding Elder; J. W. Banner, 
Elisha Carr, McKendree and Caper's; W. G. Dorris, W. 
R. Warren, Andrew; John A. Edmunson, E. G. Robert- 
son, L. C. Bryan, E. B. Duncan, Cliapels ; Francis M. 
Hickman, A. T. Crawford, John R. Thompson, Circuits. 

1861.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; S. D. Bald- 
win, W. R. Warren, BIcKcndrce and Caper's; W. D. F. 
Sawrio, Andrew and Chapel ; J. D. Barbee, Mulberry 
Street and Claiborne; James G. Hinson, Frederick L. 
Thompson, John R. Thompson, Circuit; Fountain E. Pitts, 
John A. Ellis, Jeremiah W. Cullom, John A. Edmunson, 
Chaplains in C. A. 

1862.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder ; S. D. Bald- 
win, McKendree ; Garrett W. Martin, E. Carr, Mulberry 
Street, Claiborne, and City Blission ; William M. Green, 
Hobson ; J. II. Gardner, Tulip Street, Edgefield, and 
Trinity ; G. W. Russell, F. L. Thompson, John L. Allen, 
Circuit; Lewis C. Bryan, White's Creek; John J. Comer, 
Harpeth. 

1863-64. — No sessions of Conference. 

1865.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; Samuel D. 
Baldwin, Elisha Carr, JIcKendree and Caper's ; Carroll C. 
Mayhew, Andrew ; A. W. Smith, W. E. Warren, Mul- 
berry ; W. D. F. Sawrie, City Mission ; R. A. Young, 
Tulip and Hobson ; Felix R. Hill, Trinity and Ewing; J. 
R. Thompson, Circuit ; William P. Owens, Willis G. Davis, 
Harpeth ; F. E. Pitts, Goodlettsvillc. 

1866.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder ; R. A. Young, 
W. R. Warren (Supernumerary), McKendree and Caper's ; 

C. C. Blayhew, Andrew and JIulberry ; J. D. Baibee, Tulip 
and Hobson; F. R. Hill, Trinity and Ewing Chapels; W. 

D. Cherry, P. T. Jlartin, B. F. Ferrill, F. E. Pitts (Super- 
numerary), Circuit; W. D. F. Sawrie, City Mission. 

1867.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; Robert A. 
Young, James D. Barbee, John W. Hanner, A. W. Smith, 
■W. R. Warren (Supernumerary), Station ; W. D. Cherry, 
P. T. Martin, B. F. Ferrill, Circuit; W. D. F. Sawrie, C. 
C. Mayhew, City Mission. 

■ 1868.— A. L. P. Green, Presiding Elder; R. A. Young, 
J. D. J3arbee, J. W. Hanner, E. R? Shapard, W. R. War- 
ren, G. P. Jackson, Station ; II. D. Ilogan, B. F. Ferrell, 
Circuit ; W. D. F. Sawrie, City Mission. 

■1869.— J. W. Hanner, Presiding Elder; R. A. Young, 
J. A. OiTuan, S. L. Orman (Supernumerary), D. C. Kelley, 
Thomas Maddin, W. R. Warren, R. L. Fagan, Station ; 
G. W. Martin, L. C. Bryan, J. II. Richardson, Circuit ; 
W. D. F. Sawrie, C. C. Mayhew, City Missions. 

1870.— J. W. Hanner, Sr., Presiding Elder; D. C. 
Kelley, R. A. Young, R. K. Brown, T. 0. Summers, Jr., 
J. W. Hill, T. B. Fisher, L. C. Bryan, F. F. Fagan, Sta- 
tion ; W. D. F. Sawrie, Henry D. Hogan, W. R. Warren 
(Supernumerary), Slission. 

1871.— J. W. Hanner, Presiding Elder; D. C. Kelley, 
R. A. Young, R. K. Brown, William R. Warren, J. W. 
Hill, T. B. Fisher, Station ; W. D. F. Sawrie, John Rains, 
City Mission ; F. F. Fagan, W. G. Dorris, A. C. Mathews, 
Circuit. 
. 1872.— J. W. Hanner, Presiding Elder; D. C. Kelley, 



S. M. Merrill, R. A. Young, Jl. K. Brown, P. A. Sowell, 
J. AV. Hill, T. B. Fisher, Station ; W. G. Dorris, John 
Chambliss, Circuit ; W. W. Brinsfield, City Mission. 
1873.— D. C. Kelley, Presiding Elder ; R. K. Hargrove, 

F. E. Pitts, Felix R. Hill, W. D. F. Sawrie, R. K. B^rown, 
Edward T. Hart, William R. Warren (Supernumerary), 
W. M. Doyle, James W. Hill, Station ; J. J. Ellis, A. P. 
McFerrin, J. J. Pitts, George W. Winn, John Rains, Cir- 
cuit ; W. W. Brinsfield, City Mission. 

1874. — D. C. Kelley, Presiding Elder; R. K. Hargrove, 
W. BI. Green, F. R. Hill, W. D. F. Sawrie, John Rains 
(Supernumerary), J. W. Hill, J. J. Ransom, J. W. Hanner, 
Jr., T. A. Kerley, W. R. Warren (Supernumerary), E. T. 
Hart, A. P. McFerrin, M. A. Erwin, G. W. Winn, A. 
Mizell, T. B. Marks, J. W. Bell, Station ; W. W. Brins- 
field, Circuit. 

1875.— R. K. Hargrove, Presiding Elder; D. C. Kelley, 
W. M. Green, F. R. Hill, W. R. Lambeth, J. G. Myers, 
J. Rains (Supernumerary), J. W. Hill, J. T. Pittman, J. 
P. McFerrin, J. A. McFerrin, W. R. AVarren (Supernum- 
erary), E. T. I-Iait, D. F. Haynes, W. R. Peebles, J. W. 
Boll, Station ; J. Nichols, City Mission. 

1876.— R. K. Hargrove, Presiding Elder; D. C. Kelley, 
W. R. Lambeth, J. Rains (Supernumerary), F. R. Hill, 
Jasper Nichols, William M. Green, W. H. Wilkes, J. W. 
Hill, J. P. McFerrin, W. M. Leftwich, W. R. Warren 
(Supernumerary), J. G. Blyers, W. R. Peebles, Station ; 
W. W. Brinsfield, City Mission ; A. P. McFerrin, A. C. 
Matthews, Goodlettsvillc. 

1877.— R. K. Hargrove, Presiding Elder; D. C. Kelley, 
John Rains (Supernumerary), William M. Leftwich, J.J. 
Pitts, William M. Green, Thomas L. Moody, Lewis C. 
Bryan, J. P. McFerrin, William H. Doss, Clinton Clenny, 
John G. Bolton, Station ; William W. Brinsfield, Sawrie 
Chapel and City Mission; U. S. Bates, Riverside; John 
W. Hensley, Hollaudale; Pinkney T. Martin, Nashville 
Circuit. 

1878.— R. K. Hargrove, Presiding Elder ; D. C. Kelley, 
John Rains (Supernumerary), W. M. Leftwich, J. W. Hill, 
A. Mizell (Supernumerary), T. L. Moody, L. C. Bryan, T. 
A. Kerley, J. B. West, J. B. Hamilton (Supernumerary), 
R. E. Travis, W. R. Warren (Supernumerary), Clinton 
'Clenny, John Bell, Station ; A. P. McFerrin, Hermitage; 
A. M. Thornton, Riverside; W. D. Cherry, Nashville; W. 

G. Dorris, Midway; J. II. Roberts, Forest Grove; George 
W. Winn, Woodbine; W. R. Bellamy, Hollandale Circuit. 

1879.— W. D. F. Sawrie, Presiding Elder ; J. B. West, 
McKendree; R. K. Brown, J. W. Hill, Clinton ClennyJ 
L. C. Bryan, R. A. Reagan, J. M Wright, J. B. Hamilf 
ton (Supernumerary), R. E. Travis, W. R. Warren (Supefl 
numerary), T. A. Kerley, Lewis Powell, Station ; G. 
Hensley, Riverside ; William McQueen, Nashville ; B. 
Ferrell, A. C. Matthews (Supernumerary), Blidway; R. !E 
Gray, Forest Grove; G. W. Winn, Woodbine; 0. G. Hall^ 
burton, Hollandale Circuit. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The reorganization of the Methodist Episcopal Churcli 
in Davidson County was begun by Rev. M. J. Cramer in 
1864-. A society was organized in Nashville and held ser-^ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



331 



vices for a time in the McKendrcc cliuvcli, and afterwards 
in tlie Masonic Hall. llev. Mr. Cramer was followed in the 
pastorate by Revs. AV. H. Norris, A. A. Gee, and D. F. 
Holmes, D.D. During Dr. Holmes' pastorate a lot was 
purchased on Park Street, extending back to Summer 
Street, near Capitol Avenue. A chapel thirty by fifty feet 
was erected on the Summer Street front and dedicated in 
October, 1876. 

The Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church was organized at Murfreesboro', Oct. 11, 18G6, by 
Rev. Bishop Clark. This church attached itself to that 
Conference, and was known as Union Chapel. Rev. D. 
Rutledge was then appointed pastor, and continued in 
charge three years. During his pastorate fifteen feet were 
attached to the length of the church, and a class-room 
nineteen feet square to the south side. Rev. F. A. Mason 
was the next pastor, and filled the full term of three years. 
The annual Conference of 1872 changed the name of the 
church to First Methodist Episcopal Church, and placed 
Rev.- J. A. Edmunson in charge. During the summer the 
cholera drove many of the membership and congregation 
from the city, broke up the Sunday-school, and for a time 
almost suspended public services. At this time. Rev. Mr. 
Edmunson resigned his pastorate, and Dr. Braden, presid- 
ing elder of the district, supplied the pulpit until the next 
session of Conference. 

The Conference which mot in October, 1873, left the 
: First Church to be supplied. Rev. J. A. Lansing was ap- 
' pointed pastor in January, 187-1. The society, feeling that 
the church was poorly located, and pressed by a mortgage, 
determined to sell the property. Through the efforts of 
Rev. Mr. Lansing, a lot was purchased in April, on the 
corner of Spruce and Demonbreun Streets, one hundred by 
one hundred and nine feet, for eight thousand dollars. A 
building committee consisting of Dr. Braden, Rev. J. A. 
Lansing, W. W. Woodmaucy, H. Pierce, J. W. Austin, 
and J. Lewis, architect, was appointed. 

The house standing upon the lot was moved to one side 
( and refitted as a parsonage. The foundation of the church 
j was completed in Ma}', and by the last of December the 
walls were up and the roof on. In the fall of 1875, Rev. 
L. P. Causey was appointed pastor. For want of means, 
i but little work was done on the edifice during 1876. In 
February, 1877, the Union chapel was sold. The last ser- 
vice was held in that chapel March 4th, at which time all 
i church service was suspended. Work was resumed on the 
i new building on Spruce Street, and the lecture-room fin- 
ished and occupied for the first time by religious services. 
May 27, 1877. Rev. Mr. Causey, who had been returned 
i for the second time, held Sabbath-morning services only 
until the close of his pastorate. The Sunday-school was 
leorganized in July with but ten members. 
) By the action of the Tennessee Conference, in October, 
1877, this charge was then placed in the Central Tennessee 
Conference, which embraced the whole work in Middle and 
West Tennessee, and the name of the church changed to 
Spruce Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. L. A. 
Rudisill was at the same time appointed pastor. He found 
a Sunday-school of six grown persons and a boy, and an 
average congregation of ten persons. Nightly services were 



resumed, and earnest cliurch work carried on. In Novem- 
ber, 1878, a gracious revival was held which resulted in the 
conversion of half a hundred souls. This was followed in 
February, 1879, by another revival, in which over furty 
persons were converted. 

In October, 1879, the church was finished and ready for 
dedication. This service was postponed until December 
3d, at which time the Annual Conference was to hold its 
services in the church. The dedication service was per- 
formed by Rev. Bishop Wiley. At this time the society 
had iiK-reascd to one hundred and the Sunday-school to one 
hundred and fifty members. The building, whioli is of the 
Gothic style of architecture, consists of two rooms and their 
vestibules, with a seating capacity of about five hundred in 
the large and two hundred in the smaller hall. The seats in 
the main room are of a.sh and walnut beautifully blended, 
circular in form, and arranged in tiers. The steeple and a 
portion of the roof were blown down in the great gale of 
February, 1880, damaging a portion of the interior, and 
entailing a loss of one thousand dollars. This was promptly 
repaired. The present church property is valued at twenty 
thousand dollars. The last Conference returned Rev. Mr. 
Rudisill for the third year to this charge. Professor T. II. 
Corkill is superintendent of the Sunday-school. J. W. 
Austin was the first class-leader, and continues in that; 
office, with the assistance of J. W. Royce and Mrs. T. H. 
Corkill, who are earnest workers in their position. 

Clark Clicqiel, Methodist Ej)iscopal Church. — In the 
year 1847, Joseph T. EUiston conveyed to Isaac Paul and 
others, to be held in trust for the Methodist Episcopal 
Church South, a lot seventy-two by ninety feet, fronting on 
Franklin Street between College and Cherry Streets. On 
this site was erected a substantial brick edifice, called An- 
drew Church, so named in honor of Bishop James 0. 
Andrew. The society occupying the church had recently 
removed from the corner of BLirket and Franklin Streets, 
where they suffered no little embarrassment on account of 
a lack of sufficient room to accommodate the numbers who 
attended the services. They continued to worship at the 
latter place until the year 1865, when the property was sold. 
It was purchased by the Missionary Society of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. Some time during the same year 
a society was organized here by Bishop D. W. Clark, when 
the church assumed its present name. A board of trustees, 
consisting of Randal Brown, Squire Fain, Elias Polk, and 
others, was elected by the Quarterly Conference, to whom 
the property was afterwards deeded. To provide educa- 
tional facilities for a hitherto neglected portion of the 
citizens who were just emerging from slavery and its con- 
comitants, — ignorance and superstition, — a school was 
opened at once in the basement, where a largo number re- 
ceived instruction. Revs. John Seys and 0. 0. Knight had 
charge. This school formed the nucleus of what is now 
known as the Central Tennessee College. The new society 
commenced under favorable auspices and grew rapidly for a 
while, when its progress was arrested by an unfortunate 
division. A few bigoted persons succeeded, by slander and 
misrepresentation, in producing a feeling of dissatisfaction, 
which resulted in the withdrawal of a considerable number, 
who went out and formed themselves into an African 



I 



332 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Methodist Episcopal- Society. But notwithstanding this 
drawback the society lias steadily advanced in numbers and 
in moral power. It numbers at present three hundred and 
seventeen members, with a Sunday-school of about an equal 
number. The church was recently repaired, and presents 
at this time quite an attractive appearance. The following 
pastors have served the society at different times and in the 
order here given : Rev. John Seys, Rev. Daniel Brown, 
Rev. W. B. Crichlow, Rev. John Braden, D.D., Rev. W. 
S. Butler, assisted by Rev. Calvin Pickett, Rev. James 
Pickett, Rev. J. G. Thompson, Rev. W. S. Butler (second 
term). Rev. C. S. Smith, Rev. C. W. Woods, Rev. D. W. 
Hayes. 

The following is the list of the officers : Trustees, Peter 
Rainey, George Dickerson, Sumraerfield Brown, Randal 
Brown, Harrison Thompson, George Grubbs, Irwin C. 
Brown, Eli Feathcrston, Alfred Brown ; Stewards, George 
Dickerson, R. L. Knowles, A. Gleaver, H. Choars, H. T. 
Noel, Thomas Moore, A. Eagletori, Isaac Nicholson, Arthur 
Fite ; Sunday-school Superintendent, I. C. Brown ; Assist- 
ant, Miss Addie Pickett; Secretary, S. Brown ; Treasurer, 
Lark Oden ; Librarian, William Newson ; Class-Leaders, 
George Dickerson, I. Carter, Augustus Green, A. Bowman, 
Thomas Moore, A. Hamilton, W. Thompson, H. Chears, 
A. Eagleton, A. Fite, G. Grubbs, P. Rainey, A. Hunter, 
A. Childress. 

The following is the list of societies organized in the 
church to promote Christian work : 

Ladies' and Pastor's Christian Union. — President, Mrs. 
Martha Salter ; Secretary, Miss Lillie S. Love ; Treasurer, 
BIrs. Mary Carter. 

Ladies' Sewing-Circle. — President, Mrs. Elizabeth Por- 
ter ; Secretary, Miss Addie Pickett ; Treasurer, Mrs. Mary 
Bowman. 

Cliurch Aid and Missionary Society. — President, Mrs. 
Amelia Rose ; Secretary, R. L. Knowles ; Treasurer, ]Mrs. 
Sallie Odem. 

Haven Lyceum. — President, John Foster; Secretary, 
Miss Mary Lewis ; Treasurer, Miss Ava Brown. Leader 
of the Choir, I. C. Brown ; Organist, Mrs. Fanny Arm- 
strong. 

NASnVILLE CIRCUIT. 

The Nashville Circuit of the Blethodist Episcopal Church 
has the following appointments in Davidson County, — St. 
Mary, Flat-Rock, Briensvillo, and Thompson Chapel. 

St. Mary's Methodist Episcopal Church was organized 
by Rev. Ed. Moss and others about 1870, with fifteen mem- 
bers. The lot on the corner of Spring Street and Fairfield 
Avenue was purchased by Edward Moss and others, trus- 
tees, of R. Dorman. A small frame building was erected 
and regular services maintained. The church was entirely 
destroyed by fire about three years after it was built. The 
little society, however, immediately rebuilt, and in a few 
weeks the new house was opened for services. The Sun- 
day-school has been maintained regularly. The attendance 
averages about forty-five. Superintendent, Mrs. Mary 
Shelly. The membership is about forty. 

The church at Flat Rock, about two and one-half miles 
from Nashville, is a good frame building, well finished, 



valued at eight hundred dollars. The lot was a gift of a'l 
prominent citizen in the neighborhood. The church wasi 
finished about two years ago, although the society was or- 
ganized by Ed. Moss and G. W. Marsh in 1870. The 
Sunday-school numbers over seventy-five scholars. L."i 
Floyd is superintendent. 

The society at Briensville has been worshiping in the'i 
school-house, but arc now (1880) erecting a plain frame 
church ; this is near the National Cemetery. The Sunday- 
school numbers about sixty -five. E. Pettis is superinten- 
dent. The church has at present eighteen members. Tiiis 
society was organized about eight years ago. A new ' 
church is now in process of erection. 

Thompson Chapel, built in 18G9, is connected with thei 
Central Tennessee College, and has a varied membership of 
from twenty-five to seventy-five. The society is constantly i 
changing, as it is made up principally of students of the 
college. The Sunday-school was organized in 1868, and 
the average attendance is about one hundred. 

Stewards of the Circuit. — J. Brader, T. Mills, E. Pettis, 
W. Porter, J. Coleman, S. Ilartsficid, G. Baker, S. Hogg. 

Class-Leaders. — G. Clemmons, G. Finney, L. Floyd, 
Charles Jackson, W. Porter, G. Patton, D. Hartsfield, I. 
Hadley. 

The following have served as pastors in the order i 
named: C. Pickett, D. W. Hays, WilHam Leowood, B. B. 
Manson, BI. C. Young, J. G. Thompson, J. W. Pickett, W. 
LiUard. 

Brooks Chapel, at Methodist Episcopal church, Brent- 
wood, is situated nine miles from Nashville, on the Frank- 
lin pike. It was organized in 1866. The building first 
erected has been replaced by a larger and better structure. 
Blembership, 1880, eighty ; Sunday-school scholars, one 
hundred and twenty-five. Superintendent, Edward Couey ; 
Trustees, Jackson Leek, Edward Couey, Felix Hadley, 
Harry Wilson, A. Jackson, Thomas Young, William High- 
tower, Peter Phillips, Thomas W. Johnson. 

Mount Pisgah Mclliodist Episcopal Church is situated 
thirteen miles nearly south from Nashville. It was organ- 
ized in 1809, and has had regular services ever since. 
The present membership is one hundred and twenty-five, 
and Sunday-school scholars one hundred. Superintendent, 
Harvey Steger. At both these places good churches have 
been built. Trustees, Harvey Steger, George Primm, 
Jerry Waller, and James White. Stewards, Littleton 
Tellis, Madison Primm, and Ned Williams. 

Preachers who have served these churches as pastors: 
Gilbert Brooks, Calvin Pickett, Benjamin Goodlow, Bliles 
Smith, Henry Piimm, Frank AVillianis, Braxton James, 
Peter Martin, and Benjamin Anderson. 

German Methodist Episcopal Church. — This church 
was organized in connection with the Jlethodist Episcopal 
Cliurch South, in 1854, mainly through the influence of 
Mr. C. Cortes, the oldest and most faithful member of the 
present congregation. Rev. Philip Barth remained five 
years with this mission, doing good service. In 1855 a 
fine brick church was built on North College Street, east 
side, between Locust and Whiteside Streets. Sebastian 
Barth, brother of the first preacher, was his successor from 
1859 to 1861. For the next three years this flock was 




"S 



^\^ 




SAMUEL POLLARD AMENT. 



Samuel Pollard Ament, son of G. Ameut, was born 
May 12, 1803, near Lexington, Ky. When he was 
five years of age his parents removed to Barren 
Co., Ky., where they continued to reside till 1818, 
when they settled in Green County, of the same 
State. 

His father (G. Ament) was born in Germany, on 
the Rhine, in 1760, and canae to America during the 
Revolutionary war in 1778, and first settled in Phila- 
delphia, but emigrated from there to Kentucky at the 
age of twenty-one. He was educated for the Catho- 
lic priesthood, but changed his faith and became a 
prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. His wife was Hannah Metcalf, daughter 
of John Metcalf. He died Jan. 8, 1850, and was 
laid to rest on Brentz Hill, the spot lie had selected 
for his own burial. 

Samuel Pollard Ament remained with his parents 
in their Kentucky home until he was seventeen years 
of age, when he went to Glasgow, Ky., where he 
stayed only six months; thence he removed to Nash- 
ville, where lie settled June 15, 1820. 

His educational advantages having been quite lim- 
ited, he began to work as a carpenter, at ten dollars 



per month, and finally became an excellent workman, 
and as such he continued for twenty years. He 
bought a farm of one hundred and thirteen acres in 
Disti-ict 11, but, failing to obtain a good title, he gave 
it up in two years, and settled on the place where he 
now lives about 1848. 

From 1832 to 1838 he was engaged in the dry- 
goods business, and was very successful. In 1848 he 
went into the foundry and machine business, and con- 
tinued in it with prosperity for nine years. As a 
business man he has been a success. 

Nov. 3, 1825, he married Mary, daughter of Adam 
Carper, an old pioneer of Davidson County. She 
was born Oct. 13, 1800; died July 4, 1879. 

Twelve children were born to them ; two died in 
infancy, the remainder grew to maturity, and seven 
are now living. 

He united with the Methodist Episcopal Church 
when a youth ; his wife joined at eleven years of age, 
and she lived a consistent member till the day of 
her death. 

Mr. Ameut has always taken a deep interest in the 
Sunday-schools of his adopted city, and it is said he 
organized the first Sunday-school in Nashville. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



333 



■without a shepherd. In ISGrl tliey were supplied for six 
months by Rev. M. C. Cramer, then chaplain of a regiment 
of United States troops stationed about the city. llev. Mr. 
Cramer, a brother-in-law of Gen. Grant, is now (1880) a 
representative of the United States government as consul 
1 at Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1864, Rev. John Barth, a 
brother of the two former ministers, and a member of the 
Central German Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Churcli, was sent to take charge of this mission. In 
March, 18G7, this meeting-house was burned, and the 
present house of worship soon after erected on Cherry 
Street, between Jefferson and Monroe Streets. This house, 
which is a small but neat brick structure, was dedicated 
Aug. 4, 18(17. Rev. Mr. Barth was succeeded in 18G8 by 
Rev. J. Tanner, who remained two years, after whom came 
George Guth, three years, Henry E. Wulzen, the present 
pastor, and J. Chris. Wurster, three years, after which Mr. 
Wulzen returned, and has been stationed here for the past 
year. Many of the early members have moved away. There 
I are now sixty-five members in the church, and ninety-two 
officers and scholars in the Sunday-school. A neat parsonage 
; was built beside the church during the first pastorate of 
j Kev. Mr. Wulzen. The present officers are Jacob Juuger- 
' man, Peter Jeck, Stewards and Trustees ; George Zickler, 
J. Decker, P. Bueehli, Stewards ; P. Brunold, W. Cortes, 
and J. Fluekiger, Trustees. 

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The first session of the Tennessee Conference of this body 
was held in the old wooden chapel of St. Paul's Church, 
DOW used as a private school, on Cherry Street, south of the 
present church. 
',, Previously the colored people were organized in a general 
I body under the auspices of the Missouri General Confer- 
ence, whose efforts among the many colored people gathered 
about the city during the war were productive of much 
; good. 

■ The secretaries of the Conference since its organization 

1 have all been Davidson County men, except Rev. Mr. As- 

i, bury, and have served as follows : B. L. Brooks, 1868-69 ; 

' Morris Hamilton, 1870-72; B. L. Brooks, 1873; D. E. 

Asbury, 1874-75; Moses R. Johnson, 1876; C. 0. H. 

Thomas, 1877 ; George H. Shaffer, 1878 ; C. 0. H. 

Thomas, 1879. Rev. J. W. Early, of Nashville, has been 

book steward since its organization. There are twenty- 

, seven regular preachers and fourteen exhorters located 

within the county, which includes seven stations and five 

missions and circuits. 

Above twenty-five thousand dollars were realized by col- 
lection in 1879. Rt. Rev. Alexander W. Wyman, of Balti- 
more, Md., is presiding bishop of the Conference and 
missionary society. 

St. John's. — This was at first a part of the organization 
efi'eeted in Caper's chapel, Dec. 28, 1863, by BLshop Daniel 
A. Payne. By a legal decision concerning church property 
they were deprived of their house of worship in 1865, and 
compelled to reorganize separate from the Church South. 

Meetings were held in the opera-house until 1866 by 
Elder B. L. Brooks, who increased their numbers and 
caused a h.ouse of worship to be built during his three 



years' pastorate. Rev. H. Tyler became pastor in 1868, 
Henry A. Jackson in 1871, and Elder Jordan W. Early, 
now steward of the Conference, in 1872. He was succeeded 
in 1875 by Bloses R. Johnson, who remained until his 
death, in 1877, when Elder G. H. Shafi'er, from Chillieothe, 
Ohio, the present incumbent, became pastor. The first 
chapel was erected on Spruce Street, west of the State 
Capitol, in 1866-67. A large brick church is now being 
built at the corner of Cedar and Spruce Streets. The 
entire church property, including parsonage, is valued at 
fifteen thousand dollars. There are five preachers, six hun- 
dred and seventy-five members, and a Sunday-school num- 
bering three hundred and fifty scholars, with a library of 
eight hundred and thirty-one volumes. 

Si. Paul's. — This church was first gathered by Bishop 
Payne, of Xenia, Ohio, in 1863. Elder Austin Woodfork 
was pastor until 1865, and J. W. Early one year, during 
which the chapel on the corner of Cherry Street, near the 
corner of Franklin, was dedicated by Rt. Rev. Bishop 
Campbell. This was a wooden building, forty by eighty 
feet large. The first Annual Conference was held here in 
August, 1866, before the organization of the present Con- 
ference. A large brick church of beautiful architecture 
was commenced in 1872, and dedicated in September, 1878, 
by Rt. Rev. Bishop Alexander W. Wyman. The old 
meeting-house, on an adjoining lot, was then sold, and con- 
verted into a private colored school. The new house was 
partially blown down in a gale on the night of Feb. 12, 
1 880. It is now being rebuilt under the supervision of its 
pastor. Rev. J. W. Early. This church has two preachers, 
seven hundred and twenty-two members, and a Sunday- 
school of two hundred and fifty-one members, with a library 
of nine hundred volumes. Before the destruction of the 
church it was valued at forty thousand dollars. 

Bethel (formerly Liberty) Chapel is in the Tenth Dis- 
trict, just outside the city corporation, on Division Street. 
It was organized on Broad Street, near the Centennial 
Building, by Elder J. W. Early, in a house to which they 
gave the name of Liberty Chapel. Worship was moved, 
with the house, a quarter of a mile out on the Granny 
White pike, and the name changed to Bethel, in 1868. 

It was again moved in 1870-71, and rebuilt where the 
now church now stands. The present brick church was 
built in 1877, and first occupied for worship Feb. 8, 1880. 
The pastors have been J. W. Early, Nelson McGavock, M. 
Howard, Louis N. Merry, William H. Ogleton, C. O. H. 
Thomas, and J. W. Early, present pastor. The church 
has five preachers, seventy-five members, two houses of 
worship, valued at five thousand dollars, and a Sunday- 
school of seventy-five scholars, with a library of two hun- 
dred volumes. 

Payne Chapel, on Bass Street, Edgefield, was organized 
by Elder J. W. Early in a " dirt cellar" in 1866. He was 
succeeded by Elders A. Shelby, Rev. Mr. Lemore, and 
Nelson McGavock until 1875, when he returned and re- 
mained until relieved by L. N. Merry, in October, 1879. 
The chapel was built during the pastorate of Elder Lemore 
on a lot purchased for fifteen hundred dollars, and the 
school-house, which the purchase included, was enlarged 
and made the basis of the building. The property is 



334 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



now valued at two thousand five hundred dollars. The 
church includes six preachers, two hundred and forty-seven 
members, and a Sunday-school numbering three hundred 
and twenty-five. They have a library of eight hundred 
volumes, and a large regular attendance. 

Ebenezer Chapel — This church is in the Fifteenth Dis- 
trict. It was organized in 1867 by Elder J. W. Early in 
a private dwelling. A house of worship was built by the 
pastor. Elder Charles Eussell, who performed most of the 
labor himself during the next year. This church was con- 
nected with St. Paul, and afterwards with Bethel until 
1875, when it became a station. Elders William H. Ogle- 
ton, M. J. Brooks, and Joseph McClean have been its 
pastors. They have a house of worship worth one thousand 
dollars, sixty members, and a Sunday-school of fifty scholars. 
Their library numbers one hundred volumes. 

St. Pi'/cr's is at White's Bend, four miles below the city 
of Nashville, on the right bank of the Cumberland. It 
was organized in 1867 as a part of the Goodlettsville Cir- 
cuit, and was changed to the charge of St. James in 1869. 
A congregation at Goodlettsville was also included. 

Si. James was organized in 1866, by Elder B. L. 
Brooks, four miles from the city, on the Gallatin pike, 
and a house of worship built in 1869. Elder N. McGavock 
is present pastor. 

Goodlettsville Church was organized in 1867, and with 
the two others composing the circuit now has one hundred 
and eighty-five members. A plain church was soon after 
built. 

The three churches have four preachers, nine hundred 
and fifty dollars' worth of property, and three Sunday- 
schools, aggregating two hundred and thirty-three scholars 
and two hundred and thirty-four books in their libraries. 

Antioch was organized in 1867 as a part of Goodletts- 
ville Circuit. It numbers seventy-six members, under the 
pastoral charge of Elder W. H. Derrick, a Sunday-school 
of fifteen, one hundred and thirty-two books, and two 
church buildings worth eighteen hundred dollars. 

Belle View, which includes also Woodfork Chapel, at 
Vaughn's Gap, was organized in 1869. It has twenty-five 
members and two Sunday-schools, with ninety-two scholars 
and thirty-five volumes in the library. The church prop- 
erty is slight, and worth about three hundred dollars. 
Woodfork Chapel was joined to the charge in 1867, and 
a house built soon after. Elder Henry Baugh is pastor. 

Vaughns Gap Circuit, organized in 1873 as a mission, 
includes a cottage chapel in this county formerly named 
" Hillsboro'." 

Ciii/ Row, throe miles beyond the city cemetery, was 
organized in the (white) Presbyterian church in 1866. 
A joint congregation of the Methodist Episcopal and Afri- 
can Methodist Church worship in a Union building near 
the government cemetery, six miles north of the city. A 
society was organized near Edgfield Junction, on Dry 
Creek, in 1867. Worship is held by circuit preachers in 
Union Hall. Other small churches have been organized 
in various parts of the county by circuit preachers, and 
gone out after a short existence. 

Beech Grove Circuit includes three preachers, two 
churches valued at two hundred dollars, one hundred and 



eighteen members, one hundred Sunday-school scholars,-! 
and a library of one hundred volumes. 

Salem Church numbers sixty members, eighty scholars, 
and has a library of one hundred and forty volumes, and a 
parsonage and church worth together fourteen liundred 
dollars. Rev. Evans Tyree is pastor. 

Statistics of churches connected with circuits have never 
been returned separately, but the aggregate is doubtless 
correct. This gives a total of 2243 members; 15 Sunday- 
schools, with 1571 scholars and 3422 books; 2 parsonages 
and 16 church buildings, representing a value of $68,170, 
besides the weaker organizations not reported. All this is 
the results of labor performed since the emancipation of 
colored slaves and. abolition of slavery in the United States. 

THE COLORED METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 01' 
AMERICA. 

Although the colored mission was not fairly organized 
until 1832, the colored people were cared for many years 
previous, and there were among them many excellent preach- 
ers. Among these one of the most noted was " Pompey," 
a slave of Rev. N. Moore, who often preached with his- 
old master at the same meetings. Mr. Moore was an ofiScer 
in the Revolutionary war and lived in North Carolina. He 
became an itinerant preacher at its close, and was followed 
by his fiiithful body-servant, who was converted at a camp- 
meeting, learned to read in the Bible, gave close attention 
to his master's sermons, and finally ventured to tell him 
where some improvement might bo made in his own ser- 
mons. 

" Pomp, do you think you could preach ?'' he was asked. 

" Yes, master." 

" Do you think you ought to preach ?" 

" Yes, master. I have thought a great deal about it." 

" Then, Pompey, you shall preach to-morrow." 

This he did with so good an efiect that his master gave 
him his freedom. He was well known and popular among 
the white people, to whom he often preached with great 
success. 

The colored societies which existed as missions previous 
to the war organized themselves into a separate Conference 
in 1867, and received titles to the properties they held 
from the parent church. Caper's chapel was thus deeded 
to " The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America." 

Previous to the organization of this Conference, the col- 
ored churches were organized under the auspices of the 
Missouri Conference in December, 1864. 

Five colored churches within the county are members of 
the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church of America. This 
organization says of itself: '' From the introduction of 
Methodism on this continent we have constituted a part of 
the great Methodist Episcopal Church in America, first as 
members of the first Methodist Episcopal Church in 
America and the United States. When the division oc- 
curred in 1844, we formed a part of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church South, which we sustained until the organi- 
zation of our church at the General Conference held at 
Jackson, Tenn., commencing Dec. 15, 1870, with Bishop 
Robert Paine, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, 
in the chair. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



335 



" When the General Conference met in New Orleans, in 
April, 18G6, they found that by revolution and the for- 
tunes of war a change had taken place in our social and 
political relations, which made it necessary that a change 
should be made in our ecclesiastical relations." 

I At the General Conference held in Memphis, Tenn., in 
May, 1870, it was found that five Annual Conferences had 
been formed among the colored people, and a desire had 
been expressed by them for a separate organization. This 

' was readily granted by the bishops of the church. Revs. 
A. L. P. Green, Samuel Watson, E. W. Sehon, Thomas 

' Whitehead, 11. J. Morgan, and Thomas Taylor were ap- 
pointed by the Conference to aid in their organization. It 
was further determined that all the property intended for 
lise of the colored people should be transferred to trustees 

'■ appointed by them for their sole use and benefit. 

The churches included within this Conference are Jeifer- 

; son and Lavergne, two churches, eighty-three members. Rev. 
George Birney, pastor ; value of property, six thousand 
dollars. 

Nashville Station. — Caper's Chapel, Rev. Elias Cottrell, 
pastor, one hundred and twenty-two members, two preachers ; 

I value of property, seventeen thousand dollars. 

; Trinity Circuit. — Rev. C. H. Phillips, pastor ; ninety- 

) one members, two preachers, and two churches, Goodletts- 
ville and Trinity. . Sunday-schools are sustained by each 

; church. 

At the Jackson Conferenco, Rev. A. H. Miles and others 
were ordained bishops. 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES. 

j CJirist Church. — The first meeting recorded was held 

I Monday, June 29, 1829, at " the hall." Rev. John Davis 
was called to the chair, and E. Talbot, Esq., was made sec- 
retary. There were present, besides, George Wilber, Thomas 

, Claiborne, James Stewart, John Shelly, Henry Baldwin, 

I Jr., James Deggins, Francis B. Fogg, William J. Hunt, 
and John R. Wilson. Messrs. Claiborne, Fogg, Shelly, 

, Stewart, and Baldwin were made vestrymen, and delegates 

[elected for the Episcopal Convention to be held in Nashville 

! in July. 

i Soon after, sixty feet of ground, fronting Church Street, 

I were purchased of James Stewart, and a church commenced 
by Messrs. Claiborne, Stewart, and Shelly, committee. An 
organ was purchased in Philadelphia, and Rev. George 

j Weller was elected rector. Services were held in a hall 
until the sale of pews, July 9, 1831, soon after which the 
church was occupied. Rev. J. Thomas Wheat, of New 
Orleans, La., became rector in August, 1837. In 1839 

i he began the first special " weekly services" for the benefit 
of servants and colored people, after obtaining consent of 

'the families of the church. In 1840 there were sixty-nine 
families or three hundred and forty-eight persons in the 
church, of whom eighty-four persons were confirmed in 
the year ending with June, and there were ninety-seven 
members in the Sunday-school. 
• Rev. Mr. Wheat resigned in October, 1848, and was 

I succeeded by Rev. Charles Tomes, on the 14th of the same 
month. He was a man of many original ideas and an 
ardent worker. He introduced the weekly ofl'ertory 



and daily morning and evening prayers, and so horrified 
the quaint old church that they said of him " he was 
making a bridge of the Episcopal Church to go straight to 
Rome." He refused to preach funeral sermons or eulogize 
the dead. 

Rev. Mr. Tomes was born in Warwickshire, England, 
in 1814, and came to America in 1827, where he was 
superintendent of the St. Thomas Sunday-school, and one 
of the originators of the first floating chapel for seamen. 
He was admitted to the priesthood in 1844, and was rector 
at Sing Sing, N. Y., and St. Louis, Mo., before stationed 
at Nashville. During the height of the cholera season 
in Nashville, he was the only clergyman left to administer 
to the plague-stricken people. He was assisted by two 
Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity. Towards the close of 
his rectorship he was furnished an assistant rector. He 
resigned May 1, 1857, and died July 10th following. 
Rev. Leonidas L. Smith, of Warrenton, N. C, became 
rector in June, 1857. He resigned Nov. 4, 1861, his res- 
ignation to take effect from and after Jan. 1, 1862, on 
condition of supplying the pulpit at his own expense until 
that time. This was accepted, and permission given him 
to go to Norfolk, Va., with his f^imily immediately. His 
departure was made amidst many marks of respect and 
regard from his congregation. Revs. A. Crawford, BIr. 
Ilarlow, and Mr. Hunt kept the church open until the in- 
terval of war, after June, 1862. May 24, 1864, the first 
record after the long rest, an increase of salary to Rev. Mr. 
Harlow, acting rector, is made. Rev. W. J. Ellis was 
elected rector Feb. 13, 1866, and resigned Nov. 28, 1870. 
The church was raised and repaired at the end of the war, 
and two Sunday-schools opened, — one white and one col- 
ored. Rev. William Graham, the present rector, accepted 
the position Dec. 30, 1870, and has since filled it in a 
manner successful to the prosperity of the church. 

There are now connected with it St. Peter's and St. 
John's missions, an industrial school, and ladies' aid society. 
This latter was organized about 1870, and have since pur- 
chased a fine parsonage at a cost of eight thousand dollars ; 
besides, they have obtained more than five thousand dollars 
towards a fund for erecting a new house of worship. 

The secretaries have been : G. M. Fogg, 1829 to 1862 ; 
A. Crawford, to 1868 ; D. R. Johnson, to 1870 ; S. M. D. 
Clark, 1871 to 1876 ; and Abbott B. Payne, since 1876. 

Officers. — Rector, Rev. William Graham ; Senior War- 
den, ; Junior Warden, Charles Mitchell, Jr. ; 

Treasurer, S. M. D. Clark ; Secretary, Albert B. Payne ; 
Ushers, A. H. Robinson, C. W. Smith ; Vestrymen, W. 
D. Gale, C. W. Smith, J. P. Drouillard, A. H. Robinson, 
S. M. D. Clark, A. B. Payne, D. R. Johnson, George S. 
Blackie, A. W. Wills, W. A. Goodwyn, Charles Mitchell, 
Jr. 

The Church of the Advent. — At the beginning of the 
year 1857 there were two parishes of the Episcopal Church 
within the corporate limits of the city of Nashville, — viz., 
Christ Church, of which the Rev. Charles Tomes had been 
rector for nearly nine years, and the Mission Church of the 
Holy Trinity (built by the Rev. C. Tomes), of which the 
Rev. W. D. Harlow had been rector for two or three years. 

The latter church was at a distance from the crowded 



336 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



portion of the city, and was but indifferently attended; 
while Christ Church building, which was small, was occu- 
pied entirely. For some time the Rev. Mr. Tomes had 
urged upon his congregation the necessity of enlarging the 
edifice, but met with little encouragement, those interested 
particularly not thinking that the building was at all in- 
sufficient in size, arguing from the fact that on no ordinary 
occasion of public worship was the church crowded or every 
pew occupied. 

Some few weeks prior to Easter, 1857, Rev. Blr. Tomes 
called a meeting of the congregation and made a statement 
that of all the ordinances of the church — baptisms, burials, 
marriages, etc. — during the past two years, more than two- 
thirds had been at the instance of persons who were inter- 
ested in the church and desired to attend his ministrations, 
but were unable to obtain sittings in a church building, 
and, as a counter-argument to that above stated, — that the 
edifice was large enough for all who wished to come, — he 
proposed to them to make the pews free. A majority of 
those present owning pews were in favor of this movement, 
but, a few objecting, the matter was postponed until Easter 
Monday. In the intervening time, the project was canvassed 
of making the pews free for one year by way of experiment. 
On Easter Monday the whole movement was quashed as a 
constructive injustice to those few who declined under any 
circumstances to relinquish their pews which they held pos- 
session of by fee-simple. 

A few days after this meeting, April 18, a.d. 1857, a 
number of the commmunioants of Christ Church met in a 
room over Berry's bookstore. No. 30 Public Square, and 
organized a new parish and voted its name, — " The Church 
of the Advent," — embodying in its articles or organization 
the following important and (in this diocese) new condi- 
tions : 

1. That all persons, without distinction of sex or age, 
who are registered communicants of the parish, shall be 
entitled to a vote on parochial affiiirs. 

2. That only male communicants shall be qualified to act 
as vestrymen. 

3. That the church when erected should be free to rich 
and poor alike, rejecting the pew-system and abolishing 
every species of lay-privilege, based on wealth, station, or 
any other foundation whatsoever. 

4. That the revenues of the church should depend, as 
nearly as possible, on the weekly offertory. 

To this organization the consent, as prescribed by canon, 
of the reverend rectors of the adjoining parishes of Christ 
Church and the Holy Trinity, and of the right reverend 
the bishop of the diocese was obtained. A vestry was 
elected, which was instructed by the congregation to call the 
Rev. Charles Tomes to the rectorship. This was done and 
the call accepted. Through the generosity of Mr. John 
Kirkraan, the owner of the " Odd-Fellows' Hall," the use 
of that building on Sundays was obtained gratuitous!}- for 
divine worship, and the loth of June was fixed upon as 
the time for the opening services. On the 7th of June the 
Rev. Mr. Tomes was taken sick, and after a protracted ill- 
ness died at Glenoak, his residence, on the 10th of July 
of the same year. 

Aug. 10, 1857, the vestry requested the Rev. W. D. 



Harlow, rector of the church of the Holy Trinity, to offi- 
ciate at the " Hall" until Mr. Tomes' successor should be 
chosen, which he kindly undertook. The " Hall" was 
opened August 16th, the Rev. J. H. Ingraham officiating, 
assisted by the Rev. W. D. Harlow, and the Rev. George 
White, D.D., of Alabama. The number of the registered 
communicants at this time was fifty-four. j 

On the Cth day of October, 1857, there was convened sM 
the Odd-Fellows' Hall a meeting of the vestry, at which al!| 
the communicants of the congregation were invited to be 
present, the object of the meeting being the election of a 
permanent rector. This meeting was well attended, and, on 
the third ballot, the Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, M.D., 
then rector of Calvary Church, Memphis, was chosen. Dr. t 
Quintard accepted the rectorship, and entered upon its 
duties on the first IMonday in January, 1858. 

The first confirmation at the hall was held Feb. 18, 1858, 
when the Rt. Rev. Dr. Otey officiated, confirming sixteen 
persons. 

During the same year the parish rapidly increased in 
strength, paying one thousand dollars per annum rental for 
the hall, and fitting it up as a church at considerable ex- 
pense. The prosperity of the parish was uninterrupted 
until 1861, when a majority of the young men of the parish 
joined the armies of the South ; and, when they went away, 
the pastor (Dr. Quintard) felt it his duty to accept the office 
of army chaplain and to go with them. 

The Rev. George C. Harris was chosen assistant rector, 
and continued services until February, 1862. At this time 
Nashville was occupied by Federal troops, and the " Hall" 
was taken possession of and occupied as a barracks for Fed- 
eral soldiers. 

In 1858 the vestry had purchased a lot on Vine Street 
(where the present church building now stands), and paid 
two-thirds of the purchase-money therefor, and had built a 
foundation and basement in a solid and durable manner. 

After the fall of the Confederacy, in 1861, the rector. 
Dr. Quintard, returned to Nashville and called the congre- 
gation together. It was a sad meeting. Instead of two 
hundred and seventy-four communicants (the number reg- 
istered in 1861), coming to meet him, about a dozen re- 
sponded, entirely dispirited and disheartened, hopeless and 
demoralized. 

The original construction and early growth of the parish 
was but light work compared with its restoration. Dr. 
Quintard was not disheartened, and continued to encourage 
the members, and presently stirred up some enthusiasm. 

In the fall of 1865, Dr. Quintard was elected bishop of 
the diocese of Tennessee. The grief at the loss of this bo- 
loved rector was greatly mitigated by the satisfaction with 
which every member of the congregation hailed his election 
to the episcopate, and by the assurance that his love for 
the parish and all its people had in no way diminished. 

Early in the year 1866 the basement of the church 
building was fitted up for service, and a temporary roof 
thrown over it. The first service therein was held at six 
o'clock on Easter morning, April 1st, the Rev. J. H. 
Bowles officiating, by request of the vestry. 

The Rev. Frederick Fitzgerald, of Hoboken, N. J., was 
then elected to the rectorship. He accepted the call, but 




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CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY, NASHVILLE TENNESSEE, 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



337 



was taken sick, and after an illness of four days departed 
to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. The Rev. 
James Moore, of Maryland, was then chosen, and assumed 
the charge of the parish Nov. 20, 18G6. 

After Mr. Moore's resignation Bishop Qiiintard again 
accepted the charge of the parish, appointing the Rev. 
Thomas Booth Lee assistant minister. Under the bishop's 
administration the walls of the church were carried up and 
inclosed, and the elegant structure, now occupied by the 
congregation, prepared for worship. The front of the 
building remains unfinished, awaiting means for the con- 
struction of the proposed tower and spire. The building is 
of uncut stone, of ample dimensions and superior accommo- 
dations. The nave (audience-room) is lofty and elegant, 
the style of architecture is Gothic, the windows are filled 
with stained glass, and four of them are " memorials" of the 
departed. The church is spacious and of fine elevation. 
The pews and furniture, of oiled walnut, are all of approved 
models. All the seats in the church are free, and many of 
them are elegantly cusl-.ioned and carpeted. The " Parish 
Aid Society," consisting of the ladies of the congregation, 
have done much towards furnishing the church, the 
cushions, the carpets, the elegant gas-fi.\turcs, and two 
large furnaces for heating the church having been provided 
by their exertions. The beautiful corona for lighting the 
church was the gift of a single parishioner, and so were the 
stone font for baptism, the eagle lectern, the pulpit, the 
litany desk, and the organ. The bishop's throne, of rare 
size. and elegance, was the gift of one of the clergy resident 
in a distant city. The magnificent velvet and silk embroi- 
dered altar-cloths, for the varying seasons of the ecclesi- 
astical year, were the gift of the Sisters of Clewes, England, 
and the work of their own hands. Various other gifts of 
useful articles have, from time to time, added largely to the 
furnishing of the temple, and the convenience of the clergy 
and worshipers. 

On the 16th of October, 1870, the Rev. John M. 
Schwrar became rector, and served until Feb. 1, 1872. 

The Rev. Edward Bradley, the present rector, com- 
menced his pastorate July 1, 1872. 

Church of the Iloly Trinity. —In July, 1849, the Rev. 
Charles Tomes, rector of Christ Church, perceiving that 
numbers of persons residing in and about Nashville were 
destitute of those blessings and privileges that were by others 
enjoyed in the fold of the church, determined upon the es- 
tablishment of a mission in South Nashville, in connection 
with his own parish church. Accordingly, the Rev. John 
P. T. Ingraham, by invitation, became the " assistant min- 
ister in the parish, with a^view to the particular ministerial 
charge of the mission." 

On the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 23, 1849, the rector 
and his assistant minister opened in their "own hired house," 
on Summer Street, " St. Paul's Chapel," and thus was begun 
what was ere long to become the Church of the Holy Trinity. 
" At first there were not more than four families on whom 
any material dependence could be placed ; but in less than 
a year many more had given in their names as permanent 
parishioners. The work seems to have been committed 
mainly to the hands of Mr. Ingraham, and every family 
came in for its share of his time and attention, whether 
43 



black, white, rich, or poor, between the Franklin pike and 
the river, on the one side, and from Broad Street two miles 
south on the other, as he went about inquiring after the 
children everywhere, and by his kindness and attention al- 
luring many to the services of the church." But in July, 
1850, his health failed and he resigned his position, return- 
ing to Wisconsin. At the time of his leaving his memo- 
randa exhibited thirty-two baptisms, seventeen confirma- 
tions, twenty-seven communicants, four marriages, and six 
burials. Daring the summer the cholera raged fearfully. 
In a letter of some years afterwards Mr. Ingraham says, 
" Attention to duties consequent upon this state of things 
broke down my health." The congregation was scattered, 
and Mr. Tomes was obliged to suspend the services. We 
next find the Rev. BI. S. Rojce in charge of the mission, 
but in a short while Mr. Tomes was again alone. In 1851 
a movement was made towards the erection of a church edi- 
fice, and a lot for that purpose was given by Mr. M. W. 
Wetmore. In the next year a parish was regularly organ- 
ized, and the Rev. James W. Rodgers was called to be its 
first rector. In the afternoon of May 7, 1852, the corner- 
stone of the new church was laid by the bishop of the dio- 
cese, the Right Rev. James Hervey Otey, D.D. 

The edifice is after a design of Wills & Dudley, of 
New York, an illustration of which appears in this work. 
It is of the pure Gothic order, built of blue limestone, and 
with its open roof of varnished cedar and its deep recessed 
chancel it is, indeed, a pure and beautiful piece of archi- 
tecture. Its altar is of cedar, and a crown of thorns 
adorns the centre of its frontal. The nave is seventy by 
thirty-five feet, and has a seating capacity of two hundred 
and fifty people. 

At first the congregation worshiped in the chancel ; but 
by the end of 1853, through the untiring efforts of Mr. 
Tomes, who never seemed to weary at his work, the nave, 
too, was complete. He obtained large means from friends 
in the East ; he expended his own ; and again and again 
were his people full of heartfelt expressions of gratitude 
for their noble friend. After Mr. Rodgers resigned, and 
again after the short rectorship of Dr. McCullough, he 
gave to this work all the time he could spare from his own 
immediate charge. 

" In the year 1855 the Rev. W. D. Harlow became 
rector, and continued to discharge the duties till 1857, 
when, Mr. Tomes having died, he was temporarily called 
to Christ Church. From this he took charge of the 
Church of the Advent until the election of a rector, to 
which all the communicants were transferred except two." 
Next the Rev. C. T. Quintard, M.D., held services for the 
congregation in the afternoon, and in connection with his 
own parish, the Church of the Advent. In July, 1858, the 
Rev. George C. Harris was ordained, and was rector until the 
war. Under his faithful ministrations the parish grew into a 
very prosperous condition. The number of baptisms was 
large ; the year previous to the war they numbered forty-five. 
At the same time the Sunday-school had in it one hundred 
and seven scholars, and there were sixty-six communicants. 
From the beginning the parish had been supported by the 
oifertory. The seats have been always free, and it is in 
every sense a free church. Up to this time in the history 



338 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



of the parish there had been one hundred and eighty-eight 
baptisms, sixty-four confirmations, and one hundred and 
thirty-two admitted to holy communion. But after the 
war began we find the parish again without a rector. 
However, during his rectorship, Mr. Harris had succeeded 
in getting the tower built up as far as the comb of the 
roof; and nothing has been added to it since his time. 
To-day it stands unfinished. After the struggle began 
occasional services were held, and for those four long years, 
so full of carnage and strife, these people were as sheep 
without a shepherd. After the occupation of the city by 
the Federal army the church was left to pursue its peaceful 
course until 1862, when it was taken for a powder-maga- 
zine and kept for three months ; teamsters were then quar- 
tered in it for two months. During this time the altar 
was used to cut beefsteaks on, and the font was a washbasin 
for the soldiers. The organ was torn to pieces, the beauti- 
ful stained-glass windows shattered, and all the interior 
much abused. However, an inventory had been taken of 
everything in the church by command of the authorities, 
with the written promise to return it in its former condi- 
tion. When, then, it was returned to the senior warden, 
there being no rector, damages were paid to the amount of 
twelve hundred dollars, and one hundred and twenty-five 
dollars for rent: damages had been assessed by a committee 
sent by Federal authority at sixteen hundred dollars. 
During this time chaplains in the United States army had 
held occasional services. -All through the war, with the 
exception of the time of its occupation, the church was 
opened every Sunday for Sunday-school by Mr. Charles 
Sheppard, the senior warden of the parish, as its superin- 
tendent, assisted by several faithful teachers. 

After the war the Rev. J. H. Bowles became the rector, 
dividing his time with St. Stephen's Church, Edgefield. 
After this had continued about a year, the Rev. W. T. 
Helm was rector until February, 1869, when the Rev. 
Moses S. Royce was called. He began at once a vigorous 
and successful work. The parish again revived, the Sun- 
day-school and services were full of life, and much people 
was added. But alas I in May, 1873, that dreadful scourge, 
the cholera, again appeared. The faithful priest was every- 
where among his people, breaking the Bread of Life for 
the sick and the dying, and burying the dead. On Sunday, 
June 9, 1873, he laid down his life in the Master's cause, 
dying of the fell disease after a sickness of but a few hours. 
His faithful ministry is part of the history of South Nash- 
ville. He was everywhere that human souls needed help, 
and in ftimilies without number his name is a household 
word, and his face long familiar. His counsel and life and 
teaching live in the lives of those who were under his care 
and were by his presence blessed. 

From November of this year till December, 1876, the 
Rev. Thomas B. Lawson, D.D., was in charge. He was a 
man of varied talents. His acute mind and clear reasonin"- 

o 

powers seemed to revel in the lore of the divine science, 
and in the history of the Christian Church in all the ages 
he seemed no stranger. "While since the war the work had 
grown, it suifered no little — as it had done from the ben-in- 
ning — from the frequent vacancies in the rectorship. Its 
revenues had never been large, and its people never rich. 



It''* 



So, although much faithful work had been done, a perma 

nent foundation had always been hard to secure. 

In September, 1S77, after invitation, the present rector 

the Rev. Jes.se B. Harrison, S.T.B., took charire. He founc ^. 

1 
the people much scattered, but work has been steadily kepi, 

up for now almost three years, and not without results; 

There have been within this time, baptisms, 85 ; confirma^ 

tions, 41 ; persons admitted to holy communion, 56. The 

present number of communicants is one hundred and 

twelve. 

St. Paul's Cliri'pcl. — A mission was inaugurated in what, 
was known as Fairfield in 1870, by the Rev. M. S. Royce; 
while rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity. Servioe^i 
were first held in a hall over a drug-store on the Lebanotfi 
pike. In 1872 the mission became a parish, under the' 
name of St. Paul's Church. A large Sunday-school was; 
held, and the services, partly choral, were largely attendedii 
A lot was bargained for — which has since been paid for- 
anJ the present chapel all but completed, when theuntimel 
death of Mr. Royce put an end to the work. 

Under Dr. Lawson the work was again begun. On ' 
petition from the people being presented to the Diocesan: 
Convention of 1878, this church was made a " chapel of 
the Church of the Holy Trinity, to be known as St. Paul's 
Chapel." It is a neat wooden chapel, with a recessed chari? 
eel, and has a seating capacity of one hundred people, 
is situated on a lot of seventy by one hundred and fifty 
feet, on the corner of Wharf Avenue and Cannon Street. 
It now has a Sunday-school of one hundred and forty-one 
pupils. The Church of the Holy Trinity is the parish 
church for all its people. It is out of debt and in a 
flourishing condition. 

The parish of the Church of the Holy Trinity may, then, 
be said to have its parish church on the corner of South 
High Street and South Union Street, and its chapel — St. 
Paul's chapel — on Wharf Avenue. 

The oflScers of the parish are as follows : The Rev. Jesse 

B. Harrison, S.T.B., Rector ; George W. Seay, Senior War- 
den ; Frederick Wright, Junior Warden ; Joseph W. Fisher, 
Treasurer ; Thomas G. Cox, Secretai-y ; Charles Sheppard,' 
George R. Knox, P. M. Radford, Vestrymen. 

Organist of the parish church, Mr. P. M. Radford ; or- 
ganist of the chapel, Miss Jessia Harman ; superintendent 
of the Sunday-school, Mr. Charles Sheppard. 

The communicants, 112; parish Sunday-school pupils, 
130 ; chapel Sunday-school pupils, 141 ; total, 271. 

St. Annes Church, Edgefield. — In the year 1856, when 
Edgefield contained a population of not exceeding seven hun- 
dred and fifty, the late Dr. John Shelby conveyed to the late 
Rev. Charles Tomes, as trustee of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, a beautiful lot on Oak Street. This lot was to be 
used for no other purpose than the erection thereon of a 
church edifice or parsonage. July 29, 1858, nearly two 
years after, there assembled together in a school-house on 
Fatherland Street the following Episcopalians : Rev. Dr. 

C. T. Quintard, Rev. L. L. Smith, BI. E. De Grove, Turner 
S. Foster, W. H. Baker, G. H. Hunt, Q. C. De Grove 
(2d), F. Shegog, Mrs. W. H. Baker, Miss Sallie J. Buck, 
Miss Annie Weakley, Miss Cecil De Grove, and W. H. De- 
Grove. This meeting was organized by calling Rev. L. L. 



I 




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tf-'T'Z/ 



The Scandinavian element has played an important part 
1 populating America, not only by direct emigration from 
forway, Sweden, and Denmark, but through its early oc- 
upation of Scotland it has impressed the peculiarities of 
ts nationality on the people of that country and the re- 
ultant " Scotch-Irish." To that element these people owe 
heir love of adventure, bold hardihood, and persevering 
jnergy ; also that resolute will which meets and surmounts 
.11 obstacles. From the Scotch-Irish branch settling in 
'forth Carolina came many of the settlers of Tennessee, 
imoDg them John J., son of David AVilliamson. who was 
lorn in North Carolina in 1809. He married in that State 
<;iiza B. Carr. Of their four children born in North Caro- 
ina, George R. was third. The others were Thomas D., 
fames, and John J. In 1839, Mr. Williamson moved 
Maury County, in this State, and settled in the same 
leighborhood where he yet resides. His family now consists 
)f fifteen children. The following were born in this State : 
Mary, Olivia M., Susan N., Margaret E., Ann E., Josephine, 
Pleasant D., William B., Rufus A., Alice, and Mellville. 
i George R. Williamson was born Oct. 13, 1836, brought 
by his parents to Tennessee at.the age of three years, and 
remained with his father until about seventeen years of age, 
•eceiving a common-school education ; then engaged as book- 
keeper in a mercantile establishment in Columbia. In this 
ivocation he continued three years. Choosing the medical 
profession for his life work, and desiring to thoroughly 
qualify himself therefor, he went to Nashville and com- 
menced study with Dr. Madden ; then attended Shelby 
[Medical College. While there he was granted the position 



of presoriptionist or dispensarian at City Hospital. This 
position was one of great advantage to a medical student 
and was much sought after. This is evinced by the fact 
that at that time there were thirty applicants for the posi- 
tion, and only one other proving successful. 

From this college our young student went to Philadelphia 
and attended the University of Pennsylvania. He was a 
diligent student, patient and careful in his work, and stood 
well in the estimation of his instructors. In the spring of 
1860 he received the degree of M.D. 

After graduation, Dr. Williamson returned to Nashville 
and began the practice of his profession in Edgefield (now 
East Nashville). After the passing of twenty years, many 
who were among his first adherents are still his patrons. 
He married, May 5, 1863, Mary P. Roche, daughter of F. 
G. Roche, Esq., then of Edgefield, but formerly of Phila- 
delphia, Pa. She died May 25, 1879. Their married life 
had its peculiar sorrows, five of their children dying in early 
childhood. Lizzie R., born Aug. 18, 1870, and Mary E., 
born April 29, 1879, are the sole survivors. 

Both Dr. and Mrs. Williamson were members of the 
Episcopal Church of Edgefield, where Mrs. Williamson was 
organist for years prior to her death. He has been vestry- 
man and senior warden in this church many years. 

Politically, Dr. Williamson has always been a staunch 
Democrat. Has been a member of the State Medical Society 
twenty years, and was elected president of Edgefield Med- 
ical Society at its organization, in 1872. Few of the physi- 
cians in this city or county have enjoyed so long a practice, 
or won more credit for their skill. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



339 



Smith to the chaii- and appointing Q. C. Do Grove secre- 
tary, after which an Episcopal Church was formed, under 
the name of St. Stephen's Church ; and W. E. De Grove, 
G. II. Hunt, Turner S. Foster, W. H. Baker, Q. C. De 
Grove, and W. B. Walton were elected vestrymen, and H. 
La Crud and G. H. Hunt were appointed to solicit sub- 
scriptions for the chapel. T. S. Foster and Q. C. De Grove 
were added to this committee, and August 31st, G. II. 
Hunt was elected secretary and treasurer ; Messrs. De 
Grove and Foster wardens ; and the secretary was in- 
structed to notify the bishop of the diocese of the organi- 
zation of the parish, with the written consent of the rectors 
of Christ Church and the Church of the Advent. Rev. 
William D. Harlow became rector of the church March 9, 
1860, and a building committee, of which he was chairman, 
was appointed to erect a church edifice. 

The congregation continued to meet in Jamieson's Hall 
until its completion, in September, 1800. Seats were made 
free, with permission to cushion and trim certain localities 
awarded the members. William F. Orr was made secretary, 
treasurer, and warden, with J. Shelby Williams, on Easter 
Monday, 18G1. T. H. Eichbaum, C. W. S. Brown, Q. C. 
De Grove, D. Johnson, and J. D. Lindsey were also made 
vestrymen. 

On the arrival of the Federal army the church was 
closed, and services wei'e not again held until after the close 
of the war. It was then left in an almost bankrupt condition. 

The church was reorganized with the advent of peace, 
and llev. J. H. Bowles was made pastor. Mrs. David Wil- 
liams, now Mrs. Judge John D. Phelan, presented the church 
with a lot in Edgefield, to help pay its debts, and as an act 
of gratitude she was awarded the privilege of giving the 
church a new name. In response, she selected the present 
one of St. Anne. In February, 1860, lit. Bey. Bishop C. T. 
Quintard presented the vestry five hundred dollars. 

June 5, 1868, llev. Mr. Bowles resigned. He was suc- 
iceeded by llev. L. P. TschiiFely, who was pastor from Nov. 
5, 1868, to Aug. 22, 1869. llev. F. II. Holeman was 
rector from March 14 to Nov. 27, 1870; Rev. M. J. 
Ellis, July 1, 1871, to Oct. 31, 1872. 

Meetings continued to be held regularly, but with no 
settled rector, until January, 1874-, when Rev. A. 0. 
IStanley became rector. His resignation was accepted July 
17, 1878. During his rectorship the parish was much in- 
creased, and numbered one hundred and twenty at the close 
of his service. 

j. The church was again without a rector until March, 
!1879, when llev. T. F. Martin, of Berryville, Va., accepted 
the call to the parish. The membership now numbers 
eighty-two. 

The lot upon which the church was originally built was, 
at the time of its erection, in one of the most populous por- 
tions of Edgefield. It is expected to soon build a finer 
church near the new centre of population. 

The present official members are : Vestrymen, Dr. George 
R. Williamson, \V. F. Orr, George M. Jackson, Judge 
ijohn D. Phelan, John Orr, A. J. Francisco, John L. Dis- 
mukes, J. M. Anderson, J. W. Hopkins; Senior Warden, 
Dr. George R. Williamson; Junior Warden, W. F. Orr; 
Treasurer, John Orr; Secretary, George M. Jackson. 



LUTHERAN. 
The- Evangelical Lutheran Church. — Among the first 
pioneers of this State and county there were Lutherans. 
There are now about ten thousand Lutherans in Tennessee. 
Of these about eight thousand are in East Tennessee. 
They are divided into three Synods, who, according to age 
and strength, are the following: The Tennessee Synod, the 
Holston Synod, the Middle Tennessee Synod, the first 
named being oldest and strongest. Congregations were or- 
ganized as early as 1800. On Dack River, near Shelby- 
ville, the first Lutheran Church in Middle Tennessee, called 
the "Shoffner Church," was organized about 1825, by the 
late Rev. William Jenkins, who must be looked upon as the 
pioneer pastor of Lutheranism in these regions. For many 
years he watched the growing interests of the Lutheran 
Church in Nashville, until he succeeded, in 1859, at the 
meeting of the General Synod in Pittsburgh, Pa., in securing 
the Rev. Herman Eggers, then a professor in the Western 
University of Pennsylvania, at Pittsburgh, as pastor. Rev. 
Mr. Eggers came to Nashville in July, 1859. His first 
sermon was delivered in the Second Presbyterian church, 
on College Street, the members and pastor (Rev. Mr. Hays) 
of which had kindly granted the Lutherans the use of 
their church for afternoon services. The first sermon was 
preached on the last Sunday in July, 1859. An organiza- 
tion was soon effected, under the name of " The First Ger- 
man Evangelical Lutheran Church of Nashville." After- 
noon services in July and August were attended with so 
many difficulties that arrangements were made to hold ser- 
vices in the court-house. The .services were well attended, 
and the work prospered till 18G1, when the fury of the 
war made itself felt in all church organizations. Till the 
fall of Fort Donelson services were continued uninter- 
ruptedly in the court-house, when the Federal army took 
possession of it. At this juncture the German Methodists, 
whose pastor at the incipiency of the war had left his flock 
for a place in the North, tendered the use of their church, 
which was gladly accepted and the church used till the fall 
of 1863, when the Methodists received a new pastor from 
a Northern Conference. Services were next held in the 
council-room, but, as soldiers were quartered in the story 
above it, this was soon abandoned, and services were once 
more held in the Second Presbyterian church, whose pastor. 
Rev. Mr. Hays, was a warm friend of the Lutherans. Ef- 
forts were now put forth to build a church. The lot on 
which the church now stands was purchased for four thou- 
sand six hundred dollars, and the church erected at an ad- 
ditional cost of over nine thousand dollars. On Feb. 10, 
1867, services were held for the first time in the present 
church, on North Market Street. In the fall of the same year 
Rev. Professor Eggers resigned and left. His immediate 
successor was the Rev. J. Bachmann, who served the church 
till 1869. Owing to ill health he resigned and returned to 
Germany, his native land, where he soon died. Rev. C. A. 
Nolle, now of California, was next chosen pastor, and served 
the congregation about two and one-half years. Rev. Jo- 
hannes Heckel, now of the city of Charleston, S. C, was 
the fourth pastor, and labored four years in Nashville. 
The present is its fifth pastor. Rev. F. W. E. Peschan 
came to Nashville from Nebraska City, Neb., in September, 



M 



340 



HISTOllY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



1878. lie has introduced English services, and has added 
fifty-six to the membership of the church in the eighteen 
months of his residence and Uibors here. The congrega- 
tion numbers now about two hundred and twenty-five com- 
municants, and the Sunday-school has on its roll two hun- 
dred. A second Lutheran Sunday-school was organized in 
South Nashville last fall, which reached one hundred. 
The parochial school kept up for many years was given up 
a few years ago. The work and interests of Lutheranism 
here arc in a prosperous and encouraging condition. 

At Paradise Ridge in Davidson County, there are twelve 
Lutheran families, who are occasionally visited by the 
Nashville pastor. On every leading pike some Lutherans 
are living. In cveri/ Protestant church in Nashville there 
are some who once were Lutherans, and we might say the 
same of the Protestant churches of the whole country. 
Never yet has the Lutheran Church of the United States 
had enough ministers to supply the fields of labor open to 
her among her own people, though she is now the third in 
strength among Protestants in this country, numbering over 
three thousand ministers and eight hundred thousand mem- 
bers, and though she is as strong in the world as all other 
Protestant churches put together, as she numbers foi-f^ 
millions in Germany, Australia, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, 
Norway, and other countries. 

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

The Union Church of Fisk Uiiiversiti/, the onlj ohuvch 
of the denomination within the county supplied by a white 
pastor, is composed of students, and numbers one hundred 
male and fifty-seven female members. Prof. H. S. Bennett, 
a gentleman of culture and ability, is pastor and was -its 
organizer. His last report to the Central South Confer- 
ence, of which it forms a part, states that " tihere is a" 
better class of students at the university than ever before. 
There exists a tender religious interest. Since September 
seven have been converted, and twelve or fifteen during the 
last year." 

Two theological classes have been formed, — one in church 
liistory and one in the study of the harmony. A mission- 
ary society for the evangelization of Africa holds monthly 
meetings and maintains a lively interest in missionary work. 
The pastor. Rev. Mr. Bennett, is superintendent of a Sab- 
bath-school among the convicts in the penitentiary, through 
the influence of which about forty prisoners were converted 
during the past winter. 

There is also a Young Men's Christian Association, com- 
posed of colored members, connected with this church. 
There are stationed at the university the following-named 
ministers who have no pastoral charge : Kevs. E. M. Cra- 
vath, A. K. Spence, F. A. Chase, C. C. Painter, and L. C. 
Anderson. 

Howard Chapel is a neat little brick building on Knowles 
Street, near the Chattanooga depot. The congregation is 
mostly compo.sed of young people. It is reported on the 
minutes as " Knowles Street Church." The organization 
was efi"ected chiefly through the efibrts of its young and 
energetic pastor. Rev. G. W. Moore, on Nov. 2, 1876. It 
has a Band of Hope of about one hundred members, and 
a flourishing Sunday-school. The membership has been 



much reduced by Western emigration during the past year^i 
and now numbers but twenty-eight. Rev. Mr. Moore ia 
now pursuing a course of classical and theological studiesi 
at the university, preparatory to a more thorough work in 
tlie ministry. 

CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. 

First Christian Church of Nashville. — When constituted, 
the congregation who worshiped in the Church Street meet- 
ing-house was a Baptist Church. The record book of its 
earlier days is entitled " The Records of the Baptist Church 
of Nashville, July 22, 1820," and the constitution declares 
that " it is to be denominated the Baptist Church of Nash- 
ville," without any prefix to the word " Baptist." The 
constitution reads as follows : " Finally, it is not the duty 
of the church to bind the consciences of the weak, but to 
receive the weak with the stron<r, and so keep up, and to do 
whatever is agreeable to sound doctrine." The third rule 
for the government of the church provided for any neces- 
sary alterations as follows : " The moderator and five of the 
white brethren shall be deemed sufficient to transact any 
species of church business. That done by a smaller num- 
ber shall require the confirmation of the church in session.". 
It-will be seen from these quotations, and explanations of 
government and principle, that the old First Baptist Church, 
not anticipating future dissensions in opinion, was liberal in 
defining its lines, and not of the strict Calvinistic typei 
supposed to' be predominant at that day, and it was only 
the unanticipated questions afterwards discussed which 
caused the various shades of opinion to become a matter of 
record, as the old church branched oiF in the various di- 
rections of Mission, Anti-Mission, and Free- Will Baptists, 
and Christians. - 'The first constitution of the old Baptist 
Church of Nashville provided " by the above rule of gov- 
ernment for any progress it might make in scriptural knowl- 
■ edge," and it is claimed by the Christians that this was 
regarded as the birthright of every Baptist Church then, 
as now, and that its internal concerns were subject to no 
control from without. Accordingly, on the fourth Satur- 
day in December, 1822, it added an article to its constitu- 
tion recognizing the doctrine of the Trinity, which was not 
named in the first draft of it, except by the church. This 
was done in a session composed of seven members. 

Rev. Philip S. Fall visited Nashville in 1821, and was 
invited by the churcli to settle as their pastor. The call 
was accepted, but he was unable to close existing engage- 
ments in Kentucky. In 1825 this call was repeated, and 
a chair was ofi'ered him in the female academy. Both ap- 
pointments were accepted, and he entered upon his duties 
early in 1826. Two years before leaving Kentucky his 
mind had undergone a radical change as to the proper 
method of reading the Scriptures and of teaching them, 
as well as to the authority for denominationalism. He 
became fully convinced that baptism as a system was not 
identical with Christianity as a system, but believed that 
the Baptists, as a people, were nearer the Scriptures than 
any others, and that they would welcome a still closer con- 
formity to the sacred Model. He says of himself at that 
time, " I had no idea of separating from them. It was 
well known to the principal members of the church in 
Nashville that this change had taken place, and that my 






CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



341 



convictions had been openly announced to the Baptist 
churches in Kentucivy, at an Association. This had some- 
thing to do in the invitation given me; indeed, the thought- 
ful members of the church had anticipated me in the return 
to the Scriptural statements as to the structure and life of 
a congregation of Christ. I entered on my work in Nash- 
ville as the known defender of Apostolic Christianity, as 
contrasted with its modern exhibitions." 

On the day of his appointment as overseer of the church, 
he stated his full conviction that no congregation worshiped 
according to the New Testament that did not attend to the 
Lord's Supper on every Lord's day. The subject thus 
broached was studied carefully, and at length, in August, 
1827, it was considered to be the duty of the church — • 
three only dissenting — to attend regularly to this act of di- 
vine worship. Rev. Blr. Fall, in his " History of the 
Church," says, " In the exercise of its inherent right, and 
in obedience to the authority of the Scriptures, changes 
were made gradually which brought the church in full ac- 
cord with those who advocated a return to Apostolic Chris- 
tianity as developed in the New Testament." 

All discussions related wholly to the structure, the wor- 
ship, and the government of the church of Christ, and the 
changes made were considered to be within the scope of 
that liberty asserted by every Baptist Church " to manage 
its internal concerns" according to the word of God. A 
few members were not satisfied with what had been done, 
although one hundred and fifty-one members concurred. 
Eesolutions were introduced abolishing all the innovations, 
together with the constitution and rules of decorum, with a 
view to entire reconstruction of the church, but failed to 
pass. Dissenting members were offered letters of dismis- 
sion within two months, the failure to call for which was to 
be considered as an assent to the action of the church. 
Two persons only asked and were granted letters of dismis- 
sion. Some others asked for letters, but never called for 
them, and remained in the church as dissenters. 

Oct. 15, 1830, four of these dissenting members asked 
permission to withdraw, they having on October 10th 
united with another church. Another member, leaving 
without letter, united with a now organization, claiming to 
be the original church, under the name of United Baptist 
Church of Nashville. 

On the departure of Rev. Dr. Fall, which was announced 
June 19, 1831, by R. C. Foster, chairman of the commit- 
tee for that purpose, he was presented with a very affec- 
tionate and flattering testimonial from the church. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Jesse B. Ferguson, and after- 
wards returned and conducted the services through the 
troublesome war period, by his constant exertions and zeal 
sustaining the congregation, and preserving the -house of 
worship from the destructive occupation incurr.ed by the 
other churches of the city. 

The old Baptist church on Church Street continued to 
be occupied by them until during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. 
Ferguson, when a new house of worship was built on 
Cherry Street, near the old post-office. This was destroyed 
by fire in 1855. The old building was then reoccupied, 
and soon after refitted, and the pulpit removed from be- 
tween the two front doors to its present position. The 



house and grounds are now valued at twenty-five thousand 
dollars. The trustees are John H. Ewen, John G. Hous- 
ton, and S. S. Wharton. Rev. Samuel A. Kelly was Rev. 
Mr. Falls' second successor, and remained until his death, 
which occurred Sept. 18, 1879. Rev. R. C. Cave became 
pastor in April, 1880. The church numbers three hundred 
and fifty members. Mr. W. A. Eichbaum was the first 
clerk of the church after adopting the doctrines advocated 
by Rev. Mr. Fall. 

The present officers and the dates of their appointment 
are: Elders, — John G. Houston, 1870; John H. Ewen, 
W. B. Dortch, A. D. Wharton, 1879. Deacons, — George 
W. Shields, T. D. Flippin, 0. Ewing, S. S. Wharton, 1876 ; 
J. C. Wharton, Ewen Goodwin, Jacob Anthony, Willis 
Bonner, 1879. 

Edgefield Christian Church was organized on the first 
Sunday in May, 1872, under the preaching of Elders E. G. 
SewcU, David E. Lipscomb, and R. M. Gano, in Odd-Fel- 
low.s' Hall. This hall was regularly occupied for worship 
until the erection of a house of worship on Woodland 
Street, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. This house was 
dedicated on the first Sunday in July, 1878, by the late 
Rev. S. A. Kelly, of the First Church in Nashville. 

The society, which organized with less than twenty 
members, now numbers one hundred and eight. Among 
the first members were E. C. Hall, J. H. Farrar, and David 
Lipscomb. Rev. B. G. Scwell, one of the publishers of the 
Gosj)el Advocate, has been the regular teacher, or pastor, 
since the organization, in 1872. The officers of the church 
are E. G. Sewell, D. C. Hall, and W. A. Corbin, Elders ; 
and B. J. Farrar, C. H. Brandon, T. C. Cobb, and Frank 
R. Handy, Deacons. 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES. 

In the early part of May, 1821, Rt. Rev. Bishop David, 
coadjutor of Bishop Flaget, of Bardstown, Ky., started on 
his first visit to Nashville, which was at that time, with the 
States of Tennessee, Kentucky, and extensive territory to 
the west, included in the diocese of Bardstown, and had 
constituted the bishopric of lit. Rev. Bishop Flaget since 
1810. There had up to this time been but four missionary 
visits made to the State since the early French settlements. 
Bishop David and his party arrived at Nashville May 10th, 
and were cordially received by M. Demonbreun, who enter- 
tained them at his house. Here the first mass offered in 
Tennessee was said the next day. The number of Catho- 
lics at this time in Nashville did not exceed sixty. 

On the proposal to establish a congregration here a 
liberal petition was taken up and signed by Protestants 
as well as Catholics. A lot for a church seventy by one 
hundred feet was offered by Mr. Foster, who was Grand 
Master of the Masons. Hon. Felix Grundy and other 
prominent men received the bishop and his associates with 
polite courtesy, and he was invited to tea by Rev. Sir. Camp- 
bell, of the Presbyterian Church. 

Rev. Father Abell, who accompanied the bishop, preached 
every evening in the court-house, where he had many atten- 
tive Protestant hearers. 

The church was built on the north side of the grounds 
now occupied by the State Capitol in 1830. 



342 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



In 1834 the diocese was reduced to Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee by the organization of new territory to the soutli 
and west. Sept. 16, 1838, Rt. Rev. Dr. Richard Pius 
Miles, a native American, and descendant of a Maryland 
family, was consecrated the first bishop of Nashville, and 
the State of Tennessee was made a separate diocese. Bishop 
Miles made his residence with Mr. J. H. Buddeke, a Ger- 
man Catholic, until he became settled in his diocese. Rt. 
Rev. Bishop James Wheelan was appointed coadjutor to 
Bishop Miles, with right of succession, and consecrated in 
May, 1859. On the death of Bishop Miles, which oc- 
curred Feb. 1, 1860, he entered upon his duties, and re- 
mained until his resignation, in 1863. He then returned 
to his former home in Ohio, where he died in 1878. St. 
Mary's church, on Capitol Hill, was the first Roman Cath- 
olic church in Tennessee. Rev. Father Maguire was the 
earliest priest. Tlie present grand cathedral was erected by 
Bishop Miles in 1855. On his death his remains were do- 
posited in its vault. The parochial residence, joining the 
cathedral, was purchased by him. 

After the resignation of Bishop Wheelan, Rev. Father 
Kelly, a Dominican priest, succeeded him as administrator 
of the diocese until November, 1865. Father Kelly was 
afterwards favorably known for his charitable works in Mem- 
phis and elsewhere during the yellow fever. These incum- 
bents of the bishopric were all previously Dominican priests. 

Rt. Rev. Patrick A. Feehan, of St. Louis, a native 
of Ireland, was consecrated in the old cathedral of St. 
Louis, Mo., Nov. 1, 1865, and at once entered upon his 
duties, relieving Father Kelly. 

Rev. John Veale was succeeded as pastor in charge of 
St. Mary's by Rev. Richard Scannel in 1880, and is assisted 
by Rev. Father Veale and Rev. Patrick Gill. This church 
has now a congregation of about three thousand members. 

The first cemetery was opened when the church was es- 
tablished, joining the city burying-ground. It included 
four acres of ground. Becoming filled, a second one was 
opened, joining Mount Olivet, in 18G8, and given the name 
of Calvary Cemetery. This ground is, like Mount Olivet, 
one of the most sightly spots to be found near the city. It 
is fifty acres in extent, and cost fifteen thousand dollars. 
Many families removed their dead from the old ground to 
their new lots, and have since beautified the new ground 
by many fine monuments. All the Catholic dead from the 
various churches within the county are buried here. 

The Church of the Assumption (German) was consti- 
tuted in 1858, and a brick edifice for worship was built 
on the corner of Vine and Blonroe Streets. J. H. Bud- 
deke and G. H. Wessel were leading and liberal movers 
in this enterprise. The pastors since the war have been 
Rev. Fathers N. J. Konen and L. Sclineider, to 1867 ; W. 
J. Revis, to August, 1871 ; Philip Rist, August, 1871, to 
February,' 1872 ; Joseph Uphaus, to June, 1875; F. 
Xavier Griesmayer, to December, 1875; and Rev. Mathias 
Kenk, until the present time. This church numbers fifty- 
two families and two hundred communicants. A larse 
chapel has been erected beside the church since Rev. 
Father Kenk became pastor. 

St. Columbia Church was built by Rev. Father Meagher, 
in 1873, on Main Street, near South Fifth. Father Meagher 






died of yellow fever in' Memphis while attending to the 
sick, and Rev. Eugene Gozzo, the present pastor, succeeded 
him. This church has about one thousand members, some 
of whom are scattered through the surrounding country. 

St. Patrick's Mission Church, at p]dgefield Junction, 
was built in 1868. There are here about one hundred 
members, farmers and laborers, under the pastoral charge 
of Rev. J. A. Coughlin, of McEwen's, Humphreys Co. 

The leading Catholic charitable institutions are the St. 
Mary's Orphans' Asylum and Free School. 

This asylum occupies seven acres in the south part of the 
city, which, with the buildings, is valued at about twenty- 
five thousand dollars. It was founded by Rev. Father 
Kelly, in 1864, and is in charge of the Dominican Sisters, 

Boys are kept here to the age of twelve, and girls fourteen^ 

years, under a system of moral and mental training, fron 
which they go forth to enter homes in families or 'uecomc 
apprentices to trades. The inmates are mostly Catholif 
children, and are usually about eighty or ninety in numbeii 
This institution is under the immediate care of the bishop 
and is sustained by annual fairs. 

St. Mary's Free School, on Vine Street, consists of foui 
hundred pupils, in charge of the Sisters of Blercy. A 
German school in North Nashville numbers one hundred 
and twenty pupils, and is managed by the Sisters of the 
Most Precious Blood. 

St. Bernard's Academy, a select day-school of one hun- 
dred pupils, is in charge of the Sisters of Mercy. 

St. Cecilia's Academy was founded in 1860 for the edu^ 
cation of young ladies, under the auspices of the Dominican 
Sisters, of whom Mother Ann is the present superior. The 
place stands upon an eminence north of the city, overlook- 
ing the Cumberland River Valley, and comprises ten acres 
of land, with fine buildings, valued at forty thousand dol- 
lars. The present attendance is about one hundred. Much 
of the patronage is from the best flimilies of the surround- 
ing counties who are not Catholics. The administration oi 
the present bishop has been remarkable for its prosperity. 

JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS. 

Among the first Jewish families to settle in Nashville 
were Aaron Lande, Eiias Wolf, David Elsbach, Isaac Gor- 
shon, Myer Sulzbacher, Henry Harris, E. Franklin, Z. 
Levi, and several young men who came as clerks and bookr 
keepers. 

In October, 1851, the Israelites residing in the city called 
a meeting in the house of Isaac Gershon, and organized 
the first Jewish benevolent society in Davidson County. 
Henry Harris was elected president and Isaac Gershon 
vice-president. A committee was appointed, wiio purchased 
seven acres of land a mile and a half from the public square, 
on the Buena Vista pike, for a burial-ground. A room 
was rented for a synagogue on North Market Street, near 
the Louisville depot, and occasional divine worship was 
held on Sabbath* and holidays, Mr. Heury Harris ofiiciating 
as reader. 

In 1853, Mr. Alexander Iser, a native of Polish Russia, 
then located in New York, was engaged as the first rabbi, 

* Saturdiiy. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



343 



at an annual salary of about sis hundred dollars, with per- 
quisites. Mr. Iser served as rabbi for five years. Shortly 
after his arrival here the organization of the society was 
dissolved, and the first Hebrew congregation formed, under 
the name aud title of Slageu David,* at the suggestion of 
Isaac Gershon, as a compliment to the county. The same 
officers were re-eleoted, and a committee was appointed to 
apply to the State Legislature for a charter. This was 
granted in 1854. When the congregation increased in 
numbers they rented Douglass Hall, corner of Market 
Street and the square. 

In 1862 the First Keform Congregation, in opposition to 
the orthodox, was organized by the election of M. Fishel 
president and M. Shyer vice-president. Rev. Mr. Lab- 
shiner, from Albany, N. Y., was their first rabbi. They 
assumed the name of Benij Jioshren.f Another piece of 
land near the first burial-ground was purchased for their 
separate use. 

After an existence of about sis years the two congrega- 
tions united in 1868 as one organization, with the name 
and title of K. K. Ahvaah Schoelem.J A short time after, 
they elected Rev. Dr. Isedor Kaleish as rabbi, while still 
worshiping in the same hall. He remained in his oflice 
for three years. His successor was Dr. Alexander Rosen- 
spitz, who served them for nearly three years. In his time 
the foundation of the present temple was commenced, on 
Vine Street between Church and Broad Streets. The 
laying of the corner-stone was eifected by the celebrated 
rabbi, Isaac M. Wise, of Cincinnati, Ohio, assisted by the 
Freemasons of this district. The temple was finished in 
1877 through the exertions of Mr. G. Blumenstein and 
other Jewish citizens, who contributed liberally for its 
building. It is of the Byzantine style of architecture. Its 
masHve bulb-like dome, towering above the surrounding 
buildings, forms an attractive feature in a distant view of 
the city, while a nearer approach shows it to be an orna- 
ment to the locality. It was designed by W. Dobson, Esq., 
architect, aud cost about forty thousand dollars in building. 
It was dedicated by Rev. Dr. Ilosenspitz. On his depar- 
ture Rev. Dr. G. S. Goldamer, an eminent and much- 
esteemed Hebrew scholar,— a graduate rabbi of Germany, 
and late rabbi at Cincinnati, Ohio, — became leader and 
rabbi of the congregation. When the temple was finished 
worship was conducted, with the introduction of a choir, 
an organ, and family pews. 

Since 1879 the old Polandish mode of worship was 
abolished and substituted by the reformed mode of worship 
called Minhag America, § which was introduced by all con- 
gregations, in conformity with the free institutions of this 
country. Many who belonged to the former congregation 
took oflense at this, and separating organized anew, under 
the name of K. K. Adath Israel, by electing I. B. Cohon 
president and L. Rosenheim vice-president. Their place 
of worship is in a hall in Mr. Rosenheim's house, 118 
North College Street. They style themselves the Orthodox 
Congregation. Tliey have no rabbi, but a citizen named 
M. Muscovitch is their temporary loader. They are very 



■■■■■ Shield of David. 
J Lovers of peace. 



f Sons of Jesliuren. 

§ The custom of America, 



Strict in their religious observances, and do not wish to de- 
part an iota from the ancient institutions which the rabbis 
of old established. 

A very efiicient Sabbath-school was organized in connec- 
tion with the Ahavah Sohoelom by Rev. Dr. Kaleish when 
he was first engaged here as rabbi, and has progressed 
until the present time. Over eighty boys and girls come 
together there three times a week, and are taught by volun- 
tary teachers, of whom the rabbi is superintendent, in 
Hebrew, Biblical history, and the catechism of their re- 
ligion. At the holidays of Pentecost the rabbi confirms 
those pupils who are prepared. Twelve girls and eight 
boys were confirmed at this feast in 1879. Divine worship 
is held Friday evenings in English, and Sabbath (Saturday) 
mornings in German, at the temple. Seats are free. 

Tiie present officers are, K. K. Ahavah Schoelem : J. 
S. Goldamer, Rabbi ; Max Sax, President ; S. Shyer, Vice- 
President ; B. Bissenger, Warden ; H. Loventhal, Treas- 
urer ; S. Weil, Secretary; M. Fishel, Financial Secretary. 

K. K. Adath Israel.— I. B. Cohon, President ; P. Blu- 
menthal, Vice-President; J. Rosenzweig, Secretary; J. 
Grcenstein, Treasurer ; M. Schwartz, Warden. 

THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NASH- 
VILLE AND EDGEFIELD. 

A Young Blen's Christian Association, for the moral, 
mental, and social improvement of young men, was or- 
ganized in January, 1855, incorporated March 2, 1858, 
and continued until the unsettlement of society by the dis- 
asters of war. In 1861 it numbered one hundred and 
seventy-five members, and had a circulating library of about 
four hundred volumes. The reading-rooms were at No. 
35 College Street, up stairs, where the leading newspapers 
and periodicals were daily open to the public. H. Hill 
McAlister was President ; P. L. Nichol, Recording Secre- 
tary ; N. D. Cross, Corresponding Secretary ; W. H. Mor-' 
row. Treasurer; and W. Bryce Thompson, Librarian. It 
was reorganized May 1, 1867, and continued, for some 
months, but soon suspended by reason of the unsettled state 
of society consequent upon the late war. 

The Nashville Tract Society, organized Nov. 16, 1868, 
maintained a mission work on Crawford Street for several 
years. In November, 1873, they resolved themselves into 
a Young Men's Christian Association, in order to avail 
themselves of the old charter and enlarge their field of 
labors. John Lellyett was elected President of the new 
organization ; Willis Bonner, Vice-President ; Frank Hume, 
Recording Secretary ; William Cassetty, Corresponding Sec- 
retary ; and H. W. Forde, Treasurer. The society ceased 
active work the following spring, but reorganized May 15, 
1875, and elected delegates to the National Young Men's 
Christian Association Convention, to be held at Richmond, 
Va. The Methodist Episcopal, Christian, Episcopal, Pres- 
byterian, Cumberland Presbyterian, and Baptist Churches 
were all united in this work, which succeeded clo.se upon a 
series of revival meetings conducted by the evangelists. 
Revs. Whittle and Bliss. M. L. Blanton was elected Presi- 
dent ; A. D. Wharton, Vice-President ; J. E. Goodwin, 
Treasurer ; and R. S. Cowan, Recording Secretary. Frank 
P. Hume was General Secretary and Librarian of the asso- 



3M 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ciation until June 19, 1879, when he was succeeded by the 
present General Secretary, John H. Elliott. 

The library connected with the association was formerly 
the property of the Nashville Library Association, but has 
been largely increased in numbers since it became a part of 
the Young Men's Christian Association attractions. 

The building which occupies the corner of Union and 
Cherry Streets, and is nearly opposite Gen. Andrew Jack- 
son's old law-oflSce, is familiarly known as " the Old Bank 
of Tennessee." It is one of the historic buildings of Nash- 
Tille. Its massive proportions, so different from the more 
modern surroundings, at once arrest the eye of the stranger. 
The rooms, which are open daily from eight a.m. till ten 
P.M., and on Sunday from three till six p.m., offer free to 
every young man a reading-room, with sixty-two newspapers 
and periodicals on file, writing materials, etc., directory of 
good boarding-houses, aid in obtaining employment, etc. 

The association offers to its members the following among 
other additional privileges : chess- and conversation-room, 
popular lecture course, social and musical entertainments, 
and (for full ticket) circulating library of six thousand 
eight hundred volumes, etc. 

Any person of good moral character may obtain an an- 
nual ticket, entitling him to all the above privileges (except 
to take books from the library), for two dollars. 

Officers of the association : President, M. L. Blanton ; 
Vice-President, J. P. McGuire ; Treasurer, R. S. Cowan ; 
Corresponding Secretary, J. S. Carles ; Recording Secretary, 
R. A. Campbell ; Librarian, F. P. Hume ; Assistant, C. A. 
Marlin ; General Secretary, J. H. Elliott. 

Board of Directors: M. L. Blanton, A. Lareombe, James 
Thomas, Jr., M. B. Pilcher, R. S. Cowan, J. P. McGuire, 
A. D. Wharton, R. A. Campbell, J. H. Wilkes, Joseph S. 
Carles. 

A periodical called the " Association Bulletin" is pub- 
lished semi-monthly. 

THE NASHVILLE BIBLE SOCIETY 

■was organized Aug. 25, 1823. Hon. Judge Haywood, of the 
Supreme Bench, at that time delivered before them an elo- 
quent address on the aims of the organization. Among the 
names of those who first gave it encouragement are those of 
Judge McNairy, Gen. Andrew Jackson, and Governor Car- 
roll. In the three general supplies of Bibles to families in 
the United States, this society rendered valuable assistance. 
Professor Nathaniel Cross was secretary from Oct. 14, 1829, 
to April 11, 185-t, and then president until his death, Dec. 
i7, 1866. Dr. A. G. Goodlott was vice-president to his 
death, in September, 1866. In January, 1867, A. G. 
Adams, Esq. , became President; J. S. Carles, Secretary ; 
and Anson Nelson, Treasurer. Present officers, — Dr. W. 
n. Morgan, President; A. D. Adams, Secretary ; Robert 
L. Morris, Treasurer. It is supported by" the liberality of 
the churches. 

CEMETERIES OF NASHVILLE. 
OLDEST BURIAL-PLACES. 

In the early settlement of Nashville the dead were buried 
on the open grounds that overlook Sulphur Spring Bottom, 
and at two or three country burial-places in the neighbor- 



hood. At the former place may be seen a number of mounds 
erroneously called " Indian graves." Joseph Hay, the first 
member of the little settlement killed by Indians, was buried 
a short distance to the east of the Sulphur Spring, — not 
where it now appears, but a hundred yards towards the Cap- ; 
itol, where it issues from the rock beneath the surface of 
the ground. Robert Gilkie, the first who died from sick- 
ness, is said to have been buried in this ground. 

The following reference to the early burying grounds was j 
made by the late Nathaniel Cross, Esq., in a communication i 
to the Tennessee Historical Society in 1850 : ; j 

" Being on the Bluff immediately above the Sulpliur 
Spring this afternoon, which, as is well known, was formerly 
a place of burial for our cily^ as we now consider it, . . . 
I observed that there is but one stone left with an inscrip- 
tion on it to tell who lies beneath. As this, which is a hor- 
izontal slab, and is already considerably defaced and other- 
wise impaired, and will probably be broken by rude hands, 
as the others have been, and disappear from the Bluff, and 
thus no monument be left to attest the place where rest the 
bones of a considerable, number of the early population of 
Nashville, ... I was induced to copy the sole remaining 
inscription. Tiie first words were defaced and partially ob- 
literated, but still sufficiently distinct to be read, as follows : 

"ERECTED BY SUNDRY BROTHER OFFICERS AND COM- 
RADES 
" * To the Memory of Richard Chandler, late 1st Lieut, and Paymas- 
ter, 4th Regiment of Infantry, In the Army of the United States, who 
deceased on the 20th day of December, ISOl, aged 37 years, 7 months, 
and 16 days. 

" ' lie lived esteemed an honest man and brave soldier; 
He died regretted by all who knew him. 

" * Exalted truth and manly firmness shone 
Conspicuous in him beneath this stone.' 

" His remains were removed, under the auspices of the 
Historical Society, from the Sulphur Spring Bottom to 
Mount Olivet Cemetery, with impressive ceremonies, in 
which Hon. E. H. East participated as orator of the day. 
Many of the graves are lying deep beneath the yearly de- 
posits of the Tennessee, and their numbers or near location 
is only a point of conjecture." 

Before using the Bluff as a burial-place, the dead were 
buried on the public square, between the court-house and 
the site of the old inn. The late Thomas Crutcher, who 
saw the last one buried there, was heard to say, years after, 
that the earth was so shallow it was difficult to obtain a 
sufficient quantity to cover the coffin. Two or three other 
and lesser burying-places were used for a while in the sur- 
rounding country. 

The City Cemetery was first used in 1822, and many 
bodies were removed from their first resting-places for per- 
manent burial here. When located, it was thought to be 
beyond the reach of the city, but it was soon surrounded 
with the rapid growth of improvement. Two railroads now 
pass through its grounds. Just beyond its southern wall a 
cotton-oil mill and a flouring-mill keep up the constant roar 
and racket of business, and near by the immense warehouse 
and cotton-yards of the Decatur depot employ many busy 
workmen. The twenty-seven acres inclosed are regularly 
laid out in streets, named like those in a city of the living. 



CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



345 



The soft sunlight here falls through the delicate foliage of 
Southorn evergreen and deciduous trees upon grand monu- 
ments, picturesque shrubbery, grassy mounds, and bright 
green carpets of trailing myrtle. A lasting palisade of 
cedar excludes the outside world, whose only approach is 
through the massive iron gates by which its sleeping tenants 
entered. 

There were eleven thousand two hundred and fifty -nine 
;buried in this ground from 1822 to 1859, and the inter- 
Iments, extending through nearly sixty years, will number 
.between fifteen and twenty thousand. Many prominent 
citizens of Nashville and of Tennessee are buried there, 
among them Gen. Kobertson, the founder of Nashville, 
Governor William Carroll, Hon. Felix Grundy, Dr. John 
Shelby, Duncan Robertson, Esq., Dr. Robert Porter, Gen. 
Felix K. Zollicoffer, Gen. James E. Rains, and many 
others, citizens and soldiers, honored in life and cherished 
in memory since dead. 

In this old burying-ground there stands a fine monument, 
erected by the State of Tennessee in commemoration of the 
;character and services of Gen. William Carroll, who was for 
twelve successive years Governor of the State. 
; Another, erected by the city of Nashville to the memory 
of one of her noblest and most useful citizens, who came 
here in 1806, though strongly worded, is said to be no 
less true. It reads, — 

" To the Memory of 

DUNCAN ROBERTSON, 

a nativ'e of Scotland and resident of the 

United States 43 years, who died at Nashville 

the 1st May, 1S33, in the 63d year of his age, 

the citizens of Nashville have erected 

this Monument. 

1 "This loss will be long and severely felt, and his place will not be 

[soon or easily supplied. Always first and best in every work of 

philnnthropy and beneficence, to do good to his fellow-men, — entirely 

forgetful of himself, — seemed to be the great object of his life. In the 

dungeon of the forsaken prisoner, at the bedside of the wretched and 

friendless, and in the abode of poverty and distress was he almost 

xonstantly found. In imitation of the example of his Divine Master, 

'he literally ' went about doing good.' No personal sacriiice w.as too 

great for him to make when the call of benevolence demanded it. 

"Ho was not only willing but active and efficient in every good work 
of charity and disinterested beneficence. Such a man is among the 
wonders of the age, — a blessing to any community, — and his memory 
should be embalmed in the grateful recollections of his contempo- 
raries, and preserved for the gratitude and veneration of posterity." 

I Mount Olivet Cemetery. — Mount Olivet, one of the most 
ijbeautiful cemeteries in the South, is located two and a 
half miles from the city, contains one hundred and five 
acres, and has fronts on both the Lebanon and Stone's 
ijRiver turnpikes. It was established October, 1855, by a 
istock company organized under a charter from the Tennes- 
see Legislature. There are many beautiful mausoleums, 
obelisks, monuments, etc., so cliaste and exquisite as to 
well repay a visit. Hon. John Bell, ex-Governor Aaron 
V. Brown, and many other distinguished men are buried 
there. 

The place was originally beautiful. To its undulating 
surface, clear running brook, and grand forest-trees are added 
the distant view of the Capitol and spires of Nashville. 
The whole tract has been laid out by a skillful artist in 
accordance with the suggestions of a refined taste and 
44 



the picturesque location of the grounds ; thousands of 
evergreens and other ornamental shrubbery, collected from 
the mountains and surrounding forests, have been planted. 
An Osage-orange hedge incloses the whole premises. Tlie 
avenues are graded and partly macadamized, and the lots 
surveyed and marked. It is said that " the name, ' Mount 
Olivet,' was suggested by the name of the place whence 
our Saviour ascended from this earth ; and as He ascended 
thence to heaven, so we trust that the spirits of thousands 
whose bodies may find their last resting-place on our 
' Mount Olivet' may ascend to Him in the same blessed 
home." 

The directors have spared neither pains nor expense in 
its adornment. 

If there is any one place in Nashville about which 
there is no difference of opinion, it is Mount Olivet. Its 
beauty is surpa.ssing at any season, but in the spring it 
fairly glows with loveliness. Its grass and its trees, its 
birds and flowers, give it a charm that is unsurpassed, 
and the sacredness of the place makes it like holy ground, 
suggesting feelings of the deepest reverence. Such a place 
robs death of many of its terrors. 

No one can visit there without feeling an awe at the 
thought that here lie those loved while living and cher- 
ished now that they are dead. 

Nothing but a visit will give an idea of the place. To 
those who have only seen the burial-places in the country 
or at some village churchyard, no conception can be formed 
of Mount Olivet. It combines all the elegance of a land- 
scape garden, the grandeur of an artist's studio, and the 
freshness of a finely-kept lawn. The grass is kept closely 
shaved, the trees, while they seem to be directed by nature 
only, are the results of the most exact art, and fiowers, both 
native and exotic, are everywhere in the most lavish pro- 
fusion. Scarcely a grave but is decorated at least once a 
week, and to the first visitor on a Sunday afternoon the 
effect is truly dazzling. The place is laid out in irregular 
plats, each unlike the other, and the entire place orna- 
mented, besides the flowers, with beautiful evergreens and 
costly statuary. Blany fine works of monumental art point 
out the great men of Tennessee and their loved ones, who 
sleep within its bounds. There are some pieces of work 
that would do credit to the atelier of any sculptor, while 
there are many grand monumental shafts as elaborate as 
those upon the Nile or among the ruins of the Acropolis. 
All the different orders of architecture have here an expo- 
nent. The solid Doric stands side by side with the splen- 
did Corinthian or the mixed beauty and strength of the 
Composite. On the one hand an angel stretches forth its 
arms to the sky, pointing the way to the Celestial City, 
while at another the Man acquainted with grief shows to 
the passer-by the crown of thorns and the pierced side. 
Beings of celestial beauty are on every hand, so that a vis- 
itor may gaze in rapturous delight at each successive visit 
to these grounds. 

Mr. Woodward, the gentlemanly superintendent, takes 
delight in showing visitors over the grounds, and to him 
is due much of the loveliness, it being through his good 
taste and judgment that it has attained such a degree of 
excellence. 



346 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Dr. A. V. S. Lindsley has been president, and C. W. 
Nance, Esq., secretary, of this corporation since it was 
formed, and much of its good management and beauty are 
the result of their eflForts. Charles Callender, Esq., is 
treasurer of the company, which is under the management 
of a board of directors. All visitors are supplied by him 
with passes before their admission to these beautiful 
grounds. 

Nashville National Cemetery. — This cemetery was es- 
tablished Jan. 28, 1867. It is situated on the west side 
of the Gallatin turnpike, six miles north of Nashville. The 
Louisville and Nashville Railroad runs through it north 
and south, dividing it into two nearly equal parts. Madi- 
son Station is about one mile north of the cemetery. The 
lot contains nearly sixty-four acres of undulating land, and 
is inclosed by a stone wall covered with a coping of sawed 
limestone .slabs. 

The main entrance is near the centre of the east side 
from the Gallatin pike. A handsome arched gateway, 
built of white marble, covers the carriage-way at the main 
entrance, closed by double iron gates. A main avenue ex- 
tends from this entrance through the grounds, having 
numerous branches, which wind around the various undu- 
lations in such a manner as to present the natural features 
of the lot to advantage. These avenues are covered with 
gravel and rolled hard. They divide the grounds into 
numerous sections of various sizes and shapes, most of 
which are occupied with graves. 

On the east side of the railroad on the south side is a 
circular mound, on which is placed a thirty-two-pounder 
iron gun as a monument. Just north of it is the flag-staff. 
Four other large iron-gun monuments are placed in differ- 
ent parts of the grounds. A bronze shield is placed on 
the gun near the flag-staff, whereon is inscribed the date 
when the cemetery was established and the number of 
interments. 

The superintendent's lodge is a stone building one and a 
half stories high, with French roof It stands on high 
ground, and presents a fine appearance from the turn- 
pike. 

A small natural water-course enters the cemetery near 
the northwest corner, and runs in a southeasterly direction 
through the grounds, passing out near the main entrance. 
Another little streamlet runs through the southeast portion 
of the cemetery, passing out near the main entrance. 
Many trees and shrubs have been transplanted into this 
cemetery. An Osageorange hedge extends along the inside 
of the wall, excluding it from view from that side. The 
large forest-trees to the west of the railroad give character 
to the foliage and add greatly to the beauty of the ceme- 
tery. 

The graves are arranged in parallel rows or in curves 
concentric with the avenues surrounding the respective 
sections, which are covered with a compact turf, with the 
grass kept constantly neatly cut. 

The graves are marked by marble headstones, whereon 
are inscribed the number of the grave, the name, and the 
State to which the soldier belonged. The unknown graves 
are designated by marble blocks with the number inscribed 
thereon. The interments are classified as follows, viz. : 



Known. 

White Union soldiers 10,3S8 

Colored Union soldiers 1,447 



Totiil Union soldiers 11,835 

Employees 703 



Unknown. 

3,508 

463 

3,971 
29 



Total. 

13,896 

1,910 

15,806 
732 



Total interments 12,538 4,000 16,538 

The bodies were removed from the place of original in 
terment, — viz., from the burying-grounds around Nash 
ville, wherein were buried the dead from the general hos 
pitals in that city, from the battle-fields near by and a| 
Franklin, from Gallatin, Bowling Green, Cave City, ano 
many other places in Kentucky and Tennessee. In numbei 
of interments this is the second largest National cemetery H 
the country. Much labor and money has been espendel 
in grading and laying off the grounds, planting choiee 
trees and shrubbery, which, under the direction of a skillfijli 
engineer, has rendered the grounds very attractive, andi 
which is enhanced every year by the growth and increase 
of the foliage. 

Ed. 31. Main is the superintendent. 

Confederate Cemetery. — In 1869 the Ladies' Blemorij 
Society of Nashville purchased a burial-ground in tl 
centre of Mount Olivet Cemetery for the Confederal 
soldiers who fell in the battles about Nashville. It occi 
pies a pretty hillock, with a natural slope on every sid^ 
The design is artistic. In the centre, or crest, is a monu^^il 
mental circle, sixteen feet square, reserved for an obelisk, 
Thirteen rows of graves encircle this square, with four 
avenues from the centre, leading out north, south, east, 
and west. The grave-rows are short in the centre and 
increase in length towards the outer edge of the circle. 
The first six inner rows contain remains of soldiers from 
other States ; in the seventh row begin graves of the 
" Unknown," while the outer rows contain the bodies of 
fallen Tennesseeans. About fourteen hundred bodies are 
interred there. 

Old Catholic Cemetery. — The old Catholic Cemetery is 
in the southern portion of the city, on a portion of St. 
Cloud Hill. The cemetery is about six acres in extent, 
but is almost filled up, — -virtually has been closed. 

Mount Calvary Cemetery. — Mount Calvary Catholic 
Cemetery is two miles from the city, immediately north of 
and adjoining Mount Olivet. It comprises a beautiful 
tract of fifty acres, purchased in 1868 for fifteen thousand 
dollars. Since then it has been greatly improved, and is 
now exceedingly attractive. It is under the management 
of a supervising committee from the cathedral congrega- 
tion, of which the bishop and the pastor of the church are 
ex-ojicio members. 

Mount Ararat (^Colored) Cemetery is located two miles 
out on the Murfreesboro' pike. It was opened in 1869 by 
an association of colored citizens, governed by a board of 
trustees. The cemetery has ten acres, and cost two thou- 
sand five hundred and fifty dollars. 

Tlie Hebrew Cemetery is two miles north of the city, 
in the vicinity of St. Cecilia Academy. It is about two 
acres in extent. 

EDGEFIELD. 

District No. 17, which lately contained the city of Edge- 
field, was formed from the old Eighteenth District in 1859. 



5STiT;>%Tifte_^ 




HON. CLEMENT WOODSOxN iNANCE. 



Hon. Clement Woodson Nance, third son of William H. and 
Elizabeth Y. Nance, was born March 26, 1811, in Davidson Co., 
Tenn. His parents were natives o( Virginia, settling in Davidson 
in 180S, where they engaged in farming. Their children were Mary 
Ann, Josiah C, Martin F., Samuel V., Susan M., Clement W., Eliza- 
beth Y., William L., America, Frederick, Sicily, and Antoinette. 

William H. Nance was magistrate and chairman of the County 
Court in Nashville for many years; was a prominent member of tiie 
Primitive Baptist Church, and died at the age of fifty-eight. 

The boyhood and youth of C. W. Nance were spent on the farm, 
attending common school in winter, until he reached the age of nine- 
teen, when he went to live with Dr. Wm. McGee to study mathematics, 
and, at the doctor's suggestion, he taught a sort of select school. The 
next year he taught in Arringtou Academy as principal. The fol- 
lowing two years he spent at Nashville University, devoting himself 
to the higher mathematics and study of the classics. Returning, for 
the next two years he conducted the Arrington Academy, and then 
accepted the position of surveyor of public lands in the Chickasaw 
nation. At the end of one and one-half years he returned to Tennes- 
see, and took charge of a school in the Eighth District of Davidson 
County, near Sulphur Springs, and the next year a position in the 
Robertson Academy was tendered him, which he accepted. 

In 1836 he was married to Ann D., daughter of Henry Avent, of 
Huntsville, Ala. Their children have been Lucilla, Narcissa, Ann 
Adelia, Montgomery B., Mary, and William H. 

Clement W. Nance, after his marriage, bought him a home of one 
hundred and thirty acres in Rutherford County, and built an academy 
thereon, calling it the Amoenian Grove Academy. This academy he 
conducted for four years, it becoming, under Mr. Nance's management, 
one of the most prosperous schools in Tennessee. During the first 
year of his management of this school he accepted the position, as civil 
engineer, to survey and report to the Legislature of Tennessee a route 
for a great central turnpike or railroad from the Mississippi River 
to the Virginia line, at a point where the city of Briston now stands. 
Leaving his school in competent hands, he entered upon his arduous 
task, which, to those acquainted with the man, it will be superfluous 
to add, he accomplished to the entire satisfaction of all interested. 

In 1841, Mr. Nance sold liis academy to Dr. John W. Richardson, 
and commenced the life of a farmer and tanner on property purchased 
in his native county on IMill Creek. Here he was elected justice of 
the peace, and soon after appointed by the County Court as one of 
the three justices to hold "Quorum Court." In 1849 he was elected 
to the Legislature, and served one term. About this time he engaged 
with James Matlock in the grocery business on Market Street, con- 



tinuing two years. Two charters having been granted to rival com- 
panies for a railroad from Nashville to Franklin, the first company 
filing a survey to have the right of way, the survey of one of the 
companies was entrusted to Mr. Nance, who secured right of way for 
his employers by filing the first survey. 

Between the years 1840 and 1860, Mr. Nance was frequently em- 
ployed in surveying the diff'erent turnpikes leading from Nashville; 
made estimates on their costs, and superintended the construction of 
the White's Creek, Louisville Branch or Dickinson, Brick Church, 
Middle Franklin ur Granny White, Richland or Harding, Hills- 
borough, and others. In 1852 he built, in company with his son-in- 
law, Woodward, and Jamc:; Bergan, the first two miles of the Tennessee 
and Alabama Railroad from Nashville. 

About this time the first steps were taken in the organization of 
Mount Olivet Cemetery Corporation. In 1855, Mr. Nance engaged 
in the real-estate business in Nashville, in company with his son-in- 
law, Mr. Woodward, which they conducted until the breaking out of 
the wai*. In 1860, Mr. Nance, in company with four other gentlemen, 
bought the Beuna Vista turnpike and ferry, and in a few years Mr. 
Nance, by purchase, became sole owner, paying therefor thirteen 
thousand dollars. During the same year the White's Creek turnpike 
was sold at public sale to C. W. Nance and E. H. Childress, the 
latter, at the close of the war, selling to Chadwell, whose interest Mr. 
Nance bought, and became sole owner of the road. 

At tho breaking out of the war Mr. Nance moved from Nashville to 
the north side of the Cumberland River, on the Buena Vista turnpike. 
He had opposed secession in every way, feeling that it would ruin 
the country, and made at every opportunity speeches in favor of union. 
At the close of the war he turned his attention to the repair of his 
turnpikes. This occupied him till 1869, and cost him nearly thirty 
thousand dollars, the roads, however, earning during that time about 
twenty-five thousand dollars. From the beginning of 1870 to the 
close of 3 877 considerable trouble was made by persons who cheerfully 
allowed Mr. Nance to proceed so long as they thought his investments 
in these turnpikes would be of no profit to liim ; but when it became 
apparent that they were a good investment and likely to prove reason- 
ably profitable, it caused them much uneasiness. Many suits were 
instituted with a view to compel Mr. Nance to abandon the enter- 
prise of restoring these roads, and, of course, losing his investment. 
These suits were almost invariably decided in Mr. Nance's favor. 
Throughout this trying time Mr. Nance's course was most pacific, 
though firm; notwithstanding he was made the recipient of the 
grossest abuse, he never allowed himself to return it, seeking only 
to know and to do his duty to all, without offense to any. 





MRS. B. P. WOODWARD. 



B. F. WOODWARD. 



B. F. WOODWARD. 



B. F. Woodward was born ^Nlarch 2, 1826, in 
that part of Davidson which is now Cheatham 
County. 

His father was born in Virginia, near Petersburg, 
married early in life Miss Susan Epps, and removed 
in 1804 to Davidson Co., Tenn., where their five 
children were born. He followed the vocation of 
farming, and was known far and near as a most 
thrifty husbandman. 

He married for his second wife Hannah Bur- 
nett, of Davidson County. 'Plieir children were 
fifteen in number, B. F. being the fourth child of 
this union. Thirteen of these children reached 
maturity. 

B. F. Woodward was reared a farmer, but at the 



age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a tanner and 
became master of that branch of industry. In 1852 
he embarked in the boot-and-shoe trade. He and 
his father-in-law, Mr. C. W. Nance, built three 
miles of the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad. Mr. 
Woodward afterwards became surveyor of land, and 
was county surveyor for four years. Jan. 16, 1872, 
he was elected superintendent of Mount Olivet 
Cemetery. 

April 16, 1851, he was married to Miss Lucilla 
S., daughter of Hon. C. W. Nance. Their children 
have been fourteen in number, nine of whom are 
living, — viz., Benjamin C, Eugenia E., John O., 
Lucilla S., Robert E. Lee, Lizzie H., Walter B., 
Charles W., and Katie. 



CITY OP NASHVILLE. 



3-17 



Its bouodary-liae, as first established in tliat year, began 
" OQ the Cumberland River where the late John P. Slielby's 
and N. Hobson's lauds come to that river, and thence north 
with the line of these lands to the line of W. Finn and W. 
M. Cook ; thence west to White's Creek turnpike ; thence 
with that road to the Brick Church turnpike, and with 
the same to Page's Branch ; thence down Page's Branch 
to Cumberland River; and thence up that river to the 
place of beginning." The polling-place for elections in the 
district was ordered at Davidson's store. 

As most of this district subsequently became the city of 
Edgefield, and remained under that corporate name till its 
annexation to Nashville in February, 1880, it will be 
proper to give a brief history of the rise and progress of 
that city. 

The original village or settlement was located on lands 
belonging to the farm of Dr. John Shelby, who was one 
of the early settlers; and this chapter will be read by 
many whose boyhood days were spent in hunting in the 
woods which then covered the land on which we now find 
palatial residences. 

In the olden time the old Shelby mansion stood where 
McClure's Hall now stands, on Woodland Street, and which 
was standing there in 1855, but was torn down about that 
time, and many of the identical brick of the old house are 
now in the residence of Gen. George J. Stubblefield, on 
the corner of Minnick and Russell Streets. On the IGth 
day of May, 1843, Dr. Shelby made a deed of trust for 
the benefit of the old Planters' Bank of Tennessee, and 
William L. Foster was made the trustee. This deed cov- 
ered six hundred and ninety-nine acres, and began at a point 
opposite the water-works in this city. The deed also em- 
braced a number of negroes, horses, and some personal 
property, and also some real estate in the city of Nashville, 
[all of which was to secure the sum of sixty-four thousand 
[three hundred and ninety-six dollars and ninety-four cents. 
' In 1852 the land lying between Fatherland Street and 
Shelby Avenue, and running east and west from Barrow to 
Oak Street, was laid off into fifty lots, and the large tract 
of ground between Fatherland Street and the Gallatin 
Pike, from the river to Oak Street, had not even been laid 
out in lots, and about the only house in that whole tract 
was Dr. Shelby's home place, that embraced the entire 
ground lying between Embankment Street and Oak Street, 
and between Fatherland Street and the Gallatin Pike ; and 
at that time Russell Houston, Dr. Buchanan, F. K. Zolli- 
cofier, and Mr. Rockway owned nearly all the land from 
Oak to Minnick Street. 

It was in November or December, 1854, that Mr. A. 
V. S. Lindsley, then and now a prominent real-estate 
•agent, had a public sale of the lots which had been laid 
lout by Dr. Shelby, and in a sale lasting two days Mr. 
Lindsley sold about eighty thousand dollars' worth of real 
estate, some of the lots selling for as much as thirty dollars 
per foot, while the average price was about ten dollars per 
ifoot. It must be borne in mind that long prior to 'this 
I sale Dr. Shelby had paid the debt of sixty-four thousand 
! three hundred and ninety-six dollars and ninety-four cents 
included in the deed of trust made to the Planters' Bank 
in 1843. 



The following communication from ex-Governor Neill S. 
Brown to the editor of the Nashville Banner shows how 
Edgefield obtained its name : 

"To THE Editor op the Banner: 

" In the fall of 1848, when I first purchased and settled 
on the place I now occupy, there were but two houses be- 
tween me and the river south of Main Street, — one the 
residence of Mrs. Minnick, where Mr. Sheppard now lives, 
and the other the residence of Dr. Shelby. On the north 
side of Main Street the old Nichols house stood solitary 
and alone, and it is still there, after all these generations. 
On the south side there was an unbroken forest of stately 
poplars and elms, still standing as they had stood in the 
days of the early settlements, and stretching on down to 
the borders of the river. North of me were the residences 
and settlements of Dr. McPerrin and John McGavock, 
separated, however, and obscured by a dense forest on my 
own place, but which, alas ! has disappeared under the rav- 
ages of war. Beyond the premises of McFerrin and Mc- 
Gavock was a beautiful woods, forming a graceful crescent 
or circle. The whole settlement, as it was then, formed 
one of the most beautiful pictures I ever beheld. Art had 
done but little, but nature had done her utmost, and made 
it a most charming retreat. It was, in fact, a ' lovely vil- 
lage of the plain.' 

" Some short time after I settled there, I met one day 
casually, at my spring, several of my neighbors. Among 
them I can recall Dr. Pitts, Gen. Clements, and Mr. Hob- 
son. Some one, I think Dr. Pitts, raised the question of 
selecting a name for our village, for it was then bearing an 
appellation not very complimentary to its dignity. I was 
called upon first. Looking over the scenery in view, and 
observing the graceful curve of the woods around the dis- 
tant fields, I was struck with the name of ' Edgefield,' and 
it was unanimously adopted. This name has come on 
down to the present day, and will probably continue 
through the indefinite future. 

" The physical features of our town have undergone a 
change since that day equal to that wrought by the hand 
of art. Houses and streets have usurped the place of com- 
mons and paths. A busy hive has occupied a solitude. 
Then I knew every inhabitant of the village. Now I do 
not know the fourth of them. Long may it live, and 

flourish, and prosper I 

"Neill S. Brown." 

wetmore's addition. 

What was then known as North or Lower Edgefield 
was laid ofi" into lots by the Union Bank of Tennessee in 

1846, and about January, 1847, M. W. Wetmore purchased 
from the Union Bank one hundred and forty-three acres, 
and proceeded to put it on the market, and commenced sell- 
ing lots there in the fall of 1847. About the first purchase 
was that made by D. B. Hicks, who bought in October, 

1847, four and one-half acres on Spring Street, for two 
hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre, on one, two, three, 
and four years' time, and he may be said to have been the 
pioneer settler. We state these facts to show the difference 
bet\yeen the price of real estate then and now. 



348 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



SUSPENSION-BRIDGE. 

This magnificent structure was built in 1850. It was 
seven hundred feet long, and was one hundred and ten feet 
above low-water mark. The architect was the late Col. A. 
Heiman. The contractor was M. D. Field, who was a 
brother of Cyrus W. Field, of Atlantic Cable fame. The 
bridge was destroyed by the Confederate troops Jan. 18, 
18(52, and was rebuilt in 1866. The building of this 
bridge gave an impetus to the growth of Edgefield, making 
desirable a large body of laud which was not so well reached 
by the old bridge, which crossed at the Gallatin pike. 

The Nashville Banner of Nov. 13, 1852, contained the 
fullowing advertisement, which we reprint, as showing the 
connection between the building of the suspension-bridge 
and the sale of lots. 

"building lots for sale. 
" There are still several benutiful building sites unsold on the north 
side of the river, in the neighborhood of lots purchased by Messrs. 
Houston, Buchanan, Ramsey, Campbell, Plater, Bang, Zollicoffer, 
Morrow, Hutchinson, McEwen, McDonald and others. The street 
leading to Fatherland Street, from the embanliment of the wire 
bridge, shall be raised above high-water mark by the last of Novem- 
ber next. ,,-™ ^ „ 

"Washington BAitnow. 

Edgefield, being beautifully situated opposite Nashville, 
upon a drift or glacial soil, with pure water and healthy 
country air, and united to the former by a fine wire bridge 
spanning the Cumberland, naturally invited settlers and 
drew many of the business men and well-to-do families of 
Nashville to establish their homes there. Tradesmen, gro- 
cers, retail dealers, and manufacturers settled in the place, 
schools sprang up, and churches were built. Thus Edgefield 
became in a few years a beautiful, thriving, busy suburban 
hamlet, with a rapidly-increasing population, with the vari- 
ous institutions which constitute a refined and well-ordered 
community, and with her proportion of intelligent progres- 
sive and professional men. The history of her churches 
and schools is given under the general heads of ecclesiasti- 
cal and educational matters in another place. 

INCORPORATION OF EDGEFIELD. 

On the 2d day of January, 1869, in pursuance of a pe- 
tition from citizens residing in what was then known as the 
Seventeenth Civil District of Davidson County, and the 
order of the County Court of said county, made upon the 
presentation thereto of said petition, an election was held 
within the boundaries prescribed by said petition and order, 
and the corporation of Edgefield inaugurated by the elec- 
tion of W. A. Glenn, Frank Sharp, J. S. Woodford, G. J. 
Stubblefield, Harvey Campbell, A. G. Sanford, and Joseph 
C. Guild as aldermen, who met on the 6th of January, 
1869, and organized by electing W. A. Glenn mayor, and 
James T. Bell recorder. 

We give the following list of mayors and recorders down 
to the date of annexation of Edgefield to the city of Nash- 
ville : 

Mayors— B.o\i. W. A. Glenn, 1869 ; Hon. Jackson B. 
White, 1870 ; Hon. W. A. Glenn, 1871 ; Hon. W. P. 
Marks, 1872 ; Hon. W. A. Glenn, 1873 ; Hon. J. N. 
Brooks, 1874-75; Hon. Albert S. Williams, 1876-77; 
Hon. Samuel M. Wene, 1878-80. 



Recorders.— 3 aaies T. Bell, 1869-75; W. M. Brown, 
1875-76; John L. Stubblefield, 1877-80. 

STREET RAILROADS. "'* ' 

The Edgefield Street Railroad Company was organized 
Oct. 1,1871. In November, 1871, the company commenced 
the construction of the road, and put the first car on the track 
Jan. 23, 1872. It was in January, 1872, that the company 
made the celebrated raid on the Bridge Company, and laid 
their track on the bridge embankment. On the first day 
of May, 1872, the first car was driven across the suspen- i 
sion bridge, the cars having previously run to the northern 
end of the bridge. Nothing that has ever started in Edge- , 
field has done so much to develop the town as this road, ! 
which is a great public benefit. It is the first road run- ; 
ning into Nashville that adopted and maintained the five- 
cent fare. The track is about one and a half miles in 
length, with three svritches, and they run four cars, one 
leaving the terminus every fifteen minutes. 

The North Edgefield and Nashville Street Railroad Com- 
pany was organized in the fall of 1879. J. W. McFerrin 
is president, and Albert S. Williams secretary. 

Edgefield made rapid strides in manufactures, and now ' 
has in operation a bucket-factory, a box-factory, a furniture- 
manufactory, a pump-factory, a saddle-tree manufactory, 
and three saw- and planing-mills. The late city contains 
the round-house and two shops of the Louisville and Nash- 
ville and Great Southern Railroad. 

ANNEXATION TO NASHVILLE. 

An act authorizing the citizens to vote on the question 
of annexation passed the Legislature Dec. 23, 1879. The 
vote was taken Feb. 6, 1880, resulting as follows: For 
annexation, 498; against, 482; majority in favor, 16. 

Edgefield, as an incorporated city, contained six wards ; 
after the annexation it was divided into three wards, now 
known as the 11th, 12th, and 13th wards of the city of 
Nashville. 

NASHVILLE CENTENNIAL. 

The One Hundredth Anniversary of tlie settle- 
ment of the City of Nashville was celebrated in this city 
from April 23d to May 29, 1880, iuclusive, and was in 
every respect a grand success. It was inaugurated and 
carried out under the auspices of the Tennessee Historical 
Society, whose first meeting to discuss and arrange the pre- 
liminaries was held April 24, 1878. From that date for- 
ward till the cluse of the brilliant and succes.^ful undertak- 
ing, the society, the commissioners appointed by the citi- 
zens, and the various committees were busily at work or- 
ganizing and preparing for the celebration. 

The ofiicers of the Nashville Centennial Commission 
were as fellows: Dr. T. A. Atchison, President; S. Y. 
Caldwell, Recording Secretary; R. A. Campbell, Corres- 
ponding Secretary ; William M. Duncan, Treasurer ; The- 
odore Cooley, Assistant Treasurer. The Board of Direct- 
ors — each director being cliairman of a sub-committee — 
was as follows : Dr. J. B. Lindsley, Capt. William Stock- 
ell, Hon. M. B. Howell, Dr. George S. Blackie, J. L. 
Weakley, Esq., A. G. Adams, Esq., Col. J. P. McGuire, 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



349 



Anson Nelson, Esq., Hon. T. A. Kercheval, Hon. Pitkin 
C. Wright, Gen. John F. Wheless, Gen. B. F. Cheatham, 
§, Y. Caldwell, Esq., Dr. J. H. Curry, Hon. J. C. Guild, 
Gen. Gates P. Thruston, and Mrs. C. W. Cole. 

The oflBcers of the Exposition Board were as follows ; 
William Stockell, Chairman; M. B. Howell, Assistant 
Chairman ; R. A. Campbell, Secretary ; Dr. G. S. Blackie, 
Corresponding Secretary ; J. L. Weakley, Treasurer. The 
chairmen of the various Exposition Committees were : Wil- 
bur F. Foster, Dr. J. M. Safford, B. J. iMcCarthy, H. E. 
Jones, R. A. Campbell, James A. Thomas, Theodore Coo- 
ley, W. J. Johnson, D. C. Scales, M. B. Howell, D. F. 
Wilkin, B. G. Wood, William Porter, J. H. AVilkes, and 
James S. Ross. 

The more important features of the celebration were tlie 
grand centennial procession, Saturday, April 24, 1880 ; the 
oration at the Capitol, May 20th ; the grand military dis- 
play and competitive drill for the week commencing May 
17th, in which two thousand dollars in cash premiums were 
awarded to the best drilled companies. The imposing na- 
tional feature of the celebration was the unveiling of the 
equestrian statue of Gen. Andrew Jackson, Thursday, May 
20, 1880. There were other salient features, such as his- 
torical addresses, discourses on education, etc., delivered 
from time to time during the continuance of the celebra- 
tion, and a grand display of fire-works surpassing anything 
of the kind ever before witnessed in the South. Notwith- 
standing the large admission fee charged on the occasion, 
more than four thousand people gathered in the inclosure 
of Gen. Peter Tracy, between Vine and Spruce Streets, to 
witness the display, which was furnished by Professor 
Jackson, of Philadelphia. The programme printed below 
was entirely and successfully carried out. 

PKOGKAMME. 

1. Flight of rockets, with crimson, emerald, sapphire, 
gold and silver stars, rain and serpents. 

2. Brilliant illumination with colored fires. 

3. Star of Nashville, decorated with the national colors, 
red, white, and blue ; in the centre a superb crimson and 
emerald scroll. 

4. Discharge of a bomb of a thousand stars, making an 
immense shower of silver. 

5. Enchanted ring, or serpents' dance, commencing with 
revolving fires of ruby, amethyst, emerald, and jessamine, 
encircling a silver serpent-dance. 

6. Twin asteroids, reaching a great altitude, and floating 
away in the heavens, changing colors in their course. 

7. Liberty tree, beginning with a mutating centre of car- 
mine, purple, and gold, suddenly developing into a magnifi- 
cent tree of golden foliage. 

8. A huge shell bursting into a shower of molten gold. 

9. Star of Washington, opening with a revolving centre 
of Chinese and jessamine fires, illuminated with ruby and 
emerald, and changing to a brilliant flaming star. 

10. Flight of balloon rockets, carrying stars, changing 
from emerald and ruby to amethyst and gold. 

11. Pyric gem, with a centre of carmine and emerald, 
transforming to a beautiful gem studded with rubies and 
diamonds. 



12. A variegated bomb, bursting in the heavens and 
forming a great cloud of red, white, and blue stars. 

13. Bouquet. This beautiful figure started with a moss 
rose, and, after many pleasing changes, suddenly unfolded 
into a bouquet of Flora's choicest treasures. 

14. Flight twin parachutes bearing colors of great beauty. 

15. Great Southern Cross. A magnificent figure begin- 
ning with revolving fires of ruby, emerald, and sapphire, 
suddenly bursting into a great cross, in the angles of which 
were rosuttes of various colors. 

16. Discharge of a shell of amethyst and emeralds of 
great brilliancy. 

17. Italian figure-piece. From a rich centre of emerald 
and carmine appeared a magnificent figure surmounted by 
corruscations of great brilliancy, and intersected with 
rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. 

18. Flight of rockets, with floating stars of charming 
colors. 

19. The gem of the evening, rose and diamonds. This 
figure was dedicated to the ladies of Nashville. It com- 
menced with a brilliant revolving centre of crimson, unfold- 
ing into one of the most beautiful figures in pyrotechny. 

20. Shell, with a thousand ruby and emerald stars, filling 
the heavens with sparkling gems. 

21. Portrait of the hero of New Orleans. This unique 
figure presented a portrait of Andrew Jackson, surrounded 
by the rays of a brilliant sun, at the termination of which 
a huge shell cleaved the air, making a shower of precious 
gems. 

22. The cataract of Niagara. A ierj facsimile of the 
falls, which was a decided success. 

23. Grand allegory, in which appeared letters studded 
with stars, — 

1780. I Nashville, M.-iy 20. | 1S80. 

In the centre and above the letters waved the starry banner, 
while to the right and left appeared revolving globes repre- 
senting the Old and New World. The whole intervening 
space was filled with streams of prismatic fire, and in the 
heavens above shells exploded in quick succession, forming 
a great jewel cloud. When this scene of beauty faded 
away, suddenly there rose up a huge bouquet scattering 
pyric gems in rich profusion. 

MILITARY COMPETITIVE DRILL. 

The military week of the Centennial was a most brilliant 
afiidr, especially the grand review and awarding of prizes on 
the afternoon of the 20th of May. At two o'clock there 
were some four thousand people upon the fair-grounds. 
Gon Joseph E. Johnston, ex-Governor Thomas A. Hen- 
dricks, Gen. E. Kirby Smith, and Governor A. S. Marks 
occupied a carriage in front of the amphitheatre and re- 
viewed the troops. The artillery, consisting of the Burns 
Artillery, Battery A, of St. Louis, Battery C, of New 
Orleans, and Battery A, of Louisville, headed the column. 
Next came the cavalry, — the Nashville Light Dragoons. 
The infantry brought up the rear and made a fine battalion, 
composed of the following six companies : Chickasaw Guards, 
of Memphis ; Company K, of St. Louis ; Rock City Guards 
and Porter Rifles, of Nashville ; the Howard Reserves, of 



350 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Lebanon ; and the Sumner Guards, of Gallatin. The 
troops were marched to the front of the amphitheatre, 
there halted and formed in line, the six infantry companies 
being in front, the artillery on the right in the rear, and 
the cavalry on the left in the rear. At the request of Gen. 
Wheless, chairman of the Military Committee, Brig.-Gen. 
Charles W. Squires, of the Missouri National Guard, com- 
manded the review. After some execution of the manual 
of arms, Gen. Wheless, accompanied by Governor Marks, 
who, at the former's request, was to confer the prizes, pro- 
ceeded to the St. Louis battery and tied upon the arm of 
their commander the blue ribbon, — the signal of victory ; 
the red ribbon, for the next best, went to the New Orleans 
battery. 

The following is the score of the artillery drill, the maxi- 
mum being 200 : 

1. Battery A, Missouri National Guard of St. Louis, 
178. 

2. Battery C, Louisiana Field Artillery, of New Orleans, 
169. 

3. Battery A, Kentucky State Guards of Louisville, 145. 
Two prizes wore given in this drill, — three hundred 

dollars to the first and two hundred dollars to the second. 

The cavalry company received no score, as they had no 
competitors. They received the prize of two hundred 
dollars. 

The infantry were next visited by the awarders. Gov- 
ernor Marks, arriving in front of the line, addressed them 
in a few words, saying that while the highest competition 
had been had from abroad, yet he was glad to see that Ten- 
nessee had remembered the event of her Centennial year 
and had determined to maintain the military honor it had 
so often won. He concluded, after speaking of the manly 
and soldierly bearing of the troops and the remarkable ex- 
cellence of the drill, and, walking to the front of the 
Chickasaw Guards, tied the blue ribbon on the arm of Capt. 
Carnes. Capt. McCoy, of the St. Louis company, was then 
presented with the red ribbon. 

As soon as it was seen that the Chickasaws were the 
company who had sustained the reputation of Tennessee, a 
storm of applause arose and continued for some moments 
which was deafening. The high place of Company K was 
enthusiastically cheered. 

The following is the score of each company participating 
in the drill, the maximum bein" 580 : 



O 

General appearance and soldierly bear- 
ing 9 

Manual or scbool of the soldier 27 

School of the company, being evolu- 
tions in the field 4S8i 

Total 524A 



By this score the Chickasaws won the first place. Com- 
pany K, of St. Louis, the second, the Porter Rifles the 
third, and the Rock City Guards the fourth. The prizes 
for the infantry drill were one thousand dollars for the first 
and five hundred dollars for the second. 

After the award of prizes the line was broken into a 



s 

o 




^ a 


9 
24 


8 
21 


7 
IS 


470 
503 


463 
432 


383i 
40Si 



marching column, and, under the command of Gen. 
Squires, began the march of review past the carriage con- 
taining Gen. Johnston and the other distinguished gentle- 
men. As the venerable soldier arose from his seat, raised 
his hat, and exchanged salutes with the troops, the whole 
multitude in the amphitheatre rose to their feet and cheered 
him eii masse, with hats off and waving. The review made 
a splendid military pageant. 

MAY 20, 1880. 

The crowning event of the Centennial was on this day. 
We give below a full report of the proceedings, beginning 
with the forming of the grand procession and closing with 
the final ceremonies of the unveiling of the Jackson statue 
at the Capitol. The following account is from The Daily 
American : 

The opening day of the exposition, four weeks ago, saw 
a great crowd of visitors, but yesterday there were vast 
multitudes of strangers within our gates. The hotels have 
been crowded for a fortnight, but every incoming train has 
swelled the number already here until nearly half the houses 
in the city have been thrown open for the accommodation 
of visitors. Every part of the State has sent its quota. 
From Carter to Shelby large delegations have come. For 
the last three days the streets have been literally jammed 
with people from early morning till midnight. Early 
yesterday morning the streets were thronged to a still 
greater extent, and by nine o'clock passage along the prin- 
cipal thoroughfares was almost an impossibility to any but 
the strong and persistent. 

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS. 

The prominent gentlemen taking part in the procession 
met at the Maxwell House, in the Union Ticket-Office, 
where, after they were all gathered, they were placed in 
carriages by Gen. Thruston in the following order, which 
was necessarily somewhat different from that originally 
announced : 

In the first carriage rode Bishop H. N. McTyeire, Mr. 
Clark Blills, Hon. John F. House, and Dr. T. A. Atchison. 

In the second were His Excellency Governor A. S. 
Marks, His Excellency Governor L. P. Blackburn, ex- 
Governor D. W. C. Senter, ex-Governor James D. Porter. 

Next came the carriage containing Gen. Joseph E. Johns- 
ton, Gen. D. C. Buel, Gen. E. Kirby Smith, Capt. A. J. 
Porter. 

In the fourth carriage rode Hon. John C. Burch, Mayor 
T. A. Kercheval, Gen. W. H. Jackson, and Hon. T. A. 
Hendricks. 

In the next carriage were Maj.-Gen. W. J. Behan, Brig.- 
Gen. John Glynn, Jr., Brig.-Gen. Charles W. Squires, and 
Col. John D. Scott, all of the State National Guard of Louis- 
iana, excepting the third named, who is of the Missouri 
State National Guard. 

Riding in the seventh carriage came Gen. J. P. Nuckles, 
Col. R. E. A. Crofton, Col. F. L. Guenther, Capt. P. E. 
De Courcey. 

Next rode Col. J. P. McGuire, Dr. W. A. Cheatham, A. 
G. Adams, and Dr. J. B. Lindsley, members of the Cen- 
tennial Board of Directors. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



351 



Col. Willoughby Williams, Gen. Samuel R. Anderson, 
Col. Jeremiah George Harris, and Col. Thomas H. Hays, 
of Kentucky, were in the next carriage. 

JACKSON'S VETERANS. 

Succeeding this in order came the carriage containing 
five veterans of Jackson's campaigns. Their names are as 
follows: Capt. William Lovelady, aged eighty-two, resident 
of Morgan- County ; Corp. Henry Holt, Sr., aged eighty- 
three, lives on Eden's Creek, Davidson Co. ; Enoch H. 
Jones, aged eighty-two, lives in Rutherford County ; James 
Baxter, aged eighty-one, Gibson County ; Thomas Reed, 
aged ninety-two, Jackson Co., Ala. All of these served in 
Carroll's brigade except Mr. Jones, who served in Coffee's 
brigade. Mr. Jones was in every battle fought during the 
campaign of 1814-15. He was under Capt. Dick Tate, of 
Nashville. Wednesday, he received by express from John 
Golden a cane cut from the battle-field of New Orleans, 
especially for him. He had it cut for presentation to the 
Historical Society. 

These carriages proceeded rapidly to the corner of Spruce 
and Broad, and waited on the west side of Spruce till the 
main body of the procession, consisting of the military, ar- 
rived at tliat spot. A great mass of people had already as- 
sembled on the corner all about the Exposition building, 
and when the advancing military came up Broad Street 
the crowd became so much greater that the police could 
with difficulty clear the way sufiiciently for the carriages 
to start out on the route of procession. When once cleared 
it was necessary to ride at the crowd quite often to keep 
the way open. 

TUE PROCESSION. 

As soon as the carriages, preceded by Duff's Band, had 
got past, they were followed by Gen. Wheless and his 
escort. Riding with him was the youthful soldier, B. 
Frank Cheatham, Jr. After these came several carriages, 
following which the Louisville Artillery led the military 
part of the procession. 

After these came the Helicon Band, playing a lively 
strain. In the wake of the band came Company K, of 
St. Louis. They and all the other military marched four 
abreast. 

The following was the succeeding order of the procession : 

Howard Reserves of Lebanon. 

Summer Guards of Gallatin. 

Porter Rifles of Nashville. 

Gate City Guards of Atlanta. 

Rock City Guards of Nashville. 

Chickasaw Guards of Memphis. 

Nashville Light Dragoons. 

Battery A of Louisville. 

St. Louis Light Artillery. 

Battery C, New Orleans. 

Burn's Tennessee Light Artillery, Nashville. 

Crescent City Guards of New jOrleans. 

Ambulance Corps of New Orleans. 

Carriage containing members of the Rock City Guards 
and Howard Reserves. 

The line of march was from the Exposition building out 
Spruce to Demonbreun, thence to Vauxhall, thence to 



Broad, thence to Spruce, thence to Church, thence to Vine, 
thence to Cedar, thence to High, thence to Church, thence 
to Cherry, thence to Union, thence to College, thence to 
the public square, around the public square to Cedar, thence 
to the Capitol grounds. 

No sooner had the procession got by the corner going 
back up Spruce than the crowd closed in, and as the column 
moved towards Church a jostling, pushing, shoving mass of 
people followed closely at the rear towards the Capitol, a 
great many trying to get ahead by attempts to cut their 
way along through the moving mass on the pavements. 

In every part of its march the procession found diffi- 
culty in moving on account of the great crowds massed on 
the pavements and extending into the street. 

AT THE CAPITOL. 

On reaching the Capitol the procession entered the mid- 
dle gate on Park Street, and, taking the drive around the 
Capitol, rode past the speakers' stand on the east side of the 
building, all the gentlemen in carriages alighting and going 
upon the stand. The military proceeded down to the plaza 
on which is located the statue, where they formed a guard 
around it, keeping clear the plaza, so as to afford all above 
a view of the statue. 

It was with considerable difficulty that the procession 
was enabled to reach the stand. Such a crowd on Capitol 
Hill has probably never before been witnessed even by the 
oldest inhabitants. The eastern half of the grounds was 
fully occupied. Every walk, every plot of grass, every 
place that would permit space to stand or sit, was jammed. 
The steps to the esplanade, the esplanade itself, the small 
outer corridors of the Capitol, the balcony above, the roof 
still higher, every window, and even the narrow abutment 
around the building, eighteen inches wide, level with the 
balcony, — all were occupied to the fullest extent. Looking 
from the stand in every direction was a compact mass of 
humanity, a great sea of upturned faces, waved to and fro 
as if impelled by some " vague unrest." 

As before said, every possible place of sight was occu- 
pied. One young man, seeking a vantage ground, mounted 
a ladder in the balcony and with elbows on his knees took 
in all the proceedings. Some young ladies were more 
anxious than prudent in standing on the narrow ledge 
already spoken of. A great many tried to reach the stand 
in order to get good seats, but the police stationed around 
let none pass without badges except the reporters. They 
also managed by dint of perseverance to keep clear the place 
devoted to the Harmonic Society and the Helicon Band. 

THE SPEAKERS' STAND. 

On the stand were Gen. G. P. Thruston, chairman of 
the Tennessee Historical Society's committee in charge of 
the unveiling; Richard H. Barrows, correspondent, and 
Walter Goter, artist, of Franh Leslie's Illustrated News- 
pajyerj Senator Joseph E. Brown, of Atlanta ; Col. E. W. 
Cole ; Dr. J. D. Plunket, President of the State Board of 
Health ; Dr. J. B. Lindsley, Health Officer ; Dr. T. A. 
Atchison, President of the Board of Centennial Directors; 
Capt. John Augustine, of New Orleans; Capt. Breckin- 
ridge Viley, Blackburn Guaids, Kentucky ; Boiling Gor- 



352 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



don, John S. Claybrook, A. J. Caldwell, Porter "Weakley ; 
John M. Blayes, of Blaury County ; Col. Dan. F. Cocke, 
Gen. W. H. Jackson, Mayor T. A. Kercheval ; Col. John 

C. Burch, Secretary of the United States Senate ; Col. John 

D. Scott, Chief of Staff of the First Brigade Louisiana 
State National Guards; Gen. John Glynn, Jr., Commander 
of the First Brigade Louisiana State Guard ; ex-Governors 
James D. Porter, D. W. C. Senter, and Neill S. Brown ; 
Maj.-Gen. D. C. Buell, Maj.-Gen. W. J. Behan, of the 
Louisiana State National Guard; Gen. Joseph E. John- 
ston; Gen. C. W. Squires, Missouri National Guards; 
Gen. W. B. Bate, es-Governor Thomas A. Hendricks, 
Thomas H. Hayes, Bishop H. N. McTyeiro; Governor 
Blackburn, of Kentucky ; Judge McLemore, Gen. S. R. 
Anderson, Governor Marks, Gen. K. Kirby Smith, Col. 
John F. House ; Capt. Skipworth, of Battery A, St. Louis ; 
Lieut.-Cul. R. B. A. Crafton, Capt. F. E. De Courcy, and 
Capt. P. L. Guenther, New Orleans. 

When those who had occupied carriages had alighted and 
were conducted to the stand, the Columbia Helicon Band 
played " Dixie," which was received with cheers. Calls 
were repeatedly made for Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, and 
when he presented himself to the immense assemblage and 
acknowledged the compliment with a gracefel bow, there 
was great enthusiasm in the vast assemblage. 

The crowd next called for Gen. D. C. Buell, who, on 
passing to the railing, was also loudly applauded. 

Ex-Governor Hendricks was then presented, and was 
warmly welcomed. 

TUE ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 

Dr. T. A. Atchison, president of the Centennial Board 
of Directors, now opened the proceedings with the following 
address : 

" Fellow-Citizens : As president of the Centennial 
Commission I bid you all a cordial welcome to this pa- 
triotic jubilee. 

" It is a great and glorious reunion of old comrades un- 
der the flag of our common country, and of those who honor 
and revere the name of Andrew Jackson. 

" Here, on the green summit of our acropolis, and beside 
our classic State Capitol, we unveil to the rising sun and to 
the admiring gaze of his countrymen this grand equestrian 
statue of the hero of New Orleans, representing him on 
his impatient war-horse as he reviewed his command on that 
memorable January morning in the Crescent City, or as in 
the lead of the gallant sons of Tennes.^ec and Kentucky he 
is about to leap to that great victory on the plains of Chal- 
motte, which overwhelmed the flower of European chivalry 
and saved the fairest city of the South from pillage. 

" ' Though dead, he yet speaketh.' Every page of his 
eventful life is full of instruction to posterity. He speaks 
to us as the youthful pioneer, the daring frontiersman, the 
gallant soldier, the wise statesman, and, above all, as the 
kind neighbor and faithful friend. It was his favorite 
maxim that ' it is the first and highest duty of a patriot to 
tread firmly the path of duty' and leave the consequences 
to a higher power. 

" It was the light of this sublime principle which shone 
through all the great acts of his life and nerved him to a 



firm resistance to wrong; as, for example, when he refused to 
disband his destitute Tennessee troops hundreds of miles 
from home. 

" When he disobeyed orders to abandon Fort Strother, 
saying, ' I shall do my duty and retain the fort, or die in 
the attempt. I have long since determined, when I die, to 
leave my reputation untarnished.' We see the same prin- 
ciples guiding his action in the proclamation of martial 
law at New Orleans, his refusal to apologize to the haughty 
French, and his immortal declaration, ' The LTnion must 
and shall be preserved.' 

" In these and similar instances, where he took the re- 
sponsibility in great emergencies, the verdict of a grateful 
and admiring people has been, ' Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant.' 

" Honor and gratitude to the inan who has filled the 
measure of his country's glory ! 

" In conclusion, fellow-citizens, I congratulate you on the 
acquisition of this magnificent work of art by a gifted 
American sculptor. May it stand here for ever, an inspira- 
tion to that lofty patriotism which looks only to the honor 
and glory of a State. 

" ' Here, in the life-lil^e bronze of Mills, 
Shall ride on rearing, martial steed 
The hero of New Orleans, 

Renowned for many a gallant deed, 

*' * The noble and imperial form, 
Posed in the saddle gracefully, 
As when he led our fathers o'er 
The fields of glorious victory.' " 

THE PRATER. 

Bishop H. N. McTyeire offered the following prayer : 

" Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we come before 
Thee this day in the multitude of Thy mercy. Thou art 
the Creator and Governor of men and of angels. Heaven 
is Thy throne and earth Thy footstool. We praise Thee, 
O God ; we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord. 

" It is meet and right that we should, at all times and in 
everything, set Thee before us. It is good to give thanks 
unto Thee, and to pay reverence and worship to Thy holy 
name. 

" Lord, thou hast been favorable to our land. In bless- 
ing Thou hast blessed us, and in multiplying Thou hast 
multiplied us. Thou hast given us rest on every side, and 
health and plenty. The lines have fallen to us in pleasant 
places ; yea, we have a goodly heritage. 

'' What shall we render unto the Lord for all His bene- 
fits? May Thy goodness and forbearance and long-suffer- 
ing lead men to repentance. We have been unthankful 
and evil, and have need of Thy mercy. We have sinned 
and our fathers have sinned against Thee. Remember not 
our sins, but graciously forgive ; and incline our hearts to 
keep Thy law. 

" We render Thee thanks for the blessings of providence 
and of grace which have been over this people ; for the 
Church of God which was early planted here, and has 
leavened our civilization ; for Christian education and whole- 
some laws and wise industries, whereby our minds are en- 
larged, our bodies protected, our cares lightened, and our 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



353 



comforts multiplied. Especially do we remember that 
providence which, iu times of peril and danger, has raised 
up judges and rulers for us, by whom we have been deliv- 
ered from our enemies. Hasten the day when men shall 
learn war no more, and when the people shall celebrate 
only the victories of peace. 

" May it please Thee, O Lord, to continue Thy favor to 
our churches and schools, to our fields and flocks, to our 
lawgivers and magistrates, to our commerce and labor. 
May the century following be as the past, and more abun- 
dant in mercy and truth and justice, and in all righteous- 
ness. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy 
glory unto their children. 

" We commend to Thy benediction this multitude and 
the occasion which has brought them together. Be pleased 
to overrule all events for the promotion of virtue and of 
good-will among the citizens of this commonwealth and 
their neighbors who are joined with them in these cere- 
monies. 

" And all we offer and ask is in the name of Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen." 

THE ORATION. 

At the conclusion of Bishop McTyeire's prayer, Hon. 
John F. House, the orator of the day, was introduced, and 
: after the applause had subsided spoke as follows : 
j " The nation honors itself that refuses to forget the men 
j whose lives stand as the representatives of its character and 
; the landmarks of its history. The soldier who leads its 
armies to victory ; the statesmen who gives it wholesome 
laws and directs its policy into prosperous channels ; the 
scholar that introduces its name into the republic of letters 
and the circles of science, and the poet whose lofty strain 
commands the attention of mankind to the anthem of its 
glory, will find in its people the watchful guardians of their 
fame as long as the land shall bear men worthy of the 
sacrifices and achievements of those who liave led in its 
grand march to greatness and renown. In a republic, 
many of whose great men rise from the masses of the 
people, the bond of sympathy between those who lead and 
those who follow is not easily broken as long as the leader 
is true to his high trust. He but gives a tongue and a 
tone to the spirit, the genius, the aspirations, of the people 
who stand behind him as the reserves of his strength and 
the inspiration of his power. 

" That the illustrious man whose memory we have this 
day assembled to honor and perpetuate still lives in the 
hearts of the people whom he served so long and so well, 
let the vast concourse attest that to-day crowd to these im- 
posing ceremonials. Thousands of the children and grand- 
; children of those who knew him and honored him in other 
and earlier years gaze to-day with pride and reverence 
. upon his unveiled statue. 

I "More than a century ago Andrew Jackson first saw 
I the light in an obscure and humble cabin in the State of 
North Carolina. Between then and now what changes 
and events have marked our history, and what mighty 
memories crowd upon the mind for recognition and utter- 
ance as we survey the scene before us ! 
j " The history of his career reads more like the thrilling 
45 



story of some bold hero of romance than the achievements 
of an actor in the real battle of life. The days of his boy- 
hood were passed amid the stormy scenes and fierce con- 
flicts of the American Revolution. He received his first 
lessons in patriotism from the men who fought to redeem 
the pledge of life, fortune, and sacred honor, which was 
staked upon the issue of the momentous struggle. The 
cla.sh of arms formed the music of his childhood, and while 
yet a mere boy he assumed the duties and faced the dan- 
gers of a soldier. This day one hundred and five years ago 
his native county of Mecklenburg adopted the first declara- 
tion of American independence. It was the forerunner of 
that immortal Declaration of July 4, 1776, which, on each 
recurring anniversary of that memorable event, is read in 
the presence of our people as the canon of our freedom. 
Andrew Jackson was not quite eight years old when the 
Mecklenburg declaration was given to the world. It was 
amid such high and hallowed surroundings as these that 
the cradle of his young ambition was rocked. It was from 
these pure fonts of patriotism that his youthful spirit caught 
its inspiration. It was at this consecrated altar that he was 
anointed for the great work that lay before him in the 
coming years. In his long, eventful, and wonderful career 
he was always true to these lessons of his youth and the 
vows laid upon him in this early baptism of fire. 

" After reading law in North Carolina, he determined to 
turn his face towards what was then regarded as the Far 
West. He cast his fortunes with the little band of heroes 
who had gathered upon this Cumberland bluff and were 
struggling for existence with the wild savage that crouched 
around their humble homes and thirsted for their blood. 
It was a long way then from North Carolina to this settle- 
ment on the Cumberland, and it lay through an almost 
pathless wilderness, where the stealthy savage lurked to im- 
pede the encroaching footsteps of civilization. It led 
through dangers to a dangerous place. But he was a man 
born to face, not to fly from, danger. And why should he 
remain longer in North Carolina ? The ties that bound 
him to her soil had been rudely severed. Before he was 
born, his father was buried. His two brothers had fallen 
victims to the ravages of war, and his noble mother had 
lost her life in her unselfish devotion to her country and 
her kindred. From the British prison-ships at Charleston 
a cry of suffering and distress from the imprisoned patriots 
reached the neighborhood where she lived. Among them 
were some of her relatives. She belonged to that noble 
band of heroic women of the Revolution whose sacrifices in 
the cause of our suffering country should consecrate in our 
hearts the liberties which they so largely aided in securing, 
and make the very name of woman forever sacred in our 
sight. Mrs. Jackson determined at once to go to the relief 
of the suffering prisoners. She had just buried her son 
Robert, who died from disease contracted in a British 
prison, and her little son Andrew was still feeble from a 
disease contracted at the same time while a prisoner with 
his brother. But, in company with two other noble women 
of the neighborhood, she set out to succor the prisoners. It 
was one hundred and sixty miles to Charleston, but these 
heroic women, without an escort, set out upon their pil- 
grimage of mercy. They reached Charleston in safety, 



354 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



gained admission to the prison-ships, and administered to 
the wants and necessities of their distressed and suffering 
kindred and friends. Mrs. Jackson never again saw her 
only child, whom she left behind her, and he was never 
again to catch the light of a mother's eye or enjoy the 
hallowed boon of a mother's sympathy and love. She con- 
tracted the ship-fever, and soon after died and was buried 
in an unknown and unrecorded grave. Such a woman was 
worthy to be the mother of such a son. Andrew Jackson 
at the time of his mother's death was not fifteen years old. 
Fatherless, motherless, brotherless, moneyless, could any 
situation be more forlorn and cheerless than that which 
now clouded the young life of this desolate and stricken 
boy? Look upon him then, and look upon this scene to- 
day, and thank God for a country that holds out her 
honors to all who have the heart and nerve and genius to 
grasp them. 

" It was an eventful day in the history of the little colony 
here that saw Andrew Jackson added to their number, and 
the people among whom he cast his lot were not slow in 
discovering and appreciating his merit. He was born an 
orphan, but they took him by the hand and stood in loco pa- 
rentis during the struggles of his early manhood. He was 
not a man to remain long in any community without im- 
pressing himself upon its people. For the first eight or ten 
years after his arrival he was engaged in practicing his pro- 
fession and discharging the duties of prosecuting attorney, to 
which he had been appointed. When, in 1796, a convention 
was called to meet at Knoxville to frame a constitution for 
Tennessee, preparatory to her admission into the Union, we 
find the name of Andrew Jackson as.sociated with the hon- 
orable names of John McNairy, James Robertson, Thomas 
Hardeman, and Joel Lewis as one of the five delegates that 
Davidson County sent to the Knoxville convention to lay the 
foundation of our future State. And when it was resolved 
by the convention to appoint two membera from each county 
to draft a constitution. Judge McNairy and Andrew Jackson 
represented Davidson County on that committee. Soon after 
the formation of her constitution, Tennessee was admitted 
into the Union, and her name was enrolled among the sis- 
terhood of States. Upon her admission she was entitled 
to only one Representative in Congress, and Andrew Jack- 
son was elected by the people to that position. Crowned 
with this honor of the young commonwealth, he mounted 
his horse for an eight-hundred-mile journey through what 
was then little better than a howling wilderness, to Phila- 
delphia, to represent his people in the national councils. 
His brief career as a member of Congress was marked by 
watchful devotion to the interests of his constituents, and 
fearless and independent action on all measures that came 
up for consideration. Before his term as a member of the 
House of Representatives expired a vacancy occurred in the 
Senate, and he was appointed to represent the State in the 
Senate of the United States. This was a higli honor to 
confer upon one who, less than ten years before that time, 
had come among the people who thus honored him as a 
briefless, friendless young lawyer. He was only thirty years 
old when he took his seat in the Senate. These high posi- 
tions to which he was so soon elevated after his arrival here 
are unmistakable evidences of the fact that }ie had made 



a deep impression upon the public mind and effected a firt 
lodgment in the popular heart. Yet he was not a man ( 
any great learning or eloquence. In these respects J 
doubtless had superiors among his fellow-citizens, — me 
better qualified to shine in all these positions than himsel 
But there was that about him which marked him as a mam 
to be trusted and a leader to be safely followed, and the 
people, with that keen, intuitive insight into the real char- 
acter of public men, discovered and appropriated it. Hel 
seems not to have liked the duties and modes of procedu^ 
of the Senate. It is not strange that he did not. In ' 
few months after his appointment he resigned the positioi 
He would, in all probability, never have risen to any grei 
eminence in that body if he had remained a member of itjt 
It was an arena unsuited for the development and display 
of the gifts with which nature had endowed him. It was 
simply impossible for him to consent to remain in a place 
where he could hope to reach and maintain nothing more 
than the common level of mediocrity. It was wholly for- 
eign to his nature to sit down quietly and day by day watch 
his intense individuality sink in the dead sea of senatorial 
dignity. Soon after his retirement from the Senate he was 
elected by the Legislature to a seat on the bench of the 
Supreme Court of the State. The people seemed unwilling 
to di>pense with his services altogether, and determined to 
have the benefit of his labors in some public capacity. No 
reports of his decisions have come down to us, as the first 
volume of reports of the decisions of the Supreme Court 
of Tennessee commences with the decisions of Judge Over- jJ 
ton, Jackson's successor. That Judge Jackson brought I 
any great amount of law-learning to the performance of 
his duties while on the bench cannot be safely assumed, 
but that he displayed a clear judgment and a high sense of 
right cannot be fairly questioned. 

" Member of the Constitutional Convention, a represeuT J 
tative in Congress, a senator of the United States, a judge ,| 
of the Supreme Court of the State, — these were high posi- 
tions, and worthy the ambition of the best men in the 
State. But Jackson had not yet reached the theatre where 
the genius with which the God of nature had so richly 
endowed him could fitly expand its wonderful power. True, 
on a field where he was not peculiarly qualified to excel, he 
had won the prize of honor from the men by whom he was 
surrounded. But these positions and honors did not possess 
for him the attractions they have for most men, and their 
uncongeniality doubtless had much to do in his retiring to 
the shades of tiie Hermitage, intending thereby to shake 
hands with public life forever. How little we know what 
the future has in store for us! If this conviction of his 
had been verified, we would not be here to-day engaged in 
these august ceremonies. His services already rendered to 
the State would have preserved his name among her archives 
and rescued it from oblivion, but few save the students of 
her history would have known that such a man as Andrew 
Jackson ever lived. 

" But the time and the occasion were approaching which 
would call for the man, and in that call the name of An- 
drew Jackson would be heard. •■ 

In June, 1812, war was declared against Great Britain. 
Gen. Jackson (he had been elected a major-general of 






CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



355 



iiilitia) tendered his services, with two thousand five hun- 
dred men, to the government. Their services were promptly 
accepted, and in November Governor Blount was requested 
!o send fifteen hundred men to reinforce Gen. Wilkinson 
it New Orleans. The Governor at once issued orders to 
Gen. Jackson, and the work of preparation commenced to 
transport the troops to their point of destination. Jackson 
issued to his troops one of those .stirring addresses which, 
ieonsidering the times and circumstances that called them 
forth, wliatever critics m.iy say of tlieir literary merits, are 
models of their kind. Nothing shows more clearly his 
thorough comprehension of the instiucts and character of 
the men he commanded than the addresses he issued to 
them from time to time, as the occasion or emergency sug- 
!gestcd. After receiving this order to repair with his troops 
!to the reinforcement of Wilkinson, he was all animation, 
iescitement, and energy. By the 7th of January lie had 
[everything ready to leave. He wrote to the Secretary of 
War: ' I have the pleasure to inform you that I am now 
at the head of two thousand and seventy volunteers, the 

■ choicest of our citizens, who go at the call of their country 
to execute the will of the government, who have no con- 
stitutional scruples, and if the government orders will re- 
joice at the opportunity of placing the American eagle on 
the ramparts of Blobile, Pensacola, and St. Augustine, 

! effectually banishing from the Southern coasts all British 
influence.' These confident and enthusiastic utterances, 
coming from some men, might be considered as mere sound 
and fury, signifying nothing. But Andrew Jackson felt 
it, and meant it all. 

At the head of two thousand choice Tennesseeans ! At 

j last he had found his destined element. At last he stood 
upon a field where the guerdon of deathless fame was to 
be won and the garlands of immortality were to be gath- 

[ ered. At last he planted his feet upon the pathway of 
glory, and every instinct of his nature told him it was the 

; road that destiny had marked out for him to travel. 

"Soon his infantry was floating down the Cumberland, 
and his cavalry was on the march through the country to 
their destination, full of the hope and patriotism and martial 
pride that burned in the heart of their leader. But this 

i was doomed to be a brief and bloodless campaign. After 

j Hull's surrender the government, fearing that the enemy 

' might direct his attention to the Southern coast, thought 
it advisable, as a precautionary measure, to reinforce the 
command at New Orleans. Hence the call on the Gover- 
nor of Tennessee for troops. On reaching Natchez, Gen. 
Jackson was commanded to halt at that place for further 
orders. The contemplated necessity not arising which had 
caused the government to call these troops to the field, an 
order came to Gen. Jackson from the Secretary of War to 
disband them. This seemed a strange order, dismissing 
troops five hundred miles from home, without pay, without 
transportation, or any provision for the sick. Now was dis- 
played that iron will, that promptness and readiness to 
assume responsibility, so characteristic of the man. Gen. 
Jackson at once re.solved not to obey the order, and deter- 
mined not to dismiss his troops in a strange country with- 
out the means of returning to their homes, but to march 
them back in a body to Tennessee. He at once set about 



providing the means of transportation for the sick, impress- 
ing whatever he needed, and giving orders on the quarter- 
master-general for payment. Of course these preparations 
required the incurring of a liability for a considerable 
amount of money. He well knew that these expenses, in- 
curred not only without the authority of the government, 
but in disobedience of its order, would fall upon him per- 
sonally if the government should refuse to honor his draft ; 
but he did not hesitate a moment on that account. It was 
no spirit of insubordination that prompted him to take this 
course, — far from it. He placed too high an estimate upon 
the value of discipline to be swayed by any such motive as 
that. He felt that he could not obey that order without 
perpetrating a grcss wrong and injustice upon the brave 
men who had followed him to the field, and he determined 
not to be a party to it whatever miyjht be the consequences 
to him personally. Throughout the whole march he was 
with his troops, often dismounting and giving some sick or 
exhausted soldier his horse to ride while he trudged along 
in the mud with his men. It was the firmness and power 
of endurance displayed on this long march that caused his 
soldiers to give him the nickname of Old Hickory, — an ap- 
pellation which he proudly wore through all his subsequent 
career. He led his army back, and on the public square 
at Nashville they were disbanded. Their commander had 
not led them to victory, they brought back no laurels 
gathered on the field of honor, but they returned to their 
homes with the proud consciousness of having obeyed their 
country's call and with unbounded admiration for their 
commander, who had stood by them even at the risk of 
bringing down upon his head the displeasure of his gov- 
ernment and wrecking his private fortune. 

" But he was not long permitted to remain inactive. 
The great Tecumseh, the implacable and unappeasable foe 
of the white man, having formed an alliance with the Eng- 
lish, like a herald of fate had visited the different tribes of 
Indians, and kindled a flame of vengeance and aroused a 
thirst for blood in the savage heart from the lakes to the 
Gulf. The massacre of Fort Mimms sent a thrill of horror 
throughout the entire South. The mother in her troubled 
sleep dreamed of the war-whoop, the tomahawk, and scalp- 
ing-knife, as she instinctively pressed her unconscious infant 
to her bosouj. Con.sternation seized upon every heart in 
the Mississippi Territory. Farms and homes were aban- 
doned, and families fled to block-houses and such other 
places of safety as ofiered protection from the barbarity of 
the Indian. The voice of Jackson like the blast of a 
trumpet called his brave Tennesseeans to arms to avenge the 
atrocities of Fort Mimms and protect the country from the 
horrors of savage brutality. The men who had followed 
him to Natchez and back were not slow in responding to 
the summons of their leader. The massacre of Fort 
Mjmnjs pcciirred on the 30tli of August. Before the middle 
of October, Jackson, at the head of two thousand five hun- 
dred Tennesseeans, stood on the south bank of the Tennessee 
River. I cannot pause to recount the difficulties and per- 
plexities that now beset him. Disappointed on account of 
low water in the river in receiving the supplies he expected 
from East Tennessee, he found himself in that sparsely set- 
tled region almost wholly without forage for his horses or 



356 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



subsistence for his men. Most commanders would Lave 
recrossed the river, fallen back to a more plentiful region, 
and awaited the arrival of supplies before making a forward 
movement. But Jackson's ways were not the ways of 
most commanders. He determined to take no step back- 
ward. Though worn and wasted by disease and a severe 
wound he had received, from the effects of which he still 
suffered, nothing could tame his proud spirit or bend his 
iron will. He seems never to have entertained a doubt of 
the success of his campaign, and the idea that he might 
be defeated in a battle with the Indians never entered into 
his calculations. He resolved never to recross the Ten- 
nessee Eiver until he had taught them well the lesson of 
peace and submission. It was for this object he had taken 
the field, and he meant to accomplish it. In the face of 
every diiEculty and discouragement he marched boldly for- 
ward into the untrodden forest in search of the enemy. 
The victory at Tulluschatches by the gallant Coffee soon 
followed, and the warlike Creeks were given the first lesson 
of the campaign. In a short time this victory was em- 
phasized by that of Talladega. The want of supplies now 
forced Gen. Jack.son to fall back on Fort Strother. Here 
new difficulties and complications confronted him. Pressed 
by hunger and privation, his gallant little army became dis- 
contented and desired to return to the settlements, the 
volunteers claiming that their term of service had expired 
and they were entitled to an honorable discharge. I shall 
not enter into a discussion of the merits of their claim. 
They and their commander differed in their construction of 
the terms of the enlistment. The controversy grew warm 
and bitter, until it almost reached the point of open mutiny 
on the part of the troops. He found his army melting 
away from him, but he stood as firm as the everlasting 
hills, declaring that he would hold the posts he had estab- 
lished or perish in the attempt. He called on the Governor 
of Tennessee for new levies, but the Governor informed 
him that he had no authority to make such levies, and 
advised him to disband a portion of his troops and with 
the remainder march back to the settlements, where forage 
and provisions were plentiful, and await the action of the 
government until men and means could be provided for a 
vigorous and successful prosecution of the campaign. The 
situation, indeed, seemed hopeless, and to wan-ant the pa- 
triotic Governor in advising a termination of the campaign 
for the time being. Never did history present a grander 
spectacle than Andrew Jackson, at this advanced post in 
the heart of an enemy's country, with a mere handful of 
men, but resolutely determined to hold the fort or be buried 
in its ruins. Never did a lofty spirit climb the ' toppling 
crags of duty' with a firmer step or a sublimer faith. 
With the instincts of a great soldier he saw that retreat 
was ruin, and he determined at all hazards to avert it. 
His letter to Governor Blount is sufficient of itself to im- 
mortalize him. He called for new troops ; he appealed to 
the Governor to take the responsibility and send forward 
new levies that he might advance and complete the con- 
quest which he had so auspiciously inaugurated, and which 
he felt was so necessary to the peace and safety of all that 
portion of the country menaced directly by the Indians and 
prospectively by their British allies. He concludes his 



immortal letter to Governor Blount in these memorable i 
words : ' You have only to act with the energy and decision 
the crisis demands, and all will be well. Send me a force 
engaged for six months and I will answer for the result, but 
withhold it and all is lost, — the reputation of the State and 
yours and mine along with it.' These were brave words, i 
They were the utterances of a patriot unselfishly devoted 
to his country's welfare, and of a great soldier who felt 
that her safety at that critical moment hung upon his single 
arm. This letter changed the whole aspect of affairs. Its 
trumpet tones stirred the public heart and awoke the slum- 
bering energies of the people. New levies of troops were 
soon on the march for the distant front, where their in- 
trepid leader stood, deaf alike to murmur or mutiny in his 
own camp and danger from the attack of the foe. Thus 
reinforced he fought the battle of the Horseshoe, and the 
Creek war was virtually ended. The unconquered warriors 
of the tribe who disdained to surrender fled for safety to 
the everglades of Florida, and those who remained laid 
down their arms and sued for peace. The hardy settler and 
his wife and little ones could now lie down at night in 
security and repose. The battle of the Horseshoe made 
the 8th of January a possibility, and the 8th of January 
made the 4th of March a certainty. In a campaign of a 
few months he had broken the power of the warlike Creeks 
and brought them as suppliants at his feet. 

" The great value to the country of this brief and bril- 
liant campaign of Jackson was soon apparent to all. Napo- 
lean had fallen, and the peace of Europe was restored. 
Eniiland, no longer confronted by an enemy at home, was 
left free to concentrate her undivided strength and power 
against us. Gen. Harrison, having resigned his commis- 
sion as a major-general of the United States, Gen. Jackson 
was tendered the position by the government, and accepted 
it. He was ordered to take command of the Southern 
division of the army, if that could be called an army which 
was composed of only three skeleton regiments of regular 
troops. He now had before him a task well calculated 
to tax to its uttermost the genius and prowess of the 
greatest commander. He had met the savage in his 
mountain fastness and conquered him, and therefore, 
thanks to his foresight and intrepidity, left no enemy in 
his rear while he went to the perilous front. But he had 
now to meet a well-appointed army, trained in the best 
schools of European warfare, and decked with laurels won 
upon historic fields. The proud mistress of the sea, her 
bronzed cheek yet glowing with the light of recent triumph, 
was coming with a formidable force towards our devoted 
shores. She came breathing vengeance against our people 
and confident of victory, full of the boastful and invincible 
spirit so grandly expressed by one of her own poets : 

" ' Britannia needs no bulwarks, 
No towers along the steep ; 
Her march is o'er the ocean waves, 
Her home is on the deep.' 

" Our government was yet in its infancy ; our treasury 
was empty, and our credit sorely crippled. Jackson, with 
no army save raw and inexperienced troops, had a thousand 
miles of coast to defend, and not a fort garrisoned on the 
entire line. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



357 



" The situation was far from cheerful and encouraging, and 
was generally regarded by our government and people with 
painful anxiety and alaim. But there was one man whose 
heart never quailed, whose hope never waned, whose faith 
never wavered, and whose step never faltered in the pres- 
ence of the dangers that confronted him. That man was 
Andrew Jackson. How he met the responsibilities and de- 
mands of the occasion, let Mobile, Pensacola, and New Or- 
leans answer. The result is too well known ever to fade 
from the memory of our countrymen, and especially from 
the recollection of Tennesseeans. The Volunteer State 
reaped in that grand campaign too large a harvest of glory 
to ever allow its splendors to fade or suffer its achievements 
to be forgotten. Peace once more lifted her white wings 
upon the breeze, and Andrew Jackson stepped into his 
: destined and appointed niche in the temple of Fame. In all 
I our glorious history no page burns with brighter lustre than 
I that which records the genius of Jackson and the prowess 
of the brave men under his command, who protected our 
soil from the invader's foot and saved the mouth of the Mis- 
sissippi and an empire to the Union. A grateful country 
canonized him as one of her great heroes, and en.shriued 
him in her heart. No West Point had ever laid its anoint- 
ing hand upon his head, but a mightier than West Point 
had anointed him for his work and furnished him with his 
credentials to immortality. I appeal to history to scan the 
names of the heroes inscribed upon her roll of honor, and 
point to one who, with the same means at his command, 
and the same odds arrayed against him, ever accomplished 
more than stands to the credit of Andrew Jackson upon 
the pages that record his achievements. 

"The war ended, he returned to the bosom of his family 
and the delights of his home to nurse his shattered health 
and enjoy the confidence and affection of his neighbors and 
friends. But he had done too much for his country for 
her people ever to rest satisfied until they had crowned him 
with the highest position in their gift. Our people have 
always thus remembered and thus rewarded the heroes of 
the wars in which we have been engaged, without an excep- 
tion. Much eloquence and declamation have been expended 
in the effort to impress the public mind with the danger of 
elevating successful military chieftains to the Presidency, 
but Washington, Jackson, Harrison, Taylor, Grant, stand 
as monuments of the admiration and gratitude of the 
American people for the men who have shed glory and re- 
nown upon our arms. 

" It would extend these remarks far beyond the limits 
of propriety and your patience to attempt a reference in 
detail to all the notable acts in the life of Andrew Jack- 
son, crowded as it is with distinguished services to his 
country and abounding in evidences of the esteem and 
admiration of his countrymen. After his Seminole cam- 
paign and the differences with Spain had been satis- 
factorily adjusted, his country no longer needing his ser- 
vices in the field, he resigned his commission in the army. 
Soon the eyes of the people began to turn towards him as 
a prospective candidate for the Presidency, and the Legisla- 
ture of Tennessee formally nominated him for that exalted 
position. As is well known he was defeated in this contest, 
but it was because the will of a majority of the American 



people was defeated in the result reached by the election in 
the House of Representatives. 

" That result, by which another wore the honors which 
a majority of his countrymen had intended for him, only 
postponed the inevitable hour. At the end of Mr. Adams' 
administration, Jackson was again a candidate for Presi- 
dent. Perhaps no Presidential election in our history has 
been disgraced by a greater amount of personal defamation 
than that with which Gen. Jackson was assailed. There 
was no weapon that slander disdained to forge or calumny 
to use. Every act of his life was scanned with microscopic 
care, to discover something that could be set down to his 
discredit. The reputation of the mother who bore him and 
the good name of the wife of his bosom were assailed with 
cruel and merciless mendacity. Could any one acquainted 
with the genius of the American people doubt what their 
decision would be in the case of such a man so assailed ? 
Did his traducers imagine that they could demolish the 
colossal temples of his fame with such weapons as these, or 
drive him from the hearts of his countrymen, where the 
glorious achievements of his life had entrenched him ? All 
the changes were rung upon the dangerous experiment of 
elevating a military chieftain to the high ofiice of President 
of the United States. He was denounced as a tyrant and 
despot, whose elevation to power would result in the de 
struction of the liberties of his country. He was repre- 
sented as a coarse and ignorant man, unacquainted with 
public affairs and unfitted in every respect to be the chief 
magistrate of this country. There was no calamity that 
could befall a country that was not predicted as certain to 
overtake this unhappy land if its infatuated and misguided 
citizens should in an evil hour commit the supreme folly of 
electing him President. But the people remembered that 
there was a time when the dark clouds of war hung low 
and threatening over their devoted land, and they recalled 
the fact that Andrew Jackson was not an enemy to his 
country then, nor could they be made to believe that he 
had become so since. He was elected by an overwhelming 
majority. The people had rendered their verdict, and 
Andrew Jackson wore the crown of their emphatic and 
spontaneous endorsement. They crowded to his inaugura- 
tion in such enthusiastic multitudes as to leave no one room 
to doubt the firm hold he had upon the masses of his 
countrymen. This military chieftain, of whose administra- 
tion so many dire and gloomy prophecies had been made, 
was now about to be tried upon a new and unaccustomed 
field. He had never been found wanting in any position 
which he had hitherto occupied, but how would he wield 
the destinies and conduct the vast and complicated affairs 
of a great country as a civil magistrate ? The fierceness 
of the confiict through which he had passed, warned him 
that the ship of State while under his command was not 
destined to sail upon a tranquil sea or to meet only favor- 
in" winds. But he knew well that he owed his elevation 
to the uubuught suffrages of a free people. He always said 
that the people would never desert those who were true to 
them. If there ever was a man with whom patriotism was 
an absorbing passion, Andrew Jackson was that man. He 
never saw the day or the hour, after he came to years of 
discretion, that he would not have willingly laid down his 



358 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



life upon the altar of his county if her welfare had called 
for the sacrifice. Her enemies were his enemies, her honor 
was his honor, and her cause was his cause. 

" Her greatness and renown was the ruling aspiration of 
his heart and the chief inspiration of his life. There was 
not an un-American hair in his head or an un-American 
drop of blood in his veins. Such a man might make 
mistakes or commit errors, but could never be false to 
what he believed to be the best interest of his country. 
With this faith in the people and this love of country 
burning in his heart, he grasped the helm of State with 
a firm and unfaltering hand. What he encountered and 
what he achieved belongs to history. As his adminis- 
tration advanced it grew in favor with the people. At 
the end of his first term so firmly grounded was his 
popularity that he was re-elected by a largely increased 
majority. Out of two hundred and eighty-eight electoral 
votes, he received two hundred and nineteen. He had 
fought the battle of the people, and they were fighting his. 
He had stood by them, and they were standing by him. No 
administration in our history has encountered a more for- 
midable opposition than that which confronted the adminis- 
tration of President Jackson. The great triumvirate of 
Clay, Webster, and Calhoun had hurled their triple powers 
against it, but it stood the shock unmoved, for it was im- 
bedded in the confidence of the people, and presided over 
by a man whom no power could appal, no wealth corrupt, 
no titles seduce, and no threat intimidate. In his great 
battle with the bank it seemed at one time that he would 
be overborne. A resolution passed the Senate censuring 
him for the removal of the deposits. But he lived to see 
the day when the clerk of the Senate was ordered to bring 
the journal containing the resolution before that august 
body and draw black lines around it and write upon its face 
in a bold hand the word — EXPtJNQED. Clad in these ha- 
biliments of mourning and wearing this scar upon its dis- 
honored face, it remains for the inspection of posterity. 
He was as near the master of every situation of danger and 
responsibility in which he was placed as any man who was 
ever called upon to face the one or assume the other. He 
never lost the courage of his convictions in any presence. 
The supreme hour, the crucial test, always found him self- 
posed, like the magnificent war horse on which the genius 
of the sculptor has mounted his martial form to ride through 
the future ages. The mingled blood of two races ran in 
his veins and imparted to his nature some of the best char- 
acteristics of both. When aroused he was as terrible as a 
tornado, but in the social circle with his friends as mild and 
gentle as a woman. His devotion and fidelity to his wife 
comes out as a rainbow, to span with its beauty and pro- 
mise every storm-cloud that rises on the horizon of his life. 
. He was a man of strong passions, and when acting under 
their impulse not, perhaps, always just — no man is. But 
it was not in his nature to do conscious or intentional in- 
justice to any one. He was positive and imperious— all 
great leaders of men are. He was not learned in books ; 
he never studied them ; he studied men, and no student 
ever more thoroughly mastered his subject. The slow and 
painful processes by which many men of books and culture 
reach their conclusions were unknown to him. His mind 






acted with the rapidity of lightning, and an intuitive sa- 
gacity conducted him to conclusions with telegraphic speed, 
He had reached conclusions and stood ready to act on 
them before hesitating prudence had adjusted her spectacles 
to examine the subject, or timid conservatism had taken up 
her scales to weigh probabilities. Not that he was rash 
or inconsiderate in matters of moment ; far from it. No 
man ever looked at all the bearings of a subject with closer 
scrutiny, or balanced the chances of success or failure with 
keener discrimination. His chief object was to ascertain 
the path of duty ; when he saw that he was ready to travel 
it, whatever dangers might environ it. No array of learn- 
ing or brilliancy of reputation in an opponent ever dwarfed 
or absorbed his individuality. He was born to lead, and 
he always led. Those who wished to join the expedition 
were welcome ; those who feared to embark might stay be- „ 
hind, and those who chose to face him might take the con- 
sequences. He never deserted friends or enemies until 
they first deserted him. For the one there was no sacri- 
fice he was not willing to make ; in respect to the other 
there was no gage of battle he was not ready to take up. 
He never allowed his friends to go forward and assume re- 
sponsibilities for him in great emergencies, that he might, 
in the event of disaster, throw the burden of failure upon 
them. If risks were to be taken, if popularity was to be 
hazarded, if responsibility was to be assumed, if danger was 
to be met, he took his place at the front, and the word of 
command rolled down the line. 

" His fame is in the custody of his country. There it 
will remain secure forever. No friend of his need fear or 
doubt the verdict of posterity or the judgment of history 
upon his greatness as a soldier or his wisdom as a states- 
man. Full of years and full of honors, he closed his eyes 
in peace among the people who took him by the hand in 
his youth and loved him to the last. When Tennesseeans 
cease to honor his name and revere his memory, they will 
be unworthy descendants of those whom he led to victory. 
A few of the old soldiers who followed him through the 
storm of battle still linger with us upon this side the river. 
May the hand of time deal gently with their declining 
years, and the evening of their days be as full of peace and 
happiness as their morning was of storms and dangers. 

" ' Oh, honored be each silvered hair, 
Each furrow trenched by toil and care j 
And sacred each old bending form 
That braved with him the battle-storm.' 

" Here, where tree and rock and rivulet aud river are vocal 

with the traditions of his past, we inaugurate his statue to-day. 
I rejoice that the venerable sculptor who has given to us 
this life-like image of the man has been spared to be present 
on this occasion, to receive the tribute this day paid to his 
genius by the descendants of those who knew and loved 
and honored his illustrious subject while he moved amid 
the walks of men. 

" Tennesseeans, the honor of the State, upon whose name 
Andrew Jackson has shed such imperishable renown, is in 
your keeping. As we gaze upon his storied form to-day, 
let us swear that no act of dishonor shall ever stain her 
proud escutcheon or sully her spotless name. 

" Since he closed his eyes upon a peaceful and happy 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



359 



country, our land has been drenched in fraternal blood. 
The earthquake shock of contending armies was felt 
around the very tomb where he sleeps. But these unhappy 
days are passed, and it is to the interest of all that the 



He came forward and was greeted with loud applause. 
The band then played the ' Star-Spangled Banner.' 

" Ex-Governor Neill S. Brown said it was a source of 
great gratification to be present and witness the grand 




EQUESTRIAN SIATCE OF GEX. ANDREW JACKSON. 



passions and animosities that marked them should also 
pass away. 

" Tennessee has no future, no aspirations, no hopes save 
in a restored Union, and to-day within the shadow of Jack- 
son's statue, without mental reservation or purpose of eva- 
sion, but in sincerity and truth, she can repeat to her sister 
States the immortal words of her immortal son, ' The 

FEDERAL UnION, IT MUST BE PRESERVED.' 

" At the conclusion of Col. House's oration the assem- 
blage insisted on his coming to the east side of the stand. 



spectacle presented before them. He alluded to the efforts 

that had been made to procure a statue of ' Old Hickory,' 

and the failure of the State to do anything toward that 

end. 

THE UNVEILING OP THE STATUE. 

Clark Mills, the artist, from whose cunning hand came 
the Jackson statue, was now introduced, and was received 
with immense applause. Hj3 said, — 

"Ladies and Gentlemen: Having been requested to 
make some remarks on this occasion before the distinguished 



360 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



people of Nashville, I will state that the statue before you 
is a triplicate of the one now standing in front of the Pres- 
ident's house in Washington, which was not only the first 
equestrian statue ever self-poised on the hind feet in the 
world, but was also the first ever modeled and cast in the 
United States. 

" The incident selected for representation in this statue 
occurred at the battle of New Orleans, on the 8th of Janu- 
ary, 1815. The commander-in-chief has advanced to the 
centre of the lines in the act of review. The lines have 
come to present arms as a salute to their commander, who 
acknowledges it by raising his chapeau four inches from his 
head, according to the military etiquette of that period. 
But his restive horse, anticipating the next evolution, rears 
and attempts to dash down the line, while his open mouth 
and curved neck show that he is being controlled by the 
hand of his noble rider. 

" I have deemed this explanation important to answer a 
criticism upon the fact that the horse is rearing and Jack- 
son has his hat ofi". Critics should reflect that a spirited 
war-horse, although brought to a halt, will not long remain 
so. 

" The city of Nashville has just cause for pride from the 
fact that of the three statues cast from the same model the 
one before you is the most perfect of them all." 

Mr. Mills was again greeted with applause at the con- 
clusion of his remarks. 

William Lovelady, Henry Holt, Enoch Jones, James 
Baxter, and Thomas Reed, the veterans of the battle of 
New Orleans, were then culled to the stand and were 
heartily received. Most of them had previously taken 
position around the statue. Mr. Jones was deputized to 
pull the rope by which the statue was to be unveiled. 
Governor Marks accompanied him to the statue, and saw 
that this part of the programme was well carried out. 

The following ode to Jackson, written by Rev. F. W. 
Peschau, was now sung in admirable style by the Harmonic 
Society, accompanied by the Columbia Helicon Band: 



Wc sing of thee, Jackson of old, 
As we unveil this statue grand, 

And tell again the story told 

Of thy great fame, spread o'er the land. 



In liuic of war no sword more keen, 
No man more strong in battle's storm, 

'Mid heroes all was ever seen 

Than Jackson's sword, than Jackson's form. 



Jackson brave ! Jackson bold ! 

We raise to thy dear memory 
This statue grand, great man of old, 

And shout once more, Hurrah for thee! 



In time of peace, when ebb and tide 
Of war's wild chas6 had come to rest, 

He did our land witli wisdom guide, 
And Jackson's rule our country blest. 



In war and peace he was the same, — 
A leader true of strength and nerve; 

Nor cared he aught for name or fame 
If he could but his country save. 



When near him drew the shades of death, 
When he must sleep beneath the sod, 

He gave — till e'en his latest breath — 
His life to us, his soul to God. 



Thy name, thy deeds, thy home, thy grave, 

Shall to each heart most sacred be - 
Long as the winds the grass shall wave 

In our, in thine, own Tennessee. 

When the ode had been sung Mr. Jones drew the cord, 
and the canvas fell on either side, displaying the statue and 
a member from each military company present, who added, 
with their bright uniforms, greatly to the beauty of the 
scene presented. The great mass of people then gave a i 
long, loud shout, which was renewed and continued by the i 
rapid discharge of cannon by the Burns Tennessee Light 
Artillery. The military companies then moved out from i 
the piazza, around which they had taken position, when a i 
dense throng collected about the statue to give it a closer 
inspection. All were enthusiastic in praise of the great 
work of art. The multitude was fully an hour leaving the 
Capitol grounds. 

The temporary pedestal of the statue, although made of 
wood, is of unique pattern, and does credit to the good taste 
of Gen. G. P. Thruston, who drew the design and saw it 
executed. It is painted a stone color, and is water-proof. 
On the western and eastern sides appears the word " Jack-' 
son." The statue fronts to the northward, with the head 
of the horse turned towards tlie Capitol. 

THE EXPOSITION. 
CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION BUILDING. 
The handsome illustration on the opposite page, from a 
photograph by Armstrong, represents the Nashville Centen- 
nial Exposition Building.* It is located at the intersection 
of Broad and Spruce Streets, opposite the custom-house, and 
diagonally opposite the Fogg high school. The Broad Street 
front is one hundred and eighty-nine feet long, while the 
Spruce Street front is one hundred and fifty-nine feet. In 
plan the building is a parallelogram, with projections at the 
corners and at the centre of each side. Above the second 
floor, however, it assumes the form of a Greek cross sur- 
rounded by a dome at the intersection. The dome and the 
roof of the projections, at the four principal corners of the 
building, are the chief architectural features. The dome is 
supported by twenty-four columns, framed together in clus- 
ters of three each, and secured, at intervals, along their 
length, with bolts and bands of wrought iron. The top of 
each cluster of columns has a cast-iron bed-plate, bolted to 
the horizontal trusses, thus connecting the columns, and 
also giving partial support to the dome. On the top of 
the horizontal trusses is another cast-iron plate to secure 

*■■ Cut furnished by Wheeler Brothers, Nashville. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



361 



the ends of trusses at the angles of the polygon, and de- 
signed, also, to serve as a shoe to I'eceive the lower ends of 
the ribs of the dome to which it is bolted. The sixteen 
ribs of the dome are constructed on the Howe truss plan, 
the upper and lower chords being curved and concentric. 

, The chords are four thicknesses of two-inch plank, bolted 
together, the space between the upper and lower chords 
being filled with diagonal braces. At the top the ribs of 
the dome are bolted to a ring or octagonal abutment eight 
feet in diameter. To resist the thrust of the ribs at the 
base of the dome, each angle of the polygon is connected 
on the exterior by a two-inch bolt, thus securing a continu- 
ous tie all around it. 

The building is two stories high, the centre of the second 
floor immediately under the dome being left open, thus 
making a wide and commodious gallery all around the 
space under the dome. The system of construction is a 

iseiies of posts placed at intervals of twenty feet, and con- 



want of space. Manufacturers, mechanics, inventors, ar- 
tists, scientists, teachers, and antiquarians vied with each 
other in filling the departments allotted to them to the best 
advantage. In reference to the arrangement of the various 
exhibits, Mr. Carl C. Brenner, of Louisville, the celebrated 
painter of some of the finest pictures ever shown in Nash- 
ville, remarked that it seemed to be the case here that 
when committees had duties assigned them they all went to 
work in earnest. This accounted for the rapidity with 
which the building had been completed and filled. The 
arrangement of the articles on exhibition he pronounced per- 
fect, everything in the right place, and in the best place 
which could have been selected for it. This seemed to be 
the general impression of visitors. No one who attended 
could fail to notice the excellent judgment shown by the 
various committees in locating the exhibitors, and the 
order and harmony which seemed to pervade all their pro- 
ceedings from the beginning to the close. 




CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION UUILUIXG. 



nectod with trussed beams, which serve to support the 
second floor and the main roof Provision for light and 
ventilation is ample and admirable. 

The general dimensions of the building are one hundred 
and eighty-nine by one hundred and fifty-nine feet; height 
of stories, each, .'■ixteen feet; height to spring-line of the 
dome iroin the ground floor, sixty-four feet ; height from 
the ground floor to the top of the dome, on the interior, 
one hundred feet ; height of xhe lantern on top of the 
dome, twenty-five feet ; diameter of the dome, sixty feet ; 
area of' first floor, twenty-five thousand two hundred and 
sixty-eight feet ; area of second floor, twenty thousand four 
hundred and sixty-eight feet ; wall space, not including 
windows, twenty-four thousand feet. Total area, sixty-nine 
thousand six hundred and thirty-six feet. The cost of the 
building was eighteen thousand dollars ; W. C. Smith, 
architect ; Simmons & Phillips, contractors. 

During the continuance of the Centennial this building 
was filled with the products of industry and art, — so much 
so that some parties desiring to exhibit had to be denied for 
46 



On the night of the 20th of May the number of visitors 
at the Exposition reached its maximum. The attendance 
was what might have been expected. The immense num- 
ber of strangers in the city, who had spent the day at the 
Capitol, at the fair-grounds, and at; the flre-works, wound 
up with a visit to the Exposition, and created a jam, a crush, 
that could not be surpassed. Besides the many hundreds 
of soldiers, exhibitors, ofiicials, etc., there were over twelve 
thousand seven hundred who paid admissions during the 
day. 

The committees were at great expense in securing attrac- 
tions, not the least of which were the electric liglits which 
rendered every part of the building and its environs as light 
as day. The Helicon Band rendered an excellent programme 
each evening. The Tennessee kitchen was a great feature, 
presided over by Mrs. Charles Hillman, Mi's. Rebecca Goff', 
Mrs. John Piuhm, Mrs. Judge Lawrence, Mrs. Max Sax, 
Mrs. Julius Sax, Miss K. Webster, Miss E.-itelle, Mrs. A. 
S. Colyer, Mrs. A. H. Bedford, Mrs. Irvine K. Chase, Mrs. 
D. F. Wilkin, and others. 



362 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



REPORT ON THE JACKSON STATUE. 

At a meeting of the Tennessee Historical Society held 
June 15, 1880, Hon. John M. Lea made the following re- 
port on the Jackson statue : 

" The committee appointed at a meeting held the 29tli 
day of January, 1880, for the purchase of Mills' equestrian 
statue of Gen. Andrew Jackson, respectfully report : 

" That so long ago as the session of the General As- 
sembly of 1845—46 the idea was conceived of erecting at 
the Capitol in Nashville a statue in honor of Gen. Andrew 
Jackson, whose death took place the 8th day of June, 1845 ; 
and an act was passed the 2d day of February, 1846, ap- 
propriating the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars 
' when a sufiicient sum shall be subscribed by the people in 
connection therewith to complete said monument.' Com- 
missioners were appointed in the sixth section of said act 
to receive any voluntary contributions, control the disburse- 
ment of all funds, contract with an American sculptor or 
artist, and superintend the erection of said statue. The 
passage of the act seemed a dismissal of its provisions from 
the public attention. The indifference to the performance 
of a duty so manifest and obvious was, however, more ap- 
parent than real, and the feeling that such an honor would 
some dny be accorded to the name and fame of the illus- 
trious hero and statesman, though quiescent, was never- 
theless right in tlie breast of every Tennesseean. The 
times were not favorable for the inspiration of patriotism 
or any expression of it in works of art designed to com- 
memorate important events in our public history. The first 
ten years succeeding Gen. Jackson's death were marked by 
an interest in material development and a devotion to the 
accumulation of wealth so absorbing that there was scarcely 
time or opportunity for the entertainment or discussion of 
any other subject. The next decade witnessed an excite- 
ment on political subjects so fierce and violent that the 
apprehension of impending peril caused a temporary for- 
getfulness of all the recollections of the glorious past, cul- 
minating in war with all its attendant horrors. The next 
decade brought peace, but to a people with crippled for- 
tunes, who, with a courage as undaunted as that exhibited 
by them upon the field of battle, entered upon the noble 
task of repairing the evils, moral, political, and financial, 
wrought by the destructive energies of military force. 

" The General Assembly soon after the re-establishment 
of civil authority, with laudable pride, vested commissions 
with authority to lay out and ornament the Capitol gi'ounds, 
and in obedience to the general but passive sentiment, the 
space so long vacant — now, we are happy to say, adorned 
by the statue — was, we presume, designed for the reception 
and erection of this or some other imposing monument 
significant of men or events connected with Tennessee his- 
tory. The severe ordeal through which the people passed 
for a few years succeeding the declaration of peace forbade 
attention to this or any other subject not bearing directly 
upon the interests of the passing hour. 

" Early in the month of January, 1879, Gen. Marcus J. 
Wright, of Washington City, addressed a letter to the 
vice-president of the society, suggesting that Clark Mills' 
equestrian statue of Gen. Jackson was on sale, expressing 
the hope that Tennessee could be induced to make the 



purchase, and tendering his services to aid in the negotia^i 
tion. A correspondence ensued between Gen. Wright andi 
the vice-president, and those papers, with a letter from Mi 
Mills stipulating the price, were laid before the society 
There was a discussion of plans for obtaining the requisite: 
funds to make the purchase, but nothing definite was agreed 
on, and the vice-president was instructed to communicate 
further with Gen. Wright, and also to confer with the 
Governor of the State as to the policy of applying to th 
General Assembly for an appropriation. There was a cob 
ferenee with the Governor, and also with some members 
the General Assembly, — letters also passed between th 
Governor and Gen. Wright, — but, after due deliberation 
the time was not deemed opportune to invoke the assist- 
ance of the State, and we did not care to have any future 
prospect clouded by a denial of favorable legislation. The 
facts were duly reported to the society, and, notwithstand- 
ing all obstacles in our path, so great was our earnestness "• 
that the subject was again brought up and discussed in 
connection with the celebration of the centenary, at a 
meeting held the 1st day of July, 1879. Various plans 
for raising the money were proposed, none of which, 
however, commanded that assurance of success which !J 
warranted immediate action, and the measure was in- 1 
definitely postponed, with a firm conviction that under 
more favorable auspices our cherished desire might some 
day be gratified. 

"On the 14th day of March, 1878, resolutions were 
passed by the society contemplating the celebration of the 
centenary of Nashville. At subsequent meetings the proper 
committees were appointed, reports made, etc., the entire 
proceedings to be conducted under the supervision of the 
society. Further reflection induced a change of purpose, 
and it was determined at a meeting held the 4th day of 
November, 1879, to ask the people of the city to unite 
with the society and make a combined eifort to mark the 
centenary of Nashville as an event in our local history. 
A committee with this view was appointed to wait upon 
the mayor and City Council, and, an affirmative answer 
being given, the mayor invited a general meeting of the 
citizens for consideration of the subject on the 16th day 
of December, 1879. The attendance was large, and from 
the incipient action of the meeting on that evening has 
resulted a success beyond anticipation in any and every 
department connected with the celebration of the centenary. 
A glow of enthusiasm at once seized the entire community. 
There was a pause in the pursuit of individual interests, 
and the moment given to unselfish and patriotic inspira- 
tion. Memories of the past seemed to rise spontaneously 
in the public mind, and it doubtless occurred to more than 
one that the conjuncture of circumstances was favorable 
for the acquisition of the Jackson statue. Such a thought 
did certainly occur to a venerable and patriotic citizen of 
Nashville, Maj. John Lucien Brown,* who, early after the 
meeting in December, expressed his intention to try to 
raise by voluntary subscriptions the money necessary for 
its purchase. j 

" He wrote to Senator Harris and Maj. Blair, of Wash- i 

» See special biography. 






£i^^^<. ^> 




J^-UL*^ gA-«_C^ 



ct-^Vo 



S: 



Txrun^ 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



363 



ington City, to make inquiry of Mr. Mills as to the cost of 
the statue. Maj. Blair replied on the 23d of January, 1879, 
that the statue was for sale, but Mr. Mills declined to state 
the price, giving as his reason that Col. Bullock, of Ten- 
nessee, then sojourning in Washington City, was negotiat- 
ing for the purchase. Afterwards, ascertaining that the 
object of Col. Bullock and Maj. Brown was identical, — • 
the procurement of the statue for Tennessee, — the figures 
were given at ' five thousand dollars as the lowest price.' 
About this time an admirable letter written by Col. 
Bullock on the subject of the purchase was printed in 
the American of this city, and from that moment, so 

• forcibly were the facts put forth, the public mind was im- 
pressed with the idea that our celebration would be incom- 
plete if we could not present to the thousands of people 
who would throng our streets the grand spectacle of the 
unveiling of the statue. 

" Much credit should be awarded to Col. Bullock for the 
impetus which his letters gave to the movement, and es- 
pecially is it to be noted that it was through his negotia- 
tion the price was reduced from twelve thousand dollars to 
five thousand dollars, thus placing the object within prob- 

. able reach of our pecuniary ability. Our acknowledgments 
are certainly due and are most cheerfully rendered to our 
esteemed fellow-citizen, Co!. Bullock, for the zeal and in- 
terest thus displayed by him. Pending these negotiations 
at Washington, our fellow-citizen, Maj. Brown, was tireless 
in forming plans for devi.sing ways to secure the necessary 
amount of money. He appeared before the Historical So- 
ciety and stated that if he were armed with their recom- 
mendation and allowed to work under their name, he would 
guarantee success, counting alone upon the liberality and 
public spirit of the people. Previous to this time, how- 
ever, without recognized authority from any society or 
association, he had secured some subscriptions, but after 
his appointment with the vice-president and secretary, at a 
meeting held the 29th day of January, 1880, 'as a com- 
mittee for the purchasing of the statue for the State of 
Tennessee,' he set to work vigorously, earnestly, and sys- 
tematically. He addressed letters to leading citizens in the 
difierent counties, made personal application, and used 
every means and appliance to further the enterprise, the 
success of which lay so near his heart. There were diffi- 
culties in his way. There had been heavy drains upon the 

' people for subscriptions to the Exposition, and the public 
liberality had been strained to its utmost tension. In this 
emergency a suggestion was made that the ' Exposition' 
should buy the statue and count for its remuneration upon 
the increased receipts to be derived from this additional 
feature of its attractions. To this intimation Maj. Brown 
strenuously objected, contending that if time were given, 
the five thousand dollars could be raised. He redoubled 
his energies, appointed agents, and the list of subscribers 
BO increased that on the 18th of March, 1880, success 
being within sight, the Centennial Board of Directors ' in- 
corporated, as one of the regular committees of the board. 
Gen. John P. Wheless, Mr. A. J. Adams, Mr. Joseph L. 
Weakley, Judge John M. Lea, Gen. G. P. Thruston, Mr. 
Anson Nelson, and Maj. John L. Brown, to be known as 
the committee for the purchase and dedication of the eques- 



trian statue of Gen. Jackson.' On account of his onerous 
duties as commanding officer during ' military week,' Gen. 
Wheless resigned, and Gen. "Thruston was appointed to the 
chairmanship of said committee. The subscriptions soon 
aggregated an amount, finally reaching near or quite five 
thousand five hundred dollars, which justified a consumma- 
tion of the purchase. The naked price was not, however, 
the only expense. Transportation had to be secured, a tem- 
porary pedestal constructed, and a vexatious litigation was 
set on foot in Washington likely to retard the delivery of 
the statue in time for the unveiling during ' military 
week.' 

" Further expenses were thus necessarily incurred, but 
the difficulty was obviated by an agreement on the part of 
the Centennial Board to make good the deficiency, provided 
there should be a surplus of that amount (after the repay- 
ment by the military committee of the amount loaned) 
realized at the fair-grounds during military week. The 
deficiency upon settlement amounted to six hundred and 
thirty dollars, and our obligations are due to the military 
committee, not only for this substantial aid, but also for 
the echit which was given to the occasion of the unveiling 
of the statue by the presence of the citizen soldiery from 
this and other States. 

'• It is the province of the committee of which Col. G. 
P. Thruston is chairman to set forth the particular items of 
expense connected with the transportation, removal from 
the depot to the Capitol grounds, construction of the tem- 
porary pedestal, and mounting of the statue ; but we take 
pleasure in stating that we owe much to his good manage- 
ment for the safety which attended this delicate work 
and the economy with which it was performed. No acci- 
dent happened in the transportation, and the statue stands 
on the pedestal as perfect as in its state of original com- 
pletion. 

" The statue was unveiled on a bright, beautiful day, the 
20th of May, 1880, in the presence of a vast assemblage 
of people from this and other States, a full account of which, 
the oration, the ode, and the military display, will doubt- 
less appear in the proceedings of the directors of the Cen- 
tennial Board, to whom the society, on the determination 
of a joint celebration, resigned the conduct of all ceremonial 
observances. 

" Mr. Clark Mills was present as an invited spectator, 
and his bosom must have swelled with pardonable pride iu 
the knowledge of the admiration bestowed upon the work- 
manship of his hands. 

" The unveiling of the statue was the grandest feature 
of the celebration, — a red-letter day in the annals of Nash- 
ville, — an event worthy to link the past with the succeed- 
ing centenary of our beautiful city. 

" The list would be long indeed if thanks were especially 
expressed to all who have aided the society, but it is a sim- 
ple act of justice, in the opinion of this committee, to de- 
clare that the zeal, energy, and patriotism of Maj. John L. 
Brown put in motion the machinery which brought about 
this grand result, and to him more than to any other person 
are the people of Tennessee indebted for the magnificent 
work of art which adorns our beautiful grounds, — a monu- 
ment which symbolizes alike the greatnfiss of the departed 



364 



HISTOEY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



hero and the devotion of the people of Tennessee to his 
memory. 

" Kespectfully subtnitted, 

" John M. Lea, Chairman, 

" Anson Nelson." 

MASONIC. 

On the 24th of June, 1812, Cumberland Lodge, No. 60, 
was instituted by dispensation from the Most Worshipful 
Robert Williams, Grand Master of North Carolina, by Rob- 
ert Searcy, the oldest Past Master present, and the following 
officers installed : The Hon. John Overton, W. M. ; Lemuel 
T. Turner, S. W. ; William P. Anderson, J. W. After- 
wards the following brethren were appointed and installed 
into their respective offices : Anthony Foster, Treas. ; Thomas 
G. Bradford, Sec. : Bphraim Pritohett, S. D. ; John C. Mc- 
Lemore, J. D. ; Duncan Robertson, Tyler. The members 
who composed the lodge previously to the presentation of 
any petition for initiation were the following, in addition 
to the officers above mentioned : Josiah Nichol, William 
Tait, George Bell, Alexander Richardson, Richard Napier, 
Thomas Shackelford, David L-win, James Condon, R. M. 
Boyers, and George Shall. 

The first petition for initiation was presented by George 
Morgan, on the 20th of October, 1812. He was elected 
on the 23d of February, 1813, and was initiated, together 
with Samuel V. D. Stout and Joseph Ward, on the 25th of 
March, 1813. The first person raised to the degree of 
Master Mason in this lodge was Wilkins Tannehill, who was 
initiated on the 24th of April, 1813, and passed and raised 
on the 28th of the same month. 

On the 27th of December, 1813, the Grand Lodge of 
Tennessee having been established, of which the Most Wor- 
shipful Thomas Claiborne was the first Grand Master, Cum- 
berland Lodge, No. 60, surrendered the charter received from 
the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, and took out a dispen- 
sation under the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, bearing date 
Feb. 8, 1814, and at the following annual communication 
of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee a charter was granted, 
by the name of Cumberland Lodge, No. 8, located at Nash- 
ville, and it has eontitiued in existence from that time to 
the present. 

On the 24th of June, 1818, the corner-stone of the Ma- 
.sonic Hall was laid, in ample form, by the Most Worshipful 
Wilkins Tannehill, assisted by the Grand Lodge and the 
members of Cumberland Lodge, No. 8. A large concourse 
of people was present, and an appropriate address was 
delivered by Hon. John H. Eaton, who afterwards was a 
member of General Jackson's cabinet. Sam. Houston was 
initiated in this lodge April 19, 1817, and was subsequently 
Governor of the State, United States Senator, President of 
the Republic of Texas, etc. John Hall, his successor in the 
gubernatorial office, was once a member of this lodge. In 
1817, John Catron, afterwards Associate Justice of the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and John Shelby, 
afterwards postmaster, bank director, etc., united with the 
lodge. In fact, the lodge was composed of the best citizens 
of the city and surrounding country at this time. 

A new lodge, called Nashville Lodge, No. 37, was organ- 
ized in 1821. James Overton was its first Worshipful 



Master. It ceased to exist in the latter part of the year '■ 
1830, its members re-uniting with the old lodge. 

We find that a chapter, council, and encampment were 1 
in successful operation here in the year 1831. 

Sewanee Lodge, No. 131, Nashville Lodge, and Segnoyah 
Lodge, as well as Cumberland, were all at work in the same 
hall in 1850-51, etc. Finally, the three first-named lodges 
dissolved, and united under a new charter and new name, 
as Phoenix Lodge, No. 131. In 1847, Nashville Council, 
No. 1, Nashville Chapter, No. 1, and Nashville Encamp- 
ment of Knights Templar, No. 1, were all flourishing. A 
number of changes have taken place since, until now the i 
following Masonic bodies hold regular meetings in Nash- 
ville, to wit: 

GRAND COMHANDERY. 

Grand Commander^/ Knights Templar. — George Cooper 
Conner, Chattanooga, Grand Commander ; Morton Boyte 
Howell, Nashville, Grand Recorder. 

COMMANDERT. 

Nashville Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, meets 
the third Tuesday of every month, in Masonic Temple. 
Henry C. Hensley, E. C. ; G. W. Seay, Recorder. 

Grand Council Royal and Select Masters meets an- 
nually in Nashville, immediately after the closing of the 
Most Worthy Grand Lodge. George H. Morgan, Gaines- 
boro'. Most Illustrious Grand Master ; John Frizzell, Nash- 
ville, Grand Recorder. 

COUNCILS. 

Fuller Council, No. 46, Royal and Select Masters, 
meets Tuesday, on or before full moon of every month, in 
Edgefield Masonic Hall. G. W. Jenkins, I. M. ; Abram 
Joseph, Recorder. 

Nashville Council, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, 
meets the first Monday of every month, in Masonic Temple. 
Pitkin C. Wright, I. M. ; Horace C. Smith, Recorder. 

Grand Cliapter Royal Arch Masons meets annually in 
Nashville, immediately after the closing of the Most Worthy 
Grand Lodge. J. H. Bullock, Paris, Grand High Priest; 
John Frizzell, Nashville, Grand Secretary. 

CHAPTERS. 

Cumberland Chapter, No. 1, Royal Arch Masons, 
meets the fourth Tuesday of every month, at Masonic Tem- 
ple. Robert H. Howell, M. E. H. P. ; G. S. Blackie, 
Secretary. 

Edgefield Chapter, No. 75, meets Friday night, on or 
before full moon, at Edgefield Masonic Hall. George H. 
Owen, M. E. H. P. ; Abram Joseph, Secretary. 

King Cyrus Chapter, No. 107, meets the second Tues- 
day of every month, at Masonic Temple. Bradford Nichol, 
M. E. H. P. ; J. W. Benner, Secretary. 

Most Worthy Grand Lodge meets Monday, Nov. 8, 
1880, at Nashville. Wilbur F. Foster, Nashville, M. 
W. Grand Master ; Angel S. Myers, Memphis, Deputy 
Grand Master ; N. S. Woodward, Knoxville, R. W. Senior 
Grand Warden ; R. M. Mason, White's Station, R. W. 
Junior Grand Warden ; W. H. Morrow, Nashville, R. W. 
Grand Treasurer ; John Frizzell, Nashville, R. W. Grand 




THOMAS GOWDEY. 



Thomas Gowdey was the sou of Dr. Joliii and 
Margaret Gowdey, and was born in Castlewellan, 
County Down, Ireland, on tlie 29th of August, 
1795. He was a lieutenant in the British army, and 
fought under Lord Nelson and was wounded in the 
foot at the battle of Coruuna, which unfitted him for 
active .service. In 1818 he emigrated to America, 
lauding in Charleston, S. C. In 1823 he was united 
in marriage to Ann Power, daughter of Thomas 
McCarton, in Madison, Ga. Here he was engaged 
in the mercantile business, the firm being Butler & 
Gowdey. In 1825 he removed from Georgia to 
Nashville, Tenn., aud for a number of years wa.s 
president of the Hibernian Society, never failing to 
assist his countrymen in this land to make a charac- 
ter and a living for themselves. 

Mr. Gowdey was for over forty years a leading 
jeweler of the city, and was ver^^ extensively known 



throughout the South. An unbrokeu residence in 
Nashville during all these years could not fail to 
identify him with our home institutions and works 
of improvement. He was an ardent and zealous 
member of the Masonic fraternity, and was ever 
looked upon as one of the bright lights of that 
order. He went through all the degrees of Masonry 
and became a Knight Templar. He was intelligent, 
affable, and courteous; in commercial circles he was 
prudent and discreet, and all our people can witness 
that he was in all respects a good aud noble citizen. 
On the 27th of June, 1863, he died, lamented by 
all who knew him, having nearly reached the three- 
score years and ten allotted to man upon earth; aud, 
having put his house in order by committing his 
soul to the Saviour, he was entirely resigned aud 
willing to depart. He left four daughters and two 
sons, and his widow still survives him. 



CITY OF NASHVILLE. 



365 



Secretary ; Kev. W. L. Rosser, Walter Hill, E. W. Grand 
Chaplain ; W. S. Smith, Beaver Rid^e, Worthy Senior 
Grand Deacon ; Nelson I. Iless, Gadsden, Worthy Junior 
Grand Deacon ; William F. Leiper, Murfroesboro', Worthy 
Grand Marshal ; David J. Pierce, Chattanooga, Worthy 
Grand Sword-Bearer ; H. P. Hobson, Somerville, Worthy 
Grand Steward ; Jesse Arnold, Cookeville, Worthy Grand 
Pursuivant; Gervas Sieferle, Nashville, Worthy Grand 
Tyler. 

LODGES. 

Beulah LoJye, No. 426, meets Monday night, on or be- 
fore the full moon, at Edgefield Masonic Hall. William 
H. Blorrow, W. M. 

Claiborne Lodge, No. 293, meets the second Blonday 
of every month, at 293 South Cherry Street. John 11. 
Canady, W. M. ; James S. White, Secretary. 

Corinllnan Lodge, No. 414, meets the second Saturday 
of every month, at Masonic Temple. Bradford Nichol,W. 
M. ; W. T. Cartwright, Secretary. 

Cmnherland Lodge, No. 8, meets the third Saturday of 
every month, at Masonic Temple. Robert Thompson, W. 
M. ; J. S. Carels, Secretary. 

Edgefield Lodge, No. 254, meets the first Thursday of 
every month, at Edgefield Masonic Hall. Edwin Burney, 
W. M. ; J. P. Barthel, Secretary. 

Germania Lodge, No. 355, meets the second Monday of 
every month, at Masonic Temple. M. Frank, W. M. ; Ph. 
Bernstein, Secretary. 

Phwnix Lodge, No. 131, meets the fourth Monday of 
every month, in Masonic Temple. W. E. Eastman, W. M. ; 
G. S. Blackie, Secretary. 

Nashville Masonic Board of Relief meets the first Tues- 
day of every month, in Masonic Temple. Robert Thomp- 
son, President; Bradford Nichol, Vice-President ; Henry 
C. Hensley, Treasurer ; W. T. Randle, Secretary ; Pitkin 
C. Wright, Chairman Relief Committee. 

ODD-FELLOWSHIP.-s 

Tennessee Lodge, No. 1 , of tlie Independent Order of 
Odd-Fellows, was tlie first lodge of that institution organ- 
ized in Davidson County, and also the first organized in the 
State. It was instituted in Nashville on the evening of 
June 1, 1839. The original records of the lodge have been 
lost, and it is not absolutely certain who the instituting offi- 
cer was, but it is thought to have been Liusfield Sharp, who, 
it appears, was sent out from Baltimore, Md., for that pur- 
pose. The lodge began witli ten members whose names are 
taken from an old list now in its archives, and are as follows ; 
Lin.sfield Sharp, George R. Forsythe, George Wilson, A. 
Bonville, Alexander Baker, William H. Johnson, J. W. 
Cardwell, James Bowman, George Babe, and Robert Barn- 
hearst. After organizing the lodge Mr. Sharp spent some 
time in Nashville, mixing with the people, and made many 
friends for the new order. 

After the organization of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, 
the original charter, which had been issued by the Grand 
Lodge of the United States, was surrendered, and a new 

^■" By J. K. H.arwcll, M.D., Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of 
Tennessee. 



one issued by the State Grand Lodge, and is the charter 
at present held by the lodge. The names appearing on this 
charter are L. L. Loving, A. Bonville, R. Coulter, Wilkin 
P. Tannehill, and Otis Arnold. 

Tennessee Lodge, No. 1, still exists, holds its meetings 
regularly oncfe a week, has done a vast amount of good in 
the community, and is in a highly prosperous condition. 

The second lodge organized in Davidson County was 
Nashville Lodge, No. 2, which was instituted June 9, 1840. 
Its charter members were Timothy Kezer, George R. For- 
sythe, William H. Calhoun, Selh C. Earl, Miles Nesbit, 
William McCurdy, and James H. Gould. After a brilliant 
career this lodge met with misfortune, became discouraged, 
and surrendered its charter about the close of the late 
war. 

Trabue Lodge, No. 10, located in Nashville, was insti- 
tuted Sept. 8, 1845, under most flattering auspices. Its 
charter members were Walter S. MoNairy, James C. Dew, 
Walter Rockwood, Joe Edwards, Hugh JlcCrea, and Fred. 
Terrass. In the list of members who have been attached 
to this lodge there are the names of many of our most 
worthy citizens. After thirty-five years of useful work the 
lodge is still alive and prosperous. 

Smiley Lodge, No. 90, located in Soutli Nashville, was 
instituted Aug. 25, 1854. Its charter members were James 
W. Fatten, Wm. M. Mallory, C. H. Conger, W. H. Wil- 
kinson, C. K. Winston, AV. W. Bryan, Fred Joute, John 
R. Hill, J. H. Burke, J. G. Sawyers, C. R. Keopf, John 
Tanksley, John Jarrell, and JM. C. Cotton. 

It has been a most useful and prosperous lodge, and 
is still in a flourishing condition, and numbers among its 
members some of the best citizens of the southern end of 
Nashville. 

Aurora Lodge, No. 105 (German), was instituted in 
Nashville, April 16, 1858, with the following charter mem- 
bers : S. Nathan, H. Metz, F. Klooz, C. Wetteran, and R. 
Hellebrand. This lodge is sustained by the best clement 
of the German population of Nashville, and can show a 
record of which any organization might well be proud. 

Edgefield Lodge, No. 118, was instituted in Edgefield, 
Feb. 16, 1867, with the following charter members: G. P. 
Smith, James T. Bell, B. R. McKennie, H. W. Buttorff, 
W. A. Glenn, T. J. Hopkins, 0. S. Lesener, G. W. Owen, 
W. R. Finnegan, P. B. Coleman, T. M. Buck, W. R. Bell, 
John 0. Troanor, C. L. Howerton, J. H. Farrar, C. H. 
Lesener, J. M. Thatcher, C. Altmeyer, W. H. Simmonds, 
Charles Melton, H. W. Hasslock, and William Boyd. 
With such a long list of good citizens to begin with, the 
prosperity of this lodge was assured. Its career has been 
marked with success. 

Goodlettsville Lodge, No. 137, located at Goodlottsville, 
Donelson Lodge, No. 145, located at Donelson, Isaac M. 
Jones Lodge, No. 166, located at Bellevue, and Hermitage 
Lodge, No. 189, located at or near the Hermitage, have all 
been organized since the late war, and they have all been 
popular in their respective localities. 

The following encampments have been organized in 
David.son County: Ridgely, No. 1, Olive Branch, No. 4, 
Edgefield, No. 32, Germania, No. 36 (German), all located 
in Nashville except Edgefield Encampment, No. 32, which 



366 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



was located in Edgefield. In 1871 the Grand Encampment 
of Tennessee authorized the consolidation of Eidgely En- 
campment, No. 1, Olive Branch, No. 4, and Edgefield, No. 
32, which was soon afterwards eiFected under the name 
and style of Nashville Encampment, No. 1. This branch 
of the order is very popular, and has been well patronized. 

The Grand Lodge of Tennessee is located at Nashville. 
It was instituted Aug. 10, 1841, by C. C. Trabue, Special 
Deputy Grand Sire. The first grand officers elected and 
installed were Timothy Kezer, Grand Master ; E. A. Barnes, 
Deputy Grand Master ; W. H. Calhoun, Grand Warden ; 
Wm. P. Hume, Grand Secretary; George R. Forsyth, 
Grand Treasurer. The Grand Lodge holds its meetings 
annually in Naslivillc. 

The Grand Encampment of Tennessee, also located at 
Nashville, was organized July 21, 1847, by T. B. Shaff- 
ner, of Louisville, Ky., Special Deputy Grand Sire. The 
first grand officers elected and installed were George W. 
Wilson, Grand Patriarch ; Donald Cameron, Grand High 
Priest; N. E. Perkins, Grand Senior Warden; C. K. 
Clark, Grand Junior Warden ; G. P. Smith, Grand Scribe ; 
John Coltart, Grand Treasurer; C. G. Weller, Grand In- 
.side Sentinel ; Charles Smith, Grand Outside. Sentinel. 

For several years after the planting of Odd-Fellowship 
in Davidson County the anniversary of its organization was 
regularly celebrated on the 1st day of June. From the 
handful of members present on the 1st of June, 1839, 
when Tennessee Lodge, No. 1 , was instituted, Odd-Fellow- 
ship has grown to be one of the largest and most influen- 



tial as well as one of the most useful secret societies in the 
county. 

The first Odd-Fellows' hall in Nashville was on Market 
Street, opposite ihc mouth of Union, in an upper story over 
the restaurant of A. Bonville. The house has long since 
been removed. In less than a year the lodge removed to a 
new hall, on the north side of the public square, opposite 
the north end of the market-house. On the 1st of Jan- 
uary, 1842, a new hall was opened in the building now 
standing on the northwest corner of College and Union 
Streets, which the order occupied one year. On the 1st of 
January, 1843, it removed to the third story of the build- 
ing now standing on the southeast corner of Cherry and 
Union Streets. A few years after this the lodges purchased 
a lot on the northwest corner of Summer and Union Streets, 
and erected the building now known as the Skating Rink, 
or Olympic Theatre. This, however, was lost, and the 
order removed across LTnion Street to the " Kirkman 
Block," and remained several years. About the year 
1873 it removed to "Luck's Block," on Church Street, 
between Summer and High. Here it remained two years. 
The lodges having in the mean time purchased the lot on 
the southeast corner of Church and High Streets, they 
erected the splendid temple which now adorns it, and 
moved into it in the early part of 1875. Tennessee 
Lodge, No. 1, Trabue Lodge, No. 10, Aurora Lodge, No. 
105, Nashville Encampment, No. 1, and Germania En- 
campment, No. 36, now occupy it, and have their hall in 
the third story. 



CIVIL DISTRICTS OF DAVIDSON COUNTY. 



On the 3d of October, 1859, upon motion of W. P. 
Massey, Esq., the judge of the County Court appointed C. 
W. Nance, William H. Hagans, and John M. Joslin com, 
missioners to redistrict the county into twenty-five districts, 
the city of Nashville being the First District. The com- 
mittee reported at the January term of court, 1860, and 
their report, which was ordered published in pamphlet form 
for distribution throughout the county, set forth the bound- 
aries of the districts under the following preamble : 

" We have availed ourselves of every opportunity to ac- 
quaint ourselves with the size, shape, and boundaries of the 
old districts, as well as the population in each ; and we have 
also endeavored to ascertain the views and wishes of many 
of the citizens in various portions of the county in relation 
to the duties assigned us, in order to shape the new districts 
to the greatest advantage of the voting population of the 
whole county, and we submit to you the result of our de^ 
liberations and investigations." 

UISTRICT NUMBER ONE. 

District Number One was made to include the entire 
corporate limits of the city of Nashville. Voting precincts 
were established in eight wards, and have since been erected 
as the wards have been increased in number. 

DISTRICT NUMBER TWO, 

District Number Two was formed from old District 
Number Two, beginning at the intersection of the Mill 
Creek turnpike with Mill Creek, and running with the Mur- 
freesboro' turnpike-road to the Franklin College and Stone's 
River turnpike-road ; then with said Franklin College and 
Stone's River road to Hamilton's Creek ; thence down Ham- 
ilton's Creek to Stone's River ; thence down Stone's River 
to Cumberland River ; thence down Cumberland River to 
the mouth of Mill Creek; and thence up Mill Creek to the 
beginning. The place of voting was fixed at Spring Place. 
■ At BIcWhortersville, which is the chief settlement and 
place of business, there are three stores, kept by A. S. Ed- 
wards, E. B. Graves, and J. L. Dortch ; a grist-mill and 
cotton-gin combined, both erected in 1878, and owned by 
M. M. Leek, three blacksmith-shops, one wood-working- 
shop, and at the toll-gate the Donelson post-ofRce, of which 
D. Stevenson is postmaster. There are two resident phy- 
sicians, — Drs. Boyd and Whitworth, — ^a Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, a Christian Church, and thirty dwellings. 
McCrory's Creek Baptist Church is three and a half miles 
south of McWhortersville, and in the south part of the 
district is the old Franklin College. 



The oldest resident of the district is Osworth Newby. 
M. M. Ridley is one of the oldest residents, and Jeremiah 
Bowen, Esq., is a representative of one of the earliest 
families. 

Franklin College was built mainly through the efforts of 
Elder Talbot Fanning. The buildings were commenced in 
1843 and completed in 1844. In October of that year he 
was elected president. On his resignation, in 1861, Pro- 
fessor William D. Carnes became president. The college 
was suspended soon after, and remained idle until after the 
declaration of peace. It was again opened, but soon after 
the buildings were burned and its existence ceased. 

Hope Institute was then opened by Elder Fanning as a 
female college, and continued by him until his death, in 
1874. 

On the adoption of the- new constitution the first justices 
were appointed in May, 1836. John H. Clopton and Wil- 
liam G. M. Campbell were then appointed for this town, to 
serve for the term of six years. 

Robert Weakley, afterwards prominent in Nashville, is 
credited to this district on the county records for 1791. 
The following-named persons were assessed for lands owned 
in this district in 1816: John Blair, James, John, and 
Thomas Buchanan, William, Chris., James, and John Car- 
ter, D. Cross, William Donelson, " where he lives," Richard 
Drury, William Dickson, William Ewing, Thomas H. Ev- 
erett, William Gowen, Nancy Green, William Harwood, 
George and Nicholas P. Hartraan, John Johnson, Jr., Thos. 
Jones, Peter Lastly, Guy McFadden, William Matlock, 
John Moore, William Nance and Harris Oglevie, Daniel 
Vaulx, William Wharton, Daniel Woodard, Philip Wolf, 
William Waldron, Henry White, Jr., Peter Wright, Martha 
Turner. 

The Naturalist, an educational and agricultural journal 
of merit, was published and printed at Franklin College, in 
this district, during the year 1848. It was a forty-eight- 
page monthly magazine, at two dollars a year, and was edited 
by Rev. T. Fanning, Isaac Newton Loomis, John Eich- 
baum, and J. Smith Fowler. 

The district contains two post-oSioes, — Donelson and 
Glen Cliff. The old " Mud Tavern," in the western part, 
six miles from the city of Nashville, is a point of interest 
as a resort of early days. The Second District is the Second 
School District of the county. It contains a school popula- 
tion of six hundred and fifty-seven children, and has had 
six schools during the last year, of which four were white 
and two colored. There were two hundred and twelve 
white and one hundred and fifty-four colored pupils enrolled. 
There are six school-houses in the district. The school 

367 



368 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



directors are Dr. James Evans, Sidney Zucarillo, and Mr. 
Page. 

DISTEICT NUMBEE THEEE. 

District Number Three was the original district of that 
number. Its boundarj'-line begins at the mouth of Ham- 
ilton's Creek and follows up Stone's River to the Ruther- 
ford county-line ; thence with the county-line to where 
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad crosses Hurri- 
cane Creek ; thence down said railroad to the crossing of 
the Franklin and Lebanon road at the Blount View Station ; 
thence along the said road to the Murfreesboro' turnpike; 
thence along the Murfreesboro' turnpike to Hamilton's 
Creek ; and thence down Hamilton's Creek to the begin- 
ning. The polling-place was changed from Hutchinson's 
Springs to Smith's Springs in July, 1859. 

Charlton's church is in the north part, near Stone's River, 
and Burnett's chapel, more recently known as Charlton's 
chapel, in the east part, near Hurricane Creek, is the oldest 
church in the district. These points were centres around 
which clustered the dwellings of some of the earlier pio- 
neers. Mount View Church is a union house, occupied by 
Baptists and Cumberland Presbyterians, on the Murfrees- 
boro' turnpike. Smith's Springs, near the centre, became 
the central point for gatherings after the war, and a Bap- 
tist church was erected there. 

Among the early families in the district were those of 
Ed. Beard and Dennis McClendon, father of the present T. 
J. McClendon. 

The post-office is at Couchville, where there are two 
stores ; William Wright is merchant and postmaster. 
Ephraim McLane was a justice of the peace in the Third 
District in 1791. He was one of the leading citizens of 
the county for many years. Edward H. East and John 
Vandevill were afterwards prominent citizens. The fol- 
lowing named were assessed for taxes in this district in 
1816 : Cary Felts, D. J. Fish, Jesse Fly, James Hailey, 
Dennis McClendon, Stephen Roach, Willid L. Shumate, 
Henry Seat, Joseph Smith, James Vaulx, Isaac and James 
Wright, Rachel Williams, Edmond Collinsworth. 

This is the Third School District. It contains a school 
population of six hundred and fifty-seven. In the year 
1878-79 there were held three white schools, in which 
were enrolled one hundred and eighty-six pupils, and one 
colored school of forty-two pupils. L. A. B. Williams, S. 
Y. Norvell, and S. B. McClendon are the school directors 
for 1880. There are four school-houses within the district. 



DISTRICT NUMBER FOUE. 

District Number Four, with District Number Sixteen, 
comprises the territory of the old Fourth District. Its 
boundary-line begins at Stewart's Ferry on Stone's River, 
and runs easterly with the old Lebanon road to Thomas B. 
Page's line ; thence north, east, and south, so as to leave 
out the house of Thomas B. Page and to intersect the 
Old Lebanon road above said house ; thence with said 
road, and passing at New Hope to J. H. Hagan's burnt 
mill ; thence east to the Wilson county-line ; thence north- 
erly with the county-line to Cumberland River; thence 



down the river to the mouth of Stone's River ; thence u^ 
Stone's River to the place of beginning. 

April 2, 1860, on motion of H. Hagan, the line was so-*si 
changed as to run from Stuart's Ferry with the Old Leb- 
anon road, passing New Hope to Hagan's burnt mill. 

Jan. 8, 1861, it was ordered by the court that the di- 
viding-line between this and District Number Sixteen be so 
changed as to run from " the point where it digresses" at 
Thomas B. Page's, north of the residence of Elizabeth 
Hunt, and to extend thence to New Hope church. The 
place of holding elections was fixed at Mrs. Creel's in 
January, 1860. 

There are two churches in this district, — viz., the Her- 
mitage church, on the Lebanon turnpike, near its centre, 
and New Hope church, two miles east of the Hermitage 
station. 

The " Hermitage," the most historic place in the district, 
is represented by an engraving and description in another 
part of this work. It contains the only post-office of the 
district, and is the point of chief interest within the county 
outside of Nashville. 

James Ford was captain of the militia of this district in 
1784. Col. Samuel Barton was life justice of the peace 
for this district in 1791, and was then "classed" for the 
third term of court. John A. Shute and John McNeill 
were early and prominent citizens of the district. 

The following-named persons paid taxes on lands lying 
within the limits of the present district in 1816: David 
Abernothy, John Anderson, Anthony Clopton, Joseph 
Cook, N. Drew, David and Thomas Edmiston, Edwar(j 
East, Jeremiah Ezell, John B. and Charles M. Hall, Johal 
Hoggatt, William Huggins, Stockley D. and Jane Hays,! 
John and P. H. Jones, James Lee, James McFerrinJ 
Zachariah Noel, Francis Sanders, John Tait, Sr., Spence?^ 
Payne. 

This is the Fourth School District of the county. 1^ 
contains seven school-houses and maintains seven schools, — 
four white and three colored. There were two hundred 
white and one hundred colored pupils enrolled for the year 
1878-79. The scholastic population in 1880 is six hun- 
dred and sixty-five. T. 0. Trainer, A. S. Hays, and M. 
T. Brooks are school directors. 

New Hope Church, in this district, was organized as a 
missionary Baptist Church at the Cedar Glade school-house, 
in 1846, by P]lders Peter and Thomas Fuqua. It then 
consisted of thirty members. Elder Peter Fuqua was pas- 
tor from the time of organization until his death, in 1863, 
and was succeeded by Elder G. W. Hagar, whose pas- 
torate continued till 1879, when the present pastor. Elder 
John T. Oakley, assumed charge. 

John Cook and Thomas Wright were the first deacons, 
and their successors have been W. H. Wright, L. Ellis, 
Robert Cleaves, J. J. Ellis, William G. Sweeney, G. W. 
Sweeney, and B. McFale. 

Soon after the organization the church built a respect- 
able log meeting-house a little east of the school-house above 
mentioned, in which they worshiped till the building was 
burned, in 1871. The neat brick church now occupied on 
the Central turnpike, two miles east of the Hermitage Sta- 
tion, was built after the fire. The church has had in all 






riiotos. by Armstroaif, Niishville, 



'/-€^nij^<3-/h^^ /jff--UAlyt^ 



!c^.«.i^<^, 



Ci%>Crii.<^ 



JEREMIAH BOWEN, Jr., 



was boru in Carthage, Smith Co., Tenn., Aug. 7, 
1822. His father, Jeremiali Bowen, Sr., was born in 
Pennsylvania in the year 1770. He served an ap- 
prenticeship at liatmaking in Philadelpiiia, and in 
1800 came to Carthage, Wmitii Co., Tenn., where lie 
embarked in the hat-manufacturing business. In 
1814 lie married Miss Martlia Powel Spivey wlio 
was born in Burtee Co., N. C, Oct. 10, 1797, and 
emigrated to Smitii Co., Tenn., in 1812. Of this 
union there liave been three children, — O. L. Bowen, 
born 1816 ; James Bowen, born 1818 ; and Jeremiah 
Bowen. Mr. Bowen died Aug. 22, 1822. In Jan- 
uary, 1831, Mrs. M. P. Bowen married Wm. Mc- 
Murry and moved to Davidson County ; by this mar- 
riage there were two children, — Ann McMurry, born 
in 1832, and Margarett McMurry, born in 1833. 
Mrs. McMurry died Jan. 28, 1847. She was of 
Irish descent, was a kind wife, a devoted mother, and 
a Christian woman. .Teremiah Bowen Jr., came to 
Davidson County with his mother and stepfather in 
1831 ; lived here about three years, when he went to 
Shelby Co., Tenn., to live with his aunt, Mrs. Ann 
C. Carter, where he remained three years and then 
returned to his home in Davidson County. When 
nineteen years of age he apprenticed himself to E.. 
S. Orton, and learned the tanning business. He 
worked as a journeyman tanner until Jan. 1, 1848, at 



which time he formed a copartnership with W. B. 
Ewing, and they established a tannery on White's 
Creek, five miles north of Nashville. 

On Oct. 25, 1848, he married Miss Rebecca S. 
Buchanan, daughter of James and Lucinda Buchanan, 
who were among the old pioneer settlers in David- 
son County. Mr. Buchanan was born in Virginia, 
•July 16, 1763, and moved to Davidson Co., Tenn., 
eight miles east of Nashville, about the year 1800. 
His wife, nee Miss Lucinda East, was also born in 
Virginia, Dec. 11, 1792, and came to Tennessee with 
her father about the year 1800. Mr. Buchanan and 
Miss East were married in 1810 ; he died Feb. 14, 
1841, and she died April 15, 1865. They were the 
parents of sixteen children, — ten daughters and six 
sons. 

In 1859, Mr. Bowen retired from the tanning- 
business, and engaged in farming six miles east of 
Nashville. In 1865 he was elected justice of the 
peace in the Second District, Davidson County, and 
served in that capacity eleven years. In January, 
1868, he was appointed railroad tax-collector for 
Davidson County for one year. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bowen have been the parents of 
nine children, — eight daughters and one son. Two 
of the daughters died in their infancy ; the remain- 
der are still living. 



CIVIL DISTRICTS. 



369 



since its organization four hundred and sixty members. The 
present number is two hundred and two. 

DISTRICT NUMBER FIVE. 

District Number Five, which comprises the original dis- 
trict, was bounded by a line beginning at the crossing of Mur- 
freesboro' pike and Mill Creek, and running thence up Mill 
Creek to Antioch church ; thence with the Nashville and 
Chattanooga Railroad to the Franklin and Lebanon road at 
Mount View Station ; thence with said road to the IMur- 
freesboro' turnpike ; thence down the turnpike to Hamil- 
ton's Creek ; thence down Hamilton's Creek to the crossing 
of the same by the Franklin College and Stone's River 
turnpike ; thence down that road to the Murfreesboro' 
turnpike, and down the Murfreesboro' turnpike to the 
place of beginning. Harris' Place was made the voting 
precinct. 

Antioch Baptist church, in the southern part, on the 
line of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, near Olney- 
ville post-office, was one of the 6rst churches in that part 
of the county. It is still existing under its original faith. 
Hamilton churcli, in the east part, on the Murfreesboro' 
turnpike, and Locust Grove, are also both in this district. 

Rosedale post-office is within this district, at the grocery 
of David Harrison, who is postmaster. Olneyville post- 
office was first established, and is the earliest point of set- 
tlement. Elijah Robertson represented this district as jus- 
tice in 1791. Thomas S. King and Herbert Towns, a life- 
member of the old court, were prominent citizens in early 
days. Mr. Towns, who was appointed a justice in 1824, is 
still living, and is at the present time one of the most active 
and intelligent magistrates of the county. He has been 
constantly under commission as a justice since his first ap- 
pointment. In 1810 the following-named persons were 
assessed for taxes on lands now in this district : Samuel and 
John Bell, William " Bebby," Henry and Joseph Burnett, 
Edward Bryant, Thomas Edmonson, Henry Guthrey, Jere- 
miah Grezzard, James Glasgow, John Gowen, James Linch, 
Enoch Oliver, Edmund Owen, Francis Sanders, Richard 
Smith, Samuel Scott, Cornelius and Christopher Waggoner, 
" Mrs. Widow" Wilcox, Henry White. 

The Tennessee Asylum for the Insane is in the east part 
of the district, on the Murfreesboro' pike. Its grounds, 
nearly a mile square, arc finely located, and their appear- 
ance adds much to the reputation of the district. 

This is the Fifth School District of the county. There 
are here five school-houses, in which were kept four white 
schools with an enrollment of two hundred and fifty-four 
pupils for the year 1878-79, and one colored school in 
which sixty pupils were enrolled for the same year. There 
are now five hundred and thirty-six persons of school ago 
living in the district. E. G. Rowe, A. J. Roper, and Ben- 
jamin Turbeiville are school directors for 1880. The dis- 
trict has five school-houses. 

DISTRICT NUMBER SIX. 

District Number Six, the original district of that num- 
ber, is bounded \f^ a line beginning at the southeastern 
corner of Davidson County near Gooche's, and running 



northward with the Rutherford county-line to the Nash- 
ville and Chattanooga Railroad ; thence northward down 
said railroad to Mill Creek at Antioch Church ; thence up 
Mill Creek to the Williamson county-line ; and thence east- 
ward with the county-line to the beginning. The polling- 
place was fixed at Cane Ridge, which is near the centre of 
the district, and the location of a church of that name. 

Robert Clark, who was for thirteen months held as a 
prisoner by the Indians, was an inhabitant of this district. 
Mr. Clark, who was afterwards long and well known, was 
ran.somed by an exchange of Indian prisoners and ponies. 

Benajah Gray was an early citizen, and a life-member of 
the Notables' Court. 

James Mears was magistrate in 1791 ; William H. Ha- 
gans and James Chilcutt were early citizens. The follow- 
ing persons were tax-payers in what is now included in this 
district in 1816 : Isaac Battle, John Barr, James Campbell, 
Thomas Chilcutt, William Gibson, Benajah Gray, Isaac 
Johnson, Ralph McFadden, John McFarlin, Robert Orr, 
Godfrey Shelton, Haitwell Seat, John Smith, Robert 
Thompson, Nelson White, James Whitsett, James Weath- 
erall, Daniel Young. 

In the school organization this became the Sixth School 
District of the county. It contains four school-houses, in 
which were taught, in the year 1878-79, three white 
schools of one hundred and fifty-one pupils in all, and one 
colored school with sixty-seven pupils. The scholastic 
population for 1880 is four hundred and nine. B. Gray, 
T. K. Griggs, and S. H. Culbertson are the present school 
directors. 

DISTRICT NUMBER SEVEN. 

District Number Seven was the same previous to 1859. 
Its boundary-line begins at the crossing of the Nolensville 
turnpike-road and Mill Creek, near Holt's or Hampton's 
Mill, and runs down Mill Creek to the moutli of its west 
fork at Thompson's saw-mill ; thence up the west fork to 
the Nolensville turnpike-road ; thence southeast along said 
turnpike-road to the place of beginning. Dunn's school- 
house was made the voting precinct. 

Gethsemane church is at Baker's or Smithville, near 
Mill Creek. This is one of the earliest churches, and be- 
longed to the old Mero Association. 

Paragon Mills, the post-office, was recently established in 
place of two others, — Carter's and Lime-works, — closed in 
1879. 

James Mulh^rrin, Enoch Ensley, and John B. Hodges 
were among the early residents, and were all magistrates of 
the old Notables' Court. 

The following persons were assessed for taxes in this dis- 
trict in 1816: Charles Crutchfield, Aquila Carmack, Rob- 
ert C. Foster, Jacob Marvis, Jesse W. Tliomas, Susannah 
Windle. 

This was made School District Number Seven at its or- 
ganization for school purposes. Two white schools and one 
colored one are maintained here, each of which has school- 
houses. The enrollment in the year 1878-79 was, white, 
one hundred and forty-one ; colored, sixty. The school 
population for 1880 was four hundred and twenty. Wil- 
liam T. Robinson, William McPherson, and Anderson Pee- 
bles are school directors. 



3T0 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



DISTRICT NUMBER EIGHT. 

District Number Eight, one of the original districts, is 
bounded by a line which begins where the Franklin turn- 
pike crosses the AVilliamson county-line, and runs eastward 
with the county-line to Mill Creek ; thence down Mill 
Creek to the Nolensville turnpike ; thence northward along 
said road to the crossing of Lee Shute's spring-branch ; 
thence up said spring-branch to the old mill ; thence 
westward with the old line between the dwellings of John 
Overton and John Cunningham to the Franklin turnpike ; 
and thence southward with the Franklin turnpike to the 
place of beginning. Owen's store was selected as the place 
ibr holding elections. 

There are churches at Mount Pisgah, in the southeast 
part; one in the centre, known as St. James; and in the 
north part of the district is Thompson's Church, on the 
Hollandville road. Edwin Hickman lived here in 1791. 
William Owen and John Hogan were early settlers. 

lu 1816 the assessment roll contained the names of the 
following persons, who were assessed for taxes in what is 
now the Eighth District : Nathan Gatlin, Henry Hide, 
Daniel and John Hogan, S. Shute, J. Cunningham. 

This is the Eighth School District, and has a scholastic 
population numbering four hundred and forty-six. It con- 
tains five school-houses, in which were taught, in the year 
1878-79, three white and two colored schools, with an en- 
rollment of one hundred and forty-four white and one hun- 
dred and sixteen colored pupils. These schools are under 
the supervision of P. A. Smith, W. 11. Rains, and William 
Holt, Esq., school directors for the district. 

DISTRICT NUMBER NINE. 

District Number Nine was slightly changed from its 
original bounds by the redistricting of 1859. The line then 
established began at the cro.ssing of the Nolensville turn- 
pike over Lee Shute's spring-branch, and ran up the branch 
to the old mill ; thence westward with the old line running 
between the dwellings of John Overton and John Cunning- 
ham to the Franklin turnpike ; thence northward along that 
road to the corporation-line of Nashville ; thence followed 
around with the corporation-line to the Murfreesboro' turn- 
pike ; thence with the Murfreesboro' turnpike southeast to 
Mill Creek ; thence up Mill Creek to the mouth of West 
Fork at Thompson's saw-mill ; thence up said West Fork 
to the Nolensville turnpike ; and thence along that turn- 
pike northwest to the beginning. Flat Rook school-house 
was selected as the voting precinct. 

Whitsitt Baptist church is in the northeast part, near 
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. 

A store is kept on the old grocery stand of years ago by 
■ Charles Warren. 

Among the earliest residents of the district was Pierce 
Waller ; John Cortwell and John Hathaway were old set- 
tlers. Both were early justices of the peace, and highly 
respected. Joel Rice was another early settler, and can be 
traced back to 1790 in this district. He has numerous de- 
scendants of ihe name in the county. In 1816 there were 
the following persons assessed for lands in what is included 
in the present district: John Blair, Adam Carper, Thomas 



Collins, L. Corbit, Thomas Crutcher, George M. Deaderick 
Nathan Ewing. 1 

This is the Ninth School District. It contained in 1880 ! 
seven hundred and twenty-four residents of legal school 
age. Two white schools were kept in 1878-79, with an 
enrolled attendance of seventy-seven pupils, and two colored 
schools in which one hundred and forty-nine pupils were 
enrolled. There are four school-houses. James T. Patter- 
son, L. D. Gower, Jr., and A. H. Johnson were school di- 
rectors for 1880. 

DISTRICT NUMBER TEN. j 

District Number Ten was slightly diminished in size in 
1859, and a part was annexed to Nashville. The bound- 
ary-line begins at the crossing of Cedar Street with the west 
boundary of the corporation of Nashville, and runs westward 
with Cedar Street and the Charlotte turnpike-road to Rich- 
land Creek ; thence up Richland Creek with the old district- 
line to the old line of District Number Eleven, near Frank 
McGavock's ; thence eastward with the old line to the 
Franklin turnpike-road between Joseph Vaulx and John 
Thompson ; thence with the Franklin turnpike northward 
with the corporation of Nashville ; and thence around with 
the several meanders of the corporation-line to the place of 
beginning. Dana's grocery was made the voting precinct. 

"Old Church" is in the south part, south of the Ten- 
nessee fair-ground. 

John McUobertson and Joshua Mcintosh were among 
the earliest prominent men of the district. They were both 
magistrates as late as 1836, and were prominent in the 
affairs of the district and county. 

Among its natural resources are valuable quarries of 
Beasley limestone, which is being rapidly developed as an 
ornamental building-stone, and also used in the industrial 
arts for various purposes to which a fine working stone is 
adapted. 

•lames Ross was justice of the peace for this district in 
1791. The following persons were assessed within the 
limits of this district in 1816: Alexander Craig, J. H. 
Curry, F. McGavock. 

The Tennessee fair-grounds are in the north part, between 
the Richland pike and the railroad. 

District Number Ten was organized entire under the free- 
school law as the school-district of that number, and so con- 
tinued until April, 1880, when a part of the civil district 
was annexed to the city of Nasiiville. It contained, in 
1878-79, two graded schools, three ordinary white schools, 
numbering two hundred and nineteen enrolled pupils, and 
two colored schools, with an enrollment of one hundred 
and eighty-three. The school population of the entire 
district, previous to the annexation in 1880, was four- 
teen hundred and twenty-seven. The district then con- 
tained seven school- houses. The school directors are D. 
A. McGredy, living in the remaining Tenth District, and 
T. D. Flippiu and T. J. Keeton, in the portion recently 
annexed. 

DISTRICT NUMBER ELEVEN. 

District Number Eleven is an original district. Its 
boundaries were fixed in 1859 by a line which begins where 



<y 




Piiotii. by Aniistrong. Nashville. 



z;^^^^ /Jcii^^^ 



Turner Williams, son of Nimrod Williams, 
was born near Nashville, Sept. 25, 1796. 

His grandfather, Daniel Williams, and his five 
sons, Nimrod, Daniel, Sampson, Oliver, and Wright, 
and one daughter, Eunice, came from South Caro- 
lina and settled in or near Nashville in 1786. 

Daniel Williams, Sr., was well advanced in years 
when he came to Davidson County. He continued 
to reside here until his death. Nimrod, the father 
of the subject of this sketch, was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary war. He had also two brothers in 
that war, Avho were killed. Nimrod died in Febru- 
ary, 1820, and his wife died in November, 1811. 

Turner Williams has always been a farmer, except 
five years spent in the manufacture of material for 
cotton-sacks. He was only six months of age when 
his parents settled on the farm where he now resides. 



On the 22(1 ot May, 1817, he married Anna, 
daughter of John Currin. She was born Aug. 27, 
1797. To them were born thirteen children, of 
\vhom twelve grew to manhood and womanhood, 
but the greater number of them, with their mother, 
have passed to the other side. 

Mr. and Mrs. Williams have ever been worthy 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He 
has been class-leader, steward, and superintendent 
of the Sunday-school for more than twenty-seven 
years. He has always been liberal to the poor, 
and a true friend of good society. His wife died 
March 3, 1847, and he married for his second wife 
Samantha Hopkins, a native of Cortland Co., N. Y., 
Sept. 21, 1852. She settled in Davidson County in 
1850. She is also a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 



f 



I 





JOHNSON VAUGHAN. 



TIKIMAS 1IJ;R11IN. 



JOHNSON VAUGHAN. 

Johnson Vaughan was born Feb. 4, 1782. The follow- 
ing brief biographical sketch is from a gentleman who knew 
him intimately from 1836 till his death, April 6, 1871 . He 
says he found him to be a man of strong constitution and 
vigorous and intelligent mind. He was by trade a brick- 
mason, and built the first brick house erected in Nashville. 
His honesty in the performance of his contracts brought 
him plenty of work, and he was enabled to accumulate con- 
siderable wealth, possessing the rare accomplishment of 
knowing how to take care of it. He invested it in lands 
and negroes principally, finally abandoning his trade and 
becoming a most successful farmer, making money and buy- 
ing land in both Davidson and Williamson Counties. When 
he started in Tennessee his entire stock in trade consisted 
of an old gray mare and a trowel, yet we hesitate not to say 
that had it not been for the war, in which he lost heavily, 
he would have been one of the richest men in Davidson 
County ; notwithstanding, when he died, he left all his chil- 
dren, twenty in number, in independent circumstances. 

Johnson Vaughan was a strictly honest and most punctual 
man, and nearly a lifelong member of the Church of Christ. 
He was hospitable almost to a fault, and his success in life 
was mainly attributable to his strict honesty. 



THOMAS HEREIN. 

Thomas Herrin, the subject of this sketch, is the son of 
Henry Herrin and JIary Haines, and was born in Robertson 
Co., Tenn., on the 16th day of May, 1817. Mr. Herrin is 
of Irish extraction, his grandfather, Elisha Herrin, having 
emigrated from Ireland when a young man and settled in 



Indiana, where Henry Herrin was born and lived until the 
time of the Creek war, when he enlisted in the service and 
rendered valuable aid to his country in the conflict that 
ensued. At tiie close of the war he settled in Robertson 
County, and pursued the vocation of agriculture until the 
time of his death. Thomas Herrin was thus reared a 
fiirmer, and when a youth worked as a farm-hand at five 
dollars per month, and used the proceeds in acquiring thai 
rudiments of an education. At an early age he went to 
Henry Co., Tenn., where he remained until thirty-three 
years of age, when he married Elizabeth Vaughan, daughter 
of Johnson Vanghan, on Deo. 17, 1848. Mr. Herrin, soon 
after his marriage, removed to Williamson Co., Tenn., and 
worked on his f;ither-in-law's farm until 1856. He then 
purchased the farm on which he at present resides, and by 
dint of untiring energy and persistent labor has succeeded 
in amassing a competence. He is now quite a large farmer,' 
besides owning an interest in Horn's Mineral Springs, in'l 
Wilson County, and being a stockholder in the Harding 
Turnpike Company, of which he is a director. He is also 
president of the Granny White Turnpike Company. 

In politics he was formerly a Whig, but is now, and has 
been for many years, a Democrat. Both himself and wife 
are members of the Christian Church. 

Mr. and Mrs. Herrin have adopted and reared seven 
children, one of whom (Mrs. Winfred) is now married and 
is the mother of two beautiful children. Four out of the 
seven are still living with their foster-parents. 

Mr. Herrin is in every sense a worthy man. He has 
always been a progressive man, as is evidenced by the in- ! 
terest he has taken in securing good county roads and other j 
local improvements. He has lived a quiet, unostentatious i 
life, never seeking the distinction of public office or political ] 
honors ; but the results of his life may be summed up in 
one word, — success. 



CIVIL DISTRICTS. 



371 



llic Franklin road crosses the Williamson county-lino at 
Brentwood, and runs westward with said line to the old 
road called the Lower Franklin road, or Natchez Tract ; 
thence with said old road northwest to the gap on Scuggs' 
ijr John's land, whore the Nashville and Northwestern 
Railroad passes from the waters of Richland Creek to 
Harpeth Waters; thence northwest with the dividing ridge 
to the top of the hill above the second gate on the Ilardin 
.ir Richland turnpike-road above Jlaj. Graliam's ; thence 
iiortjieast along the Richland turnpike to the old line of 
District Number Ten, near Frank McGavook's ; thonec 
eastward with said old line to the Franklin turnpike, be- 
tween John Thompson's and Joseph Vaulx's ; and tlienee 
with Franklin turnpike southward to the place of begin- 
aing. The voting-place was located at Barnes'. 

This district is so surrounded by churches as to have 
need for none of its own. Among its early men were__ 
Robert Bradford, Esq., who was prominent about 1825, 
ind Mr. Philip Shuto, one of the early justices of the 
peace for the district. 

Quarries of Beasley limestone, which abound in this 
iistrict, have been slightly worked, and many of the finest 
buildings in Nashville are ornamented by fronts of this 
material. Prominent among these is the Methodist Pub- 
lishing House, built in 1873. 

! The following named persons were assessed for taxes in 
this district in 181G : Henry Barnes, William Banks, Joseph 
Coldwell, William Goodloe, William Goode, Thomas Ilar- 
ling, F. B. Sappington. 

This was made the Eleventh School District. It has 
three school-houses, and sustains four schools, — two white, 
with seventy-lhree enrolled, and two colored, with ninety- 
three enrolled. The school population of the district is 
five hundred and forty-gix. The directors for 1870-80 
ire George Mayfield, C. B. Chickering, and M. C. Car- 
penter. 

In this district lived many years ago " Granny White," 
a respected and famous old lady, who kept the only house 
of entertainment between Nashville and Franklin, a noted 
place in the early settlement of the country ; the friend of 
Thomas H. Benton, to whom he several times alluded in 
' Ihis speeches in the Senate. 

This place, as well as the adjoining place, on which 
Thomas H. Benton lived, is now owned by lion. John M. 
Lea. 

DISTRICT NUMBER TWELVE. 

A small piece was taken from District Number Twelve, 
Dn the rcdistricting of the county in 1859, and joined to 
District Number Twenty-five. The boundaries were then 
;made as follows : Beginning on the south bank of Cum- 
berland River, where the east boundary of the land pur- 
chased by Mark R. Cockrill, of Dr. Hudson, strikes said 
river, and running thence south with the line of that land 
to the Charlotte turnpike-road, along said road westward 
|to Richland Creek, up Richland Creek to the Hardin, or 
iRichland turnpike-road ; thence with that road to the top of 
{the ridge, above the second toll-gate on that road ; thenee 
with the dividing and old district-line northwestward to 
the Charlotte turnpike-road, between P. P. Sullivan's and 
47 



Davidson's toll-gate ; thence with the Charlotte road west- 
ward to the Cheatham county-line, near Stranger's ; thence 
north with the county-line to the fork of the creek Samuel 
Garland lives on, near Joseph Russell's; thence up the 
creek to the old bridge on Pond Creek road ; thence 
with that road to the dividing ridge between Jordan 
Abernathy and the old McBride place ; thence east with 
the meanders of said lidge to the old Smith and Nicholson 
line ; thence east with said line to the Cumberland River ; 
thence up said river to the place of beginning. Ilillsboro' 
was made the voting precinct of the district. 

Near the centre, soutli of Bell's Bend, is Gower's chapel. 

William E. Watkins was an early settler and justice of 
the peace. Samuel B. Davidson was one of the most promi- 
nent early citizens of the district, and is still remembered 
as a man of leading qualities. Thomas Molloy was an early 
-settler-, coriaing as early as 1792. 

---The following-named persons were assessed for taxes in 
what is now District Number Twelve in 1816 : Daniel A. 
Duntiam, James Donnelly, Thomas Dillahunty, Thomas 
Finney and heirs, William Gower, Martin Greer, Robert 
Hewitt, John and Giles Harding, Ezekiel Inman, John 
Larkin, Sr., John McGough, James McNeely, AVilliam 
Nothern, Philip Pipkin, John Pugh, Robert Thomas, 
Johnston Vaughan, Joseph Erwin. 

This, one of the original school districts, has four school- 
houses, and sustains four white schools and one colored one. 
The enrolled attendance is, white, one hundred and sixty- 
eight ; colored, fifty-six. The school population for the 
year 1879-80 was four hundred and nine. L. D. Gower, 
H. C. Davidson, and Z. T. Jordan are district school directors. 

DISTRICT NUMBER THIRTEEN. 

The line of this district, established by the commissioners 
in 1859, begins at the crossing of Cedar Street, with the 
west boundary of the corporation of Nashville, and runs out 
with Cedar Street and Charlotte turnpike-road to Mark 
Cockrill's (southeast corner of his Hudson tract of land), 
and thence north with his east boundary of that land to 
Cumberland River ; thence up Cumberland River to the 
corporation-line of Nashville, and thence around with the 
corporation-line to the place of beginning. The voting pre- 
cinct was established at Riddle's shop. 

Among the prominent and early residents of the district 
might be mentioned William Shelton, Elijah Nicholson, 
and John Donelson, who lived here in 1792. John Wal- 
ker, an early settler, was assessed for taxes here in 181 G. 

The popular race-grounds of the Nashville Blood Horse 
Association are in this district, adjoining Burns' Island, 
on the Cumberland River. 

School District Number Thirteen includes the whole dis- 
trict, and contained, in 1880, two thousand three hundred 
and fortv-six resident school-children. There are three 
graded schools in the district, one of which is for colored 
pupils. Seven white and six colored teachers are employed 
in these. There are besides two white common schools. 
The number of pupils enrolled is, white, four hundi'cd and 
fifty-seven ; colored, five hundred and one. There are five 
school- houses in the district. The school directors for the 



372 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



year ending in 1880 were John Leonard, J. H. Burns, and 
M. McDonald. 

DISTRICT NUMBER FOURTEEN. 

District Number Fourteen was formed in 1839, to in- 
clude all that remained in Davidson County of the orig- 
inal Fourteenth and Fifteenth Districts, and was bounded as 
follows : Beginning on the Williamson county-line, where 
the Lower Franklin or Natchez Trace-road crosses that line, 
and runs westward with the county-line to the Cheatham 
county-line, on the waters of South Harpeth ; thence north- 
ward with that line to the Charlotte road, near the Strange 
place; thence eastward with the Charlotte road and the 
line of the Twelfth District to a point between Davidson's 
toll-gate and F. P. Sullivan's ; thence with the dividing 
ridge southward to the Richland turnpike above the second 
toll-gate, and continuing with the dividing ridge to where 
the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad passes through a 
gap of that ridge ; thence with the Lower Franklin or Old 
Natchez Trace-road to the place of beginning. Greer's 
shop was fixed upon as the polling-place for the district. 

There is a Christian church in the south corner on Har- 
peth River, Pleasant Grove church on Richland pike, Povi- 
dence Church at Reynolds' mill, and Liberty Grove church 
near Newsom's Station, on Buffalo Creek, where there is 
also a post-office. News Station and Belle View post-offices 
are both in this district. 

Among the early men of prominence were John Davis 
and Martin Forehand. 

In 1791, Robert Edmondson was a prominent man, and 
magistrate for the district. There were taxed in 1816, 
within the limits of this district and west of the Harpeth 
River, the following-named persons : Thomas and Zachariah 
Allen, James and Hugh Allison, Andrew Boyd, Newsom 
Barbara, Samuel Bryan, L. Barker, James Bird, Moses 
and Lewis Balding (win ?), Jeremiah Baxter, Leonard 
Burnett, Samuel Carroll, Benjamin Cox, Andrew Caldwell, 
W. Champ, Henry and Huston Cooper, John E. Clark, 
John Connor, William, James, and Silas Dillahunty, John, 
Thomas, Henry, and Lewis Demoss, Samuel Dennis, Ezekiel 
Douglass, Lewis Dunn, William and Jeremiah Ellis, New- 
ton and Levin Edney, Robert and William B. Evans, John 
and Arthur Exum, T. Fulgin, Aaron Franklin, William 
Fassell, William Fowler, John Goodwin, Isaac, Greenbury, 
and George Greer, James and Anthony Gillum, John D. 
Garrett, Elisha Garland, William Henry, John Herbison, 
Francis and John Hartgraves, John Harwood, George and 
Jep. Hooper, James, Francis, and George Hodge, John 
Hannah, William Harris, John Johns, Dempsey, John, 
Jarvis, and Isaac Jones, John and Daniel Joslin, Thomas 
M. Jefferson, Jonathan Johnson, Robert Kennedy, Sr., 
Moses Knight, David Keen, Obedience Lewis, George Lile, 
Thomas Levi, Henry Mcllwain. Edward Mobley, Rencher 
McDaniel, William, Francis, Balam, Eldridge, and Nicholas 
Newsom, William Nelson, Butler and Coibin Noles, R. C. 
Napier, Benjamin Pritchard, R. Phipps, George Pierce, 
Benjamin Pack, James Richison, William Reach, "^Villiam, 
George, and James Reeves, David and William Renn, 
Jes.se Reynolds, George Roper, Gus and Henry Rape, 
Robert Shannon, Robert Shaw, William Scott, Aquillo 



Suggs, John W. and Thomas J. Thornton, Samuel and! 
Allen Thompson, William Winstead, William Williamson/ 
Thomas Westbrooks. 

This district was organized as the Fourteenth School 
District. In the year 1878-79 there were five white 
.schools taught, with an enrolled attendance of two hun- 
dred and forty-seven pupils, and two colored schools, num- 
bering seventy-two pupils. The school population of tlld 
district in 1880 was five hundred and forty-seven. The! 
school directors are M. N. Brown, N. M. Morton, and ^ 

B. Linton. 

DISTRICT NUMBER FIFTEEN. 

The line fixed by the commissioners in 1859 begins at 
the crossing of the Murfreesboro' turnpike-road over Mill 
Creek, and runs down Mill Creek to its mouth; then downij 
Cumberland River to the corporation line of Nashvill 
thence with the corporation-line south to the Murfreesbori 
turnpike ; and thence with the Murfreesboro' turnpike 
the place of beginning. J. J. Corley's was selected as the 
polling-place for the district. 

The absence of churches is only an indication that the 
inhabitants of this district transferred their liberal support 
to those of surrounding districts, at which many of them 
hold membership. Thomas Allison was for many years 
in the early days of the county a prominent resident in 
this district. William Herrin, Esq., was a neighbor of his 
in the days when magistrates were appointed for life, and 
was a prominent man. David Hays lived here as early as 
1791. 

The following persons were assessed for taxes on lands 
included in this district in 181 G : Bennett and John Black- 
man, Robert Champ, John Johnston, Henry Queesenbery, | 
George Ridley, John Rains, Sr., Thomas Thompson, John 
Overton, Esq. 

District Number Fifteen was made a school district under 
the new law, and two white schools and one colored school 
opened. The population is small, but the schools are fairly 
sustained. The enrolled scholarship for the year 1878-79 
was ninety white and eighty-eight colored pupils. The dis- 
trict has three school houses. In 1880 there were two 
hundred and ninety-five school-children in the district. 

C. H. Goodlett, B. F. Lester, and John H. Anderson are 
school directors. 

The beautiful cemetery of Mount Olivet, and, joining it 
towards Nashville, the Calvary Cemetery, are both located 
in this district, on the south side of the Lebanon pike, 
where they occupy one of the most beautiful locations in 
the county. 



DISTRICT NUMBER SIXTEEN. 

District Number Sixteen was formed from a part of 
old District Number Four in 1859. The boundary-lino 
then drawn begins at Stuart's Ferry over Stone's River, and 
runs eastward with the old Lebanon road to Pago's line, [ 
then northeast and south to intersect that road and include i 
Thomas B. Page's residence ; thence with the said road, j 
passing New Hope, to J. H. Hagan's burnt mil! ; thence j 
east to the Wilson county-line ; thence southward with the 
county-line to the southwest corner of Wilson County; 





^ '-./^ff^v 



J. A. HARWOOD. 



M"f J. A. HARWOOD. 







Pes. of JAMES A. HARWOOD, 7 Miles South East of Nash^/ille Tbnn. 




JAMES JOHNSON. 



James Johnson, son of Allen and Mary Johnson, 
was born in Virginia in 1797, and died in District 
18, on the place where his daughter Sarah now re- 
sides, April 28, 1863, aged sixty-six years. 

His father, Allen Johnson, was a brickmaker, and 
settled in Rutherford Co., Tenn., at an early day, and 
removed thence to AVilliamson County, where he died 
of cholera. In this beautiful region of country he 
pursued the life of a farmer. 

James Johnson came to Tennessee with his parents, 
and resided in Rutherford and Williamson Counties 
till he settled in Nashville, about 1840. He was a 
school-teacher in early life, and as such met with great 
success. 

He married Frances Nolen, daughter of William 
and Sarah Nolen, April 11, 1820. Of this union 
there were born five children, — W. A., Mary D. 
(deceased), Sarah L., Martha Ann, and David D. 
('deceased). 

W^. A. married Mary Griffin, of Virginia, and is 
now a merchant in New Orleans. 

Mary D. married Dempsey Weaver (a history of 
whom may be seen elsewhere). She died at the early 
age of eighteen, leaving one daughter, now Mrs. 
Frances AVoolwine, of Nashville. 



Sarah L. is a maiden lady, still residing on the old 
homestead. 

Martha Ann married Hiram Vaughn; has five 
children, and lives in District 18. 

James Joinison was a cotton merchant in Nolens- 
ville for many years; and when he settled in Nash- 
ville he formed a partnership with Messrs. Rabou & 
Price. Upou the failure of this firm he became 
a copartner of Col. A. W. Johnson and Dempsey 
Weaver. He continued in business on Market Street 
till the war, when his health failed. He died April 
28, 1863. • 

In politics he was a lifelong Democrat, and 
his feelings and opinions were opposed to the 
war. 

He and his wife were members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, of whicii he was a liberal 
supporter. In his daily life he was a man kintl to 
his family, hospitable to the stranger, and generous 
to the poor. In a word, he was an honest man, that 
"noblest work of God." He died leaving to his 
family the precious legacy of a good name. His 
wife died jTme 29, 1878, and both lie buried in the 
old cemetery of Nashville. United in life, in death 
they were not parted. 




COL. JAMES L. GREER. 



Col. James Ij. Greer is the second son of Green- 
berry Greer, who was bora in North Carolina, Sept. 
15, 1764. His parents were Joseph and Ann Greer. 
He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and came 
to Davidson Co., Teno., at an early date in the 
county's history, when the beautiful valleys now dot- 
ted with fertile farms and handsome residences were 
a dense wilderness inhabited by wild beasts and 
wilder savag;es. 

Before his death he had become a prosperous and 
extensive farmer, owning a farm of seven hundred 
acres of valuable land, and reared a large family 
of children. On^^this farm James L. Greer was 
born Nov. 25, 1806, and there were spent the days 
of his childhood and youth. When he iiad attained 
the age of manhood, and availed himself of such 
means of information and education as were attain- 
able here in those primitive days,yie married, on 
April 16, 1829, Miss Hannah Dillahunty, and com- 
menced life as a farmer in his native county. They 
had four children, — Green B., who died at the age of 
twenty years; Silas, who married Susan Bledsoe, 
has now two children, and is residing on the old 
Greer homestead, and engaged in merchandising; 



John T., who married Josephine Dillahunty, and has 
one son ; and James L., who married Delilah Dilla- 
hunty, is a farmer, and has four children, — two sons 
and two daughters. All are residing in the Four- 
teenth District, Davidson County. Mrs. Hannah 
Greer died June 2, 1849. 

Sept. 20, 1849, Mr. Greer married his second wife, 
Miss Luzaney P. De Moss, daughter of Thomas De 
Moss, who with his father was an early settler in 
Davidson County. Mr. Greer lived the life of a 
quiet, unostentatious farmer, never entering the mael- 
strom of politics or seeking office ; but that he was a 
successful farmer may be shown by the fact that he 
owned some twenty-three hundred acres of valuable 
land. He was for many years colonel of the State 
militia. 

He died Aug. 5, 1869, and was buried in the old 
De Moss Cemetery by the side of his first wife. 

His second wife is now living on the old home- 
stead, an excellent farm, of which there are six or 
seven hundred acres in a high state of cultivation. 

Mrs. Greer inserts this portrait and biography in 
the county's history as a tribute of love and respect 
to the memory of her husband. 



CIVIL DISTRICTS. 



373 



thence southeast with that county-line and the Rutherford 
couiity-Iine to Stone's River, and down Stone's River to 
the place of beginning. 

On petition of John Hart, the dividing-line between 
Districts Four and Sixteen was so changed, Jan. 8, 1861, 
as to " run and extend from the point where it digresses" 
at Thomas B. Page's, north of the residence of Elizabeth 
Hunt, and extending thence to New Hope church. Gilpin 
Ilallum's was chosen as the polling-place. 

Phillips church is in the south part, east of Stone's River 
and near the cast line of the county. New Hope church is 
in the north end of the district, 

Stewart's Ferry, at which is the post-office of that name, 
was an early point of settlement by Mr. Stewart, from whom 
it takes its name. William Greer and Lewis Dunn were 
early magistrates of the district. James Robertson repre- 
sented the district as justice of the peace in 1791. 

The following persons were assessed for taxes in this dis- 
trict in 1816: William Hall, James and Eleazer Hamilton, 
John Thompson. 

This is the Sixteenth School District. It maintains three 
white schools with an aggregate attendance of eighty-one 
scholars, and a colored school of which the attendance in 
1878-79 was thirty. The total number of residents of 
school age in 18S0 was one hundred and thirty-five. There 
are three school-houses. W. J. Chandler, John Seaborn, 
and J. II. Eskridge were school directors for the year 
1879-80. 

DISTRICT NUMBER EIGHTEEN. 

j . District Number Eighteen was formed in 1859 from 
one-half of the old Eighteenth District. Its boundary-line 
begins on the Cumberland River where the line between N. 
Hobson and the late John P. Shelby's lands strikes that 
river, and runs north with their line to the line of W. Finn 
and W. M. Cook ; thence west to the White's Creek turn- 
pike ; thence out with said road to the Brick Church turn- 
pike; with the Brick Church turnpike to Page's Branch ; 
up Page's Brancli to the Louisville Branch turnpike ; with 
the Louisville Branch road to Taylor's Gap; thence eastward 
with Capt. John Wilson's north boundary-line, and with 
the north boundary-line of the demons or Ryan tract ; 
thence with the north boundary of the Ircdale tract to 
Craighead's spring-branch ; then down that branch, passing 
Love's old mill, to the Cumberland River ; and thence 
down the river to the place of beginning. District store 
was made the voting-place of the district. 

The churches are Lindsley's chapel, Hobson's chapel, in 
the south part, near the Edgefield line, and Trinity, on 
the Louisville turnpike. 

Among the more prominent and earlier .settlers were the 
families of John McGavock and John Hobson, both of 
whom were leading men and members of the old " Court of 
Quarter Sessions of the Peace." Adam Lynn was an early 
settler, and was a magistrate in 1791. 

The following persons were taxed in this district in 1816 : 
John, George, and William L. Boyd, Andrew Hyncs, 
Greenwood, Zachariah, and Morgan Payne, Jones Reed, 
James Love. 

A portion of this district was taken to form School Dis- 



tricts Numbers Nineteen and Twenty-eight, with parts of 
the Twentieth, Twenty-second, Eighteenth, and Twenty-first 
Districts. The Twenty-eighth was formed in October, 1879. 
The main part of this civil district became a school dis- 
trict of the same number on the formation of districts 
under the free-school law. Two schools were organized, 
one for each race. The white school numbered fifty-five 
in 1878-79, the colored school fifty. They each have a 
school-house. The entire enrollment of the district for the 
year 1880 was five hundred and twenty children. J. B. 
Love, A. W. Webber, and H. P. Banks were school direc- 
tors for 1879-80. 

DISTRICT NUMBER NINETEEN. 

District Number Nineteen, one of the original districts, 
begins at the mouth of Craighead or Love's spring-branch, 
on Cumberland River, and runs up that branch to the 
north boundary of the Iredale tract ; thence westward 
with the north boundary of the Iredale, Clemons, and 
Wilson tracts to Taylor's Gap; thence with the Louisville 
branch turnpike to Dry Creek, near Enoch Cunningham's ; 
thence down Dry Creek to Cumberland River, and thence 
down the river to the place of beginning. It was ordered 
that the polling-place be established at " Scraggs." 

New Bethel church is in the north corner of the dis- 
trict, near Dry Creek. The post-office is Madison, on the 
Louisville, Nashville and Great Southern Railroad. Reu- 
ben Payne, Edmund Goodrich, John Kirkpatrick's, and 
the Iredale, Clemmons, and Wilson families were among 
the early settlers. 

Among those taxed in 1816 in what is now District 
Number Nineteen were William E. Beck, William Carroll, 
Thomas Folkes, John Frazier, William Hill, I. Metcalfe, 
Samuel Neely, Alexander Walker, William Ray, Nicholas 
Raymond. 

This became the Nineteenth School District on the organ- 
ization of the county for schools. A portion was afterwards 
set aside to form, in connection with contiguous parts of 
the Twentieth and Twenty-second Civil Districts, a new 
school district numbered twenty-six. In the Nineteenth 
School District there were two white and two colored 
schools, having enrolled in 1878-79, respectively, seventy 
and eighty-four pupils, and attending at four school-houses. 

The entire school population of the Nineteenth School 
District in 1880 was three hundred and fifty-eight. J. 
Sloan, Dr. W. Goodrich, and A. B. Ford were school direc- 
tors in 1880. The Twenty-sixth School District contains 
one hundred and forty-six children, of whom, in 1878-79, 
fort V- three were enrolled in the white school, and fifty-seven 
in the colored school. The trustees of this district for 
1880 were W. J. Campbell, J. C. Willis, and T. J. 
Kemper. 

The United States National Cemetery occupies a broken 
piece of ground among the hills in the south part, on both 
sides of the railroad. This ground is well kept and forms 
a most beautiful park. The soldiers buried here were 
gathered from the surrounding battle-fields, where they fell 
in the late civil war. 

On the 25th of September, 1870, a Presbyterian Sab- 
bath-school was organized in a large and spacious room over 



37i 



niSTOEY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



C. E. Woodruff's store at Madison Station. On Jan. 8, 

1871, llev. James H. McNeilly, chairman of the mission- 
ary committee of the Nashville Presbytery, with C. N. 
Ordway and D. P. llunkin, elders, met and organized in 
the same room a Presbyterian Church, composed of twenty- 
four members, with officers as follows : S. S. Hall and Alex- 
ander Baker, Elders ; C. E. Woodruff, Deacon. The name 
chosen was Madison Presbyterian Church. Soon after the 
organization of the church the ministerial services of 
Piev. Alexander Cowan were secured as stated supply two 
Sabbaths in the month, and continued as such up to the 
spring of 187-1. In the month of April, 1875, llev. C. L. 
Ewing was installed pastor of the church for two Sabbaths 
in the month, and continued as such until April 2.5, 1879, 
when Rev. B. F. Tliompson commenced preaoliing as stated 
supply, and continued for several months, but resigned to 
accept an appointment as missionary to Brazil. llev. W. E. 
Carr preached several times for the church during the 
spring of 1880, and a call was placed in his hands to be- 
come its pastor for two Sabbaths in the month, but he 
declined to accept on account of ill health. The number 
of members at this time is fifty-one, and the officers are 
Alexander Baker, S. S. Hall, and William Williams, Elders ; 
J. A. Hall, E. E. Hall, and William Taylor, Deacons. A 
neat and commodious church edifice was erected on a beau- 
tiful eminence near the station, and dedicated in the year 

1872, costing three thousand two hundred dollars, since 
which time the services of the church and Sunday-school 
have been held there. 

DISTEICT NUMBER TWENTY. 

District Number Twenty was one of the original dis- 
tricts. Its boundary-lines, as established by the commis- 
sioners in 1859, begin at the mouth of Mansker's Creek, 
and run up that stream and with the Sumner county-line 
to the llobertson county-line ; thence around to the south- 
west with the county-line and a high ridge to the old dry 
fork of Sycamore Creek ; down that creek to a point near 
J. C. Prickott's; thence southward, passing with a ridge 
east of Prickett's and east of Tliomas Haley's, Sumner T. 
Fryer's, and W. H. Jenkins', and crossing the hollow a 
little east of Jonas Shivers' house, crossing a ridge and 
passing east of George W. Campbell's house ; thence a little 
south of east to the fork of Dry Creek above E. Cunning- 
ham's; thence down Dry Creek to the Cumberland lliver; 
and thence up that river to the place of beginning. The 
polling-place for the district was fixed at Goodlettsville, 
where the first post-office was opened. There was another 
opened at Edgefield Junction on the opening of the railroad, 
and a third at Baker's Station. 

Enoch P. Connell and John C. Bowers were early 
magistrates. 

Among those assessed for taxes in 1816, in what is now 
District Number Twenty, were Pembroke, Thomas, Jacob, 
and Robert Cartwright, Enoch Cunningham, Adam Clem- 
ent, George and William Campbell, William, John, and 
Thomas Cole, Nicholas Cross, John Camp,. John Congo, 
Abraham Echols, Daniel Frazor, William Grizard, James 
GuUiford, Jesse Glasgow, William Hackney, Ann Hope, 
Oliver Johnston, E. Logue, John Pirtle, Reuben Payne, 



Josiah and George Purvy, Dempsey Powell, Ann Randle, 
Thomas Ilagan, Lemuel Tinnon, George and Samuel L. 
Wharton, Elmore Walker, David Dunn, Paul Desmukes, 
and Thomas Davis. 

On the formation of school districts, a small portion of 
this district was joined with parts of Civil Districts Nine- 
teen and Twenty-two to form the Twenty-sixth School Dis- 
trict. The remainder was organized into School District 
Number Nineteen. It contains five school-houses, and has 
three white and two colored schools. The attendance at 
these in the year ending 1879 was two hundred and nineteen 
white and seventy-one colored pupils. The school popula- 
tlsnof the Twentieth School District was five hundred and 
seventeen in 1880, besides which a portion of the one 
hundred and forty-six in the joint district were of this civil 
district. The directors for 1880 were William Linton, 
Wesley Drake, and A. K. Goodlett. 

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-ONE. 

District Number Twenty-one, one of the original dis- 
tricts, was confirmed by the county commissioners in 1859, 
with the following boundaries : " Begins at the mouth 
of Page's Branch and runs up the same to the Louisville 
Branch turnpike-road ; with said road to the lane between 
W. D. Phillips' and Jlrs. C. Bell's; thence west, passing 
through said lane to a point on the road above Jefferson Wag- 
goner's mill ; thence westward to the dividing ridge between 
Coffnian's Hollow and Hunter's on Sugar Fork of White's 
Creek, east of Thomas Byrn's; thence down White's Creek 
to the bridge over the same for Buena Vista turnpike-road 
near Young's shop ; thenee with said turnpike to Cumber- 
land lliver, and thence up the river to the beginning." 
Ewing's school-house was made the place for holding elec- 
tions. They were changed to the brick church some years 
later. There is a church on Ewing's Creek, and Love's 
chapel above, on the same stream. 

Charles W. Jloormau and Claiborne Y. Hooper were 
justices and leading men in 1828. They were both de- 
scendants of early settlers. 

Thomas Talbot, one of the pioneers, who received a life- 
appointment as magistrate under the old law, settled in this 
district as early as 1791, on the place now partially occupied 

by the fine residence of Mr. Bang, former editor of the 

Banner. He came from Bedford Co., Va., in 1785, and 
was a justice in 1791. He died in 1831, leaving fifty-one 
descendants. 

The following persons were assessed for taxes in 181G: 
David Hunter, John Bacchus, Joel Beaver, Barnabas Bails. 

This district comprises School District Number Twenty- 
one and a part of School District Number Twenty-eight. 
This latter district is formed of contiguous portions of Civil 
Districts Eighteen, Nineteen, and Twenty-one, and was 
formed in October, 1879, with one school oF forty scholars. 
It contained one hundred and thirty-four school-children in 
1880, who wei'e then under the administration of Peter 
Tamble, A. J. Crump, and John Taylor, directors. There 
are four schools in the Twenty-first District, of which, in 
1878-79, the three white had an attendance of one hun- 
dred and nine, and the colored school twenty-seven. The 
schoo' popu'ation of the school district in 1880 was two 




i 



James Yaebrottgh was born in Warren Co., N. C, 
May 23, 1 804. His father came to Tennessee and settled 
on White's Creek, in Davidson County, in 1806, when 
James was scarcely two years of age. 

In the month of February, 1823, James was married 
to Margaret Coffman. Of this union there were born 
nine children, seven of whom grew to maturity ; of this 
number only two are now living, — Mrs. William D. 
RobeilBon, who resides on White's Creek, amid the 
scenes of her early childhood, and James H. Yarbrough, 
one of Nashville's worthy citizens. Mr. Yarbrough was 
a man of indomitable energy, and his necessity caused 
him to be economical. He was one of the best farmers 
in the county. He commenced life poor, but when he 
died, in 1861, he left fifty thousand dollars to his 
family. 

His educational advantages were limitetl ; nevertheless 



he was a close student,^a student of men and things! 
He was well informed on the current events of the day? 
— a man of close observation. He was also a ver; 
practical man ; bis neighbors found in him a goO( 
counselor, and were greatly pleased by his wise judg 
ment. 

In 1842 he was elected magistrate of the Twenty-firs 
District, and served two terms. Under the old militii 
law of Tennessee, he filled the various offices from cor 
poral to major of his regiment. 

In all his public ministrations and trusts, he wa 
efficient and true to the confidence imposed in him. 

He was a worthy member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and was truly a Christian gentleman. 

He was a true and noble citizen, an aifectionatt 
husband, a kind and loving father, and an honest 
man. 




i^' 



'uyZ.^4-€rt^^-^ 



Geoege a. Nelson is a lineal descendant of the 
first American emigrant who settled in tiie State of 
Virginia many years before the Revolutionary war, 
where he followed the occupation of a farmer and 
reared a large family of children, one of them named 
Joseph Nelson, whose son Thomas was the father 
of the subject of this sketch. The entire family of 
Nelsons have been successful farmers in the State of 
Virginia and the County of Fauquier, where four 
generations lived, and where tiiree of them were 
buried. Here George A. was born, May 14, 1807. 
His motlier's maiden name was Elizabeth Green, a 
native of Fauquier County also. The family con- 
sisted of eight children, of whom George A. is tlie 
eldest. Thomas and wife were members of the 
Baptist Church. He was for a short time a soldier 
in the war of 1812, and died about the year 1835. 

George A. Nelson was reared on the farm, and 
early learned the cardinal principles of true genuine 
success. He purchased a farm about 1828 or 1830, 
which lie sold in the year 1853 at a iiandsome profit. 



and in November of that year came to Tennessee 
and settled in Davidson County, where he has since 
continued to reside. He has long since retired from 
active life, and now lives with his only son, Oscar F. 
In politics he was formerly a Clay Whig, but of late 
takes but little interest in political affairs. He was 
captain of a company of State militia for several 
years before his settlement in Davidson County. 
Since coming here lie has been elected school com- 
missioner. He was married to Margaret Seleeman 
in the year 1831, and had four children, — Elizabetii 
(deceased), Oscar F., George F. (deceased), and 
Arthur (deceased). Oscar F. is married and has 
eight children. He is a successful farmer in the 
Eighteenth District. 

Mrs. George A. Nelson died Oct. 20, 1856. 

Capt. Nelson is well spoken of by his neighbors a.s 
a good citizen and an honest man. He is well ad- 
vanced in years, is hale and hearty, and spends his 
time for the most part in thinking of the pleasant 
associations of gone-by ikiys. 



CIVIL DISTEICTS. 



375 



hundred and forty-ono. T. A. Harris, John D. Vaughan, 
and J. n. Jackson were then school directors. The dis- 
trict has four school-liouses. 

DISTKICT NUMBER TWENTY-TWO. 

District Number Twenty-two is one of the original dis- 
tricts. The boundary-line established in 1859 begins at 
a point on Sycamore Creek a little above John C. Puck- 
ett's, and runs down that creek and with the Robertson 
county-line to a point between Asa Adcock and Wilker- 
son's old burnt steara-mili ; thence southward with a ridge 
and passing between Loggin's Spring and the house of M. 
A. Newland ; thence southward with the dividing ridge be- 
tween Clay Lick and Earthman's Fork of White's Creek ; 
then passing west of Mrs. Adkinson's house to White's 
Creek, below Manschall's mill ; thence eastward with a ridge 
between Hunter's, on Sugar Fork, and Coifman's Hollow, 
passing nortli of Jefferson Waggoner's mill and through 
the lane between W. D. Phillips and Mrs. C. Bell to the 
Louisville Branch turnpike-road ; thence with that road 
northeast to Dry Creek, near E. Cunningham's house ; 
thence up Dry Creek to the old line between the Twentietli 
and Twenty-second Districts; and thence northward, pass- 
ing east of G. W. Campbell's, Thomas Haley's, Jonas 
Shivers', and John C. Puckett's, to the place of beginning. 
July 2, 18G0, a portion of Kobertson County was annexed 
to this district. This includes all the land east of a line 
beginning at a point on Sycamore Creek, near Wilkinson's 
burnt steam-mill, and following the road by Warren's Pond 
north to Samuel Smiles', and to the east of his land until 
it intersects with the Williamson county-line. In 1860 
the elections were ordered to be held at Cool Spring. 

There is a church at that place and another at Beach 
Grove, both Methodist Episcopal ; a third, at Mount Her- 
mon, is Cumberland Presbyterian. The lower room of the 
Cool Spring church is occupied as a school-room. 

Napoleon B. Willis has for many years been a prominent 
citizen and a magistrate of the district. Gilbert Marshall, 
father of Dr. Marshall, now above eighty years of age, is 
the oldest resident of the district and an early settler. 
David Ralston and John Cloyd were prominent men and 
descendants of pioneer families. 

The post-offices are White's Creek and Ridge Post. 

The following persons were assessed for land-taxes in 
1816: George Fry, Henry Bonner, Elihu S. Hall, Jacob 
Dickinson, Sr. 

The greater part of this civil district is included in the 
Twenty-second School District. This contains four school- 
houses, and maintains three white schools and one colored 
one. The attendance for the year 1878-79 was one hun- 
dred and eighteen white and forty-seven colored pupils. 
The enrollment of the district for 1880 included two hun- 
dred and .seventy-seven school-children. The directors for 
1880 were J. C. Helums, N. J. Cummins, and A. T. Shaw. 
A portion of this district is included with parts of the 
Nineteenth and Twentieth Civil Districts to form the 
Twenty-sixth School District, which contained a white 
school of forty-three and a colored school of fifty-seven 
members in 1878-79, and had one hundred and forty-six 
resident children in 1880. 



DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-THREE. 

District Number Twenty-three was slightly changed in 
its boundaries established in 1859. These lines begin on 
the north bank of the Cumberland River at Buena Vista 
Ferry, and run out with the Buena Vista turnpike-road to 
White's Creek ; up White's Creek to the mouth of Dry 
Fork ; up Dry Fork, and crossing the ridge with the road 
to Mayo's mill ; thence to the three forks of Little Mar- 
row-bone Creek ; thence southward so as to strike the di- 
viding ridge between the waters of Eaton's and Sulphur 
Creeks ; thence with said ridge, passing between Edmund 
Hyde's old place and Burcher's store to Cumberland River 
near Hyde's wood-yard ; and thence up the river to the 
place of beginning. 

Jan. 6, 1862, on petition of Catherine Stump, James 
Gingry, E. P. Graves, Z. M. H. Carney, C. H. Manlove, 
Th. Bysor, and I. M. Mayo, it was ordered by the court 
that the line between District Twenty four and this district 
be so altered as to include the petitioners in the Twenty- 
third District, by changing the line to extend up White's 
Creek to the mouth of Earthman's Creek ; up Earthman's 
Creek to Thomas Bysor's line; thence following that line 
west to the dividing ridge between Earthman's and Dry 
Fork, by said ridge to the head of Little Marrow-bone ; 
thence with the dividing ridge between that stream and 
Earthman's Creek to the Big and Little Marrow-bone di- 
vide, following the ridge to the Cheatham county-line ; 
thence by the county-line to Little Marrow-bone Creek, 
which it follows up to the Three Forks. William I. 
Drake's was made the polling-place for the district in 1860. 

The first settler in this district was Thomas Eaton, who 
settled on the present Dr. Jordan place, about two hundred 
yards below the famous lick where occurred many exciting- 
adventures of the early settlers. Thomas Hickman, of Dis- 
trict Number Twenty-five, was for some time his only neigh- 
bor. Among the first settlers were the families of Jesse 
Smith, Lewis Williams, and William R. Drake. Henry 
Holt, Esq., is the oldest man now living in the district. 

Simpkins chapel (Methodist Episcopal and Cumberland 
Presbyterian), Holt's chapel (Methodist Episcopal and old 
Zion Free-Will Baptist), and present voting precinct arc 
the old churches of the district. Eaton's Creek post-office 
is at H. C. Hyde's store, where is the chief settlement, two 
churches, and half a mile below T. H. Young's store. 

William S. Drake and David Abernathy were. the first 
justices of this district under the new law appointing for 
six years. 

The following-named persons were assessed for land-taxes 
in this district in 1816: Beal Bosley, Roland Cato, James 
Dean, John and Jonathan Drake, John B. Dillard, Absa- 
lom Hooper, Nathan G. Hail, Thomas and Robert Eaton, 
Balser Hoffman, Jordan Hyde, Joseph Love, John Lucas, 
James Blarshall, Isaac Newland, Robert Patterson, Thomas 
Parker, David Ralston, William Shaw, Samuel Shannon, 
Frederick and Christopher Stump, Francis, George, Samuel, 
Robert, and Thomas Taylor, Rachel and Simon Williams, 
John Wilson. 

This district was organized as.School District Number 
Twenty-three when the free-school law went into effect. It 
contains four school-houses, and has three white schools and 



376 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



one colored one. The attendance for the year 1878-79 was 
one hundred and sixty-two white and seventy-three colored 
pupils. There were three hundred and seventy school-chil- 
dren living in the district in 1880. The school directors 
for that year were Wilson Stevens, G. B. Stewart, and W. 
D. Simpklns. 

DISTRICT NUMBEK TWENTY-FOUR. 

District Number Twenty-Four was divided in 1859, 
and part of the old district of that number taken to form 
the present Twenty-Fifth District. Its boundary as estab- 
lished at that date began at the mouth of Dry Fork of 
White's Creek, which it followed up, and crossing the ridge 
■with the road to Mayo's Mill ran to the three forks of 
Little Marrow-bone Creek ; thence down stream to the 
Cheatham county-line ; thence northward with the county- 
line to the Robertson county-line on Sycamore Creek ; 
thence up that creek to a point between Wilkerson's old 
burnt steam-mill and Asa Adcock's; thence southward with 
a ridge passing between Loggin's Spring and the place 
where M. A. Newland lives, so as to strike the dividing 
ridge between Clay Lick and Earthnian's Fork of White's 
Creek, and passing west of Mrs. Adkerson's house to 
White's Creek below Marshall's mill ; iheuce down White's 
Creek to the place of beginning. 

July 2, 1860, it was ordered by the court that all that 
land recently taken from Robertson County and lying west 
of a line " beginning at a point on Sycamore Creek near 
Wilkinson's burnt steam-mill, and running north with the 
road by Warren's Pond to Samuel Smiley's, including .said 
Smiley," be annexed to this district. 

Jan. 6, 1862, a part was taken off and annexed to Dis- 
trict Number Three, and changing the line to run as fol- 
lows : To extend up White's Creek to the mouth of Earth- 
man's Creek and up that stream to Thomas Bysor's north 
line ; thence on that line west to the dividing ridge between 
Earthman's and Dry Fork, and by that ridge to the head 
of Little Marrow-bone ; thence with the dividing ridge 
between that stream and Earthman's Creek to the Big and 
Little Marrow-bone divide, and following that ridge to the 
Cheatham county-line ; thence by the county-line to Little 
Marrow-bone Creek, which it follows up to the Three Forks. 
It was ordered in 1860 that Dismuke's lanyard be the 
polling place of the district. 

The churches are Forest Grove and Garrett's chapel, 
Methodist Episcopal, Oakland, Free-Will Baptist, and the 
old Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal church, now abandoned 
and falling into decay. A German church has been re- 
cently built for the accommodation of the more recent set- 
tlers of that nationality. A Mr. Waggoner was one of 
the first settlers in the district. Among the most promi- 
nent citizens of the early part of the present century were 
Jonathan Garrett and Daniel Brice, Esqs. 

The following persons paid taxes on lands in this district 
in 1816: Moses Cavert, Jacob and John Cagle, Samuel 
Crockett, Richard Champ, John Devus, John Franks, 
Michael Gleaves, Thomas Hail, Jacob Hunter, Benjamin 
Hyde, Micajah Morris, George Raimer, Robert Vick. 

The Twenty-fourth School District, which is comprised 



in this civil district, was not reported for the last year, and 
cannot, therefore, be mentioned in detail. It contains three 
school-houses, in each of which schools are kept. In 1880 
there were three hundred and eighty-three school-children 
reported as residing within the district by the school direct- 
ors, W. L. Earthman, Kindred Reasoner, and James E. 
Carney. 

DISTRICT NUMBER TWENTY-FIVE. 

District Number Twenty-five was formed in 1859 from 
a part of the old District Number Twenty-four, and a small 
piece of the old Twelfth District. Its original boundary- 
line begins at a point on Little Marrow-bone Creek, where 
the Cheatham county-line crosses that stream, and runs 
in a southwest course, crossing the Cumberland River and 
following the county-line to the fork of the creek near 
Joe Russell's; thence with the line of the Twelfth District 
to the Cumberland River ; thence up the river to a point 
near Hyde's wood-yard, at the neck of White's Bend ; 
thence passing northward between Burche's store and E. 
Hyde's old place, and with the dividing ridge between the 
waters of Sulphur and Eaton's Creek to the three forks of 
Marrow-bone Creek ; thence down said creek to the be- 
ginning. 

Hickman's Ferry, three-fourths of a mile from the old 
Hickman's place, was fixed upon as the place for holding 
the district elections. 

The oldest resident is Mr. Willoughby Dozier. White's 
Bend post-office is at Hickman's Ferry, where there are 
two stores, kept by H. L. Abernathy and William Hyde, 
R. C. Meadows and S. C. Williams' blacksmith- and 
wagon-shops, several dwellings, and the African church. 
At the old Hickman place, three-fourths of a mile distant, 
is the Cumberland Grange church, a house fifty by one 
hundred and twenty feet in size, which was built by the 
Patrons of Husbandry in 1875. The organization is now 
extinct in the district. The building is occupied for reli- 
gious worship by the Methodist Episcopal, Free-Will Bap- 
tist, Presbyterian, and Christian denominations on alternate 
Sundays. The land occupied was deeded by William Hyde, 
Esq., to the four denominations jointly. There are also 
Lipscomb's Christian chapel and a Baptist church in 
Bell's Bend. Among the first settlers in this part of the 
county was Thomas Hickman, of this district. Thomas 
W. Shcrron and Wilson Crockett were early justices of the 
peace. 

The following-named persons paid taxes on lands in this 
district in 1816 : James Duren, Jesse Garland, Sr., Elisha 
and William E. Gower, Mishack Hail, William Levy, John 
Lovcll, Benjamin Pack, Sr., Thomas Pierce, James Russell, 
Sr., William and Thomas Russell, Ezekiel Smith, Bennett 
Searcy. 

Tills district was organized as School District Number 
Twenty-five. It contains four white schools, at which the 
attendance in the year 1878-79 was fifty-four pupils, and 
two colored schools with thirty-three pupils the same year. 
In 1880 the school population was three hundred and fifty- 
one. W. F. Bang, W. S. Higgins, and S. B. Howlett were 
school directors for 1879-30. 



B I O G- E A P PI I E S. 



J. GEOKGE HARRIS. 

Jeremiah George Harris was born at Groton, in New 
London Co., Conn., on the 23d of October, 1809. He is 
descended from two old English fiimilies who came to the 
shores of New England about the time that Governor Win- 
throp located his colony of Massachusetts Bay, in 1630. 
It was in that year that Christopher Avery, with his young 
son, James, came from Salisbury, England, and settled out 
on the pitch of Cape Ann, now Gloucester; and two years 
afterwards Walter Harris came over from Salop County, 
with bis family, and settled at Weymouth, on the west side 
of the bay. These moved to the then far West in 1650, 
and settled at the mouth of the river Thames, in Connec- 
ticut, where New London and Groton are now situated, 
and their descendants have resided there in great numbers 
for the last two hundred and thirty years. 

Mr. Harris is a descendant on the maternal side from 
Christopher and James Avery,* and on the paternal side 
from Walter Harris. His ancestors, the Averys, were dis- 
tinguished in the early wars with the Pequots and Narra- 
gansetts, and, at a later p'eriod, in the war of the Revolu- 
tion. Some of tbera were at Bunker Hill, and with Wash- 
ington at Dorchester Heights, when the war began ; eleven 
of the name were killed and several severely wounded at 
the battle of Groton Heights towards the close of the war, 
on the 6th of September, 1781. 

Mr. Harris became a journalist as soon as he was of age, 
and was the editor of influential periodicals in Connecticut 
and Massachusetts before he came to Tennessee. He bad 
made his mark in Boston as a writer of ability, and his 
services were sought by the leading men of Washington, 
who were interested in bringing back the State of Tennes- 
see to the Democratic fold. 

That his appearance and permanent location at Nashville 
may be the better understood, a page in tlie political his- 
tory of Tennessee should here be recited. 

As the last Presidential term of Gen. Jackson was draw- 
ing to a close, Hugh L. White, of Tennessee, and Martin 
Van Buren, of New York, were spoken of by their friends 
respectively as the most suitable persons to be presented to 
the Democratic National Convention for nomination as its 
candidate for the succession. Gen. Jackson and Judge 
White hdving been personal and political friends for a long 
time, it was supposed by the friends of the latter that the 

*■ Waightsill Avery, one of the leading spirits of the Mecklenburg 
Declaration of Independence in 1775, first attorney-general of the 
State of North Carolina, the patriarch of its bar, who had so much 
to do in establishing the first courts in East Tennessee, was of this 
family. He was the man to whom Gen. Jackson first applied for the 
pur^ ose of stu lying law at Swan Ponds, near Morganton. 



general would favor his aspirations to the Presidency, and 
would urge his nomination by the National Convention. 
But he bad determined not to interfere in the deliberations 
of the convention ; and his personal and political relations 
with Mr. Van Buren, as well as with Judge White, were 
of such a nature as to forbid any departure from his fixed 
purpose to abide the decision of the National Convention, 
whoever might be the nominee. 

When Judge White was defeated in the convention, his 
friends — all believing he might have been nominated had 
Gen. Jackson said so — determined to run him, and did run 
him, for the Presidency on an independent ticket. The 
State of Tennessee gave him her vote by a very large ma- 
jority. Thus was the State which Gen. Jackson had nursed 
and christened in her infancy placed in antagonism to him, 
bis party, and his principles. Up to that period there had 
in reality been but one political party in Tennessee, and 
that was the Jackson party. 

It was unpleasant for the old chief when, after eight 
years in the Presidential chair at Washington, he returned 
to the quiet shades of the Hermitage to realize the ftict 
that the State which he had loved so much — his own Tennes- 
see — had apparently declared her hostility to him and his 
party. It was unpleasant to hear from the lips of some of 
bis old friends the erroneous allegation that he bad dictated 
to the National Convention in favor of Mr. Van Buren and 
against Judge White, when he insisted that he had care- 
fully abstained from so doing. His old friends then in 
power at Washington entertained a lively sympathy with 
him, as did all his personal and political friends there, both 
in and out of Congress. For it was evident that his State 
had not only gone against him and his party, but had actu- 
ally gone over to his old political antagonist, Mr. Clay. 

In the winter of 1838-39 it was determined at Wash- 
ington that tlie State, if possible, should be redeemed. Mr. 
Speaker Polk, on his return home after the 4th of March, 
was to declare himself a candidate for Governor at tlie State 
election to take place in August, and a larger and more in- 
fluential newspaper was to be established at Nashville at 
once to open and conduct the campaign. It was in pur- 
suance of this plan that Mr. Harris was invited by them 
to become the editor of the paper referred to. He reached 
Nashville early in January, 1839, and in the early part of 
February the Nashville Union, hitherto a small weekly 
sheet, was enlarged, furnished with new type, and issued 
three times a week, displaying new editorial tact and 
talent. 

The Union took for its model the old Richmond En- 
quirer upon the Atlantic seaboard, and its circulation and 
influence in all the Southwestern States were soon said to 

377 



378 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



be as great as those of Mr. liitcliie's Enquirer in the Middle 
and Southern States east of the mountains. The contest 
was ardent and exceedingly active. Judge Guild says, " It 
became the most ardent political conflict that had ever taken 
place in the State. Col. Polk rode on horseback from Carter 
to Shelby, making speeches in every county, and wherever 
the people had assembled at cross-roads and by the wayside 
to hear him. He was met everywhere by his competitor, 
Governor Cannon, and every inch of ground was manfully 
contested. Candidates for Congress and for the Legisla- 
ture were addressing the people every day in every county ; 
the newspapers were filled with crimination and recrimina- 
tion ; personal conflicts between differing partisans were 
almost an every-day occurrence ; and, indeed, it seemed as 
though difference of opinion in polities could not be tol- 
erated in Tennessee and personal friendship preserved and 
maintained." 

When the votes were counted in August, it appeared 
that Col. Polk was the Governor-elect by a handsome ma- 
jority, and also that a decided majority of Democrats were 
returned in both branches of the Legislature. As Judge 
Guild says, " It was a joyous day for Gen. Jackson, as well 
as for his friends throughout the country. It was pleasant 
in those days to visit the old hero and hear him tell how 
much he was gratified that his own Tennessee had come 
back to him ; how he knew it would be so when the peo- 
ple should be made to see the mere partisan management 
by which they had been estranged from him ; and what 
unbounded confidence he had in their virtue and intel- 
ligence." 

It was admilted by all that no one in the State had con- 
tributed with more effect and energy to bring about this 
result than Mr. Harris. The contests of this period show 
that as a political editor he had no e([ual in Tennessee. 
In 1842 he married a daughter of James McGavock, of 
Nashville, and in 1843 he was commissioned by Daniel 
Webster, then Secretary of State, United States commer- 
cial agent for Europe, and went abroad in that capacity. 
If we may judge from his voluminous reports to the State 
Department, of which so large a number of extra copies 
were printed by the United States Senate, as containing val- 
uable information respecting our tobacco trade, his services 
were highly appreciated. On his return home, early in 
1844, he consented to conduct his old paper, the Union, 
during the Presidential campaign, which resulted in the 
election of Mr. Polk to the Presidency, and then withdrew 
permanently from the press. Jlr. Polk was pleased to 
invite him to become connected with the ofiicial paper at 
Washington, which he declined, as he had before declined 
to become editor of the Madisonian, the ofiicial organ of 
Mr. Tyler's administration. 

Preferring a life-service in the navy to temporary civil 
service, Mr. Harris accepted, in 1845, a commission as dis- 
bursing oflBoer of the navy, which commission, with promo- 
tions to the highest rank of his grade, he still holds on the 
list of officers retired for long and faithful services. 

The ofiicial and personal relations of Blr. Harris in the 
naval service have ever been exceedingly happy. In Ham- 
ersly's " Records of Living Naval Officers" it is stated 
that Pay-Director J. George Harris was attached to the 



Gulf squadron in 1846-47 and during the Mexican war ; 
that he was a member of Commodore M. C. Perry's staff 
on all his shore expeditions ; that he was at the capture of 
Tuxpan, Tobasco, and Vera Cruz, receiving from the com- 
modore special letters of thanks for services rendered afloat 
and ashore when acting in that capacity; that from 1850 
to 1854, inclusive, he was attached to the Asiatic fleet, 
and again with Commodore Perry when he opened the em- 
pire of Japan to the commerce of the world. In his intro- 
ductory report of the Japan Expedition the commodore 
makes special mention of the aid he had received from 
Mr. Harris and Bayard Taylor in preparing his volumes for 
the use of Congress. After the treaty with the Japanese, 
concluded in April, 1854, in the tents that had been erected 
for the purpose on the beach of Yeddo Bay, was signed by 
Commodore Perry, he handed over to Mr. Harris the steel 
pen he had used in signing it, who still keeps it as a souvenir 
of the opening of that empire which had been hermetically 
sealed for so many centuries. 

Mr. Harris spent two years on the western coast of Africa, 
in the fleet appointed to suppress the slave-trade, and his 
journals, made while on the shores of Liberia and Guinea, 
were copiously used by Mr, Gurley, the government agent 
at Liberia, in his report to Congress. For two years he 
was attached to the flag-ship of the Mediterranean squad- 
ron, visiting all the classic shores of that beautiful sea and 
journeying far into the interior. In that cruise he sent 
home to public institutions some rare and curious antiqui- 
ties that are considered the very best specimens of their 
kind, particularly remembering the Tennessee Historical 
Society, of which he was an active member for more than 
a quarter of a century. 

Mr. Harris was placed in the navy by and from Tennes- 
see thirty-five years ago, and has ever remained true to the 
post assigned him. During the civil war he held some of 
the most responsible positions of trust in the navy, both 
afloat and ashore, disbursing many millions of public money 
without the slightest deficit or loss to the government. 

He has not written for the press these many years, yet 
when he does touch the pen it is apparent that his " right 
hand has not forgotten its cunning." Returning home, by 
invitation, to participate in the Nashville centennial, the his- 
toric associations of the occasion found expression in the 
following beautiful carol from his pen, which has been 
highly commended by the press. We add a brilliant page 
to our history by reproducing it : 

OUR HISTORIC CAROL. 
IVaxhville—irsO-lSSO—Ajml 21. 
A century is past and gone. One hundred jears .igo to-day 
The star of empire halted here on its proverbial western way, 
And o'er the cedar-covered heights it glowed with dazzling brilliancy, 
For here a government was bjrn of law and civil liberty. 

Birthdiiy of Nashville, then, all hail ! We greet it with exultant cheers, 
And reverence the memory of all the veteran pioneers 
Who wandered through the pathless woods from early morrt to even- 
tide, 
Until they reached these lofty bluffs that overhang the riverside. 

Free men were they, — free as the breeze that blows abroad o'er land 

and sea, 
Free as the birds that fill the air with their unwritten melody ; 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



379 



And what appropriate realms were those whore tyrant's foot had 

never trod, 
For men resisting tyranny, as in obedience to God ! 

Grand common in the wilderness — range of the bison and tbo deer, 
Whore Choctaws, Creelis, and Chiolsasaws, and all the tribes from far 

and near, 
Were wont to meet and ehase the game in winter, summer, spring, 

and fall. 
Throughout these broad primeval parlis where everything was free 

to all. 

Here they encamped in pleasant shade, beneath the crowns of mighty 

trees, 
And gave their chosen " Notables" the power to issue all decrees ; 
They came as had their fathers come from Britain's shores, — they 

came to stay. 
One hundred years ago, and this Is our Centennial Natal Day. 

j Remembering the days of old, according to divine command, 
[ We offer love and gratitude to God for blessings on our land, 
i And on our ancestors, whose torch first lighted up these hills and 
streams. 
Which still illuminates our path and to the future throws its beams. 

Amid the fresh and mineral springs outgushing from the rifted roelt, 
Upon tbo Warioto's banks they guarded well their little flock ; 
No shepherd's fold was ever watched with more fidelity than they 
Did watch the rustic resting-place with loaded rifle night and d:iy. 

Brave men were they, — but braver still their wives and daughters, 

who, 'tis said. 
Wore e.\pert with the bullet-moulds and kept the powder and the 

lead, 
For they wore heroines at times in the defense of house and home, 
Evincing courage not surpassed by matrons of old Greece and Rome. 

Spring in her blooming vernal robes, the sweetest season of the year. 
Had decked herself with forest flowers to give them cordial welcome 
if here ; 

The woods were vocal with the song of mocking-bird and meadow- 
lark, 
And marriage rites were solemnized by Kobertsox, the Patriarch; 

I For Cupid with his magic wand, before the summer months were 
if gone, 

'■ Had charmed two youthful pioneers and consecrated them as one, 
And to the chaste atfianced bride, from native home so far aw.ay, 

I How full of hope and promise was that morning of her wedding-day ! 

r 

'! Nor was it less a Feast of Love because of the rough puncheon floor 
On which they stood and made their vows inside the open cabin door, 
Then danced the merry hours away and shared the plain and simple 

cheer. 
Forgetting their privations on the unprotected wild frontier. 

With lively and abiding hope, with patient toil and constant care. 
They made their little settlement a scene of efficacious prayer. 
Till in the ample plenitude of well-deserved prosperity, 
It grew apace, and now behold the Capitol of Tennessee ! 

Rome bought her freedom, it was said, with steel and iron, not with 

gold. 
And valuable still are they as in the palmy days of old ; 
Our hills of iron and of coal are laden with more precious ores 
Than silver, gold, or diamond mines, or fish of pearls along the shores. 

And what a grand inheritance in all the ages yet to come. 
These mines so ine-Khaustible within the regions of our home ! — 
An heirloom that cannot be lost, nor spoiled by desolating wars, 
That to our children shall descend sure as the brightness of the stars. 

"We honor those who ventured o'er the mountain-ridges blue and 

green, 
Along the first Watauga trace of Daniel Boone and William Bean, 
Up to the trackless wilderness through which their little pilgrim band 
Was bound, as were the Israelites, unto a bright and Promised Land. 
48 



We honor them for settling here beside our own Acropolis, 
Old Nashborough, so soon to be our Nashville, our metropolis. 
And here upon the solid rock, surrounded by these fertile lands, 
Shall onr good heritage endure long as its firm foundation stands. 

Here in the life-like bronze of Mills shall ride on rearing martial 

steed 
The hero of New Orleans, renowned for many a gallant deed, — 
Ilis noble and imperial form poised in the saddle gracefully, 
As when he led our fathers to the fields of glorious victory. 

Hail to the city of our sires, to which our best afl'ections cling, 

Where our grandfathers pitched their tents that rosy morning of the 
spring, 

Where with the sturdy woodman's axe they cleared their little plant- 
ing spots, a 

And having fought and kept the faith He sleeping in their garden- 
lots. 

These scenes were theirs which now are ours— these streams that down 

the valleys run, 
That sparkle on their winding way and shimmer in the summer sun, 
Meandering through the leafy woods, unrufiied by the whispering 

breeze. 
To join the river in its course ofi" to the distant deep blue seas. 

Home of our families and friends,— home of the faithful and the true, 
Of statesmen and of presidents, and home of handsome ladies, too, — 
Of warriors on the battle-field brave in a patriotic cause, 
Of men learned in divinity, in medicine, and civil laws, — 

Whose city gates were never closed against the homeless refugees 
Of other places doomed to fly with their loved ones from fell disease. 
Where honest industry and thrift are sure highways to private 

wealth, 
And wholesome sanitary care so well assures the public health. 

Its High, Select, and Common Schools, of which we are so justly 

proud, 
Its splendid Universities, by benefactions well endowed. 
Its Lecture and Historic Halls, its State and College Libraries, 
Give it position unsurpassed for classic opportunities. 

And here forever may it stand, and be with Peace forever blest, 
Unfurling Education's Flag to the great valley of the West, — 
A seat of learning for all grades, in social life, in Church and State, 
And a great central rallying-point, where scientists shall congregate. 

Then let the star of empire beam from sea to sea, from zone to zone — 
Since time and space are overcome by telegraph and telephone— 
Until the western continent in all its sympathies shall be 
Like a harmonious commonwealth, — the hope and home of Liberty. 



EDMUND W. COLE. 

Edmund W. Cole was born in Giles Co., Tenn., on the 
19tli of July, 1827. His father and mother, Willis W. 
and Johanna J. Cole, were Virginians, moving first to Ken- 
tucky, and afterwards to Giles County, where the subject 
of this sketch was born. 

His father died when he was only three months old, 
leaving his mother with five sons and two daughters, and 
with extremely limited means. In his youth Col. Cole had 
little chance for obtaining an education. Working on the 
farm, he went to such schools as the country at that time 
afforded for a few months in each year after " the crop 
was laid by," but he educated himself In early life he 
went to Nashville and commenced his career as a clerk in 
a clothing-store at a small salary, and by close application 



380 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



to business and the interest of his employers he advanced 
rapidly in position and salary, never being out of employment 
and in a few years receiving a large compensation. In after- 
years, when considered a very successful man, he was heard 
to say that no matter how commonplace his employment 
he always tried as carefully and exactly as possible to suc- 
ceed. After several years of clerking in stores and the 
city post-office, he was appointed in 1851 general book- 
keeper of the Nashville and Chattanooga Kailroad, which 
laborious position he filled with great satisfaction to the 
company until December, 1857, when he was elected super- 
intendent of the road, which position he held when the 
war broke eut. Fort Donelson fell ; Nashville was evacu- 
ated. Col. Cole, having identified himself with the for- 
tunes of the Confederacy, sent his family South. After 
the war they returned to Tennessee, but, finding politics 
and society much changed, he went to Augusta, Ga., in 
the summer of 1865. In the fall of that year he was 
elected general superintendent of the Georgia Railroad and 
Banking Company, filling this position with credit to him- 
self and profit to the company until September, 1868, when 
he was elected president of the Nashville and Chattanooga 
Eailroad, and moved back to Nashville, retaining, however, 
his position as general superintendent of the Georgia Rail- 
road until May, 1875, when he resigned. Plaving added 
the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad to the Nashville 
and Chattanooga Railroad, thereby extending his line of 
road from Chattanooga to the Mississippi River, the corpo- 
rate name of the company was changed to the Nashville, 
Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, of which line he was 
president nearly twelve years. How well he succeeded may 
be seen from the following resolution, passed unanimously 
by the stockholders on his tendering his resignation : 
" Thomas C. Whitesides offered the following : 
" Whereas, E. W. Cole was elected general bookkeeper 
of this corporation in August, 1851, and continued to fill 
that office until he was elected superintendent in 1857, 
and was elected president of the company in 1868, and 
has been annually unanimously re-elected to the office until 
the present time, and has this day tendered his resignation, 
in view of Col. Cole's long connection with this company, 
the efficient and faithful services he has rendered through- 
out his entire official life ; his vigilance and faithfulness to 
every trust reposed in him ; his prudence and foresight ; 
his wisdom and sagacity ; his urbanity and gentleness 
under trying and irritating circumstances, — we, the stock- 
holders and directors, deem it our duty to declare in this 
public manner our entire and emphatic confidence in him 
as a gentleman and faithful officer, worthy of the highest 
trust and confidence, of signal and marked ability as a 
railroad man, and assure him that he carries with him in 
the future of his life our best wishes for his happiness and 
success, and we hereby tender to him and his family a free 
pass over this road and its connecting lines for life." 

During his administration the McMinnville and Man- 
chester, Winchester and Alabama, and Tennessee and Pa- 
cific Railroads were added as branches to the main line. 
He conceived the idea of a trunk line from the West to 
the Atlantic seaboard, believing such a line, with a trans- 
Atlantic line of steamers, practicable. 



With this idea he went to work in May, 1879, forming 
his combinations by buying the Owensboro' and Nashville 
Railroad, and commencing to build a road from Evansville, 
lud., via Owensboro', Ky., to Nashville, one hundred and 
fifty-five miles. Next he bought for his company, with the 
aid of his own and his friends' stock, a controlling interest 
in the Western and Atlantic Railroad, running from Chat- 
tanooga, Tenn., to Atlanta, Ga., one hundred and thirty- 
eight miles. His next purchase was the St. Louis and 
Southeastern Railway, from St. Louis to Evansville, Ind., 
one hundred and sixty-one miles, — in this way forming a 
trunk-line from St. Louis, Mo., to Atlanta, Ga., — afterwards 
contracting for his company to lease the Central Railroad of 
Georgia, from Atlanta to Savannah, Ga., together with all 
of its branches and leased lines, about one thousand miles, 
and its steamships. He then had control of about two 
thousand miles of road, but, having flanked his rival, the t 
Louisville and Nashville Railroad, in the West and in the i 
Soplh, that company bought in New York a majority of 
the stock in the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 
Railway, thereby securing its control, and Col. Cole re- : 
signed. j 

He has been vice-president and one of the lessees of the I 
State road of Georgia since January, 1871, and still holds ' 
these relations to that road. 

On the 27th day of May, 1 880, he was elected president 
of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, 
vice R. T. Wilson, who resigned in his favor. Col. Cole 
will also have control of the Memphis and Charleston Rail- , 
road, leased by the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia 
Railroad Company, the Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad, 
and other branch roads, in all about eight hundred miles, 
under his general management. 

Col. Cole has been twice married. To Miss Louise M. 
Lytic, daughter of Archibald Lytle, of Williamson Co., 
Tenn., one of the oldest families in the State. Mrs. Louise 
BI. Cole died in 1869. He was married to Miss Anna V. 
Russell, of Augusta, Ga., on the 24th day of December, 
1872. Miss Russell was called "The Pride of Georgia," 
and was considered the most beautiful and brilliant woman 
in the State. Her classic beauty, intellectual culture, rare 
dignity, and grace of manner have excited universal ad- 
miration wherever she has appeared in Europe or in this 
country. 

Col. Cole is fifty-two years of age, over six feet tall, and 
weighs two hundred and ten pounds. In politics he is a 
Democrat, in religion a Methodist. His beautiful home in 
Nashville, " Terrace Place," is noted for its elegant hospi- 
tality. He has six living children, — three sons and three 
daughters. 

In addition to the foregoing outline of Col. Cole's busi- 
ness and public life, perhaps we cannot better paint a pic- 
ture of him before our readers than to quote the exact 
words of a distinguished gentleman of Nashville who has 
known him many years : 

" Col. Cole is a man of quiet, amiable manners, slow to 
speak and slow to act, but he never says the wrong word 
when he does speak, nor does the wrong thing when he 
acts. He is cautious and confiding, true in his friendship, 
and every way reliable. He is very truthful, and his word 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



381 



is as good as his bond. He bears no malice nor keeps up 
feuds with his fellow-men. His Christian character shines 
;,out in all the relations of life. Notwithstanding his calm, 
'quiet way of transacting business, he accomplishes a great 
deal and neglects nothing. He is justly considered the 
best railroad manager in the South. He is an active mem- 
ber of the ' Tennessee Historical Society,' as well as the 
' State Board of Health.' He entertained President Hayes 
when he visited Nashville in 1878, and no gentleman in 
the city was better prepared to receive that distinguished 
: gentleman and the ladies of his party. Col. Cole is now in 
vigorous manhood ; he came to Nashville a poor boy, with- 
lout family influence, with little education, and has risen 
Istep by step to his present position." 

Col. Cole is justly popular, liberal, and public-spirited, 
I and ranks among the foremost of self-made men of the 
country, and his domestic life is a beautiful illustration of a 
happy home. 



, M. BURNS, ESQ. 

i The subject of this sketch was born in the County of 
Sligo, Ireland, in the year 1813, and is the eighth of a 
family of eleven children. His parents were persons of 
; reputable standing in the community, possessed of ample 
i means to support and educate their sons and daughters, 
each of whom received a fair share of scholastic training. 
During the greater portion of his life, and at the time of 
his death, his father was the agent of the large estate of 
Mrs. Fox, of England, lying in the County of Leitrim, Ire- 
land, the duties of which required all his time except that 
given to agricultural pursuits. 

At the early age of nine years he was left an orphan by 
'the death of his father, that of his mother following soon 
afterwards. Not long thereafter he was apprenticed to the 
saddlery business in the town of Sligo. Before the expira- 
tion of his term his employer resolved to emigrate to 
America, and his young apprentice determined to accom- 
pany him, and together they arrived in Quebec in July, 
1831. Remaining there but a short while, young Burns 
removed with his employer to Montreal, where he remained 
some time. From thence he went to the city of New York, 
and in the year 1836 started West, arriving at Nashville in 
the autumn of that year. Here he remained until 1837, 
when he moved to Jefferson, in Rutherford Co., Tenn., 
] where he lived during that and the succeeding year, return- 
ing to Nashville in 1839, which has since been his place of 
residence. 

I In March, 1842, Mr. Burns was united in marriage to 
I Margaret Gilliam, daughter of William Gilliam, long a 
queensware merchant of Nashville, who, in a return voyage 
irom Europe, was lost in the sinking of the steamship 
"Arctic" in September, 1854. The fruit of this marriage 
is ten children, eight of whom survive, as does also their 
mother. In that year, with a limited capital, he com- 
menced the business of a saddler on Market Street, Nash- 
jville. Through thrift and industry and the willing and 
' cheerful aid of his wife his early struggle vyas sviocessfi^l, 



and he soon was enabled to enlarge his business, and added 
dealing in saddlery hardware, coach ware, and leather of all 
kinds, and became a prosperous merchant. In his line of 
merchandise Mr. Burns' establishment was the leading 
house for many years, and until his retirement. A leading 
trait in his mercantile character was the maintenance of 
friendly relations and honorable competitorship with rivals 
in the same business. The benefit of this policy, apart 
from its intrinsic propriety, not only increased his sales in 
business, but strengthened and enhanced his commercial 
standing greatly. 

In 1853, on the accession of Andrew Johnson to the 
governorship of Tennessee, Mr. Burns was made a director 
in the Bank of Tennessee, that institution being then 
under the presidency of Hon. Cave Johnson. The confi- 
dence thus bestowed by Governor Johnson in the appoint- 
ment of Mr. Burns was never afterwards withheld, but 
increased as that extraordinary man advanced in station 
and influence. The Bank of Tennessee was at that time 
the fiscal agent of the State, and soon after entering the 
directory Mr. Burns was chosen by the president and his 
colleagues to manage the aiFairs of the bank in its connec- 
tion with financial institutions in Northern and Eastern 
cities. Negotiations involving millions in amount were en- 
trusted to his care, and these were conducted in so quiet, 
sagacious, and systematic a manner as to merit the warm 
appioval of his colleagues, though his skillful labors in that 
respect were hardly known or mentioned out of the di- 
rectors' room. Mr. Burns was six years in this important 
trust, retiring with his colleagues upon a change in the 
State administration. Soon thereafter he was elected a di- 
rector in the Union Bank of Tennessee, and remained such, 
with an exceptional interval of two years, until its liquida- 
tion. During this time Mr. Burns was in the directory of 
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, which was com- 
pleted in 1854, and in that of the Nashville and North- 
western, which was in process of construction. 

Mr. Burns' connection with the railroad interests of the 
State has been prominent, and as meritorious and honorable 
as that held by him in its fiscal institutions. At the out- 
break of the civil war he was vice-president of the Nash- 
ville and Northwestern Railroad, then only completed 
twenty-nine miles westwardly from Nashville, together 
with twenty-five or thirty miles west of the Tennessee 
River (the. latter portion was destroyed by the ravages of 
the contending armies, subsequently, and the iron carried 
ofi'), and on the occupation of Nashville by the Federal 
forces, the president being without the military lines, he 
assumed charge of the interests and property of the com- 
pany. His first step in that emergency was to prevent its 
rolling-stock from being carried to the South and beyond 
its control, as the property of the Nashville and Chattanooga 
Railroad had been by order of the retreating Confederate 
authorities. With this view he promptly ordered it to be 
taken to the terminus of the road, whence it was subse- 
quently returned to the city of Nashville by the Federal 
authorities. It was through his instrumentality that the 
Nashville and Northwestern Road was constructed during the 
civil war to the Tennessee River, becoming as it did, during 
that distressfiil period, a source of great relief to the people. 



382 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



as it is at present one of the most important of the trade 
arteries of the State. This important object was secured 
by Mr. Burns in the follo^ring manner : The Louisville and 
Nashville Eailroad was, during a considerable portion of 
each year, the chief reliance of the Federal forces for con- 
nection with its great base of supplies, and was frequently 
attacked and destroyed at various points by the Confeder- 
ate cavalry. At these times heavy requisitions for supplies 
were made upon the people. To avert this oppression Mr. 
Burns presented to Military Governor Johnson the im- 
portance to the Federal government of another route, and 
prevailed on him to consider favorably the building of the 
Northwestern road to the Tennessee River, and obtained 
from him a letter to President Lincoln in furtherance of the 
scheme. Armed with this, which contained a high indorse- 
ment of Mr. Burns' character and business energy, he went 
to Washington City and was enabled to secure an immedi- 
ate hearing, and successfully impressed the President with 
his views, who gave orders to the Secretary of War for 
the immediate building of the road projected. The Fed- 
eral commander of the Army of the Cumberland, Gen. 
Rosecrans, received instructions from the department to 
that effect, with whom Mr. Burns liad a confeience, at his 
headquarters, at Stevenson, Ala., on his return from Wash- 
ington : and shortly after, the work was commenced by Mil- 
itary Governor Johnson. The cost of that portion of this 
important branch of railway was more than four millions of 
dollars, all of which was paid by the Federal government. 
Not a dollar of this amount was paid by the State of Ten- 
nessee, or afterwards required of it, and tliis substantial 
gift was directly due to Mr. Burns' efforts. The road was 
operated by and for the Federal government for military 
purposes until the close of the war, when it was abruptly 
surrendered to Mr. Burns, representing the company, the 
company being utterly without means to equip or operate it. 
Mr. Burns, however, divined the motives actuating the quar- 
termaster in charge, who thought suddenly to impose an 
impossibility and thus find a pretext to obtain orders from 
the seat of government which would retain him in control, 
and he dispatched a train in an hour after the receipt of 
official notice transferring to him the road. By this 
promptitude the road was securely acquired for the com- 
pany, and under Mr. Burns' energetic administration was 
completed to the Mississippi River. The railroad history 
of the State records no more efficient and salutary service 
than the skillful management of the Northwestern road 
under Mr. Burns' direction as its chief officer, from 1861 
to September, 1867. The committee of the Legislature of 
1870, which carefully investigated the condition of the rail- 
road enterprises of the State, in their official report bear high 
testimony to the ability which, with limited means for equip- 
ment, Mr. Burns brought to the arduous task ; his tireless 
energy and dispatch in constructing the immense bridge over 
the Tennessee River and the Obion and Big Sandy Rivers, 
and the ninety-eight miles connecting thence with the Mis- 
sissippi River ; the scrupulous fidelity with which he ac- 
counted for the proceeds of the State bonds placed in his 
hands, and the thrift and economy which characterized his 
administration. During that time, when reckless misman- 
agement was so generally imputed, the history of the North- 



western road constitutes a record in which Mr. Burns and ! 
his descendants may take special pride. 

On the 15th of September, 1865, a few months after 
the close of the civil war, Mr. Burns being president of the 
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, the property was sur-. 
rendered by the military authorities of the Federal gov^ 
ernmeut to the company. Its treasury was empty, its track 
almost worn out by the severe use and casualties of its mil- 
itary management for nearly four years, and its depots and! 
bridges dilapidated. An immense outlay was necessary to 
restore it to a proper working condition. The official re- 
ports of Mr. Burns for the years 1866, 1867, and 1868 
exhibit in detail the measures required to reconstruct this 
important road and resuscitate its business. Laboring un- 
der every variety of disadvantage, the management was 
called upon to disentangle the confusion into which its ■ 
affairs had fallen with the military authorities of the gen- 
eral government, and to emancipate it satisfactorily from 
that control. Mr. Burns spent a considerable portion of 
his time in Washington City in conferences with the Pres- 
ident, Secretary of War, and Quartermaster-General in 
securing these objects. His personal relations to President 
Johnson, whose confidence and friendship he enjoyed in a i 
marked degree, enabled him to effect the extrication of the ■ 
Chattanooga road from its complications with the Federal I 
government and its restoration to the stockholders, and his ' 
successful administration for three years accomplished its ' 
entire reinstatement as the pioneer, and in many respects i 
most important, line in the Tennessee railway system. Mr. 
Burns' influence with the authorities of the United States 
enabled him to purchase rolling-stock from the government 
on favorable terms and credit, with which to re-equip and 
operate the road. The period of his presidency was one of 
unusual difficulty. Though the road and its equipments 
were dismantled, it was operated with security to passen- 
gers, — not an accident occurring to life or limb, — and was 
reconstructed. Though oppressed with financial embarrass- 
ments, its business was made profitable. In a region suflTer- 
ing from the impoverishment caused by the war, and in a 
period of general prostration, its affairs were skillfully ad- 
ministered. On the 10th of August, 1868, Mr. Burns 
resigned the presidency of the company, whereupon the 
following resolution was adopted by the directory : 

"Eesohed, That as our official connection with M. Burns, 
Esq., now and for three years past president of this road, is 
soon to cease, we deem it but an act of justice to express 
our appreciation of the interest, integrity, and efficiency 
which he has constantly manifested in the discharge of his 
official duty in directing the varied interests of this com- 
pany under embarrassments unequaled in the past history 
of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company, and 
we tender to him our best wishes for his continued health 
and prosperity."' 

In 1870, Mr. Burns was called to the presidency of the 
First National Bank of Nashville, and held that position 
for eight years, when he tendered his resignation, the ac- 
ceptance of which was accompanied by a resolution of the 
directory testifying the ability and integrity displayed in 
the administration of its affairs. His period of service 
here, as with the railroads whose affairs he had conducted, 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



383 



was ODC of unexampled financial depression and commercial 
disaster, but his conservative course upheld its credit and 
maintained its business, the date of his retiring being that 
of the commencement of a more prosperous financial era. 
He is now a director in the Third National Bank of Nash- 
ville, and in the Nashville Commercial Insurance Company. 
Mr. Burns' long prominence in connection with public 
enterprises has made him a wide circle of acquaintance 
within and without the limits of the State. The uniform 
success which has characterized his public and private ca- 
I reer has attracted attention to him as one of the sterling, 
sagacious men of the times. While he has not labored for 
, political preferment, on several occasions his name has been 
i urged in connection with the governorship of the State. 
His indisposition to seek office restrained him from eifort 
to reach this honorable position, but those who knew his 
capacity for public aflFairs have felt assured that in the 
hands of none of her citizens would the interests, honor, 
and true dignity of the State have been safer than in those 
[ of Michael Burns. 

' Since withdrawing from positions of public trust, BIr. 
Burns is devoting attention to his personal aifairs and the 
fine estate amassed by his industry and skill. He is, never- 
theless, a public-spirited citizen, having a large interest in 
various corporate enterprises. The key to his success has 
been laborious application to business coupled with the 
. strictest fidelity to financial obligations, never, in his large 
I and diversified dealings, having compromised a debt or 
settled otherwise than at one hundred cents in the dollar. 
, He has the full confidence of his fellow-citizens, as he has 
j their respect and esteem for his warm-hearted and open- 
handed generosity. These characteristics found signal illus- 
tration in the trying period of the civil war. While candid 
and outspoken in his views and sympathies at that time, he 
yet had the general confidence of a number of the leading 
military officials with whom his public duties brought him 
( in contact, but especially with the Military Governor of the 
' State, with whom his personal relations were intimate and 
I cordial. For relief or redress from the rigor of military 
! exactions he appealed frequently in behalf of the worthy 
in all ranks of life, high and low, and never appealed in 
vain. Perhaps no man in the community enjoyed the op- 
portunity of doing so much of this character of kindness, 
and none did it more cheerfully and efficiently. Through 
his frank and afiable manners, Mr. Burns is popular with 
all classes of his fellow-citizens. A true son of Ireland, he 
has never forgotten the fact, as is manifest in the attach- 
ment felt for him by his fellow-countrymen, to many of 
whom he is adviser and friend ; yet he is an American, and 
thoroughly identified in sympathy and principle with the 
land of his adoption. While tolerant and broadly catholic 
I in his views, his sincerity of character is exhibited in his 
support of the religious principles of his fiithers. In all 
respects, the subject of this sketch deservedly ranks among 
the worthiest of the leading citizens of the community in 
which he has lived so long, and is justly entitled to a place 
in its history now in preparation for the reading of posterity. 



THOMAS SEWELL KING. 

Thomas Sewell King, for many years an honored and 
most useful citizen of Davidson County, was born near 
Raleigh, N. C, June 29, 1786. His descendants have no 
accurate knowledge of the precise date of his removal to 
Tennessee, but it was not long after attaining his majority, 
probably about the year 1810. His parentage was of the 
sturdy stock of Carolina which furnished so largely the best 
elements of population coming to develop and give char- 
acter to the new State. They were not wealthy, as not 
many of that time and region were, and the subject of this 
sketch had slender foundation for the respectable fortune 
his industry afterwards acquired, but was well supplied with 
material for the sterling and justly reputable character which 
gave him prominence among his fellow-citizens and entitles 
him to' mention in this history. 

His father was John King, and his mother was Elizabeth 
Sewell. The former was of English birth, and came to 
America in the latter part of the year 1769. The historian 
of the Methodist Church in this country records that John 
King's name appears as one of the " four preachers compris- 
ing its little corps of Methodist evangelists" when America, 
in 1770, first appears in John Wesley's list of appoint- 
ments. The history proceeds to say that in this work he 
was energetic, zealous, and blameless, and so continued until 
his death. Another historian says of him, " It was the in- 
domitable and enterprising King who first threw the banners 
of Jlethodism to the people of Baltimore." He reached a 
very advanced ago, and died near Raleigh, N. C. 

Not long after his arrival at his new home Mr. King 
united in marriage with a cousin, — Susan Sewell. After his 
marriage he lived in Nashville, and was probably engaged 
in merchandising, either as a clerk or as proprietor. The 
building on College- Street, near Union, now occupied by 
Newell, Duncan & Co., was at one time his residence. 
After a few years he removed to the village of Nolensville, 
about twelve miles south of Nashville, and was there asso- 
ciated in a general mercantile business with James Johnson, 
afterwards and long one of the most prominent cotton-mer- 
chants in the city of Nashville, and one of its worthiest 
citizens. While living at Nolensville, his wife having died, 
Mr. King married, on Aug. 17, 1817, Delilah Cantrell 
Nolen, a daughter of one of the first settlers of that place, 
and from whom it took its name. This excellent woman 
was his wife and true helpmeet until his death, and survived 
him a number of years. No sketch of him would be com- 
plete without reference to her. She was a person of re- 
markable characteristics, and exemplified the Christian 
matron of the highest type. Possessed of a strong, incisive 
mind and great energy, these were tempered by qualities of 
heart which endeared her to all. Her charity was large 
and overflowing, and her life was spent in doing good. Its 
end was serene and hopeful. 

About the year 1830, Mr. King abandoned mercantile 
pursuits and removed to Davidson County, having purchased 
a fine farm five and a half miles southeastwardly from Nash- 
ville, on the line of the Nashville and Murfreesboro' Pike. 
This was afterwards the home of Dempsey Weaver, Esq., 
who was his son-in-law. Mr. King resided at that place 



384: 



HISTORr OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



until his death, which followed an acute attack of pneumo- 
nia, Feb. 6, 1851, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Though 
nearly thirty years have passed, the neighborhood of his 
home for so many years yet holds green in memory the ap- 
preciation of the manly and upright traits which made him 
its leading citizen and his name a household word in an 
extended circle. 

Esquire King — that was the unpretentious, but in his 
day not unhonored, title which he long bore — illustrated 
signally all that is comprised in the term a good citizen. 
Without pretension to culture, his mind was vigorous and 
active and well informed in all matters of public importance 
and general interest. His superior intelligence, supple- 
mented by industry, rendered him successful both as mer- 
chant and farmer, and in the useful spheres in which he 
served the public. He had that combination of qualities 
which exacts confidence from his fellow-men, and to no man 
in his time and circuit of duty was it accorded in a higher 
degree. He was of that class of men who have but small 
regard for shine or show, but who are in everything solid 
and substantial. He was conscientious and conservative in 
his turn of thought, and prompt, methodical, and correct 
in all his dealings. He gave justice and a full measure, and 
quietly required it in return. He was the firm and trusted 
friend of many, and his counsel and advice were sought by 
men in all ranks of life. Respect was had for his opinions, 
and faith in his sincerity. As a citizen and neighbor he 
was the arbiter of disputes and the subduer of strifes, and 
his example and influence made the community better. 
Though his path was in the quiet and sequestered walks of 
life, he was filled with proper public spirit, and was an 
earnest advocate of his views in matters of public concern. 
In this respect he was frank and independent, yet withal 
liberal to those who differed. He was for many years a 
magistrate. His duties in that capacity, after the manner 
of those in private life, were performed with scrupulous 
fidelity and probity. As in the one his word was the 
synonym of reliability, so in the other his conduct was 
above question or impeachment. 

In the social circle he was a pattern of deportment, and 
his home was the centre of a large hospitality, while he 
dispensed an ample charity to the deserving needy. He 
was a consistent and unobtrusive Christian in the faith of 
his fathers, and devoted to the .spread of its ordinances and 
worship, maintaining for a number of years on his farm the 
place of annual religious services known as " King's Camp- 
Ground." His virtues are cherished as a valuable legacy 
by his posterity, and assert for him an honorable place in 
the records of the community adorned by his life. 



DEMPSEY WEAVER.* 

Dempsey Weaver was born in Chatham Co., N. C, the 
15th day of July, 1815; he removed to Marshall Co, 
Tenn., in 1825, and to Davidson Co., Tenn., in 1836. He 
was successful as a merchant and as a banker. He filled 

"-'•■ By Thomas 11. Malonc. 



with marked ability and unquestioned fidelity many offices 
requiring the execution of high and delicate trusts. He 
acquired friends, accumulated wealth, was twice married, 
reared a prosperous and happy family, and died Feb. 3, 
1880, ere he had reached threescore years and ten. 

His life is of a type rarely found elsewhere than in 
America. The tireless, ceaseless, sleepless effort, ending 
only with life, which seems to characterize our people, is 
said to strike thoughtful foreigners with astonishment. 
Perhaps in no life, even in America, of equal length, was 
more of effort condensed, or more or worthier ends accom- 
plished. Striking out for himself at twenty years of age, 
without education, wealth, friends, or influence, he won for 
himself such a position that when forty-four years thereafter 
he died the learned, the wealthy, the influential, the whole 
of the great city in which he had lived and labored, strove 
who should do most honor to his memory. He was neither 
a great scholar, poet, statesman, nor warrior, but to the 
people among whom his life was passed he was much 
more than any one of these could have been. He was one 
of those just, sagacious, far-seeing men, teiiax propositi, 
who impress and serve as models for a whole community. 
Perhaps to no one man more than to him is Nashville in- 
debted for the solidity and integrity which mark its busi- 
ness transactions. He bore no conspicuous part in any 
great historical event, and yet it may be justly claimed 
that he did more for humanity — more that in its effects will 
live while his long sleep lasts — than many whose names 
shine on the pages of history. His philanthropy and his 
fortune were not wasted in sentimental, futile, yet ostenta- 
tious efforts to redeem China and the isles of the sea. The 
poor at his own door, the people of his own city, were in 
the largest measure the objects of his charities and his' 
benefactions. His words of hearty approval, wise advice, 
and kindly caution were, like his purse, ever ready for those 
who sought his aid. His effort was to conceal, not to pub- 
lish, his good deeds. The sum-total of these can never be 
known. The very least of them were the large sums of 
money which from a full hand flowed to all worthy objects, 
and perhaps it may be justly said that the greatest of them 
were the moral support, the kind words of advice and en- 
couragement, and the ready promise, sure to be made good, 
of help, if effort failed, which renewed hope and gave 
strength to maintain the conflict to so many ready to faint 
by the way. 

No history of Davidson County would be complete with- 
out him. He belonged to no particular sect. When he 
died every class in the community felt that it had suffered 
a special loss. Churchmen missed the practical wisdom 
that matured plans, and the hand that gave without count- 
ing to carry them to success. The rich missed the financial 
sagacity to which so many owed the safety or increase of 
their fortunes. The deserving poor missed the generous 
sympathy to which appeal was never made in vain. The 
young men missed the counselor to whom all questions of 
finance were submitted. And the strong and active missed 
the elder brother with whom communion renewed their 
strength and revived their courage. 

Judged by the standard of years his death was prema- 
ture ; by the standard of his labors, his success, and his 



. 



BIOGllAPHIES. 



385 



beneAictions it was timely, for in this view his life was com- 
plete and rounded. 

A community is happy to have had such a man live and 
die in its midst. All that is mortal of him rests at Mount 
Olivet, near the beautiful city that he loved best, biit sages, 
poets, Holy Writ will have prophesied in vain if his honor- 
able, brave, just, generous life shall not for many recurring 
years continue its beneficent influence. 

The writer knew and loved Mr. Weaver. He was re- 
quested to write a short sketch of his life. It has turned 
out — it could not have been otherwise — a panegyric. 



ELBRIDGE GERRY EASTMAN. 

Elbridge Gerry Eastman was born in Bridgewater, N. H., 
Feb. 27, 1813. He was the son of Timothy and Abigail 
Eastman. 

His educational advantages in early life were limited. 
Having been the inheritor of no fortune, dependent on his 
own exertions, he was in early life apprenticed to the print- 
ing business, — a profession of which he was always proud. 

Having gone to Washington soon after he had reached 
manhood, James K. Polk, whose estimate of men was sel- 
dom at fault, discovered in him those evidences of intellect 
and character which have since won for him golden opin- 
ions with all honorable men. 

1 Mr. Polk invited him to Tennessee in 1839, and under 
his auspices he established the KnoxviUe Argus, the publi- 
cation of which Mr. Eastman always regarded as the most 
brilliant part of his editorial career. 

He evinced a talent for newspaper discussion of a high 
order, and was regarded as the leading Democratic editor of 
East Tennessee until Col. Polk was elected President, when, 
to better his pecuniary condition, he accepted an oflSce at 
Washington, which he filled with credit to himself and 
satisfaction to the department. His services were soon 
needed, however, at Nashville, and he was called by the 
leading Democrats of the State to take charge of the Nash- 
ville Union. 

During the spirited contests of 1839, '41, '43, and '44 
he became celebrated for the terseness and pungency of his 
style and as a writer of vigorous and spirited paragraphs. 

Strong in all respects as an editor, in this rare quality 
he had few superiors, and perhaps never an equal, in Ten- 
nessee. His principal forte as an editor was his excellent 
judgment in determining the course and policy of his paper. 
His talents and usefulness were not confined to politics. He 
was the ardent, earnest, working friend of agriculture and 
the mechanical arts. His reports, suggestions, and papers 
on these topics are public property, and are held in high 
esteem by those whose interests he thus labored to advance. 

In efforts to advance the cause of education and all pub- 
lic enterprises, he was equally zealous. He was a man of 
great candor, fairness, and sincerity ; his political principles 
were matters of conscience with him. He was remarkable 
for his evenness of temper and disposition ; he had his dis- 
likes, but was . incapable of malice. As a friend he wag 
kind, confiding, and true. 

In his domestic relations — as a husband and father — 



words cannot express his tenderness. He appeared nowhere 
in a character so admirable as when surrounded by his 
family ; there centred all his pride and all his hopes. 

He was in 1849-50 clerk of the House of Representa- 
tives, and of the Senate one year. He was editor of the 
KnoxviUe Argus, then of the Nashville Union, and lastly 
of the Union and American. Secretary of the agricultural 
bureau of Tennessee, — able and indefatigable promoter of 
agricultural fairs throughout the State. 

He was an originator and active assistant in organizing 
" loan and building associations," and always regarded as 
the friend of the mechanic and laborer. 

At a large public meeting (held Nov. 24, 1859), called to 
express the regrets of his fellow-citizens, — Mayor HoUing- 
worth, in the chair. Rev. Dr. Hoyt and R. C. McNairy, 
Esq., secretaries, — resolutions expressive of respect and 
sorrow were supported in glowing terms by Hon. Andrew 
Ewing, John Hugh Smith, Esq., Hon. W. F. Cooper, Col. 
G. C. Torbett, R. C. McNairy, Esq., and C. W. Nance, 
Esq. 

Similar action was taken in both the State Senate and 
House of Representatives, in the Masonic fraternity, the 
Typographical Union, and in the Agricultural Bureau. 

Mr. Eastman left a widow, who, before her marriage, was 
Miss Lucy Ann Carr, of New Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. Y. 
She married Mr. Eastman Oct. 11, 1832, at Baltimore, 
Md. He also left nine children of ten born to him ; these 
nine all at present reside in or near Nashville, — -Mary T., 
now Mrs. Dr. J. H. Curry ; Carrie C, now Mrs. W. M. 
Duncan ; Lucy C, now Mrs. L. K. Hart; and six sons, — 
viz., Charles H., William E., Lewis R., Elbridge G., John 
W., and Roger. 

Nashville would gladly welcome many such families from 
New Hampshire or any other State. 



ALEXANDER LITTLE PAGE GREEN, D.D. 

Alexander Little Page Green was born in Sevier Co., 
Tenn., June 26, 1806. He was the seventh son — one of 
sixteen children — of George and Judith Green, who were 
devoted Methodists of blameless reputation, industrious and 
thrifty; they were pioneers in Virginia, Tennessee, and 
Alabama, and brought up their children in virtue and piety. 

George Green fought under the American flag in the 
war for independence. 

Alexander was pious from his childhood. He was made 
a class-leader at the age of sixteen, an exhorter at eighteen, 
and before he was nineteen he was licensed to preach, and 
admitted on trial into the Tennessee Conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Conference he con- 
tinued till his death, July 15, 1874. 

He spent much time in his early life with the Creek and 
Cherokee Indians, was employed by the traders as an inter- 
preter, and frequently preached to them. His biographer 
says " that for months at a time during his stay with the 
Indians he was without a covering of any sort for his head." 

These short and simple annals extend over half a century 
of extraordinary ministerial service. He labored efficiently 



386 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



on circuits and districts, in stations and in special agencies. 
He took high rank in all the ecclesiastical courts ; he was 
consulted on all questions of ordinary and extraordinary 
interest. The polity of the church was largely modeled by 
his counsels. The questions at issue between the Northern 
and Southern branches of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
at the time of the division in 1844, and subsequently dur- 
ing the pending of the memorable church suits, were ad- 
justed to a great extent by his prudent and unremitting 
attention. 

He was always among the foremost in developing the mis- 
sionary, Sunday-school, educational, publishing, and other 
interests of the church. He was a tower of strength in 
these regards, and was looked up to by his associates as 
one in whose judgment they might confide. 

He was first stationed in Nashville by his Conference in 
1829. We are informed by his biographer " that great 
success attended his labors this year. At the close of his 
second year he was married to an estimable lady,- — Miss 
Mary A. E. Elliston. McKendree Church was completed 
during his administration, in 1833. While the whole 
family of Methodism was dear to him, he had a peculiar 
love for old McKendree, which love was fully recipro- 
cated. He served this congregation six years, and was pre- 
siding elder on the Nashville district twelve years. While 
other ministers accomplished groat things, Methodism in 
Nashville and Davidson County owes more to Dr. Green 
than to any other man. 

He fell in love with Nashville at first sight, and adopted 
it as his home. He was devoted to its progress, and had 
unbounded confidence in its final success. The claims of 
Nashville as an educational and commercial centre he never 
neglected an opportunity to advance. He was proud of its 
history, solidity, and culture, and predicted great things for 
it in the future. He proved his faith by his works. He 
was a stockholder iu Nashville's first railway, — the Nash- 
ville and Chattanooga, — also a stockholder in the Nashville 
and Louisville Railway. He was an original director aud 
stockholder in the Nashville Gas Light Company. Aided 
by John M. Bass, Esq., and Joseph T. Elliston, Esq., he 
opened, by private enterprise. Union Street, in Nashville, 
from College to Market Street. In all building contracts — 
and he had many — he employed Nashville mechanics and 
used Nashville material, even when it necessitated a change 
of his plans. 

He took great pride in everything about and in the city 
of Nashville, but was sorry to admit that the beautiful and 
romantic Cumberland was not reliable either for navigation 
or angling. 

He was mainly instrumental in locating the Southern 
Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, which has been 
a great moral and pecuniary blessing to the city. He was 
the chairman, and, indeed, the Mentor, of the Methodist 
Book Committee. 

Besides the many institutions of learning under the 
direction of his own church, he was interested in all enter- 
prises in his adopted city looking to the moral and intel- 
lectual improvement of the rising generation. He was a 
trustee of the University of Nashville, from which he re- 
ceived the honorary title of Doctor of Divinity. He was 



very proud and fond of the old Nashville Female Academy, 
of which he was a stockholder and trustee. He was also 
an original trustee of the Tennessee School for the Blind. 
Last, but not least, he was specially interested in the per- 
manent establishment of Vanderbilt University, of which 
he was treasurer and member of its board of trust at the 
time of his death. For this institution he consulted, 
planned, and labored. It was his last enterpri.se and his 
chief joy, and, he being dead, it speaks for him. Sur- 
rounded by honorable associates iu beneficence and labor, 
his life-size portrait adorns the western wall of the beautiful 
chapel. 

In all the positions of trust and honor in which he was 
placed, and which required so much of his time, it is a 
remarkable fact that they were all alike positions in which 
there were no pecuniary returns. 

He was remarkably disinterested as a preacher, — ready 
for any service with or without pay. 

The secret of his great preaching power was that he 
knew men, came down among them, arrested their atten- 
tion, touched their hearts, and drew tears from their eyes. 
His language, modeled after the English classics, was chaste, 
strong, simple, and pathetic. 

He wrote a good deal, especially for the church papers 
and periodicals. His biographer has devoted considerable 
space to the " Papers of Dr. Green," written in prose and 
poetry, and full of interest to the general reader. 

He was charitable and catholic in his sentiments, judi- 
cious and unostentatious in his benefactions, kind to all, 
especially to the young, who greatly enjoyed his society. 
He was fond of working with his hands in his garden and 
on his farm. It is pleasant to walk over the grounds at 
" Greenland," five miles north of Nashville, and note his 
" improvements" and see his pleasant haunts ; for, like 
Uzziah, King of Judah, he loved " husbandry" and com- 
muned with nature in farm and field, in garden and grove. 

He was a model father, happy in the conjugal relation, 
and his children, devoted to him in life, continue to honor 
his memory and imitate his virtues. 

The soil of Tennessee holds the remains of few of her 
sons who have done her so much honor as Alexander Little 
Page Green. 



REV. JOHN BERRY McFERRIN, D.D. 

Rev. John Berry McFerrin, D.D, was born in Ruther- 
ford Co., Tenn., June 15, 1807. His father. Col. James 
McFerrin, was a native of Virginia, and removed to Ten- 
nessee in 1804. His grandfather, William McFerrin, was 
born in Pennsylvania, but removed with his father to Vir- 
ginia when he was a child ten years old. William McFer- 
rin was the son of William McFerrin, Sr., one of three 
brothers who emigrated from Ireland about one hundred 
and sixty years ago. He settled temporarily in York Co., 
Pa. Here the families divided. One portion remained in 
the State of Pennsylvania, and settled about Philadelphia 
and New Jersey. Another portion went westwardly, and 
settled in the neighborhood of Pittsburgh. William's 
family went to Virginia and branched off into Tennessee, 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



33? 



Kentucky, and farther west. The descendants are to be 
found in nearly all the Western States as far as Oregon. 

William McFerrin, John B.'s grandfather, was in the 
Eevolutionary war, and was at the battle at King's Moun- 
tain in the command of Gen. Campbell. 

Col. James JIcFerrin was an ofBcer in Gen. Andrew 
Jackson's army in 1812-13. He was a brave and well- 
skilled soldier .and pfficer. At the age of thirty-seven he 
became a Methodist preacher, and spent the remainder of 
his life in the work of the ministry. 

John B.'s mother was the daughter of John Berry, a 
Presbyterian elder, who died in Virginia ninety-five years 
ago. His maternal grandmother was Jane Campbell. She 
was born in what is now Rockbridge County, and belongs 
to one branch of the extensive Campbell family of the " Old 
Dominion." Her grandmother on the father's side was 
Jane Laughlin, the daughter of James Laughlin. The 
Laughlin family were from the neighborhood of Belfast, 
Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1753. The whole 
family on both sides were descendants of Scotch-Irish Pres- 
byterians, and were inveterate Protestants. 
. John B. McFerrin, whose name stands at the head of 
this article, was the eldest son of his pareurs. He was born 
when the country around Nashville was newly settled. 
The cabin in which he was born was surrounded by cane 
and unbroken fore.=ts. Ilis early advantages were limited. 
A respectable English education, obtained in the common 
schools of those early times, was all of which he could 
boast. He, however, learned to read in very early life, and 
was a student at home, reading whatever books — especially 
theological works — came in his way. 

At the early age of eighteen he entered the work of the 
ministry, and was admitted into the Tennessee Conference of 
the ]\Ietliodist Episcopal Church in the autumn of 1823. 
He has been a member of that body till this date without 
any intermission. He lias filled many positions in the 
church ; he has traveled circuits ; has filled city stations ; 
has been a presiding elder ; an agent for a literary institu- 
tion ; a missionary to the Indians ; editor of the C/n'intian 
Advocate at Nashville for nearly eighteen years ; book- 
agent twice ; and spent nearly three years with the Con- 
federate army in tlie late unfortunate war, as a missionary 
under the direction of his church. 

Thus it will be seen that Dr. McFerrin has devoted 
nearly forty years of his life to the interests of his church 
outside the pastoral work. He has preached, however, 
through all the land, from New York to California, and 
visited nearly every important town and city in the South 
and Southwest. He has devoted much time to literary 
pursuits, considering that he has been all his days actively 
employed in the work of his church. He has written 
much for the periodicals of the church, has published 
several sermons, and has written an elaborate history of 
Methodism in Tennessee in three volumes of about five 
hundred pages each. He has been a member of every 
General Conference of his church since 1836, and has 
been present at more than two hundred Annual Conferences. 
His physical constitution was strong, and his powers of 
endurance in youth and middle age were remarkable. He 
seldom became weary of work or travel. lie grew rapidly 
49 



to manhood, and attained to a stature of six feet in his 
boots ; average weight, two hundred pounds. He was no 
politician, — that is, he never took any part publicly in the 
political issues of the great parties in the country, — but he 
was always a Democrat and a strong Southern man in sen- 
timent. He was the friend of President James K. Polk, 
baptized that eminent statesman, took him into the Bloth- 
odist Church, closed his eyes in death, and preached his 
funeral sermon. 

Dr. McFerrin took a prominent part in the great con- 
troversy between the Northern and Southern wings of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in 1814. He was a member 
of the convention in 1845 which took steps for the com- 
plete reorganization of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
South, and worked with diligence for its permanent estab- 
lishment and future prosperity. When the war had ended 
and propositions were made for a restoration of fraternal 
relations between the two branches of the church, North 
and South, he was among the first to step forward and 
extend the hand of brotherly love. The honorary degree 
of D.D. was conferred upon him by two literary institutions 
in 1851. 

Nashville has been the headquarters and home of Dr. 
McFerrin since the autumn of 1831. He has been mar- 
ried twice, — first to Miss Probart, a native of Nashville, and 
secondly to Miss MeGavock,of Davidson County. He has 
at this writing sis living children and fourteen grand- 
children. 

Such are the salient points in the life of Dr. McFerrin. 
To give the details of that busy and useful life would be to 
give a large part of the history of the Methodist Church in 
the South, during the period of his active mini^^y- He 
has borne a prominent part in its deliberative asseinblies, its 
connectioual work, and in its pulpit. The elements of his 
power, popularity, and success may be briefly noted. 

His zeal. — Having chosen the ministry of the gospel as 
his life-work, he has pursued it with a concentration of 
purpose rarely equaled. He has been a man of one work, 
putting all his energy and enthusiasm into the service of 
the church. Flowing always in this channel, the current 
of his life has been deep and strong, illustrating the wise 
aphorism that " concentration is power." 

His courage. — This is a conspicuous quality of Dr. Mc- 
Ferrin's nature. It was in his blood, derived from the 
strong and fiery race of which he came. Inheriting a 
powerful physique, with immense impelling force, he has 
the self poise and boldness that are imparted by the con- 
sciousness of strength. His latent resources, under the 
stimulus of difficulty and opposition, have always been 
equal to the demands made upon him in meeting the heavy 
responsibilities and bearing the heavy burdens imposed 
upon him by the church. His moral courage, tried in 
many emergencies, has never been found wanting. He 
never shirks a duty or an issue. Neutrality is impossible 
to him. On all important questions lie has an opinion 
which he is not ashamed to avow or afraid to defend. 
Though his battles have been on the bloodless arena of po- 
lemics and questions of ecclesiastical policy, he has a 
knightly love of the combat where fair and manly blows 
are given and taken. 



388 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUxXTY, TENNESSEE. 



His pathos and humor. — Dr. McFerrin illustrates the 
oft-mentioncJ fact that these elements of oratory are closely 
allied and seldom di.-joined. He has sown the land with 
lauglitcr and tears. On the platform he sweeps the chords 
of feeling with a master-hand, stirring immense audiences 
to the profoundest depths of their sensibilities, and kindling 
in their bosoms responsive enthusiasm under his impas- 
sioned appeals. His wit is instantaneous in its flash. In 
repartee he has no superior, and in the thrust and parry of 
debate it is doubted whether he ever came off second-best. 

His 2)>iipif power. — Many attempts have been made to 
analyze the elements of Dr. McFerrin's power in the pul- 
pit, but in vain. The great secret is in the personality of 
the man, — that indefinable atmosphere surrounding him 
that engages attention, commands confidence, and arouses 
sympathetic mental action and feeling. His grasp of a sub- 
ject is firm, his manner intensely earnest, his treatment of 
it logical, going in a direct line to the point in hand, pre- 
senting religious truth in concrete forms, and illustrating it 
by figures taken from nature and from real life. All classes 
love to hear him, and the writer who called him "the 
people's man" described him well. But the extraordinary 
effects produced by liis preaching in his most notable pulpit 
efforts can only be explained by the afHatus of the Holy 
Spirit that rests upon the man called, commissioned, and 
anointed of God to proclaim the glad tidiiigs of the 
gospel. His sermons are pervaded by a deep spirituality, 
and, though varied by sparkles of wit and quaint sallies that 
make liis hearers smile, they rarely fail to awaken their 
consciences, stir their sensibilities, and kindle their hopes. 

His elasticity. — This has been the source of his marvel- 
ous endurance and the wonder of his friends. In his prime 
he actually seemed almost incapable of fatigue, and did an 
amount of work under which most men would have broken 
down at once. His mind was a battery always charged, his 
animal spirits a fountain that never failed. When liis his- 
tory shall be fully written, it will disclose a career in wliich 
fidelity to duty and capacity for labor were equally 
remarkable. 



PHILIP LINDSLEY. 

OUTLINE OF HIS LIFE. 
Philip Lindsley was born near Morristown, N. J. His 
parents were both of English extraction, the Lindsleys 
and Condicts being among the earliest settlers of Morris- 
town, and influential Whigs of the Revolution. His early 
youth was spent in his father's family, at Basking Ridge, 
N. J., and in his thirteenth year he entered the academy 
of the Rev. Robert Finley, of that place, with whom he 
.continued nearly three years. He entered the junior class 
of the College of New Jersey in November, 1802, and 
was graduated in September, 1804. After graduating he 
became an assistant teacher, first in Mr. Stevenson's school, 
at Morristown, and then at Mr. Finley's, at Basking Ridge. 
He resigned liis place with the latter in 1807, and about 
the same time became a member of Mr. Finley's church and 
a candidate for the ministry under the care of Presbytery. 
He was then for two years Latin and Greek tutor in the 



college at Princeton, where he devoted himself to the study 
of theology under the direction of the president. Dr. Samuel 
Stanhope Smith. On the 24th of April, 1810, ho was 
licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New 
Brunswick. Continuing his theological studies during the 
next two years, and also preaching a while at Newtown, 
L. I., where he declined overtures for a settlement, he 
made an excursion into Virginia, and afterwards to New 
England, and in November, 1812, returned to Princeton 
in the capacity of senior tutor in the college. In 1813 he 
was transferred from the tutorship to the professorship of 
languages, and at the .same time was chosen secretary of the 
board of trustees. He also held the offices of librarian and 
inspector of the college during his connection with the in- 
stitution. In October of this year he was married to Mar- 
garet Elizabeth, only child of the Hon. Nathaniel Lawrence, 
attorney- general of the State of New York. 

In 1817 hewas twice chosen president of Transylvania Uni- , 
versify, Kentucky, but in both instances declined. In the ' 
same year he was ordained, sine titnlo, by the Presbytery of 
New Brunswick, and was also elected vice-president of the , 
College of New Jersey. In 1822, after Dr. Green's resigna- i 
tion, he was for one year its acting president. The next i 
year he was chosen president of Cumberland College, Ten- 
nessee, and also of the College of New Jersey, but he de- 
clined both appointu)ents. The same year the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Dickinson 
College, then under the presidency of Dr. J. M. Mason. 

Alter refusing to consider overtures concerning the presi- 
dency of Ohio University, at Athens, he was again offered 
the presidency of Cumberland College, and finally induced 
to visit Nashville ; the result of which was that he at last 
signified his acceptance of the office in 1824. During his 
absence the board of trustees of Dickinson College had sent 
a deputy to Princeton to induce him to consent to become 
president of that institution. On the 24th of December he 
arrived in Nashville with his family, the college having 
been in operation a few weeks, with about thirty students. 
He was inaugurated with much pomp and ceremony on the 
12th of January, 1825. His address delivered on the 
occasion was published and very widely circulated. It was 
a noble effort, and was regarded as auspicious of an emi- 
nently useful and brilliant career. The corporate name of 
the college was changed the next year to " The University 
of Nashville." 

In May, 1834, Dr. Lindsley was unanimously elected 
moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
Church of the United States, then holding its sessions at 
Philadelphia. He was elected a member of the " Royal 
Society of Northern Antiquarians," at Copenhagen, in 
1837. 

In 1845, Mrs. Lindsley was taken from him by death, 
after a most happy union of about thirty-two years. In 
1849 he was married to Mrs. Mary Ann Ayers, the widow 
of a kinsman, — Elias Ayers, the founder of the New 
Albany Theological Seminary, — a daughter of the late Maj. 
William Silliman, of Fairfield, Conn., and a niece of the 
venerable Professor Silliman, of Yale College. In May, 
1850, he was elected professor of ecclesiastical polity and 
biblical arcliDsology in the New Albany Theological Semi- 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



389 



nary ; and, liavinp; resigned the presidency of tlie Univer- 
sity of Nashville in October followinj:, he removed to New 
Albany in December, and entered on the duties of the pro- 
fessorship at the beginning of the next year. Here he con- 
tinued usefully and acceptably employed until April, 1853, 
when he resigned theofEce, contrary to the unanimous wish 
of the board. 

The remaining two years of his life were spent chiefly in 
study, devotion, and intercourse with liis friends. 

In May, 1855, he was appointed a commissioner to the 
General Assembly which met in Nashville that year. He 
took an active part in its deliberations, and was the guest 
of his son-in-law, the Rev. J. W. Iloyte. On Wednesday 
morning, May 23d, he was struck with apoplexy, and died 
on Friday, the 25th. His funeral-rites were under the 
direction of the General Assembly on the Monday following. 
The providence which thus led to his return and decease 
in the scene of his great life-work and in the midst of his 
children was much noticed. 

Dr. Lindsley left five children, — tliree sons and two 
daughters. All his sons were graduated at the University 
of Nashville. One of them, Adrian Van Sinderen, has boon 
secretary and treasurer of the board of trustees of the Uni- 
versity of Nashville more than forty years, and has been 
postmaster of Nasliville and senator from Davidson County 
in tlie State Legislature. The second, Nathaniel Lawrence, 
was professor of languages in Cumberland University, doing 
much in founding that famous university. He also estab- 
lished Greenwood Seminary, in Wilson County, and is justly 
styled byKillebrew "Tennessee's great educatorandscholar." 
The third, John Berrien, after an interval of five years, 
succeeded his father as head of the University of Nashville. 
His daughter, Margaret Lawrence, married Samuel Crock- 
ett, Esq., of Nashville. His youngest oliild, Eliza Berrien, 
married Rev. J. W. Hoyte, now also of Nashville. 

niS CHIEF WORK AT NASHVILLE. 

It is known that he declined the highest position in the 
gift of his Alma Slater and cast his lot in the West con- 
trary to the wishes, and indeed with the deep regret, of his 
friends at the S]ast. Who can tell the career of honor and 
usefulness which might have awaited him there had he ac- 
cepted that important position? Who can say that a presi- 
dency at Nassau Hall, running through a quarter of a cen- 
I tury, would not have presented a career of usefulness fully 
I equal to that of Dwight at Yale, or Nott at Union, or any 
- other which our country has yet afforded ? Still, we hesi- 
tate not to think that he acted wisely and well in going just 
when he did to what might then be called the wild woods 
of Tennessee. We have no manner of doubt that he there 
achieved a greater and more important work for his genera- 
tion than he could possibly have ever done at Princeton, 
New Haven, or any other Eastern seat of learning. The 
heart of man deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his 
steps. A great State was just emerging from the wilder- 
ness, — building its churches and schoolhou,ses, constructing 
its works of internal improvement, bringing its virgin soil 
into cultivation, and just ready to lay the foundations of its 
literary and scientific institutions. The greatest work 
which any State can ever do for its children in all time to 



come, that of forming and putting into operation its sys- 
tems of liberal and popular education, was hero to be done. 
A master-workman was needed for the occasion, — one who 
had the knowledge to grasp the problem, and the genius, 
energy, and enthusiasm to solve it. That master-spirit was 
found in Philip Lindsley. It is not too much to say that, 
if Cumberland College had made her selection from the 
entire circle of the Eastern colleges, she could not probably 
have found any man more competent and better furnished 
for the task, better prepared, by all his tastes, studies, and 
attainments, to be the very pioneer, missionary, and cham- 
pion of collegiate or university education at the South- 
west. 

Having thus selected his ground, and driven down his 
stakes, at a point which was then the extreme southwestern 
outpost of educational institutions, he determined once for 
all not to abandon it. Nothing is more striking in all his 
history, and indicative of that firmness of purpose which 
constituted so important an clement in his character, than 
the fixed and persistent determination which kept him from 
ever leaving Nashville till his work was done. No induce- 
ment from abroad, and no amount of difficulty at home, 
could ever wean him from this his first love of Western 
life. There was scarcely a year of the twenty-six when he 
might not have gone to other posts of usefulness and honor. 
Offers came to him unsolicited, from the East, the North, 
the South. To those who understood the discouragements 
which he had to encounter at Nashville, and the repeated 
liberal inducements held out to him from other quarters, 
there was a touch of the heroic and sublime in that steady, 
unalterable resolve which kept him at his chosen post so 
long, and from first to last so confident of success. 

Says Dr. Spraguc, " Though Dr. Lindsley never, directly 
or indirectly, sought an appointment from any literary in- 
stitution, such was his reputation that he was solicited to 
the presidency of such institutions more frequently, per- 
haps, than any other man who has ever lived in this coun- 
try. In addition to the cases already mentioned (in New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio), he was chosen to the presi- 
dency of Washington College, Lexington, Va.,and of Dick- 
inson College, Carlisle, in 1829 ; was chosen twice to the 
presidency of the University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa, in 
1830; was chosen piovost of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, at Philadelphia, and president of the College of 
Louisiana, at Jackson, in 1834; president of South Ala- 
bama College, at Marion, in 1837; and president of Tran- 
sylvania University in 1839; all which appointments he 
promptly declined, though he was greatly urged to accept 
them." 

Now, the explanation of all this is that he saw from the 
first, with the clear intuition of his strong, practical mind, 
that there was a great work to do in Tennessee, — one not to 
be finished in a day or a year, but demanding the labor of 
a lifetime ; and accordingly, instead of frittering away his 
energies on half a dozen different schemes and points of in- 
fluence, he determined to make the most of life by devoting 
it all to that one work, and never to leave it until those 
who should come after him might be able, upon the founda- 
tion which he had laid, to rear a noble and lasting struc- 
ture. 



390 



HISTOHY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



nis spoke;^ and published addresses. 

The published writhigs of Dr. Luidsley consist chiefly of 
his baccalaureate addresses and occasional sermons. His 
great theme, even in his sermons, was education and its 
kindred topics. In one of his ablest published discourses, 
delivered at the installation of Dr. Edgar, in Nashville, in 
1833, he speaks of his preaching in the following terms, 
indicating a far humbler estimate of it, in his own mind, 
than the public were accustomed to take : " Bly own par- 
ticular sphere of ministerial duty has ever been extremely 
humble and limited, as it regards age and numbers, though 
not unimportant in reference to the ultimate welfare of the 
church and the public. My province too has always de- 
manded a different kind and form of preaching from that 
which obtains in a popular assembly. A word in season — 
a little here and a little there — and something every day to 
one or a dozen, as occasion offered or suggested — witliout 
touching on points of theological or ecclesiastical contro- 
versy, and without the formal method of regular sermoniz- 
ing — has been the fashion of my own very imperfect essays 
in the good work of the gospel ministry." And hence it 
■was that, always regarding himself as an educator of tjie 
young, he was often, even in his public discourses on the 
Sabbath, found pleading the cause of education. 

Dr. Sprague gives the following list of his publications : 
" A Plea for the Theological Seminary at Princeton" (sev- 
eral editions), 1821 ; " Early Piety Recommended" in a ser- 
mon delivered in the college chapel, Princeton, 1821 ; " The 
Duty of Observing the Sabbath," explained and enforced 
in a sermon addressed more particularly to the young, 1821 ; 
" Improvement of Time," two discourses delivered in the 
chapel of the College of New Jersej', 1822; "A Farewell 
Sermon," delivered in the chapel of the College of New 
Jersey, 1824 ; " An Address at his Inauguration" as presi- 
dent 'of Cumberland College, 1825 ; " The Cause of Edu- 
cation in Tennessee;" "A Baccalaureate Address," 182G; 
" A Baccalaureate Address," 1827 ; " A Baccalaureate Ad- 
dress," 1829 ; " A Baccalaureate Address," 1831 ; " A Bac- 
calaureate Address," 1832 ; " An Address on the Centen- 
nial Birthday of George Washington," 1832; "A Dis- 
course at the Installation of the Rev. John T. Edgar," 
Nashville, 1833; "A Baccalaureate," entitled "Speech in 
Behalf of the University of Nashville," 1 837 ; " A Lecture 
on Popular P]ducation," 1837 ; " A Baccalaureate Ad- 
dress," entitled "Speech about Colleges," 1848. 

Besides these he wrote various articles on education for 
the public prints, and contributed two learned and able papers 
to the " American Biblical Repository" on the " Primitive 
State of Mankind," wliich excited much attention at the 
time both in this country and in Europe. Indeed, he 
was one of the first scholars, if not the first, of our times 
to take the ground which has since become so common, 
and has recently been so ably argued in Kitto's " Cyclo- 
pedia of Biblical Literature," — viz., that man's primeval 
condition was not that of a savage, but a civilized being. 
Says Dr. Kitto (Art. Antediluvians), " That a degree of 
cultivation was the primitive condition of man, from which 
savageism in particular quarters was a degeneracy, and that 
he has not, as too generally has been supposed, worked 
himself up from an original savage state to his present posi- 



tion, has been powerfully argued by Dr. Lindsley, and is 
strongly corroborated by the conclusions of modern ethno- 
graphical research." Indeed, we find Dr. Lindsley " power- 
fully" defending this view (for it was a favorite theme with 
him, which he held witli all the tenacity of a discoverer), 
not only in the " Biblical Repository," but as far back as 
1825, in his inaugural address, in which he shows that 
the old infidel idea of a man's being at the start a sort of 
noble savage is contradicted alike by reason, revelation, 
and history. 

But this point would lead vis too far from our present 
purpose. Besides these publications Dr. Lindsley left other 
valuable writings, in carefully prepared manuscript, bearing 
on the same general topics discussed in those already men- 
tioned. The writer heard many of these baccalaureate and 
other addresses when they were delivered, and can bear 
witness to the powerful impression which they produced. 
It is questionable whether any man in our country has ever 
made more of baccalaureate addres.ses and done a more 
effective service with them than Dr. Lindsley. ' They were 
always prepared with the utmost care, and charged with 
his maturest and weightiest thoughts. They were generally 
delivered to the largest audiences ever assembled in Nash- 
ville, consisting often of legislators, judges, professional 
gentlemen from all parts of the State, and the very elite of 
the city. He had made it a point in the start never to 
speak in public till he had something to say and was fully 
prepared to say it. And such was his reputation, after a 
few efforts of this kind, that both in the college and tlie 
city the baccalaureate was looked forward to as the great 
occasion of the year. Ho seemed never so much in his 
true element as on the commencement stage. And he came 
forth on these occasions, and delivered this heavy artillery 
of learning and eloquence with much of the power and 
success exhibited by our ablest statesmen in their set 
speeches in Congress. There was in fact scarcely any one 
instrumentality employed by Dr. Lindsley during his whole 
career at, Nashville through which he seemed to exert a 
deeper, wider, and more wholesome influence on the publij 
mind than these addresses. They were for the most part 
published in paiuphlet form, and some of them passed 
through several editions. Thus heard and read by the 
leading men of Tennessee, and incorporated, as so much 
established truth, into the living thought of all his pupils, 
they were reproduced in a thousand different forms, and 
became part and parcel of the public sentiment in all the 
educated circles of the State. 

And they were well deserving of the honor. We have 
just now had occasion to read most of them over again 
after the lapse of many years. And we have been more 
than ever impressed with their wisdom and beauty. We 
know not where to find, in the same compass, within our 
whole range of reading, so much sound doctrine, wise coun- 
sel, and soul-stirring sentiment on the subject of the educa- 
tion of the young. There are some persons who look with 
disparagement upon our pamphlet literature, and shrink, 
with a sort of dignified contempt, from the idea of a great 
man burying himself in a pamphlet, as the common say- 
ing is. But no man can read the pamphlet addres.ses of 
Dr. Lindsley, especially if he had ever had the good for- 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



391 



' tunc to see and hear liiin in the delivery of one of them, 
without feeling that they were, in his hands, a powerful 
engine of doing good. If he had spent his life in writing 
large and learned books, he could doubtless have filled a 
wider sphere and gained a more extended fame, but we 
have no idea that he could ever thus have reached and In- 
ddctrinated the leading minds of Tennessee, as he did by 
those apparently ephemeral but really eflFectivc spoken and 
published addresses. We consider his example in this re- 
spect worthy of all praise and all imitation on the part of 
those who, called to the presidency of our struggling col- 
leges, will find it necessary, not only to supply the demand 
for instruction within the college walls, but continually to 
create a demand for that supply without by inspiring the 
people with enthusiasm for learning, and indoctrinating 
them into large and liberal views of the subject. 

By these annual tracts on education, containing the con- 
densed results of his own reflection, reading, and experi- 
ence, fraught with the living spirit of his own burning en- 
thusiasm for knowledge, and sent forth with the high in- 
doreement of his acknowledged scholarship, he gave a 
dignity to the teacher's office in Tennessee, and elevated 
the whole standard of popular instruction in the Southwest 
to an extent which is none the less real and salutary be- 
cause it was done so gradually that the public mind, even 
to this day, is scarcely conscious of the change, or to whom 
it is most indebted for the elevating influence. By this we 
do not mean to affirm that Dr. Lindsley did all the work 
alone, nor to detract aught from the valuable services of 
liis coadjutors and predecessors. There were men before 
him at Na.shville, preparing materials for the temple of 
learning, even in the wilderness, as the well-known and 
honored names of Priestly and Hume can bear witness. 
And there were men with him at Nashville — men worthy 
of their high calling, and master-builders, each in his sev- 
eral department — who stood by him and nobly seconded all 
his efforts: such men as Troost, and Hamilton, and Thom- 
son, and Cross, whose names will long remain as a tower of 
strength in Tennessee. But what wo mean to say is, that 
Dr. Lindsley, from the time he set foot in Nashville, was 
the mainspring of the movement, — the master-spirit of the 
great work of liberal and popular education. The very fact 
that he gathered around him, and through all embarrass- 
ment and discouragement ever kept at his side, a corps of 
instructors fully equal to any in our country, is proof itself 
of the important part we have ascribed to him. The fact 
that literary and scientific men, and many eminent teachers, 
attracted by his influence, soon found their way to Tennes- 
see, — that rare and costly standard works, and bookstores 
on a scale not then known anywhere else in the West, 
began to be multiplied at Nashville, — is additional proof of 
it. Certain it is that, under his leadership, there was an 
influence exerted and a work done which to this day could 
not have been realized, unless indeed God had raised up 
some other leader of like spirit and ability.* 

We may form some conception of his work and influence 



~ "The Life and Works of Philip Lindsley," in three very hand- 
some volumes, were brought out In 1866 by J. B. Lippineott & Co., of 
Philadelphia, ably edited by Le PiOy J. Halsey, D.D., of Chicago. 



if we consider the number and character of the pupils whom 
he educated. We are not able to state the whole number ; 
but we find in his address of 1848 one important item. 
Up to that time there had been three hundred and ninety- 
eight regular graduates of the university, and fifteen hun- 
dred others had received instruction without graduating. 
Here then we have an aggregate of nearly nineteen hundred 
youths receiving the elements of an accomplished collegiate 
education, nearly four hundred of whom completed the 
whole literary and scientific course. These were from all 
parts of Tennessee, and from all classes of the people, — nay, 
from all parts of the Southwest. A large number of them 
were sons of prominent and wealthy citizens. But the rich 
and the poor here met together and, ^)ari passu, struggled 
upwards to the high places of knowledge and power. It 
mattered not, when they went forth, from what rank they 
had sprung. They went forth brothers and equals, — all to 
take the foremost rank and become themselves heads and 
leaders of the people. They went forth into all parts of the 
great Southwest — furnished with the panoply of liberal 
learning, and fired with the enthusiasm of the Gamaliel at 
whose feet they had been sitting — to plead the great cause 
of education, to take part in laying the foundations of new 
States, new colleges and seminaries, and everywhere, from 
Tennessee to Texas and California, to fill the highest posi- 
tions of honor and usefulness in the State and the Church. 

The writer has had occasion to know something of these 
great Southwestern States, — something of the men who have 
founded their institutions, and of the influences which have 
moulded the character of their people during the last quarter 
of a century, — and, without wishing to detract a jot or tittle 
from other eminent and useful laborers, he can bear witness 
that he has visited no point in all this vast region where 
the influence of Philip Lindsley had not been felt, and 
where some of his pupils were not found in the foremost 
rank of honorable men, bravely battling for the true and 
the good. Often, while weary himself with the heat and 
burden of the day, in some humble and distant corner of 
the field, has he felt his own heart cheered to renewed ac- 
tivity, as he has looked back to that unpretending college 
hillside at Nashville, and thought of the master-magician 
there — the very Arnold of our western colleges — who, 
quietly, unobserved by the world, and wielding a power 
greater than that of Prospcro in the Tempest, was sending 
forth his influences to bless and save his country. What 
an illustration of the power of knowledge, — of the way in 
which a good man may perpetuate his influence ! Many of 
these nineteen hundred pupils have become educators. 
Through them the head-master is still teaching — teaching 
in the colleges, universities, high schools, common schools, 
medical and law schools — teaching in the pulpit, the press, 
the courts of justice, the legislative halls— teaching at the 
firesides, in the counting-rooms, in the work-shops, in the 
banking-houses of this great Mississippi Valley. The waves 
of popular and liberal education, thus created as by a great 
central elevating force, are still rolling, and ever widening 
as they roll. It was fortunate, it was providential, for the 
Southwest, that such a force should be applied just wJicii 
and where it was. 

But perhaps the most striking illustration of his influ- 



392 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTr, TENNESSEE. 



ence as an educator is seen at Nashville itself, — the scene of 
his longest labors, the home of his adoption, the resting- 
place where his ashes sleep. We have no citizenship at 
Nashville, and hence cannot be accused of partiality in 
what we are about to say. But of all we have seen and 
know we may safelj' say there is no city west of the moun- 
taines which seems to us so justly entitled to be called the 
Athens of the West as Nashville. And for that distinc- 
tion we think there is no man to whom Nashville is so 
much indebted as Dr. Lindsley. If any man ever made 
his mark deep and ineffaceable upon a place and people, ho 
made it at Nashville. We say this, too, with a full knowl- 
edge and appreciation of the eminent labors of his compeers 
and predecessors. There were many faithful laborers with 
him and before him, whose names the people of Nashville 
will not willingly let die, — serving well their generation in 
all the professions and vocations of life, — Priestly,^ Hume, 
Jennings, Weller, Trimble, Lawrence, Troost, Hamilton, 
Stevens, Berry, Craighead, Crutchcr, Porter, Yeatman, 
Woods, Shelby, McGavock, Ewing, Foster, Nichol, Mc- 
Nairy, Gibbs, llobertson, Roane, Overton, llutledge, Hunt, 
Tannehill, Campbell, Polk, Grundy, Fletcher, Cannon, 
Carrol, Jackson, and many others, — all intimately associated 
with the reputation of the city abroad and her prosperity 
at home. But among all these eminent and honored citi- 
zens, we doubt not that for deep, wide, and lasting influence 
the foremost place is due to Dr. Lindsley. 

And now we ask, To whom is Na.shville more indebted for 
all this prosperity and improvement, this intellcctua!, moral, 
social, educational, and even material development which 
now renders her preeminent in the South, than to the man 
who, even at the darkest hour of her temporary depression, 
when her own sons were ready to forsake her, would never 
leave her, but clung to her through all vicissitudes, determined 
neither to give up her university nor suffer its real estate to 
be sacrificed? We had an opportunity only a i'e'iv 3'ears 
ago of visiting Nashville, and while there of comparing her 
past and present condition. We examined somewhat closely 
into the influences which have been at work to make her 
what she is. In all we saw and heard we were more and 
more impressed with the conviction that the prominent ele- 
ments and agencies of her growth and of her present 
elevated character as a city wore those which had origin- 
ated on that same College Hill. We found that the " Old 
University," though for a season suspended, was in fact still 
governing the city. We found that most of the leading 
men in all the learned professions, mercantile pursuits, and 
even mechanic trades, had, in one way or another, been 
connected with the university and in a measure educated 
by it. We found that many of her most gifted alumni 
from other parts of the State, and even from other States, 
after rising to wealth and influence at home, had worked 
their way back to Nashville and were now contributing all 
the resources of their talents, their experience, their attain- 
ments, and their fortunes to the onward and upward growth 
of the city. We found that, thus congregating at Nashville 
and throwing the whole weight of their character, their public 
spirit, their enterprise, their love of education, into all the 
intercourse of society and all the walks of business, and the 
whole public administration of the city, tlioy were not only 



making the capital of Tennessee an emporium of wealth 
and an Athens of learning, but sending tbrth an influence 
over all the surrounding region, — nay, one that must be felt 
in every nook and corner of the State. We found that 
thus there was a great elevating moral power at Nashville, 
— the power of letters, the power of education, the power 
of her own university. And when we saw all this — saw 
liow the city had grown, and to/ty it had grown to its pres- 
ent enviable position of intellectual and moral power — wo 
remembered some of those matchless appeals and arguments 
and vindications in favor of the higher learning as the 
nucleus of all that was great and good which for twenty- 
six years Nashville had never failed to hear. The predic- 
tions were all fulfilled or fulfilling, though the eloquent 
tongue that spoke them was now silent. And we felt that 
if Nashville should ever erect a public monument to any 
man, the honor was due to her eminent educator Philip 
Lindsley.''' 



JUDGE J. C. GUILD. 

Judge J. C. Guild was born in Virginia ; his parents 
were Scotch-Irish. His father, Walter Guild, was a native 
of Scotland, and was educated in Edinburgh ; his mother, 
Elizabeth Conn, was of Irish descent. Their children were 
Dr. James Guild, a distinguished physician and surgeon of 
Tuscaloosa, Ala., now living at the advanced age of eighty- 
one, and Josephus Conn Guild, his brother, four years 
younger. 

Their parents removed from Virginia in 180G to Sumner 
Co., Tenn. ; afterwards to Stewart County, same State, 
where they remained until 1811, when they returned to 
Sumner County, and settled on the head-waters of Bled.soo's 
Creek. They died in 1813, within a week of each other, 
of milk-poison. The brothers were now orphans and penni- 
less, their father having lost his estate in disastrous mercan- 
tile operations in Virginia. But they were not friendless. 
He who " tempers the winds to the shorn lamb" had pre- 
served to them foster-parents in the persons of their aunts, 
Octavia Brown and Lydia Tompkins, and their uncle, Maj. 
Josephus H. Conn, who gave them homes and such educa- 
tion as the country afforded. 

Their uncle, Maj. Joe H. Conn, was a remarkably fine- 
looking man, of great energy and courage. He commanded 
a battalion and gallantly fought in all of Gen. Jackson's 
campaigns. He was a member of the General Assembly 
in 1818, and, agreeably to the custom of the times, fought 
a duel, — sole way of settling difficulties arising in the heat 
of political debate. He was an ardent admirer of Gen. 
Jackson, occasionally acting as second in some of the gen- 
eral's difficulties. He was never married, and died in 1820. 

Losing their aunts about this time, James and Josephus 
were thrown upon their own resources. James had already 
chosen the profession of medicine, had graduated at Phila- 
delphia, and, one year later, — 1821, — married Marmaduke 
Williams' daughter, and settled in Tuscaloosa, Ala., achiev- 
ing, some years later, the enviable reputation of first phy- 
sician and surgeon of his adopted State. 

* Comlcnsed from memoir by Le Roy J. Ualsey, D.D. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



393 



Joseplms — four )-cars liis brother's junior — not so far 
' advanced in his studies, was left to clioose his vocation and 
I shape his own course in life. He had obtained a " penny- 
royal old-field schooling," polislied with a smattering of 
Latin and Greek at the academies of Hall, Macquerter, and 
[the Rev. Croighead, of Davidson. About this time, at the 
■ age of seventeen, his pecuniary resources running low, he 
looked about him for some way of replenishing his ex- 
chequer : as he expressed it, " it was a ground-hog case 
with him." Listening, one day, to the matchless oratory 
of the silver-tongued orator of the Nashville bar, Felix 
Grundy, and being greatly charmed therewith, he deter- 
mined to become a lawyer. With this end in view, young 
; Guild sought and obtained employment of Anthony B. 
Shelby, a gentleman of wealth and clerk of the Circuit 
Court. His arrangement with him was to lake care of the 
office, receiving as compensation therefor his board. It is 
hardly necessary to say that those duties were well per- 
formed. They were not onerous, however, and ample time 
was afforded the young aspirant for the study of Blackstouc 
and Coke on Lyttleton. How well he improved his time 
his knowledge of these authors, as evinced in many a sub- 
sequent fiercely-contested battle in the legal arena, fully at- 
tests. He remained with Mr. Shelby one year, when he 
came to Nashville, and continued his reading under Col. 
Ephraira H. Poster. A graphic account of his induction 
iato this office is given in " Old Times in Tennessee," a 
book by the subject of this memoir. He remained with 
Col. Poster eighteen months, at the end of which time he 
was licensed to practice by Judges Haywood and White of 
the supreme bench, and hung out his shingle in Gallatin 
in the fall of 1822 and began the practice of law. By his 
strict attention to business and assiduity in the preparation 
of his cases, together with the sympathy he readily found 
in the old friends of his deceased relatives, he soon rose to 
some distinction for a young man ; he was popular in liis 
'manners, and spent his money freely, but he did not forget 
to repay his pecuniary indebtedness to his friends indeed. 
He was a contemporary of Hon. Bailey Peyton, school- 
mates and fellow-frolickers, started in the same profession, 
at the same time, now appearing in the same cases with and 
now against each other. They extended their practice to 
the adjoining counties of Wilson and Smith, and were 
generally regarded as a fast and good young team. They 
were frequent visitors of Gen. Jackson, and shared with 
him his love for the blooded horse. Tliey rode blooded 
horses themselves, and when fees were few amused thom- 
Iselves and replenished their purses by racing their horses. 
An account of the old kings, race-trained by them and rode 
by Peyton, appears in " Old Times in Tennessee." 

Young Guild, in 1826, finding that he could support a 
family, courted and married the beautiful daughter of Maj. 
George D. Blackmore, a Revolutionary soldier, Indian- 
fighter, and pioneer of Tennessee. Their children have 
been Bettie, married to Col. Baxter Smith, who commanded 
a regiment and oftentimes a brigade in various battles in 
the war of the States ; Plorence, married to Capt. Thomas 
L. Dodd, of Kentucky, who commanded a company in 
various battles of the South, and who fought with distinc- 
tion ; George and Walter, also in the service of the South. 



The former, a captain, fought in every important battle of 
the war, and was in the last battle at Bentonville. Capt. 
Dodd, Col. Smith, and Capt. Guild are all members of the 
Nashville bar. Walter Guild volunteered as a private at 
the age of seventeen, and fought in the battles of Bull 
Run, Murfreesboro', Chickamauga, and others, was cap- 
tured in the Morgan raid into Kentucky, and was a prisoner 
for a long period in the prison of Camp Douglass. He died 
in August, 1879. Judge Guild was elected to the House 
of Representatives of Tennessee in 1833-36. In 1836 he 
raised a company of volunteers for the Florida war ; was 
elected lieutenant-colonel of the First Regiment with Gen. 
Trousdale, colonel. This regiment formed part of Arm- 
strong's Brigade of Tennessee Volunteers. They marched 
to Alabama and compelled the Creeks to move to their 
homos west of the Mississippi, as per treaty, thence to 
Florida, taking part in the engagements of that energetic 
campaign. Judge Guild, in the fall of 1837, was elected 
to the Senate, composed of members from the counties of 
Smith and Sumner. In 1845-46 and 1851-52 he was 
a member of the House. He advocated the common-school 
system of the State inaugurated during the ten years of his 
service in the Legislature. In 1852 he voted for the rail- 
road system of the State, and many of the statutes found 
ia the code bear the impress of this active, able, and effi- 
cient member of theN^State Legislature. In 1844 he was 
Democratic Presidential clec'tor, voting for Polk and the 
annexation of Texas, and an elector for the State at large 
in 1852. In 18G0 the judge was elected without opposi- 
tion one of the chancellors of the State, occupying the 
bench of the Seventh Chancery Division. At the election 
in February, 1861, on the question of seceding from the 
Union, he and the people of the State, by a majority of 
nearly sixty thousand, voted to remain in the Union, hoping 
that the peace congress would adjust the difficulties and 
the Union be preserved. That in this the people of Ten- 
nessee failed is now become matter of history. Judge 
Guild's feelings and home were with his native South ; 
though not in the army, he sympathized with the Southern 
States, not believing in the doctrine of a portion of the 
States coercing other States of the same Union. His sons 
and kindred volunteered in the service of the Confederate 
States. Although Judge Guild had spoken in all the can- 
vass in aid of Governor Johnson's elevation to the chief 
magistracy of the State, yet no sooner had he attained to 
that position when he issued a warrant for the judge's ar- 
rest and placed him in the penitentiary of the State, and 
soon after, as a political prisoner, sent him to Fort Mack- 
inaw, where he remained until exchanged for Judge Hitter, 
of Kentucky. 

Previous to the war Judge Guild had accumulated a fine 
estate. This was greatly reduced after his arrest by the 
devastation ever attendant upon war. 

After the war, at its close. Judge Guild moved to Nash- 
ville and resumed the practice of his profession, which bo- 
came largel}' profitable, enabling him to pay nearly twenty 
thousand dollars of debts contracted before the war, or 
which he felt bound in honor to pay to friends ruined by 
the war who held paper with his indorsement. Some of 
this paper was held by the relatives of friends who had 



394 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



died. And to his everlasting honor be it said tliat though 
these debts had no legal value the judge thought not of 
what he could be compelled to do, but only of what he 
ougld to do, — what was right. Knowing this, — none bet- 
ter, — his course was plain, and he followed it as unerringly 
as the needle follows the magnet. 

In 1870, Judge Guild was elected judge of the Law Court 
of Nashville, and discharged the duties of that responsible 
office for nearly eight years. 

To this necessarily imperfect and brief sketch of the life 
of a remarkable man — one of nature's noblemen — it may 
not be out of place to add that now, at the advanced age 
of seventy-seven, his mind is as Jictive and as brilliant as in 
the days of his youth ; he has lost none of his impetuosity 
and fire, and his ability has been increased by his long and 
varied experience. 

The judge is a man of great versatility of talent, and 
has been remarkably successful on tlie turf, for fiifty years 
a leading politician in every Presidential election, always 
advocating the principles of the Jacksonian Democratic 
party. 



JUDGE NATHANIEL BAXTER. 

Nathaniel Baxter was born Nov. 13, 1812, at the Narrows 
of Ilarpeth River, in that portion of Davidson Co.. Tenn., 
now included in Cheatham County. He is of honorable 
English ancestry, his great-grandfather emigrating to Mary- 
land in the early days of that commonwealth. From thence 
his descendants went to Virginia and North Carolina. In 
this latter State, Jeremiah, father of Nathaniel, was born in 
1777. He removed to Davidson Co., Tenn., in 1809, and 
settled near Nashville. After two years' residence he re- 
moved to the place where Nathaniel was born, and died in 
1833. 

Nathaniel moved with his parents to Maury County in 
1831, and attended Jackson College, in that county, during 
the years 1831-35. In 1836 he commenced to read law in 
the office of Hon. Edmund Dillahunty, a sound lawyer, a 
distinguished judge, and an elegant gentleman. Such an 
associate exercised a marked and beneficial effect on the 
mind of the young student, and did much to influence his 
later career. 

In July, 1836, Mr. Baxter enlisted for six months to 
serve in the Seminole Indian war in Florida, from which he 
was mustered out and returned to Tennessee in the spring 
of 1837, and continued his law-studies with Judge Dilla- 
hunty. In September of same year he was licensed to prac- 
tice law, and only a week later married Miss Martha 0. 
Hamilton, daughter of William Hamilton, Esq., of Nash- 
ville. 

On Jan. 1, 1838, the young attorney opened an office for 
the practice of his profession in the town of Columbia, but 
removed, May 1st, to Lewisburg, Marshall Co., where he 
resided till the fall of 1812, losing, in 1839, his wife, who 
left an infant child, and marrying, in 1842, his present 
wife. Miss Mary L., daughter of Dr. John R. Jones, of 
Duck River. 

The personal popularity of Mr. Baxter was so groat. that, 



in 1841, his friends persuaded him to become the candidate 
for the Legislature, to complete the Whig organization and 
aid in electing James C. Jones, the Whig candidate for 
Governor. Leading a forlorn hope, the Whig party being 
largely in the minority, he was not elected, although re- 
ducing greatly the usual Democratic majority in the district. 

This gallant contest attracted the attention of the State 
Legislature, and it elected him attorney-general for the ju- 
dicial district including Maury, Marshall, Giles, and Hick- 
man Counties, in November of the same year. He removed 
to Columbia in 1842, and resided there until the spring of 
1847, when he resigned his office and removed to Nashville. 

In 1852, Governor William B. Campbell tendered him the 
pro tcni. appointment of attorney-general for the judicial cir- 
cuit including Williamson, Davidson, and Sumner Counties, 
Robert C. Foster (3d), who held that position, having re- 
signed. At about the same time, Hon. Thomas J. Blaney, 
circuit judge of the same circuit, tendered his resignation, 
and a petition, signed by all the members of the Nashville 
bar, save three, was presented to Governor Campbell to ap- 
point Mr. Baxter judge, instead of attorney-general. On 
reception of the petition. Governor Campbell offered Mr. 
Baxter his choice of the two positions. 

In consideration of the high compliment paid him by his 
associates, and to show his appreciafion of it, Mr. Baxter 
relinquished the lucrative position of attorney-general, which 
was in the line of his profession,- and accepted the empty 
honors of a circuit judgeship, with a salary of fifteen hun- 
dred dollars. In this he perhaps made a mistake, and 
might well have exclaimed, " Save me from my friends !" 

At the end of the jjro tern, appointment, Judge Baxter 
was elected to the same office by the Legislature of 1853- 
54 for the term of eight years; but, as the State Con- 
stitution was in process of amendment, the office, by the 
new constitution, was declared vacant, and referred to the 
people, who in May, 1854, elected him without opposi- 
tion. When this term expired the country was convulsed 
by the great civil war. The Federal army was in possession 
of the State, the voice of the people no longer recognized 
as an elective power, and the appointment of the judiciary 
in the hands of a military Governor not in sympathy with 
the people or the judge, for, although previous to the out- 
break of war his sympathies were all in favor of the pres- 
ervation of the Union, when all efforts at compromise and 
peaceful adjustment failed, and hostilities actually com- 
menced, and the Union was dissolved, he took sides with 
his kindred and his people, and linked his fortune with them 
for good or for evil, for weal or for woe. He took no active 
personal part in the war, however, except to relieve the suf- 
ferings of his friends, when within his power, and s]ieut 
most of his time in the States south of Tennessee. Four 
of his sons were in the Confederate service. The war over, 
Judge Baxter returned to Nashville and engaged again in 
the practice of law, continuing therein until the close of 
1868. The next year he spent on a farm in the country. 

In 1870 he was re-elected circuit judge, and held that 
position until the term expired in 1878. In that year he 
was again a candidate for the same office, but was defeated 
and returned to the practice of the law, in which he is now 



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BIOGRAPHIES. 



395 



As a judge, Mr. Baxter was particularly noted for his 
good judgment, being solid rather than brilliant, and mak- 
ing few mistakes in his decisions. In all actions of life he 
was conservative, -iud weighed matters carefully before 
making plans or giving decisions, and always, as friend, 
counselor, or judge, was true, chivalric, and honorable. 
He was a popular man, from the fact that he was above 
double dealinsr. 



EDWARD H. EAST. 

Edward H. East was born near Nashville, in Davidson 
Co., Oct. 1, 1830, and is the son of Edward H. East, 
deceased, who emigrated to Tennessee from Henrico Co., 
Va., in the year 1806. His mother was Celia Buchanan, 
who had also emigrated i'rom Virginia. Judge East came 
from the stock of the earlier settlers, and was the ninth 
child. 

Judge East graduated at the Lebanon Law School in 
185-1, and at once commenced the practice of his profession 
at Nashville, where he has remained ever since. He has 
represented his county in several sessions of the General 
Assembly, has been twice elected chancellor for the Nash- 
ville district, and was nominated and confirmed as United 
States district attorney, which position he declined to 
accept. 

. He has been actively connected with several of the public 
institutions of the State, was for many years president of 
the Tennessee Hospital for the Insane, and filled the same 
position in the School for the Blind. Is a member of the 
board of trust of the Vanderbilt University, and was the 
first president of that board. Is also a member of trustees 
of the University of Nashville, and at present is a member 
of the board of managers of the State Normal School. 

The firm of which Judge East is a member is now and 
has been for many years the attorneys of the Nashville, 
Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, with its entire system 
of roads. 

Judge East adhered to the Federal government in the 
secession of 1861, and filled the office of Secretary of State 
under Governor Johnson until the latter became President 
of the United States. 

In politics. Judge East cannot be better located than to 
call him a Whig of the Henry Clay school ; in this he has 
followed in the ancestral line. 

When Andrew Johnson succeeded to the office of Pres- 
ident of the United States, he called Judge East to Wash- 
ington and tendered him any position then open, all of 
which he declined. 

• Judge East is as well known as any man in Davidson 
County. He is still engaged in the practice of the law at 
Nashville. 

. The prominent position occupied by Judge East as a 
lawyer is largely owing to his strength before a jury. If 
this strength be analyzed, it will be found to consist in his 
profound knowledge of human nature, his ability in hand- 
ling witnesses, his ingenuity in arrangement of his plea; 
he may -not always have the law on his side, but every pos- 
sible aspect of the case favoring his client is with consummate 
50 



ingenuity presented in plain, terse, and forcible language ; 
his manner is sincere, his illustrations apt and forcible, his 
memory remarkable, nothing susceptible of a favorable 
construction omitted. He makes a strong, ingenious, witty, 
and forcible plea, and his success is the explanation of his 
large and lucrative practice. 



SAMUEL WATKINS. 

Samuel Watkins was born in 179-1 in Campbell Co., Va. ; 
his father, Jacob Watkins, was of English descent, one of 
three brothers whose descendants are scattered through the 
South. 

His mother was of Welsh origin, but her family record 
is not obtainable. His father and mother both died in the 
infancy of the subject of this sketch. At their death he was 
bound to a Scotch family, whose cruelty attracted neighbor- 
hood notice, and the court took Samuel from them and 
placed him with the family of J. Robertson, the son of Gen. 
James Robertson ; here he learned to make himself gen- 
erally useful, and, besides the care of crops and animals, he 
learned to make shoes and to weave cloth, which at that 
time was a domestic pursuit. 

Subsequently he joined the United States army and 
served in the war against the Creek nation, under Gen. 
Jackson, and later joined the army at New Orleans. 

When peace was declared he returned to Nashville and 
learned brick-making. From 1815 to 1827 he pursued 
this craft with that of bricklaying as a journeyman. In 
1827 he began busine.ss for himself, and houses of his erect- 
ing abound, prominent among which may be mentioned the 
First Baptist church, on Summer Street, and the Second 
Presbyterian church. 

From 1827 to the opening of the late war, in 1861, Mr. 
Watkins was the most prominent builder and brick-maker 
in Nashville. In this business he was very successful. 
He early selected a farm for the home of his old age, first 
renting, and afterwards buying, the fine farm of nearly six 
hundred acres which he has since occupied, on the Hills- 
boro' pike; this purchase he made in 1844. 

The war made sad havoc in his property ; his city build- 
ings were seized and occupied for war purposes for years, 
his fine park property demolisiied, his farm was the seat of 
battle, his mansion ransacked and robbed, fine shade-trees, 
beyond price for their shade and beauty, fell before the axe 
of war, and a loss inflicted on a peaceful non-combatant of 
over three hundred thousand dollars, comprising property 
in negroes, buildings, cattle, and crops. Mr. Watkins was 
sixty-seven years old when the war broke out, took no active 
part against the government, and was opposed to the war, 
but he was, with many others of like position, a great loser 
by the presence of hostile forces. Gathering up the frag- 
ments of his property, he has since the war been identified 
with banking, manufacturing, and building. 

His connection with the gas company began in 1862, 
when Gen. Barrow, the former superintendent, was taken 
a military prisoner ; from that date Mr. Watkins' interest 
in this company has increa.sed, until he is now the largest 



396 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



stockholder. Besides being one of the largest real-estate 
owners in Nashville, he is a director in the Fourth National 
Bank, in the Tennessee Manufacturing Company, and presi- 
dent of the Nashville Gas-Light Company. 

Mr. Watkins is a member of the First Presbyterian 
Church. Before the war he had built a church on his farm, 
■which was used principally by the Methodists; this church 
edifice was destroyed by the soldiers camped in the neigh- 
borhood. 

Mr. Watkins was never married ; at the same time, he is 
far i'rom representing the typical " old bachelor," for he has 
kept ji warm heart in bis bosom, and, though nearly ninety 
years old, his ear, his heart, and his hand are open to all 
human sufl'ering. 

In politics he was a Whig and opposed secession, but 
since the war he has .sympathized with the Democratic 
policy. As a public man he has been patriotic and liberal, 
actively aiding in all progressive measures, and freely con- 
tributing towards the educational or religious advancement 
of the city without regard to denominational lines. His 
gift of a public park is well known. 

His private life has been characterized by extreme sim- 
plicity and economy; his manner entirely free from ostenta- 
tion, the humblest can approach him without fear of rebuff. 

He has found his pleasure in the quiet discharge of his 
duty, using wealth not as a supreme good in itself, but as a 
means of usefulness. He has built many a home or store 
for a worthy man who had not the means to pay for it at 
the time, and generously waited for payment till it could be 
made. He believed that he had helped to make a better 
citizen of a man when he had thus secured him a home 
and identified him with the interests of the city. 

To the young man Samuel Watkins stands as a model of 
integrity, industry, prudence, and economy, faithful in the 
place assigned him by divine Providence, and doing what 
lie can for the best welfare of those around him. His most 
intimate friends have not known to how many he has been 
as a father and a friend ; the distressed have never ap- 
pealed to him in vain. 



DANIEL S. DONELSON. 

Samuel Donelson, the youngest son of Col. John Donel- 
son, was a boy when his father landed the " Adventure" at 
the Big Salt Lick, now Nashville, with his family. As a 
family reminiscence it is stated that he displayed great 
courage by frequently firing upon unfriendly Indians during 
the voyage down the Tennessee River. He volunteered his 
services and was a soldier in the Nickajack campaign. 
Reared in a school of hardships and dangers, he became 
noted for his manly courage, bis womanly affection, and his 
remarkable talents. He married Mary, the only daughter 
of Gen. Daniel Smith, of Sumner County, in 1797. He 
commenced farming on Drake's Creek, Sumner County, but 
soon after read law, and became a partner of Gen. Andrew 
Jackson, having their office in Nashville. He died in 1802, 
leaving three boys, — John, Andrew J., and Daniel S., an 
infant. 

Daniel S. Donelson was born in Suiniaer Co., Tenn., 



June 2.3, 1801. His grandfather Smith was a man of 
education, and prepared him for Dr. Priestly 's school, from 
which he went to the West Point Military Academy, and 
graduated June 30, 1825, with the first honor ; promoted 
second lieutenant Third Artillery July 1, 1825 ; resigned 
Jan. 22, 1826. In 1830 he married Margaret Branch, a 
daughter of Governor John Brunch, of North Carolina. 
She was a woman of fine personal appearance, of polished 
manners, of accomplished education, thoroughly conversant 
with managing her household, and a devout Christian. 
This marriage was ble.ssed with eleven children, — Lizzie B., 
married William Williams ; Mary A., married James G. 
Martin ; Sarah S., married William Bradford ; Emily G., 
married James Horton ; Rebecca W., married David Dis- 
mukes ; James B., married Josephine Evans; Samuel, 
married Jessie Walton ; Martha B., married John M. 
Shute; Susan B., married Marcus Dismukes ; J. Branch, 
married Jennie Alexander ; and Daniel S. 

After his marriage he commenced planting in Florida, 
but his health compelled him to return to the farm where 
he was born. Being a thorouglily practical business man, 
he was enabled at different times to add to this farm and 
make it one of the best in the State. He was a most affec- 
tionate son to a fond mother ; he was devoted to bis family, 
and studied their welfare and happiness. In politics he was 
a Democrat of the old school, well informed in the history 
and government of his country. Several times was he 
called to represent his county in the Legislature and as 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. He discharged 
the duties with dignity, ability, and impartiality. As a 
speaker he was earnest and instructive, demanding of his 
opponent the same courtesy that he always showed. No 
one deplored it more than he did, but with a prophetic eye 
he saw war, inevitable war, and, believing the South to be 
right, he was willing and ready to resist. 

Early in 1861 he received from the Governor of Tennes- 
see the appointment of adjutant-general in the service of 
the provisional army of Tennessee volunteers, with the 
rank of colonel of cavalry, and was ordered to select a site 
and build a fort on the Cumberland River, which, when 
completed, was nanied " Fort Donelson." In July, 1861, 
he was made a brigadier-general in the provisional army of 
the Confederate States, and placed in command of the Eighth 
and Sixteenth Regimentsof Tennessee Volunteers, and Four- 
teenth Georgia Regiment. With these regiments his first 
campaign was in Cheat Jlountain, Va. From this point 
he was ordered to report with his command to Gen. R. E. 
Lee on the coast of South Carolina during the winter of 
1862. From this point he was ordered to report to Gen. 
Bragg, in command of forces at Corinth, Miss. He re- 
mained with Gen. Bragg during his campaign into Ken- 
tucky, commanding the Eighth, Sixteenth, and Fifty-first 
Regiments of Tennessee Volunteers, and occupied the ex- 
treme right of Bragg's army in the battle of Perryville, Ky., 
and with tlie same regiments was in the battle of Murfrees- 
boro', Tenn., always at the post of duty, fighting coolly but 
earnestly for what he believed to be right. He remained 
with Gen. Bragg until his retreat to Shelbyville. Hoping 
that rest would restore his health, he was placed in com- 
maiid of the Department of East Tennessee and appointed 



BIOGKAPHIES. 



397 



a major-general. At Montvale Sprinjis, on April 17, 1863, 
his noble spirit left his body at the command of Him who 
gave it. His last words were, " Justice and mercy." 

He was a man of fine personal appearance, tall and large, 
fair complexion, blue eyes, and sandy hair. He had the 
bearing of a soldier to an eminent degree, stern when 
necessary, but by nature as kind as a woman should be. 
His remains and his wife's now lie in the churchyai'd at 
Hendersonville, Sumner Co., Tenn., a short distance from 
where he was born. He gave his life, his all, to the lost 
cause. 



DR. THOMAS MENEES. 

The paternal ancestry of the subject of this biographical 
sketch, Thomas Menees, M.D., of Nashville, were English ; 
the maternal were Scotch-Irish, from which has sprung so 
much of the sterling stock of this section of the country. 
His great-grandfather, Benjamin Menees, was a citizen of 
Amherst Co., Va., and served in the Revolutionary army, 
and was at the surrender of York town. After the con- 
clusion of peace with Great Britain he moved to Pittsyl- 
vania County, in that State, but did not remain there long; 
for in Putnam's " History of Middle Tennessee" mention 
is made of Benjamin Menees and his brother James as 
pioueers in this vicinity as early as 1788. It is probable 
they came earlier. James Menees settled at the point a 
few miles south of Nashville now known as Flat Rock ; 
it was long called Menees' Spring, however. A number 
of the. latter's descendants still live in Neely's Bond, in 
Davidson County. 

Benjamin Menees, very early after arriving in this 
■region, settled on Sulphur Fork of Red River, in what 
is now known as Robertson County, which, however, was 
first named Tennessee County, and comprised a very con- 
siderable extent of the present territory of Middle Ten- 
nessee. Putnam's " History" contains the following in 
relation to the early organization of civil government in 
this section : " Tennessee County, third Monday in Jan- 
uary, 1791 — Present, the Worshipful Benj'n Menees. 
The court was called, and adjourned till to-morrow." 
The same work contains a number of documents signed 
ofiicially by him in 1790. For the protection of himself 
and family aiid neighboring settlers he erected a block- 
house, and equipped and drilled his sons and daughters in 
the use of fire-arms, all of whom became practiced sharp- 
shooters. This house was the headquarters of the settle- 
ment and general rendezvous in an Indian attack, of which 
there were many, and in which the members of his family of 
both sexes showed themselves skillful defenders. Whether 
or not he was a member of the KnoxviUe convention which 
formed the constitution of Tennessee of 1796 is not posi- 
tively stated. He died in his block-house in the year 
1811. 

James Menees, son of the former, was in special com- 
mand of the pioneer corps of defense in his father's settle- 
ment, and was a noted fighter of Indians, having had his 
horse killed under him in one contest, and in several others 
his clothing perforated with bullets. He was steersman of 



a keelboat, claimed by some to have been the first which 
made the voyage from Knoxville to Nashville, and which 
met with a perilous adventure with the Indians at the fa- 
mous " Suck" in the Tennessee River, between Chattanooga 
and Mussel Shoals. The party received the Indian fire from 
the banks, but the boat was safely brought through the 
combined dangers of the raging stream' and the savage foe 
in incredibly short time, without injury to her cargo of 
hardy spirits. He was one of the early sheriifs of Robert- 
son County, and served a long time in that capacity. One 
of his brothers, Benjamin Menees, was county surveyor. 
James Menees intermarried with Rebecca Williams, a 
graduate of the Moravian Female College of North Caro- 
lina, who died when their only child, Benjamin Williams 
Menees, was an infant. 

Benjamin W. Menees volunteered with his father and 
several uncles under Jackson in the Creek war, and served 
under him in 1812-15 against the British. At the time 
of the battle of New Orleans he was prostrate in camp 
with an abscess of the liver, whicii discharged through the 
lungs, by which his life was nearly sacrificed. From hard 
service in field and camp he also contracted cataract, which 
entirely destroyed vision in one eye and seriously impaired 
the other during his life. He was recognized as a man of 
great intellectual vigor, and, but for the misfortune alluded 
to, as competent of a high order of success in any sphere 
of action. His integrity was proverbial, and as a farmer 
and stock-raiser by his industry and great energy, in spite 
of his affliction, accumulated a very comfortable estate. 
He married Elizabeth Harrison, a daughter of Thomas 
Harrison, of Davidson County, a woman of superior 
natural gifts and excellently educated for that early day. 
Her life was noted for exhibition of all the Christian vir- 
tues. They died during the civil war, ripe in years and 
rich in hope of the reward of well-spent lives, though 
deprived of the comforting presence of their sons, who 
were beyond tlie military cordon which environed them. 
The fruit of their union was seven children, — four sons and 
three daughters. Four died in infancy and youth. The 
survivors are Dr. George W. Menees, of Springfield, Tenn. ; 
Mrs. Emily E. Dunn, wife of Dr. J. K. Dunn, of Tur- 
nersville, Tenn. ; and Dr. Thomas Menees, the eldest, who 
was born on Manskcr's Creek, in Davidson County, June 
26, 1823. 

The first years of the life of Thomas Blenees, and in- 
deed a great portion of his manhood, wore spent in Rob- 
ertson County, to which his parents removed shortly after 
his birth. He was raised on a farm, assisting in its labor 
and receiving his education in the schools of the region. 
He was earnest and apt in his studies, and made most of 
the opportunities afiorded him. His parents were kind 
and dutiful, but inculcated and enforced habits of industry 
and selfreliance, and thereby implanted characteristics 
which have clung to him through life. After leaving 
school he taught for a brief time, but tiring of so inactive 
a pursuit he selected the profession of medicine, and en- 
tered on its study iu the ofiice of Dr. Robert K. Hicks, 
of Springfield, Tenn., in the year 181:1. After a course 
of preliminary reading and observation of practice he en- 
tered the Medical Department of Transylvania University 



398 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



in the fall of 1842, and completed one course of lectures. 
At its close, being almost entirely dependent on his own 
exertions, though an under-graduate, he commenced prac- 
tice at his father's residence, a short distance from 
Springfield, and met with quite flattering success. He 
contemplated a return to Lexington in the fall of 1844, 
with the view of completing the curriculum of study 
necessary for a degree in his profession, but this was frus- 
trated by a serious accident producing concussion of the 
brain, which for some time interfered with both study and 
practice. Upon his recovery he opened an office in Spring- 
field, and soon commanded a .successful practice, and in 
1845 was offered an equal partnership in business by his 
preceptor, Dr. Hicks. It was accepted, and this amicable 
and prosperous association continued for ten years. Its 
dissolution was eifected for the introduction in his stead 
of his brother, Dr. George W. Menecs, whom he desired 
to aid in establishing in practice.' Without disturbance 
of his business relations with his partner, in the fall of 
1845, Dr. Menees returned to Transylvania University, 
whence he graduated with high honor March 6, 1846. 

A man of public spirit and fervid in temperament, Dr. 
Menees possessed earnest political convictions, and did not 
forego their expression in public discussions on the hustings. 
He participated more or less in every Presidential contest, 
from the memorable canvass of 1844 to the one to be ever 
remembered of 1860. In them he gained fame as a well- 
informed, forcible, fluent, and eloquent political disputant. 
Though, in the ardor of his public zeal, thus sacrificing 
time from his professional labors, he was averse to personal 
candidacy for office. One so competent, however, could 
not fail to be drafted into the service of his party, and in 
1849, in spite of his reluctance, he was nominated for the 
representative branch of the General Assembly from his 
county, which was strongly Whig, his politics being Demo- 
cratic. His competitor was a strong man and personally ■ 
popular. On the eve of the opening of the canvass epi- 
demic cholera appeared in a portion of his professional cir- 
cuit, claiming his exclusive attention, and before its dis- 
appearance prostrating him with an attack which nearly 
proved fatal. While yet quite feeble — a condition in which 
he remained during the canvass — the day of appointment 
for his first public meeting arrived, and, against the remon- 
strance of his friends, he left his bed and entered a contest 
which was conducted with great vigor and spirit for several 
months. It resulted in the defeat of his party by the 
slender majority of thirty-eight votes, but was truly a per- 
sonal triumph for the doctor, as the standing Whig majority 
was four hundred votes. After this he resumed his profes- 
sional duties, which he pursued unremittingly and in a wide 
field for seven or eight years. 

In 1857 his party friends again demanded his service as 
a candidate for the State Senate, insisting that the political 
exigency was one of unusual importance, — the General 
Assembly being required to choose two United States sena- 
tors, — and that in him alone reposed their hope of being 
able to overcome the anti-Democratic majority of nine hun- 
dred votes in the district. Reluctant to abandon his private 
affairs and face odds so overwhelming, he at length yielded 
to the importunity, however, and engaged in the struggle 



with bis opponent, an able lawyer and politician of tact and 
experience, who had formerly represented the senatorial dis- 
trict. His competitor promptly espoused the aspirations 
for electionto the United States Senate of a justly-distin- 
guished gentleman, one of the recognized leaders of his 
party in the State, whose home and great personal influence 
were in the central county of the district. This imparted 
■ animation and heat to the canvass, and the contest attracted 
attention throughout the State. The result was a triumph 
for Dr. Menees, who was elected by a majority of one hun- 
dred and twenty votes, — a change from the preceding elec- 
tion of more than one thousand votes. In his service in 
the State Senate he added to his reputation as a public man, 
and acquitted himself to the eminent satisfaction of his party 
associates. 

His success in that contest led to his unanimous nomina- 
tion two years later as the candidate of his party to repre- 
sent the Hermitage district in the House of Representatives 
of the United States. This was averse to his wish, as the 
formidable majority, in his judgment, rendered his election 
an impo.ssibility. He responded to the call, however, and 
entered the lists against a candidate of conceded ability and 
of rare powers of popular oratory. The canvass was long 
and arduous and marked with vigor and brilliancy, each 
party being proud of its championship. In this contest he 
established a reputation as one of the first political debaters 
in the State, and one possessed of extraordinary declama- 
tory powers. The imposing majority was irresistible, how- 
ever, and he was unsuccessful of election. 

In 1860 lie was a member of the National Democratic 
Convention at Charleston, and when the schism in that 
body occurred adhered to the portion which subsequently 
assembled at Baltimore and nominated John C. Breckin- 
ridge for the Presidency. During the progress of that 
struggle he encountered a number of the most distinguished 
men in the State in discussion of the momentous issues 
involved. 

In obedience to the inexorable logic of his political con- 
victions, he cast his lot with the Southern States when civil 
war proved the sequel of the fierce political conflict in 
which he had borne so prominent a part. The fervent 
espousal of their cause did not permit him to be a silent 
and inactive sympathizer. In the autumn of 1861 he 
became a candidate for representative in the first permanent 
Confederate Congress, and against a strong combination 
was elected by a large majority. In 1863 he was re-elected 
without opposition, and served until the dissolution of that 
government by the surrender at Appomatos. In the stormy 
period of that service he displayed ability and satisfactorily 
represented his constituency, and with it closed his political 
career. 

He returned to his home in 1865, from which, by the 
fortune of war, he had suffered an enforced absence for 
nearly four years. He was feeble in health and reduced 
in fortune, the comfortable competency which had been 
acquired being much impaired. He resolved to resume his 
profession and devote to it his energy and the remainder 
of his life, and, desirous of a less laborious and more lucra- 
tive field, he opened an office in the city of Nashville, Oct. 
20, 1865. This was his native county, and the activity of 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



399 



liis career and affability of intercourse with the people, 
having made an extensive and favorable acquaintance, he 
rapidly entered upon business and assumed high rank in 
his profession. In 1S73 he was elected professor of materia 
medica and therapeutics in the Medical Department of the 
University of Nashville, and performed its duties with 
great acceptability. In the year following, upon the fusion 
of the Medical Departments of the University of Nashville 
and Vanderbilt University, he was chosen professor of ob- 
stetrics and made dean of the latter faculty, and continues 
to occupy those responsible positions. His style of lectur- 
ing is clear, copious, and forcible, and richly illustrated 
from his large clinical experience, and gives great satisfac- 
tion to the numerous classes. He is a member of the Ten- 
nessee Medical Society, and has contributed a number of 
valuable papers to its published proceedings. At its recent 
meeting in Knoxville, by request he delivered a lecture on 
the uses of the obstetric forceps, for which the society ten- 
dered him a unanimous vote of thanks, and directed its 
publication when furnished with the manuscript. He is a 
permanent member of the American Medical Association, 
and frequently a prominent participant in its proceedings. 
For a number of years past be has represented the institu- 
tions with which he is connected in the Association of 
American Medical Colleges, and has taken an advanced 
position in regard to the objects of that body, and largely 
contributed to give weight and influence to its schedule for 
the elevation of the standard of medical education. 

On the 21st of April, 1853, Dr. Menees was married to 
Elizabeth Hooper, daughter of Claiborne Y. Hooper, of 
Davidson County, and from this marriage four children 
were born, — a daughter who died in infancy, and three sons. 
Of these Dr. Thomas Williams Menees was the eldest. He 
received his degree in medicine from the Medical Depart- 
ment of Vanderbilt University in 1876, and commenced 
the practice of his profession in the office of his father. 
He was made associate demonstrator of anatomy in his 
Alma Mater soon afterwards, and performed its functions 
with fidelity and success. Moved by sympathy with the 
stricken community, he tendered his services to the Mem- 
phis Howard Association in the summer of the fearful 
epidemic of yellow fever, and fell a victim to the pestilence 
while in the discharge of that noble duty, Sept. 15, 1878, 
leaving a widow and one son, Thomas Williams Menees. 
The second son. Young Hooper Menees, is also a Vander- 
bilt graduate in medicine, and is in practice with his uncle 
at Springfield, Tenn. The third son, Orville Harrison 
Menees, received his medical degree from the Alma Mater 
of his brothers in 1879, and shortly after was elected to 
succeed his deceased brother in the associate demonstrator- 
ship of anatomy, and has since been elected demonstrator, 
in which oifice he now serves. The mother of these sons, 
a most estimable and accomplished woman, was removed 
by death April 24, 1861, and their early care and training 
was kindly assumed and faithfully performed by her sister, 
Mrs. Henry Hart, and they continued of her household 
until the marriage of their father, Aug. 4, 1868, to Mrs. 
Mary Jane Walker, widow of Hiram K. Walker, Esq., 
for years before the war editorially connected with the 
Nashville True Whig and also the Republican Banner. 



A bright and charming little daughter of six summers is 
the addition to Dr. Menees' family by his union with his 
present wife, a lady of superior culture and Christian 
graces. 

In his domestic relations and the general duties of citi- 
zenship, no member of the community is more highly 
estimated. Connecting himself with the Methodist Church 
in his youth, his membership is maintained without re- 
proach and consistently with his profession. Of positive 
views and convictions on all subjects which engage his 
interest, and steady of purpose, his attitude is never doubt- 
ful, while his demeanor is bland and conciliating within 
the limits of surrender of' principle and sense of duty. 
Whatever enlists his energy is ardently pursued, and failure 
is only acknowledged by him in the presence of impossi- 
bility. As a friend he is frank and true. These are the 
qualities which have contributed to the success he has 
achieved in private life and in his profession also, as well 
as in the theatre of public affairs. Through a worthy 
ancestry identified with the foundation of this community, 
the honorable part lie has borne in developing its character 
and still assists in maintaining it fitly entitles him to pro- 
per mention in its history. 



THOMAS LA FAYETTE MADDIN, M.D. 

Thomas La Fayette Maddin-, M.D., was born in Colum- 
bia, Tenn., Sept. 4, 1826. His ancestry, paternal and 
maternal, were of Irish descent. His father. Rev. Thomas 
Maddin, D.D., was married to Sarah Moore near Louis- 
ville, Ky., and the subject of this sketch was their eldest 
son. 

The father moved from Philadelphia, Pa., the residence 
of the family, to Louisville, Ky., in 1814, about the age 
of sixteen. He was educated in the faith of the Roman 
Catholic Church, but at an early age embraced Protestant- 
ism, and shortly after reaching his new home in the West 
became a licentiate of the Tennessee Conference of the 
Methodist Church. In due time he was regularly ordained 
as a minister of that faith, and for sixty years was beloved 
and honored for his valuable pulpit labors, upright and 
blameless life, and shining Christian example, through the 
States of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. His repu- 
tation as an able and zealous preacher, enduring all the 
vicissitudes of the itinerant work, and his high character 
as a man, was co-extensive with the wide Methodist connec- 
tion in this country. He was frequently a member of the 
General Conference, and was the author of several religious 
works. He died, having nearly reached fourscore years, 
in June, 1874. The death of his wife preceded by several 
years. 

Dr. Maddin received his education in the common 
schools of Bliddle Tennessee and North Alabama, where 
his family resided at various times, and it was completed 
in 1845 at La Grange College, under the presidency of 
Dr. Paine, now the senior bishop of the Methodist Church 
South. In his senior year at college, while pursuing his 
own studies, he was selected as tutor in the preparatory 
department of the institution, — a compliment alike to his 



400 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



proficiency and industry. For a year after leaving college 
he taught a private school to acquire means to enter upon 
the study of medicine. 

His medical education was commenced under the auspices' 
of Dr. Jonathan McDonald, of Limestone Co., Ala., a 
prominent physician of that region ; and in addition to 
theoretical teaching from books, he enjoyed ample facilities 
for practical information in the extensive circuit of that 
gentleman's business. He improved them with zeal and 
assiduity until entering the Medical Department of the 
University of Louisville, whence, after completing the pre- 
scribed curriculum, he graduated. During his attendance 
at that institution the faculty was one of the most distin- 
guished in the country, including Charles Caldwell, Daniel 
Drake, and Samuel D. Gross. 

Returning to Alabama, Dr. Maddin formed a partnership 
with his former preceptor near Athens, in that State. Until 
the retirement of the latter from practice a few years later, 
and for some time afterwards, he pursued an extensive and 
arduous professional labor in that region. Constant over- 
work in a large country practice proved a severe trial to a 
physical constitution never very stout, and enfeebled further 
by the effects of the malarial atmosphere in which it was 
performed, and, in consequence, he was induced to seek a 
location for city practice. His intention in this respect 
looked towards Memphis, but after leaving Alabama he 
was diverted to Nashville, where he arrived in the spring 
of 1853, and shortly afterwards commenced the successful 
career in which he still labors. The opportunities for med- 
ical observation offered him in Alabama were various and 
extensive, and a number of serious epidemics of typhoid 
fever gave him large experience in the management of that 
type of disease. The fortuitous introduction to quite a 
number of cases of this fever in the vicinity of his new 
location, and their successful treatment, was an auspicious 
commencement, and assisted in laying the basis of confi- 
dence in his skill as a practitioner which he yet maintains, 
with a very large clientage, of which it may be said that 
it is not surpassed iu extent and character by that held by 
any other. 

In 1854, Dr. Maddin commenced private tuition in the 
various branches of medicine, and erected rooms for that 
purpose. For several years his classes were large, and his 
reputation as a teacher kept pace with his growing repute 
as a practitioner. In 1857, Shelby Medical College was 
founded as the medical department of a projected university 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, which has since 
develojied into Vanderbilt University, destined to become 
the great seat of learning in the Southwest. In the faculty 
of that college he occupied for two years the chair of anat- 
omy, when, upon the retirement of Professor John Fred- 
erick May, he was made professor of surgery. In both 
positions his lectures added to his fame as a thorough and 
exhaustive teacher. At the opening of the civil war the 
work of the college, like that of all institutions of learning, 
was suspended, and at its close was not resumed. 

At the time of the fall of Fort Donelson, Dr. Maddin 
was in charge of one of the lai'gest of the hospitals estab- 
lished in Nashville by the Confederate authorities. Upon 
the occupation of the city by the Federal forces, this with 



others was appropriated to the Federal sick and wounded. 
A number of the Confederate sick previously under his 
treatment became prisoners, of course, but by the Federal 
inspector of hospitals were continued in his charge, his 
skillful management having attracted the attention of that 
oflBcer and the surgical corps stationed in Nashville. During 
the subsequent years of the war, the large number of the 
wounded qu.fl-tered in and near the city afforded Dr. Mad- 
din an extensive surgical experience, and he performed a 
number of interesting operations, notably two for traumatic 
aneurism. One of these required the ligature of the ex- 
ternal iliac artery, the aneurismal tumor extending from 
the inguinal region to a line drawn from the crest of the 
ilium to the umbilicus. The other was an aneurism of the 
left subclavian artery, necessitating the ligature of that 
artery in its middle third and a number of subsidiary ves- 
sels. This delicate operation,. which from its difficult and 
hazardous nature was declared inadmis?able upon consulta- 
tion with Dr. Frank H. Hamilton, then medical inspector 
of the Army of the Cumberland, was witnessed by that 
justly eminent surgeon, who also gave his assistance. It 
was pronounced by him, resulting as it did in the relief of 
the formidable tumor, a great surgical triumph. In the 
circuit of his private surgical practice. Dr. Maddin is cred- 
ited with the first successful operation in ovariotomy per- 
formed in Tennessee. 

In 1867, Dr. Maddin was called to the chair of in- 
stitutes of medicine in the Medical Department of the 
University of Nashville, and after several years' acceptable 
service therein was transferred, about the time of the 
alliance of that institution with the Medical Department 
of Vanderbilt University, to the-- chair of theory and prac- 
tice of medicine and clinical medicine. This position he 
now holds iu these colleges, and it is but according merited 
praise to say that his lectures, didactic and practic-il, on 
that important branch of medical learning, place him in 
the front rank of its teachers in the country. Strictly 
speaking, the Medical Department of Vanderbilt University, 
with which he is now connected, is Shelby Medical College, 
founded 1857, revived, and it is therefore nearly a quarter 
of a century since his relation to the institution commenced, 
— a longer period, with a single contemporaneous exception, 
than any of his colleagues. Since 1870 he has been the 
president of the faculty. 

Dr. Maddin is a member of the International Medical 
Congress, the American Medical Association, the State 
Medical Society, the County and City Medical Societies, 
and has contributed a number of able papers to their 
archives, and also the medical journals of the time. For 
several years he was co-editor of the Monthly Record of 
Medicine and Surgeiy, published at Nashville. 

In the several spheres of medical lecturer, writer, and 
practitioner. Dr. Maddin has long been accredited with 
high rank. As a teacher, his style is full, accurate, clear, 
and animated. The entire scope of the subject is reviewed, 
and the student rises with a distinct impression of the lec- 
turer's views. This faculty renders his teachings instruc- 
tive, and of course popular, and no one is held in greater 
esteem by his classes as a sound and reliable exponent of 
advanced medical science. His learning and skill as a 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



401 



diagnostician are conceded by his medical brethren, and his 
success at the bedside is attested by the large patronage he 
has long held. His devotion to medicine as a science is 
shown in the close and severe application he gives to its 
study ; and his assiduity in the practice of its art is untir- 
ing by night and day. If it can be said of any one that 
he responds to every call, it can be truly said of one who, 
in the discharge of professional duty, is no respecter of 
weather, sometiilies not of his own physical fitness, nor of 
the social rank of him who asks his service. While those 
able to remunerate might well engross all his attention and 
time, the humble and the poor have never known him to 
fail. Perhaps to no man in the profession does the latter 
class in the community owe a larger debt of gratitude or 
are they more attached. 

As a citizen. Dr. Maddin is animated with public spirit, 
though retiring and unambitious save in the quiet walks 
of his calling. To this he may be said to be married. He 
has formed no other matrimonial union, and yet he is not 
without a family, for whom he has liberally provided. 
These consist of his nephews and nieces, to quite a number 
of whom he has contributed a support, and equipped them 
with education in the first universities and seminaries in 
the country. His manners are cordial and afl'able every- 
where, and in the sick-room are gentle to femininity, though 
mingled with the firmness required of him by duty. A 
' well-recognized element of Dr. Maddin's professional char- 
, acter has been his calm self-possession and unembarrassed 
} self-reliance in the presence of medical and surgical emer- 
* gencies, quickly appreciating the pathology and promptly 
applying the proper therapeutic endeavor involved in and 
demanded by the occasion. From his youth he has been 
, a member of the church of his father, and bis life and de- 
portment have been consistent. In every sphere, public 
and private, he holds a highly honorable position, and yet 
performs a work of usefulness and distinction. Dr. Thomas 
L. Maddin is at present the senior member of the firm of 
T. L. & J. W. Maddin, of Nashville, Tenn. 

This brief notice is deemed proper to be chronicled in 
the history of the community he has so well served, and 
is recorded by one who has known him long and intimately. 



WILLIAM THOMPSON BRIGGS. 

William Thompson Briggs, the subject of this sketch, 
was born in Bowling Green, Ky., on the 4th of December, 
1828. His father is Dr. John M. Briggs, who, though 
now eighty-two years old, is actively engaged in the prac- 
tice of medicine in Bowling Green, enduring all the hard- 
ships and privations of a doctor's life with all the perse- 
verance and energy of a young man, although he has now 
been in the saddle sixty years. His mother was Miss 
Harriet Morehead, a sister of Governor Morehead, of 
Kentucky. 

He received a good education at the Soutliern Literary 
College, located at Bowling Green, and at the early age of 
seventeen years began the study of medicine with his 
father. With Dr. John Briggs it was a labor of love to 
instruct the son, whose fine mind gave promise of great 



results. He was thoroughly competent to the self-imposed 
task. He himself, though never holding an official posi- 
tion in any school or college, was, however, a man of great 
distinction. His fame throughout Southern Kentucky as 
a physician and surgeon was second to none other. On all 
important cases the opinion of Dr. Briggs was considered 
to be essential. At this time no railroad offered its facili- 
ties to the practitioner, nor did he even have the advan- 
tages of good roads ; consequently the work had to be 
performed on horseback, and it was no unusual thing for 
him to ride from fifty to seventy-five miles to see a patient. 
He was a man of indomitable will and great acumen. His 
diagnostic powers were singularly correct, so that he rarely 
failed to designate the disease with which he had to con- 
tend, however obscure the symptoms. With such a teacher 
it may well be supposed the young man went to college 
better prepai'ed than most young physicians at graduation. 
His father had carried him with him so often that the 
principal diseases incident to country practice were per- 
fectly familiar to him. He attended medical lectures at 
the Transylvania University, Lexington, at a time when it 
was second to none in the United States. He was under 
the special tutelage of Dr. Benjamin Dudley, one of the 
most successful as well as famous surgeons of the United 
States. It was due to the care and instructions of this 
eminent man that Dr. Briggs' mind was turned specially 
to the study of surgery. He assisted the professor in all 
his operations before the class, and imbibed the care and 
caution for which Dudley was celebrated, — so much so that 
when he consented to operate he was uniformly successful. 
The very fact of his consent being obtained to an operation 
was the most favorable prognosis in the case. With such 
attention as he received at the hands of both these famous 
physicians. Dr. William T. graduated with the highest dis- 
tinction in the spring of 1849. 

He returned tu Bowling Green and began the practice 
of medicine with his father. He soon attained an unusual 
prominence for so young a man. He had commenced 
practice at least six months before he had attained his 
majority. He remained here three years, storing his mind 
with valuable information by constant study, for he clearly 
saw that his education was now only begun, and if he 
would attain eminence it would only be by constant, unre- 
mitting application to books. His fine physical conforma- 
tion enabled him to apply himself a great deal, and he did 
not hesitate to draw largely upon his strength; but he soon 
became convinced tliat his native town was too circum- 
scribed for the ambition which incited him to a position 
far beyond any that could be attained in an interior town. 

In the mean time he had met and become attached to a 
young lady of his town. Bliss Ann Eliza Stubbins, who 
was in every way a fit helpmate to the young doctor. 
Gifted with great personal charms, she had, added to these, 
a most accomplished mind, far above the ordinary attain- 
ments of young women, and besides was a woman of great 
amiability. She was the very one to lielp him climb the 
ladder of fame, and he considers it one of the chief factors 
of his success in life that he was enabled to secure her as 
a wise counselor for life. They were married in 1850 at 
Bowling Green. 



402 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



It was just as these ambitious thoughts began to take 
shape in his mind that the Medical Department of the Uni- 
versity of Nashville was organized. The history of this 
school is elsewhere given, and the fact is also noted that it 
was formed by a combination of the first medical men of 
the South, and, in all that tended to the value of the insti- 
tution, was equal to any in the Union. 

Dr. William T. Briggs was unanimously elected to the 
position of demonstrator of anatomy, and, as a matter of ne- 
cessity, at once removed to Nashville, where he still lives. 
This was in the autumn of 1852. He was fortunate enough 
to secure the friendship of the late Dr. John M. Watson, 
professor of obstetrics in the university, a man whose 
name is synonymous with all that is good, generous, and 
benevolent in the human race. This friendship was followed 
by a professional partnership, which continued through the 
life of Dr. Watson, and in a short time, indeed, the names 
of " Watson and Briggs" became famous throughout the 
South. The same course of undivided attention to his pro- 
fessional duties and unremitting study, added to a peculiarly 
genial disposition, with which he had begun life, rapidly ad- 
vanced him on the road to success. 

As an evidence of the appreciation in which he was held 
by the faculty, we are enabled, by a reference to the records 
of the school, to lay the following resolution before our 
readers : 

" W. T. Briggs, M.D. ; Dear Sir, At a meeting of the 
Faculty of the Medical Department of the University of 
Nashville on Jan. 24, 1855, the following resolution was 
unanimously adopted : 

" ' Resolved, That the rule requiring the demonstrator of 
anatomy to pay the expenses of the dissecting-rooms be 
not enforced this session, the fticulty wishing to testify 
their appreciation of the very efficient, faithful, and satis- 
factory manner in which the duties of the demonstrator have 
been discharged this winter.' 

" Very truly yours, 

" J. Berrien Lindsley, 
" Bean of the Faculty." 

His adaptability to the position of teacher enabled him 
to take advantage of every circumstance that presented 
itself. On the death of the late Profes.sor Porter, who had 
filled the chair of anatomy, that position was given to Dr. 
Thomas R. Jennings, a most popular and distinguished 
practitioner of this city. At the same time, in 1856, Dr. 
Briggs was made adjunct professor with Dr. Jennings. 
This position he continued to hold until tlve outbreak of the 
war of Rebellion. But Dr. Briggs' distinction as a practi- 
tioner of medicine had far outstripped his rank in the uni- 
versity. There being no opening, he could of course receive 
no promotion, yet his practice had become quite large and 
lucrative. 

His natural taste for surgery found a fine opening in the 
dissection-room for proficiency and skill with the knife. It 
gave him a familiarity with the human frame to be obtained 
in no other way so well, and his exceeding nicety and deli- 
cacy of operating soon made him a favorite in all operations 
that required extra care and attention. Added to his skill 
with the knife, although very conservative in determining, 



no one was more daring when the decision was once made 
as to its necessity. It required no astuteness to see that he 
would soon take rank as one of our best operators. Added 
to the caution of Dudley, his old preceptor and model, he 
soon acquired the self-possession and boldness of Mott or 
Gross. Nature gave him a steady hand and a clear eye ; 
consequently his cuts are marvels of nicety. No plunging, 
hacking, or learing ever disfigures his patients with unsightly 
cicatrices, but his strokes are as delicate as the pencil of an 
artist, yet rapid and unerring as fate. 

The war arrested the operations of the university, but at 
its reorganization, in 1865, Dr. Briggs was transferred to the 
chair of surgical anatomy and physiology, the same filled by 
the late Dr. A. H. Buchanan ; and in the following year, on 
the death of his loved friend and partner. Dr. John M. 
Watson, he was transferred to the chair of obstetrics and 
diseases of women and children. This change was made 
at the urgent request of Dr. Watson, who knew his capacity 
and faithfulness better than any one else, and who knew his 
chair would be thoroughly filled by the change. 

Again, in 1868, he passed froai that to the post he now 
occupies in the school, that of surgerj'. Dr. Paul F. Eve] 
having resigned it. 

And now at last he had attained the highest distinction 
possible to be given by any official position, nor has hel 
failed to keep pace with his rapid promotions. Gifted withi 
a retentive memory, a quick analytical mind, a laudablej 
ambition and indomitable perseverance, together with a] 
great thirst for knowledge, he has stored his mind with alll 
the medical literature of the day. He has no disposition,! 
however, to run ofi' after new or crude ideas, but, being very! 
conservative, he adheres rather to a practice known to bej 
good until he is able to demonstrate by scientific principlesi 
the necessity for a change. His reputation in his favorite] 
branch of study has grown rapidly, until now he has nol 
superior in the South and but few equals in the Union.; 
His skill with the knife is marvelous, and his wonderful! 
diagnostic powers enable him to determine in the most^ 
rapid manner the feasibility of an operation. 

As an evidence of his skill and reputation, it will only 
be necessary to allude to a few special cases. 

He has performed the operation of lithotomy, or stone 
in the bladder, for one hundred cases, with the loss of only 
four, and they were strumous cases without the ability to 
rally. The last sixty cases have all been successful. This 
operation he performs by the medio-bilateral method. 

He has removed sixty ovarian tumors from women withJ 
equal success. Some of the tumors weighed near one hun- 
dred pounds. 

He has performed the operation of trephining the skull 1 
for injuries forty times and for epilepsy twenty-five times. 
It may be well to mention that in each of the latter cases! 
the relief was absolute. 

He has performed amputation of the hip-joint repeat- 
edly, with uniform success. One case of this kind de- 
mands special notice. It was for elephantiasis of the limb. 
After it was amputated it weighed eighty pounds, while the 
rest of the body weighed sixty pounds. 

He has ligated all the principal arteries, both for wounds 
and aneurisms, and diseases of various kinds. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



403 



But the master-operation of liis life was ligatlng the 
carotid artery just where it enters the skull. The artery 
was wounded, and only by the most wonderful efforts was 
the life of the patient preserved until an incision could be 
made down to it through a perfect network of vessels and 
nerves, the mere touch to some of which would have made 
life extinct in a moment. Yet the operation was performed 
under many disadvantages, and the life of the patient pre- 
served. 

He is now preparing a treatise on trephining the skull, 
in which he takes the ground that the operation should be 
performed as a preventive I'cmedy and not await the de- 
structive effects of wounds on the false hope that it may be 
unnecessary. He contends that by procrastination in the 
performance of this operation many valuable lives are lost, 
when they could have been saved by a judicious and 
prompter use of the instrument. After suppuration and 
destruction of the brain-substance the chances for life are 
gone. Being still a young man, in the prime of his profes- 
sional life, he bids fair to obtain a continued increase of 
reputation. 

His charities are, like those of most physicians, hidden 
but constant. It requires only the voice of suffering to 
call him to the hut or hovel. 

Dr. Briggs has been doubly blessed in his children. His 
oldest son, Dr. Charles S. Briggs, is now demonstrator of 
anatomy in the Medical Department of the Universities of 
Nashville and Vanderbilt, and has lately been elected ad- 
junct professor of anatomy. His second, son, Waldo Briggs, 
is a physician of St. Louis. His third child, Virginia Lee, 
has intellectual powers of a high order, as well as amiability, 
which makes her a universal favorite, while the youngest, 
Samuel C, though only twelve years old, is just as bright 
as any of the others. 

We hope Dr. Briggs will yet live many years to dispense 
his powers among the suffering of the human family, and, as 
longevity is one of the leading characteristics of his family, 
we may hope so with an assurance as strong as belongs to 
humanity. 

We have spoken of his official character, and now we 
will close this desultory sketch with a testimonial volun- 
tarily given him by the medical convention held in the 
university on the 9th of February, 1858, which will show 
the man in his social light : 

"W. 'T. Briggs, M.D.: 

"Dear Sir, — I have the honor, as secretary of the con- 
vention, to transmit, by order of the convention, its proceed- 
ings and resolutions. 

" I am, sir, with profound respect, yours truly, 

" B. GiRAKD BiDWELL. 

" At a meeting of the candidates for graduation, held in 
the hall on Feb. 9, 1858, for the purpose of voting thanks 
to W, T. Briggs, BI.D., for his able efforts in our behalf, 
and J. B. Finley, of Arkansas, being called to the chair, 
and B. G. Bidwell, of Tennessee, appointed secretary, a 
committee of three were appointed to draft and present 
resolutions. Messrs. Moore, Simpson, and Wilson were 
appointed said committee. They soon reported the follow- 
51 



ing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted and or- 
dered published : 

" ' Whereas, The relationship existing between Dr. Briggs 
as teacher and ourselves as students will soon bo forever 
dissolved ; therefore be it 

" 'Resolved, That we vote our thanks to Dr. Briggs for 
the very able and efficient manner in which he has dis- 
charged the duties devolved upon him as adjunct profes- 
sor of anatomy, and also in his capacity as demonstrator of 
anatomy. 

" 'Resolved, That we regret the necessity which compels 
us to part so soon with one who has by his universally pop- 
ular method of teaching anatomy placed us under profound 
obligations to him, and who by his high-minded and honor- 
able deportment has secured for himself the esteem and kind 
regards of all who know him. 

" 'Resolved, That we congratulate him upon his almost 
unparalleled success thus far, and hope soon to have the 
happy privilege of witnessing his elevation to the high and 
honorable position which inevitably awaits him. 

" 'Resolved, That the secretary of this convention be and 
is hereby requested to send a copy of these resolutions to 
him and to the Medical Magazine for publication.' 

" Committee, F. MeG. Moore, S. P. Simpson; J. A. 
Willsou." 



VAN S. LINDSLEY. 

Van Sindoren Lindsley, Nashville, Tenn., was born at 
Greensboro', Guilford Co., N. C, Oct. 13, 1840, and is a 
son of Silas Condict Lindsley, a distinguished educator in 
that State, who was brother of Philip Lindsley, D.D., 
founder and president of Nashville University, and also of 
Harvey Lindsley, M.D., of Washington, D. C. The family 
descends from John Lindsley, one of the earliest English 
settlers of the New Haven colony, Connecticut, who, with 
his sons, John and Francis, came from London, England. 
They settled at Branford, Conn., before 1640. The father, 
John (1), died at Guilford, Conn., 1650. Francis (1) re- 
moved from Branford to Newark, N. J., 1667, and died 
there in 1704, leaving son John (3), born 1667, who set- 
tled at Morristown, N. J., and left a son John (4), born 
1694, the father of Philip (5) and grandfather of Isaac (6), 
who was father of Silas (7) and grandfather of Van Sin- 
deren (8), his ancestry showing an American record of eight 
generations, embracing a period of two hundred and forty 
years. 

Primarily educated at the Greensboro' Institute, of which 
his father was principal. Dr. Lindsley was graduated A.M. 
at the University of Nashville in 1861, and in 1863 re- 
ceived the degree of M.D. from its Medical Department, by 
whose faculty he was subsequently elected demonstrator of 
anatomy, holding that position until 1868. At this time 
he married Lucie, daughter of Pay-director J. George Har- 
ris, United States Navy. 

After returning from a tour of professional observation 
through the principal hospitals of Europe, he was assigned 
the chair of surgical anatomy, which he occupied until 1871 , 
when he was elected to that of physiology, to which was 



404 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUxMTY, TENNESSEE. 



added in 1876 the diseases of eye, ear, and throat. In 
1880 he was elected to the chair of anatomy in the Medi- 
cal Department of the University of Nashville and Vander- 
bilt University. 

Papers on the " Reproduction of Bone," and on " Or- 
thopajdic Surgery" and " Hypermetropia," etc., have .been 
read by him before the State Medical Society, besides 
numbers of published addresses and lectures on " Sound 
and Hearing," practically illustrated, and " The Eye as an 
Optical Instrument," and monthly i-eports of his operations 
for cataract, strabismus, entropion, otitis media, etc., ap- 
pear in the Nashville Journal of Medicine and Snrgery. 

He was elected and re elected president of the Nashville 
Medical Society, is a member of the American Public Health 
Association, is a member of the American Association for 
the Advancement of Science, and was a delegate from the 
State Medical Society to the International Medical Con- 
gress held in Philadelphia in 1876; is a member of the 
American Medical Association, and was a delegate to New 
York in June, 1880. 

Dr. Lindsley illustrates in a marked degree the leading 
characteristics of his ancestors in a love of literature for its 
own sake and the capacity for continued and untiring study, 
with devotion to Presbyterian religious principles, thus 
clinging to the traditions of his family, who have been dis- 
tinguished educators, physicians, and divines. 

Dr. Lindsley now occupies the chair of anatomy in the 
Bledical Department of the University of Nashville and 
Vanderbilt University, and devotes himself to the practice 
of diseases of the eye and ear, and to general surgery. 



JOHN BERRIEN LINDSLEY. 

John Berrien Lindsley was born in Princeton, N. J., 
Oct. 24, 1822. He is descended from the Lindsleys who 
were among the first settlers of Morristowu, N. J., and from 
the Lawrences who settled at Hell Gate, Long Island, in 
1660. Both these families emigrated from England early 
in American colonization. He bears the name of his 
mother's grandfather, John Berrien, chief justice of the 
province of New Jersey under the old regime. The Ber- 
riens are of French Huguenot origin. 

His early education was received at home. He then 
finished the usual four years' college curriculum in three 
years, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the 
University of Nashville in 1839, and that of Blaster, in 
course, three years later. His medical education was ac- 
quired in the oflBce of Dr. William G. Dickinson, and in 
the medical schools of the Universities of Louisville and 
Pennsylvania. From the latter he received the Doctorate 
in Medicine in 1843, William Walker, of Nicaragua fame, 
being his classmate and chum. His medical studies were 
pursued as part of a theological course. 

Upon this he now entered under care of the Presbytery 
of Nashville, and was ordained in October, 1846. He was 
for some time stated supply to the Hermitage and Smyrna 
Churches, and also for a year in the service of the Presby- 
terian Board of Domestic Missions as preacher to the slaves 
in the vicinity of Nashville. 



From 1838 to 1850 he was the favored private pupil of 
Gerard Troost, one of the illustrious pioneers in American 
science. When the latter died, in 1850, the family com- 
mitted his invaluable collection to Dr. Lindsley's charge, 
who watched over it during all the changes of peace and 
war, and finally, in 1874, disposed of it to the Library As- 
sociation of Louisville, after vainly endeavoring to secure 
its possession by some one of the great Tennessee univer- 
sities. In 1848 he made an extensive geological tour 
through the Northern and Eastern States. In 1849 he 
vpas urged by Drs. C. K. Winston, A. H. Buchanan, and 
others to take the chair of cliemistry in a projected medi-S 
cal school, the celebrated Prof Charles Caldwell being actives 
in the scheme. The subsequent winter he passed in Louisj 
ville and other cities, making medical schools a study. In 
1852 and 1859 he pursued these studies in France andl 
in Germany. 

In 1850 he got together the club which became thd 
Medical Department of the University of Nashville. lo 
this institution he was twenty-three years professor ofi 
chemistry. He was also from 1850 to 1856 dean of the 
faculty, and again after the civil war. He devoted in alfl 
not less than ten years of hard work to building and rel 
building this school. The pay he received as dean was 
given to assistants or to the establishment of the Nashvill^ 
Journal of 3Iedicine and Surgery. 

In 1855 he was chosen unanimously by the board of 
trustees chancellor of the University of Nashville. As 
agent of the building committee, he had in 1853 and 1854 
superintended the construction of the stone collegiate edifice, 
still regarded by experts as the handsomest school-house in 
Tennessee. In view of the great"multiplication of denom- 
inational colleges throughout the country, he urged the 
board to adopt the military system of government and 
exercise, and to merge the Western Military Institute, 
then flourishing at Tyree Springs, into its collegiate depart- 
ment. This was done, and with such practical success that 
the board determined to erect an additional building for 
students a year or two before the civil war desolated the 
land. For several years before this cataclysm the Univer- 
sity of Nashville, with an income from its endowment-fund 
of less than two thousand dollars, numbered in attendance 
between five and six hundred students, chiefly from a dis- 
tance, and received into its faculty treasuries between 
thirty and forty thousand dollars per annum. This fact is 
probably without a parallel in the educational annals of 
America. 

During the war Chancellor Lindsley watched the build- 
ings and property of the university with ceaseless vigilance 
and with perfect success. In 1867 he organized the Mont^ 
gomery Bell Academy in accordance with the designs of its 
beneficent founder, and upon a plan which at once estab- 
lished the high reputation it has always sustained. In 1867 
he also brought forward the idea of a great normal college 
in connection with the Peabody Educational Fund. In 
1870 he resigned, recommending Gen. E. Kirby Smith as 
his successor. His salai'y as chancellor was either directly 
or indirectly, through the building measures agreed upon 
with the board, returned to the university. In 1873 he 
took part in organizing the " Tennessee College of Phar- 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



405 



macy," in which, since 1876, he has been professor of 
materia niedioa. 

In 1S76, by solicitation of prominent physicians and 
citizens, Dr. Lindsley became a candidate for city health 
officer, and served as such for four years, during which 
time he gave Nashville a high reputation for sanitary 
progress, a diminished death-rate, and for firmly withstand- 
ing the panics and prejudices of 1878. 

In June, 1880, he accepted the chair of " State pre- 
ventive medicine" in the Medical Department of the 
University of Tennessee. In October, 1876, he had taken 
part in the organization of the Nashville Medical College 
as professor of chemistry and State medicine, but speedily 
relinquished the position as not harmonizing with the 
duties of health ofBcer. 

Dr. Lindsley has always been a firm and resolute advo- 
cate of popular education. As such he served six years in 
the Nashville Board of Education, and was very active in 
founding the system which has given so much fame to that 
city. At a critical period, in 1866, he was superintendent 
of these schools, and so boldly faced opposition in the city 
government as to effectually warn ward politicians that the 
public schools were beyond their reach. In 1865 he 
warmly seconded the plan proposed by Governor Brown- 
low of organizing the ." State Teachers' Association." Of 
this body he has been twice elected president, and nearly 
all the time an officer or on the executive committee. In 
1875 he was appointed by Governor Porter senior member 
of the State Board of Education, of which he has been sec- 
retary since its organization. 

Dr. Lindsley has given much time and labor to organiza- 
tions designed to promote the moral and material welfare of 
the community. He is president of the Robertson Asso- 
ciation of Nashville, which in times of cholera epidemics 
has done a notable work. For thirty years he has been 
active in the State HLstorioal Society, and in 1874 pro- 
jected the civic centennial, which has recently given Nash- 
ville so much eclat. For two years, 1877-78, he was sec- 
retary of the unendowed State Board of Health. In 1845 
he became a member of the State Medical Society, and is 
now its permanent secretary. In 1848 he was one of tlie 
Southern founders of the American Association for the 
Advancement of Science. He is a member of the Numis- 
matic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia; an origi- 
nal member of the American Chemical Society; since 1851 
a member of the American Medical Association, having at- 
tended the meetings at Charleston, New York, St. Louis, 
Pliiladelphia, Detroit, Nashville, Washington, Louisville, 
and New Orleans; a fellow of the American Academy of 
Medicine ; a director in the National Prison Association ; a 
corresponding member of the National Prison Association of 
France ; and treasurer of the American Public Health As- 
sociation. Of the American Tract Society and of the 
American Bible Society he is a life member. 

In 1856 the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, con- 
ferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 
1870, after (as a member of the General Assembly of the 
Presbyterian Church (Old School) which met in St. Louis, 
1866) taking part in the measures which led to the reunion 
of the Old and New School Churches, he was received upon 



letter into the Nashville Presbytery of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church. Since 1873 he has contributed many 
articles to the " Theological Quarterly" of this Church. His 
article upon "African Colonization, etc." was reprinted and 
widely circulated, as was also another on " Prison Discipline." 
A series of articles upon " Cumberland Presbyterian Church 
History," eighteen in number, has received very high com- 
mendation from experts in and out of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church. 

Dr. Lindsley has published also a number of pamphlets 
in behalf of the University of Nashville; an introductory 
lecture upon " Medical Colleges ;" " Eulogy upon Robert 
M. Porter, M.D.," of which seven thouisand copies were 
circulated ; four papers for the Nashville Board of Health 
upon sanitary progress, school hygiene, and prevention of 
epidemics, to be found in the second and third reports pub- 
lished by said board. Also, in 1868, an anonymous bro- 
chure, entitled " Our Ruin," which led to the formation of 
the " Taxpayers' Association," of Nashville, and through 
it to the law-suit which placed the city of Nashville in the 
hands of a receiver in July, 1869. 

Dr. Lindsley has for years been engaged in collecting 
materials for a large work, entitled " The Medical Annals 
of Tennessee," and also for an " Enoycloptedia of Tennes- 
see History." The latter is planned as an exhaustive and 
elaborate compendium of the civil and political, the com- 
mercial and industrial, the educational, literary, and relig- 
ious, the social and the military, history of a great State, 
which in historic interest ranks with Virginia and Massa- 
chusetts, both as it respects intrinsic interest and influence 
upon the nation. 

He married, Feb. 9, 1857, Sarah, daughter of Jacob Mc- 
Gavock, Esq., and granddaughter of Judge Felix Grundy. 



WILLIAM STOCKELL, 

CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF NASH- 
VILLE, TENN. 
Chief Stockeli, of Nashville, Tenn., was born in Malton, 
Yorkshire, England, in 1815, and is, consequently, sixty- 
five years old. His father removed with his family to Balti- 
more, Md., when William was quite a child, where they 
resided until 1829. During the spring of that year they 
crassed the mountains to Wheeling, Va., and thence by 
river they went to Cincinnati, Ohio, whore the family re- 
sided from 1829 to 1846. Soon after their arrival young 
Stockeli, now quite a lad, was apprenticed to the bricklay- 
ing and plastering business. In due time he became a 
master in his profession. Before he had reached man's 
estate he imbibed a love for " running with the machine," 
and in 1840 assisted in the organization of the " Independ- 
ent Western" Fire Company of that city. In 1841 he was 
elected president of the above company, which position he 
honorably filled until 1846, when he resigned to remove 
with his family to Nashville. On retiring from the 
" Western" the company presented him an elegant silver 
speaking-trumpet, on which is wrought a female figure re- 
clining upon an anchor, over which is inscribed the words, 



406 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



" Hope leads the Conqueror to Victory," and, beneath, the 
names of the apparatus, " Hope," " Conqueror," " Victory." 
On the reverse side is engraved, " Presented by the ' Inde- 
pendent Western' Fire Company to William Stockell, their 
late president, in remembrance of his services. 1846." 

Shortly after his arrival in Nashville he connected him- 
self with the " Broad Street" Fire Company, No, 2, and in 
the fall of 1847 was elected the company's chief oflBcer. 
He was re-elected each year until 1860, when the company 
disbanded to give way for the paid steam department. 

During this terra of service his old company, the 
" Western," of Cincinnati, paid him a visit, making the 
entire trip by steamboat. This was before Nashville had 
any railroad connections West. Upon their arrival here 
they received, at the hands of the entire Nashville depart- 
ment, a rousing welcome, and an old-fashioned '' time" was 
had. 

In October, 1857, the Nashville Fire Department returned 
the visit of the Cincinnati Department, and met with such 
a reception as only Cincinnati and her department could 
give. 

Chief Stockell was presented by the " Broad Street" 
Company, No. 2, with an elegant gold-headed ebony cane 
during his connection with it ; and on one bright Christmas 
morning was the recipient of an elegant silver salver with 
pitcher and goblets, on which was this inscription, " To 
Captain William Stockell, from the lady friends of the 
Nashville Fire Department. You have served us." 

When the paid department was organized in Nashville, 
Chief Stockell was engaged in a lucrative business, which 
demanded his entire attention, hence he did not connect 
himself with it. He, however, continued to attend all fires, 
and was invited by those who were at the head of the de- 
partment to advise and assist them in the administration of 
its affairs. More than once have the citizens of Nashville 
had occasion to thank the old veteran for services rendered 
as " Citizen Chief" 

In 1869 our city's affairs were in the hands of bad men, 
such as had been scattered over the South during the war. 
Every department of the municipal government was shame- 
fully abused and grossly perverted to serve the personal 
ends of those in charge of them, and at the expense and 
peril of the whole city. Under their rule it was not pos- 
sible to save even the fire department, which had become 
wellnigh worthless and wholly inefiBcient. In July of the 
above year a public meeting of citizen property-owners was 
held and an application made to the courts for relief. In 
response to this, John M. Bass, Esq., a prominent citizen, 
was appointed receiver. Soon after taking charge of the 
city's affairs, Mr. Bass, with other prominent citizens and 
representatives of the various insurance companies, called 
upon Mr. Stockell and requested him to assume control of 
'the fire department. He at first declined to do so, as it 
would require his retirement from a profitable business, but, 
this being a day for sacrifices, the chief complied with the 
request of his fellow-citizens, and at once set to work to 
gather up the fragments of a fire department. With his 
indomitable energy and skill he very soon had everything 
in working order. 

Chief Stockell has been re-elected by every City Council 



from that day to this, and in all probability will be just so 
long as he is able to respond to an alarm. Notwithstanding 
he is now in his sixty-fifth year, he is as active and ener- 
getic as a man of half his age. With a well-preserved, 
naturally robust constitution, he bids fair to long serve the 
citizens who delight -to honor him. Chief Stockell does 
not hold the position for the sake of the remuneration 
attaching thereto; for, besides possessing a reasonable com- 
petency, the result of long years of honest toil, he could, 
with his natural ability, succeed in any branch of business. 
But he continues at the head of the department purely 
from a love of the life and an ambitious desire to have a 
department a little better than any other, as well as for the 
love he has for his friends (which includes the whole State), 
and a regard for their lives and property. 

Chief Stockell's department is small, but first-class ; what 
it lacks in size is more than compensated for in efficiency. 
It is composed of four steamers, four hose-reels, three thou- 
sand six hundred feet of hose, one hook-and-ladder truck 
(on which is carried four Babcock extinguishers), city fire 
alarm telegraph, with twenty miles of wire and forty boxes, 
nine gongs, and three bell-strikers. His apparatus, when 
not in operation, is in just as good order as it is possible to 
be. His men have learned to love him, for he governs 
them by kindaess, but firmly, and every man in bis de^ 
partment realizes that his word is law. They all delight: 
in obeying his instructions, and not one of them but would; 
peril his life for him or his people at any time. His oflice 
is neat and well kept. In it he is surrounded by relics, 
designs of various kinds of machinery and apparatus, with 
scores of pictures of his associate chiefs and friends. Among 
all these relics is one that he should and doubtless does 
highly prize. It is the charter of his old company, the 
" Independent Western," of Cincinnati, elegantly done in 
German text, dated " Columbus, Ohio, 1846," framed in a 
large gilt oval frame. 

It will, doubtless, be in order to relate one or two inci- 
dents in connection with Chief Stockell's life as a fireman. 
While two companies from a distant city were on a visit to 
the Nashville Department, a grand parade was had, of 
which Chief Stockell was grand marshal. At night the 
visitors were banqueted at the opera-house, after which 
calls were given at the different engine-houses, and the 
guests went from house to house enjoying themselves in 
the merry dance until broad daylight. At three o'clock 
the next afternoon the department was called to assemble 
on the square to act as an escort to the visitors to their 
boat. While they were thus assembled a representative of 
one of the Nashville companies advanced and presented to 
the president of each of the visiting companies a beautiful 
banner, to be preserved as a memento of their pleasant visit 
to Nashville. The banners were received with appropriate 
remarks, after which the grand marshal (Mr. Stockell) 
called the department and citizens to order. He said that 
while he was captain of but one company, on that occasion 
he was chief of the whole department. He regretted very 
much that he had no fine banners to present to them on 
behalf of the whole department, but he said, " I remember 
to have read in Holy Writ where a certain widow came to 
our Saviour and said unto him, ' Lord, all I have I give 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



407 



unto thee, and give freely ;' therefore, in the language of 
that poor -widow, I say unto thee (addressing himself to the 
officers of the visiting companies), here, take my hat" 
(giving it); to the other, "take my belt;" then, to the 
first one, " take my sash" (giving an elegant satin sash) ; 
and again to the second one, " here, take my shirt !" And 
the old chief actually stripped himself of his handsome 
parade shirt and gave it to him. Immediately a general 
exchange of uniforms took place, and no visiting fireman 
returned with the same clothing he had when he left home. 
As to the Nashville boys, — well, they had the worst mixed 
uniform any set of men ever appeared in, not unlike 
Joseph's coat of many colors. All in all, it was one of the 
happiest occasions ever experienced by the Nashville fire- 
men. 

One other incident. In July, 1876, while Chief Stoekell 
was temporarily absent from headquarters (some one having 
designedly called him away), a tap was sounded from the 
alarm-bell, which called him back to his office, where, be- 
hold ! there was drawn up in line the entire department 
awaiting him. The object of all this soon turned out to be 
the presentation to him by the entire department of an 
elegant gold badge, as a token of the regard and esteem 
they had for their old chief 

Chief Stoekell has occupied several important positions 
outside of the fire department, having been a member of 
the City Council, a member of the Board of Education, and, 
by the appointment of President Andrew Johnson, a di- 
rector of the Bank of Tennessee, also a director of the Ten- 
nessee State Fair. He was appointed by Governor A. 
Johnson, a member of the State Agricultural Bureau, in con- 
nection with Gen. Harding, F. R. Rains, Tolbert Fanning, 
and others, and held the position until the war. In all the 
public measures for the relief of suffering during the preva- 
lence of cholera and yellow fever he and his estimable lady 
I have always taken a leading part in organizing relief for the 
distressed and suffering. Before the war he was several 
times elected president of the Mechanics' Institute, and 
since the war an active member of the board of directors 
who organized our State Exposition, and served a term as 
its president. 

Chief Stoekell is well known throughout the fire service 
lof the United States as one of the most genial of men, a 
thoroughly good fireman, and a gentleman of profuse hos- 
pitality. He is the president of the National Association 
of Chief Engineers, and had the honor of presiding over 
their deliberations in 1878. Chief Stoekell has been an 
occasional but valued contributor to the columns of the 
Fireman s Journal. 

Capt. Stoekell was chairman of the Centennial Board of 
Directors of the Nashville Centennial Exposition in 1880, 
which was the finest exhibition of the kind ever witnessed 
in the South. 

Capt. Stoekell has an interesting family of children, and 
a wife of whom he is justly proud. He holds a warm place 
in the hearts of the people of the capital city of Tennessee. 
His services to the public, not only in the fire deparment, 
ibut in other walks of life, are highly appreciated, not only 
at home, but all over the country. 

Capt. Stoekell married Rachel Wright, of Philadelphia, 



May 3, 1840. His married life has been one of unusual 
harmony and happiness. His living children number five, 
— viz., Charles Henry, born April 3, 1841 ; Louisa Jane, 
born June 14, 1843 ; Albert Wright, born Aug. 8, 1848; 
George W., born April 2, 1862; Orville Ewing, born 
Sept. 14, 1855. 

It is due to Capt. Stoekell to state that the insertion of 
this biographical sketch is made at the written request of 
a number of the prominent business men of Nashville. 



COL. JOHN C. BURCH. 

The subject of this biographical sketch — Col. John C. 
Burch — has been a prominent and influential citizen of 
Davidson Co., Tenn., for more than twenty years, and is 
eminently entitled to mention in its history. He is a 
native of the State of Georgia, and was born in Jeffonson 
County in 1827. His parentage was also Georgian, his 
father — Morton N. Burch — being a native of Hancock 
County, and his mother — Mary Ballard — of Jefferson 
County. His father moved to Fayetteville, Fayette Co., 
in that State, in the infoncy of the son, and resided there 
for ten years, when he removed to the city of Macon, which 
was his residence until his death, in 1862. Mr. Burch was 
repeatedly a member of each branch of the Legislatur' 
Georgia. He held the public confidence in a high degree, 
and maintained a superior social rank. 

His son, of whom this history writes, received his early 
education in the best preparatory schools in the State, and 
entered the freshman class of Yale College, New Haven, 
Conn., in the year 1843. His course at that renowned in- 
stitution of learning was completed without a return to his 
home, and he graduated in 1847 with honor, and in a class 
numbering several gentlemen who have since attained dis- 
tinction. On returning to Georgia he immediately applied 
himself to the study of law in the office and under the tutor- 
age of Governor Charles J. McDonald, of Marietta, one of 
the most eminent jurists and estimable men in that State. 
Having been admitted to the bar in 1849, he opened an 
office at Spring Place, Murray Co., Ga., and began his pro- 
fessional career. He remained at that point for three 
years, when, recognizing the superior facilities for pro- 
fessional business afforded by Chattanooga, Tenn., and fore- 
seeing its future development as a city, he removed to that 
thriving town and entered upon a successful practice. 

In 1855, having been but three years a citizen of the 
State, the confidence of his fellow-citizens and their appre- 
ciation of his talents for public affiiirs were manifested in 
his election to the House of Representatives of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of Tennessee as the member for Hamilton 
County. In that body, nearly equally divided politically, 
though one of the youngest members, he took a first place 
as a debater and parliamentarian, and was one of the recog- 
nized leaders of his party on the floor. The session of the 
General Assembly was a long and important one, and in 
addition to the many questions affecting the material inter- 
ests of the State which were considered — chief among 
which was the granting of additional State aid to works of 
internal improvement then in progress — political excitement 



408 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



was great, having acquired intensity in the fierce canvass 
of that year in vphich Americanism or " Know-Nothing- 
ism" figured as a new phase in politics. Mr. Burch was a 
participant in all the interesting discussions of the body, 
and the reputation he achieved was co-extensive with the 
State. 

In 1857 he was elected senator from the district com- 
posed of the counties of Hamilton, Bradley, Rhea, Bled- 
soe, Sequachee, and Marion. This district, as was his own 
county of Hamilton, was closely divided in political senti- 
ment, and his election by a decisive majority in each in- 
stance was esteemed as a personal triumph. Though 
barely of senatorial age, and his party having in its large 
majority a number of senators of ability and long experi- 
ence, he received the distinguished compliment of election 
to the Speakership of the body at its hands. The service 
of this session of the General Assembly, like the preceding, 
was long and of unusual interest and importance. The 
leading subject of internal improvements was again under 
consideration. The two fiscal corporations of the State 
most extensively connected with the business of the people 
— the Union and Planters' Banks of Nashville — were re- 
chartered at that session. The whole body of the statutes 
of the State was revised and compiled into the Code of 
Tennessee. Upon this General Assembly, also, the duty of 
electing a United States senator devolved, and upon the 
question of electing two — one to fill a prospective vacancy 
— an acrimonious political debate was precipitated. The 
question was decided afiirmatively, and two were chosen. 
In the discussions of the Senate its Speaker was frequently 
on the floor, and when in the chair his parliamentary skill 
and impartiality were so distinguished as to evoke from his 
fellow-senators, under the leader of the political opposition, 
the following more than formal resolutions of thanks at the 
close of the session : 

" Resolved, That the thanks of the Senate are due and 
are hereby cordially tendered to the Honorable John C. 
Burch, Speaker of the Senate, for the able, dignified, and 
impartial manner in which he has discharged his oflficial 
duties as presiding oSicer over its deliberations during the 
present session of the General Assembly, — his ability being 
evidenced in the unusual fact, in a legislative body, that no 
single decision made by him as Speaker of this body has 
been appealed from." 

In 1859 the Nashville Union and American, for a fourth 
of a century the organ of the Democratic party of Tennes- 
see, suffered the misfortune to lose by death — one occurring 
a few weeks after the other — its leading editorial conductors, 
G. G. Poindexter and E. G. Eastman. To supply the 
serious loss of two men so capable, under counsel of the 
most prominent leaders of the party in the State, Mr. Burch 
was called to the chief editorship of that journal, and this 
responsible position he filled with ability through the ex- 
citing Presidential canvass of 18(50 and the critical agita- 
tion which culminated in the civil war. His opinions and 
sentiments were warmly Southern, and his journal was 
aligned with the advanced views of resistance to sectional 
aggression. 

When, in the rapid march of events, Tennessee was re- 
quired to assume a position in the contest ensuing upon the 



fall of Fort Sumter, and she decided to unite her fortunes 
and join arms with the seceding States, Mr. Burch en- 
listed as a private in Company C, of the Rock City Guards, 
but was soon elected to a lieutenancy in another company. 
Before going to the field, however, he was appointed aide- 
de-camp to Maj.-Gen. Gideon J. Pillow, in command of 
the Provincial Army of Tennessee, organized to support 
the array of the Confederate States. He was soon pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. When Tennessee 
formally entered as a member of the Confederacy, and her 
troops were allied integrally with the army of that govern- 
ment. Col. Burch was made an assistant adjutant- general 
in the service, and continued in that capacity during the 
war, acting for two years on the staff of Maj.Gen. Pillow, 
and subsequently on those of Lieut.-Gen. N. B. Forrest 
and Maj.-Gen. Withers. The duties of these positions 
were acquitted with fidelity and loyal zeal to the cause he 
had early espoused. 

Upon the failure of the Confederate cause Col. Burch 
returned to Nashville and resumed the practice of his orig- 
inal profession. He pursued it with marked success for 
four years. In September, 1869, he purchased a control- 
ling interest in the Union and American, — -the journal with 
which he had been connected before the war, which had been 
revived in December, 1865, — and again became its lead- 
ing editor. To that work he was devoted exclusively until 
1873, when, a vacancy occurring in the comptrollership of 
the treasury of Tennessee, he was appointed to that respon- 
sible trust by Governor John C. Brown, and filled it until 
the expiration of the term in February, 1875, declining to 
offer as a candidate for another term. During his incum- 
bency of that office its duties were more than ordinarily 
onerous and delicate, and on the list of those who have 
served in that capacity it is conceded that no one has ex- 
hibited greater ability or more rigid integrity to the public 
interests. Indeed, his aptitude for what in many respects 
is the most important office in the administration of a State 
government was remarkable. 

Retiring from the comptrollership. Col. Burch returned to 
the editorial tripod, and was thus engaged for another period 
of four years. As an editor and politician, except on ques- 
tions connected with the civil war and pending its continu- 
ance, he was a supporter of the political fortunes of Andrew 
Johnson, and as a personal friend enjoyed in a high degree 
the confidence of that remarkable man. Not always in- 
dorsing his peculiar views, he admired his vigorous quali- 
ties of character, and the steadfast friendship of Col. Burch 
was appreciated by his wide circle of admirers. On leading 
questions of State and Federal policy, the journal, now 
called The American, with which he has been so long iden- 
tified, and with which he yet holds connection, has always 
occupied bold, clear, and unequivocal positions, and main- 
tained them with incisive force and ability. As its con- 
ductor he has given it a front rank in the press of the South- 
west, and impressed his views firmly on the public opinion _ 
of the State. 

On the accession of the Democratic party to the power 
of the majority in the Senate of the United States, in 
March, 1879, Col. Burch was elected to the secretaryship 
of that body, over a number of formidable competitors for 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



409 



that honorable and dignified office, every one of whom was 
an ex-member of either the United States Senate or House 
of Eepresentatives. Though but for a little more than a 
year in the discharge of its various and responsible func- 
tions, his ability and efSciency are conspicuous, as are his 
urbane and graceful manners in the society of the members 
of the highest deliberative body in the government. If 
peculiar fitness alone should be considered, it may be pre- 
dicted that he will long occupy that distinguished position. 

Col. Burcli's domestic circle is a large one. Blrs. Burch 
was Miss Lucy Newell, of Chattanooga, Tenn., a most 
amiable and estimable lady. They have had born to them 
eight children, two of whom — the oldest and fourth — died 
when they had about attained their fifth year. The others 
survive: Katharine N., Mary B., John C, Charles N., 
Robert L., and Lucius. The family, though still holding 
a residence of citizenship in Tennessee, are at present dom- 
iciled in Washington City, Col. Burch's official residence. 

Col. Burch is now in the mature vigor of life and pos- 
sessed of a robust physical constitution. This brief sketch 
of the events of his career attests a strong individuality. 
Classically educated, his tastes are literary and his culture 
extensive. In the fields of study to which his pursuits have 
directed, his information is full, and whether as a writer or 
speaker or in the executive sphere, his resources are ready 
and forcible. Every station to which he has attained has 
been filled with great credit and marked ability, and given 
earnest that he would fully sustain himself in any to which 
he might aspire. In the social circle he is a genial and 
attractive member, and his cordial bearing and kind offices 
have gained him a large list of warm friendships, which 
are held by the manly attributes of character he has dis- 
played. 



MAJOR HENRY HEISS. 

Maj. Henry Heiss, son of John P. and Anna Moly- 

neaux Heiss, was born April 80, 1838, at Bristol, Pa. 

His parents removed to Nashville a few weeks after the 

I birth of Henry, and. his mother died shortly after arrival 

I here. 

' Mr. Heiss, Sr., became an active and influential politician 
and one of the publishers of the Nashville Union. James 
K. Polk, upon his election to the Presidency, invited him 
to Washington ; here, in association with Thomas Ritchie, 
of the Richmond Enquirer, one of the most eminent jour- 
nalists the South has produced, he establislied the Washing- 
ton Union, which was the organ of the Polk administra- 
tion. 

Henry was educated at boarding-schools at Strasburg, 
Pa., Mount Holly, N. J., and graduated at Columbia Col- 
lege, near Washington, D. C. 

In 1858 he became connected with his father's paper, 
the Evening States, published at Washington, as reporter 
for the various departments of the government and of Con- 
gressional proceedings. 

In 1859 and a part of I860 he was engaged with a gov- 
ernment surveying party on lands lying chiefly in Allen 
Co., Kansas, known as the New York Indian lands. 



At the breaking out of the civil war he returned to 
Tennessee and enlisted as a private soldier in the Confed- 
erate army. 

He selected the cavalry service, and during the war was 
attached to the commands of Van Dorn, Forrest, and 
Wheeler. During the last year of the war he liad risen 
to the rank of captain, with stafi-rank as major ; was pro- 
vost-marshal of corps under both Forrest and Wheeler ; 
was paroled May 23, 1865, and returned to Nashville, 
where, in the fall of that year, he took a position on the 
Republican Banner, which had been recently revived, after 
its suspension since February, 1862. 

He became the managing editor of that paper, and re- 
mained with it until August, 1870, when he went to St. 
Louis to become the managing editor of the Times. He re- 
turned to Nashville early the following year, at the solicita- 
tion of the proprietors of the Banner. 

In 1872 went back to St. Louis again to take charge of 
the Times, remaining there until March, 1874, when he 
accepted the position of managing editor of the Nashville 
Union and American. 

When, in September, 1875, The Republican Banner 
and The Union and American were consolidated, he re- 
ceived the appointment of managing editor of the Ameri- 
can, which name was given the consolidated paper. This 
position he has ever since held, making a continuous ex- 
perience of fifteen years as a managing editor. 

This uninterrupted retention in the control of the press 
implies a fitness for the work, and the qualities requisite 
for the duties and responsibilities are apparent when we 
analyze Maj. Heiss' character. 

He has quick perception, sound judgment, and great in- 
dustry ; keeps wide awake to the current history of the 
day in all departments ; wastes no time or space on the 
extreme ideas of any party ; involves himself or his paper 
in no wrangling or factious criticism ; but, with conserva- 
tive adherence to his own convictions and the policy of the 
Democratic party, he makes a paper at once healthy in 
tone, instructive, useful, and acceptable in the homes of a 
large constituency. 

Maj. Heiss possesses great modesty joined with unques- 
tioned bravery ; his instincts are gentle, pure, and gener- 
ous ; he kindles warm friendship among his acquaintances, 
and firm faith in his integrity and devotion to duty in all 
life's relations. 

Maj. Heiss was married Sept. 4, 1872, to Miss Mary G. 
Lusk, a daughter of Robert Lusk, Esq., an eminent banker 
of Nashville. 

He has never sought or hold public office, nor would 
he be turned aside from his chosen profession of journal- 
ism, which he regards as one of the most honorable. 



DR. WILLIAM H. MORGAN. 

The Morgan fiimily is of Welsh origin, and its name can 
be traced to quite remote antiquity. History tells of " Mor- 
gan the Courteous," a Welsh prince, who died in 1001. 
Another Blorgan, "Prince of Parnyh, went on a pilgrimage 
to the Holy Land, and died in 1126. 



410 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



The progenitors of the American family of this name — 
three brothers — emigrated to New Jersey in the latter part 
of the seventeenth century. 

From this stock William Morgan removed to Virginia. 
At Shepherdstown, near Harper's Ferry, a stone dwelling 
still stands bearing his initials and the date of 1710. 
Abraham, youngest son of this William Morgan, emigrated 
to Logan Co., Ky., and located near Russellville. 

William H., the subject of this sketch, was born at this 
Kentucky home. He was one of eight children. His 
mother before marriage was Elizabeth Adams, of Mont- 
gomery Co., Md. While his parents were comfortable 
livers, they had not the means to give him more than a 
common school and limited education. Having lofty as- 
pirations, and seeing that he would have to rely on his own 
exertions, by industry and economy he saved from his 
earnings (not being ashamed to be seen at work for wages) 
enough to qualify himself to embark in the learned profes- 
sion of dental surgery ; his energy, industry, and economy 
in his young manhood days won for him the confidence 
and esteem of all right-minded men. He commenced the 
study of dentistry about the year 1846, and graduated from 
the Baltimore College in 1848 ; settled in the city of Nash- 
ville in 1849, where he has remained in a lucrative and 
successful practice to this time. 

Dr. Morgan has been connected with seven dental asso- 
ciations. He has been elected and served as president in 
six of them. Has been twice elected as president of the 
American Dental Association. He is the only Southern 
gentleman who has ever filled this position, the honor 
of a second election never having been enjoyed by any 
other man. For several years past he has been a trus- 
tee of the Ohio Dental College, and is now president of 
that board. His resignation was tendered, but not accepted. 
Is professor of clinical dentistry and dental pathology in 
the Dental Department of Vanderbilt University, and dean 
of the faculty. Is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church South ; he has three times served the General 
Conference on the book committee ; was elected by the Ten- 
nessee Conference a delegate to the last General Conference. 

Dr. Morgan was appointed to deliver the address of wel- 
come on the part of the dentists of Tennessee at the Amer- 
ican Dental Association while sitting in Nashville in 1870, 
a task which he performed to the satisfaction of his friends, 
which is shown by the closing remarks of Professor C. K. 
Winston, who was appointed on the part of the Medical 
As.sociation to perform a like service. Said he, '■ I will 
not attempt to add anything further to the very eloquent 
address of Dr. Morgan, a man who is an honor to his pro- 
fession and a benefactor to his race." 

He has not been an active politician, nor ever held posi- 
tion of party preferment. He was an old-line Whig be- 
fore the war ; since that event his sympathies have been 
generally with the Democratic party. 

He was elected to succeed John M. Bass, Esq., as presi- 
dent of the Nashville Life Insurance Company, and ac- 
cepted with the intention and for the purpose of closing up 
its afl'airs. 

Dr. Morgan married Miss Sarah A. Noel, of Logan Co., 
Ky., by whom he has three sons and one daughter. 



As a leader in the profession of dentistry, as a public- 
spirited citizen, as a man of integrity, culture, and useful- 
ness, he holds a very prominent position in the community. 



WILLIAM KING BOWLIiVG. 

When Dr. Bowling was asked how old he was, he said, 
" When the Third Napoleon, Emperor of the French, 
Marshal McMahon, Charles Dickens, Salmon P. Chase, 
Robert E. Lee, Andrew Johnson, and Jefferson Davis came 
into the world, and when the American slave-trade termi- 
nated by a provision of the Constitution of the United 
States, I came, — born when giant men came, and when a 
giant sin and outrage died." This event occurred in the 
Northern Neck of Virginia, in the county of Westmoreland, 
the native county of George Washington. Tradition and 
history represent his ancestors as planters, and, while re- 
markable for kindness and generosity, none of them filled 
any conspicuous place in Church or State. The name is 
not found among the ofiicers of the Revolutionary war, nor 
among the leaders and followers of the fiery patriots whose 
meetings and resolves led to that glorious consummation. 
Not a vestryman of the Anglican Church bears that name, 
nor does a Non-conformist place it upon the page of history^ 
In the republic of letters it is unknown. A family seem-i 
ingly content to draw their subsistence from hereditary 
acres. And yet few names in the gossip or literature of 
Virginia occur more frequently, or are mentioned with more 
respect. For generations the maxim prevailed in the family 
that the post of honor is a private station. 

In 1810 his father moved to North Kentucky, where Dr. 
Bowling — the fifth of ten children, and middle brother of 
seven — was educated privately by excellent tutors, and 
among them three authors of books. Says he, " Like 
Clay and Drake, I was dropped down in the wilderness of 
Kentucky, and left to fight the battle of life as best I could, 
without education, family influence, or patronage. To three 
vagabond authors whom my father fed for my benefit, and 
a public library of five hundred volumes, which I devoured 
before I was fourteen, I owe the foundation of all I am or 
hope to be. I attended one course of lectures in the Med- 
ical College of Ohio, and practiced five years, and attended 
another course at the Medical Department of Cincinnati 
College, known as Drake's School, and graduated. Drake 
was my medical idol, and his memory is yet. I was used 
to the society of authors. I had slept with them, roamed 
the wild forests with them, raved and ranted with them, 
and felt almost as big at eighteen as any of them, and they 
felt as big as all outdoors. One was a poet, William P. S. 
Blair, brother of the celebrated Francis P. Blair, of Kendall 
and Jackson memory. Lyman Martin, afterwards my medi- 
cal preceptor, a scholar from Connecticut, spent merry hours 
at my father's with these men, but he never raved nor 
ranted. God bless hi-m ! He was everything to me, taught - 
me, and believed in me." 

Dr. Bowling received his medical degree in the spring of 
1836. Though his Alma Mater was of brief existence, its 
faculty was one of the most remarkable in America ; each 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



411 



member, in subsequent life and widely separated fields, 
acliieved a national reputation. 

As a practitioner of medicine from lSo6 to 1850, Dr. 
Bowlinp: gained great eminence in Logan Co., Ky., near 
the Tennessee line, and became widely known in both 
States. During tliis time lie had always under his tuition 
a number of office students, who spread his reputation as an 
original teacher of medicine far and wide. In 1848 he was 
offered the chair of theory and practice, in the Memphis 
Medical Institute, the pioneer medical school of Tennessee. 
This offer he declined. Familiar through the public prints 
and from personal intercourse among the students of the 
University of Nashville with the remarkable and persistent 
labors of President Philip Lindsley in behalf of Nashville 
as a literary and educational centre, he had already conceived 
the idea of a great medical scliool there, and as a part of 
that university. 

■ In 1850 he removed to Nashville, hoping by his presence 
to stimulate phy.sicians of eminence, to whom he had vainly 
written, to take part in the great enterprise. At this time 
the suspension of the Collegiate Department of the univer- 
sity had been decreed by the trustees, in view of the resig- 
nation of President Lindsley, which was to take effect on 
October 3d. 

Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley was then busily engaged in 
getting up a scheme for a medical college, — if possible, in 
connection with the university ; if not, as a joint-stock com- 
pany. He brought liis plans to Dr. B., who at once de- 
clared that he would venture largely of means and labor in 
connection with the " old University," and would not invest 
a cent in a private enterprise. Dr. L. and his associates ac- 
cepted Dr. B.'s views, gave him the chair of theory and 
practice, and made him their mouthpiece in communicating 
with the board of trustees, by which the faculty was com- 
missioned on Oct. 11, 1850. The peculiar features of Dr. 
B.'s plan are its making the medical professors supreme in 
their own department, and on the other hand endowing 
the University by the labors and fees of its medical profes- 
sors. Besides meeting all the contingent expenses of the 
school, the medical faculty have added to the university 
property buildings and outfit costing not less than fifty thou- 
sand dollars. 

In the school tlius establislied by the energy of a college- 
bred youtli and the wisdom of a backwoods practitioner, 
coupled with the assistance of a most able corps of teachers, 
Dr. B. became at once a master-spirit. lie was ever 
ready to second liberal and progressive steps, regarding 
always large and enthusiastic classes as of prime importance. 
As a lecturer he was characteristically original. Thoroughly 
master of the great writers upon practical medicine in the 
olden time, and perfectly conversant by long experience 
with all the prevalent diseases of this region, ho was able 
to plan a course of lectures eminently learned and practical. 
Understanding doctor and medical student nature with an 
insight given to but few, he had a hold upon the class 
peculiar to himself. Gifted with a creative fancy, a poetic 
imagination, and a delivery combining the graces of the 
orator with the arts of the actor, he kept large classes in 
rapt attention. lie was the Bush, the Chapman, and the 
Drake of the South all in one. In the ten years 1851- 
52 



18G1 he taught more than three thousand students, — au 
achievement without precedent in professional annals, for 
never did any school before or since have such numbers in 
its first decade. I am almost sure that every one of this 
number carried away with him as a part of his intellectual 
furniture not only lofty and advanced views of medicine as 
a humane and liberal calling, but also maxims, apothegms, 
and theses of lasting influence. Like Philip Lindsley, of 
Nashville, and Arnold, of Rugby, he impressed his individ- 
uality upon the pupil. This is the rare gift of the teacher 
who is born such. 

In 1851 he founded the Nashville Journal of Medicine 
and Surgery, and sustained it for a quarter of a century. 
His contributions to medicine are principally contained in 
tliis journal, where he was never negative, but definitely 
aggressive or defensive, concerning all things pertaining to 
his profession. Upon retiring from i\\a Medical Journal 
in 1875, his publisher said of him that " Dr. Bowling had 
never kept the printer waiting for copy or money;" and 
the greatest living medical critic in his journal said of him, 
"A man of genius as well as of learning, of the true 
poetic temperament, he has written some of the most 
brilliant articles in our medical annals." An eminent 
practitioner in California says, " The first quarter of a 
century of the Nashville Journal has stamped its impress 
upon those who read it for sincerity, truth, and usefulness, 
elevating the standard of true medicine as no other pub- 
lication has done." Many thousand copies of Dr. Bowl- 
ing's Introductories and also of pamphlet editions of articles 
from the Medical Journal were circulated by order of the 
faculty. 

Dr. Bowling has always strenuously advocated the or- 
ganization of the profession, and contributed his quotum of 
labor and time to local and national associations. He has 
avoided ofiice. However, in 185G he was elected third 
vice-president, in 1867 first vice-president, and in 1S74 
president, of the American I\Iedical Association. In 1873 
he was elected by the medical editors of the United States 
president of their national association. 

Dr. Bowling has always taken a keen interest in public 
affairs, but has preferred medical to public work. He was 
spontaneously returned a member of the Constitutional Con- 
vention of Kentucky for Logan County in 1849, and there 
laid the corner-stone of public instruction in that State. 
In 1853 he delivered the oration upon the occasion of lay- 
in" the corner-stone of the first public school (Hume) 
building in Nashville. He is a firm and consistent advo- 
cate of universal public education for all races. He has, 
by invitation, delivered many addresses to institutions of 
learning. The only notes he ever signed as security were 
those of Chancellor Lindsley, for tjie university buildings, 
in 1855, to the amount of over thirty thousand dollars, the 
contractors having agreed with the trustees to give up 
their mechanics' lien, and to look to the chancellor, backed 
by a public subscription, for their pay. 

In 1873, Dr. Bowling resigned his chair in tlie Medical 
Department of the University of Nashville. In 1877 he 
resumed position there as professor of malarial diseases 
and medical ethics. After lecturing two winters he again 
resigned, and is now one of the professors of theory and 



411 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



praclicc in the iMedical Department of the University of 
Tennessee, at Nashville. 

In 1837 he married Blrs. Melissa Cheatham, 7iee Melissa 
Saunders. Her dust now mingles with that of her native 
county in Mount Olivet, the beautiful rural cemetery of 
Nashville. J- B. l. 



WILLIAM WELLS BERRY. 

William Wells Berry, son of Horatio and Sarali Godman 
Berry, natives of Anne Arundel Co., Bid., was born in the 
city of Baltimore, Md., June 8, 1813. He attended a 
private school in that city until he attained the age of six- 
teen, beginning there the foundation of a cnurse of reading 
and study which ended only with his life, and gave him 
both varied and accurate information. Leaving school, he 
entered the wholesale drug-house of Keerle & Co., of Bal- 
timore, where he remained until 1834, gaining under a 
kind and upright employer a knowledge of commercial 
matters which made of him at the age of twenty-one an 
independent and self-reliant merchant. Removing to- Nash- 
ville, he established a wholesale drug firm which now, under 
the name of Berry, Demoville & Co., is widely and favor- 
ably known, and justly claims as high financial standing as 
any firm in the South. It is characteristic of Mr. Berry 
that during the long period which ho was engaged in busi- 
ness in Nashville, nearly half a century, he never changed 
his location. 

Mr. Berry was endowed with a great capacity for aifairs, 
and every enterprise with which he was actively connected 
bore evidence in its success of his marked ability and un- 
remitting attention. He was a member of the board of 
directors of the Planters' Bank of Tennessee during its 
most prosperous period, from 1854 to 1862. He was pres- 
ident of the Third National Bank of Nashville from its 
organization, in 1865, until he was prostrated by disease, in 
1876. The almost unparalleled success of this institution 
■was due not only to the wisdom and sagacity with which its 
affairs were conducted, but to the unbounded confidence of 
the community in its officers and directors. He was from 
its incorporation until his death president of the Equitable 
Insurance Company of Nashville, an organization which 
has always stood deservedly high in public estimation. 

Mr. Berry was closely identified as director with other 
leading insurance and manufacturing- incorporations ; and 
in all these places of trust he was remarkable no less for 
the conscientious fidelity and impartiality with which he 
discharged every duty than for the sound judgment of his 
counsels. He -was at one time owner of large planting in- 
terests on the Arkansas River, which he managed with the 
success he attained in other enterprises. On the 10th of 
March, 1840, Mr. Berry was married to Jane E. White, 
daughter of Gen. William White, a member of the David- 
son County bar, and a gallant oflicer under Gen. Andrew 
Jackson in the war of 1812, and subsequent campaigns 
against the Indians. 

Mr. Berry died June 15, 1876, leaving a widow and 
five children. Just in all business transactions, modest and 
gentle in demeanor, refined in habits, cordial and aflFeetion- 



ate in all social and domestic relations, he left to his de- 
scendants an honored name and a spotless memory. 



JOHN HARDING. 

John Harding was born in 1777 at Gooseland, Va., but 
spent bis early life at Powhatan, in tjie same State. He 
came to Tennessee in 1805 with four brothers and two 
sisters. He was reared a ftrmer ; his education at school was 
limited, his means small, as his father's property was ruined 
in the war of the Revolution, but if jioor in estate he was 
rich in health, in energy, industrj', and good habits. 

The family located on Harpeth River, on the estate 
where Edward Hicks now resides. After serving his father 
faithfully on the farm, John located on the farm now known 
as " Belle Meade;" he subsequently had a home in Nash- 
ville, still retaining the above-named farm. In 1838 he 
bought a plantation in Louisiana, which he soon sold at a 
handsome profit. In 1840 he bought again, this time in 
Arkan.sas ; which place, with large additions to the original 
purchase, he bequeathed to his grandchildren, in 1860. 

John Harding was an early and firm friend of the cause 
of education ; on tliis account he took a deep interest in the 
prosperity of " The Nashville Female Academy.'' Not that 
the trustees favored his ideas, for they were mostly of re- 
ligious persuasions differing from his, but from a desire to 
have the daughters of Tennessee educated in the best pos- 
sible manner. 

His sympathies were with the Christians, also known as 
the Campbellites. His liberality towards the clergy of this 
denomination was notorious; in fact, he could not do too 
much to aid those of like faith with himself. 

Mr. Harding's chief characteristics were energy and in- 
dustry. It was not the desire of acquiring rapidly, but a 
desire always to attain the best results, to make the most 
of everything. 

His fine pasturage he made profitable by taking horses 
and mules from Nashville to feed, and by- supplying almost 
daily the city or town market with his choice hay ; no one 
raised better, for which reason he often had from one hun- 
dred and fifty to two hundred horses to pasture. 

Then his mill was made profitable, and his excellent black- 
smith-shop had an immense run of business ; from all these 
sources, as well as others, came large revenues, which were 
invested in farming-lands. These added acres received the 
best of culture. His kind and paternal care of his slaves 
secured from them faithful services; he never separated a 
family of slaves, never bought and sold them on specula- 
tion ; the number left his son were the increase of a small 
number received from his f\ither by inheritance. 

John Harding married Miss Susannah Shute, who had 
come into Tennessee from Virginia with her brothers and 
sisters before him. The Shute family were from Carlisle, 
Pa., and of German origin. 

His family consisted of six children, only three of whom 
grew to maturity, — viz., William G., Elizabeth, wife of 
Joseph Clay, of North Carolina, and Amanda, who married 
Frank McGavock, of Nashville. 




cT®3S£M MA.mBIM 




/6y ^^i^-p-z^o i/( 




BIOGRAPHIES. 



413 



John Ilai-ding died at " Belle Meade," where he had re- 
sided since about 18G0; ho was eighty-seven years old at 
the time of his decease. 

Ho is rciucmbered throughout this country as a brave, 
honest, enterprising, liberal, and loyal man. 



WILLIAM D. PHILIPS.* 

William D. Philips was born on the 10th of June, 1804, 
and died on the 15tii of June, 1879, at his farm and resi- 
dence, six miles north of Nashville, Davidson Co., Tenn. 
He was born, raised, lived, and died on the well-known 
farm on which his father lived and died, — the " Philips" 
place. His fiither, Joseph Philips, was an early settlor, and 
emigrated in 1791, with his wife, Milbry Philips, from 
Edgecombe Co., N. C, to Tennessee. His ancestry for 
several generations, both paternal and maternal, were 
natives of Edgecombe province under the Colonial govern- 
ment. 

Joseph Philips served as guide for the Continental 
forces, and participated in the battle of King's Mountain. 
Matthew Philips, brother of Joseph Philips, was colonel 
commanding a regiment of troops, and died preceding the 
battle of King's Blountain, from an overdraught of wafer. 
William D. Philips was respected and esteemed for his 
solid and many virtues by all who knew him. His life 
was wholly a private life; he never held or sought oflRce, 
but gave his time, mind, and life to tho occupation of farm- 
ing and agriculture. He inherited from his father about 
one thousand acres of land and several families of slaves. 
He was not of age when he came into his possessions and 
government and control of his farm. His education was as 
good and liberal as the times allowed ; for a time a pupil of 
the Rev. Thomas B. Craighead. He was not a man of 
letters or literary taste, but of active life and deeds. His 
farm and its laborers were well governed and conducted ; he 

( gave it his care, skill, and judgment, and it was his pride 

' and pleasure to the day of his death. 

William D. Philips married early in life, as soon as of 
age, Susan P. Clark, daughter of Thomas A. Clark, of 

I South West Point, East Tennessee, a sister of James P. 

I Clark, of Nashville, which led to a close, intimate friend- 

^ ship between these persons, which was that of brothers, 
and lasted as long as life, and continued to exist between 
their families after the death of Mrs. Philips, whose married 
life was of short duration, and died without issue. 

In 1828 he married Eliza Dwyer, daughter of Daniel 
Dwyer, a merchant of Franklin, Tenn., a genial Irish 
gentleman, she herself being a native of Ireland, and a 
type of the most beautiful Irish lady, cheerful, warm, and 
cheering all brought within her circle, always kind, cordial, 
and gentle. She became a model farmer's wife, serving and 
in person directing the household and its aflFairs in-doors. 
All went well under her gentle but firm control and man- 
agement. She was happy herself, and always cordial to 
her husband's relatives, — a large connection, and frequent 
visitors. 

« By John Trimble. 



William D. Philips was not a common, but an uncommon, 
man in his person and character. He had a good physique, 
was in stature six feet high, well formed, and developed in 
his person by active life in the open air. He was a prac- 
tical man wholly, dark hazel eyes, auburn hair, impulsive, 
quick in his movements, and withal impulsive temperament, 
yet self controlled in a high degree. He went to bed early, 
rose before the sun, and regular in his habits, a very mod- 
erate eater at all of his meals for his active life and habits. 
He was very industrious and diligent in the management of 
his farm, and "all over it his foot-tracks were to be found 
and the effects of his eyes were to be seen." lie was 
always glad to have his relatives, friends, and other persons 
to visit him, and made them welcome at an abundant old 
Virginia or North Carolina table spread with the best. 

He was not an avaricious or ambitious man, had high 
self-respect and pride of character, had plenty, determined 
always to have plenty and to .«pare, and gave with unstinted 
generosity when real charity was demanded. Never sought 
to be popular in a popular sense, but placed a high value 
on character ; had great pride of character ; desired to pos- 
sess the good will and respect of his fellow-citizens, but 
never sought it directly. 

There was not a trace of guile or deceit or meanness in 
his nature or character ; in fact, he despised all deceit, 
hypocrisv, and sham so much that probably it sent him in 
the other direction. It made him seem abrupt, harsh, and 
short in his speech and manners. He repulsed in manner, 
but always gave when a case was presented. He always 
gave, but. there was not seemingly grace in his manner; 
perhaps there was an" iuiperiousncss of slavery and master 
in his manner of which he was not con.«cious, and which is 
in the spirit of the institution itself, and from which no 
large slave-owner was" exempt, not even Washington him- 
self Notwithstanding this manner outside, there was in 
his heart much real, genuine, warm, kind feeling and hu- 
manity. Many anecdotes are told to illustrate this kind- 
ness of his nature and seeming unkindness of manner. 

His good wife understood him, and his sterling qualities 
were known to her. She respected and loved him, and, 
though different in manners, they lived a long life of entire 
harmony. He knew his wife, and fully appreciated and 
loved her gentle, winning ways and character. When she 
died, as she did some years before his death, her death 
brought home upon and within him a deep, inconsolable 
crief which went with him to his grave. 

This man, the product of our times and society, was at 
the core of him a sound man, a real, genuine man, no sham 
or hollow man wearing the mask of goodness to cover up a 
false and selfish nature. 

On Monday evening, Juno IG, 1879, his mortal remains 
were deposited in the family burial-place on his farm, and 
he sleeps with his father, his mother, and his beloved wife, 
mother of his children, and two children, on the farm upon 
which he was born, raised, lived, and died, and which he 
loved so well. He was the father of seven children by his 
wife Eliza Dwyer, of whom two sons and two daughters 
survive him. His sister, Sirs. Martha Martin, tho last of 
a large family of brothers and sisters, still lives, at the age 
of eighty-nine years, beloved by all who know her. 



414 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



COL. WILLOUGHBY WILLIAMS. 

Col. Willougliby Williams is a North Carolinian by birtli, 
liaving been born near Snowbill, in wliat is now Greene 
County, on the 14th of June, 1798. His father was a 
Welshman and was a major in the Ilevolution, surviving 
through the war, and although his widow, the mother of 
Col. Williams, afterwards married Governor MeMinn, by 
some special legislation she drew a pension during -iier life. 
She lived to quite an advanced age, and died in 1S5G. She' 
•was the daughter of Col. James Glasgow, who was at one 
time Secretary of State of North Carolina. 

Col. Williams married Miss Nancy D. Nichols, the 
daughter of Capt. John Nichols, a most estimable lady, 
with whom he lived, using liis own word.s^ ■" jn the most 
perfect love and harmony for twenty-one years,' when she 
died, causing such a shock to my feelings that T was only 
sustained by the consciousness that neither in word nor deed 
had I ever caused a tear to fall from her eye or a pang to 
cross licr bosom." For thirty-five years ho has remained 
a widower, preferring the sweet memories of a happy mar- 
ried life to the risk of experimenting in sacred relations. 
From the death of liis wife, his life has been devoted — 
constant, unceasing labor — to the children of his happy 
marriage. Of nine children born six arc still living, to 
•wit: John II. Williams, Mary Jane McNairy, widow of 
Col. E. C. McNairy, McLemorc H. Williams, Willoughby 
Williams, Jr., Ellen, wife of Marion AV. Lewis, Nancy D., 
wife of C. A. Nichol. Eobert N. Williams married the 
daughter of Samuel D. Morgan, and died leaving a family 
of children. Andrew J. was killed in the late war. The 
other child died in infancy. 

The highest point in the life of our subject is a virtue 
based on superior judgment, which has been developed in 
but few characters, to wit : that of persistently eschewing 
the allurements of oflBce and firmly resisting all attempts 
to bring him into public life to the detriment of a loving 
and beloved family, and to the substitution of petty annoy- 
ances for the sweet enjoyment of a happy paternal home. 

When a young man Col. Williams was for six years 
sheriff of Davidson County, and now in his declining years 
he remembers with the greatest pleasure that after going 
out of office he was never in a single instance called on to 
explain one of his many official acts. 

At one time — about 1837 — the president of the Bank 
of Tennessee having resigned, in his absence he, being at 
the time engaged in planting in Florida, was without his 
knowledge unanimously elected president of the bank, 
which was in suspension, and in the estimation of the 
board of directors imperatively demanded for its restora- 
tion his superior and well-known financial skill. This he, 
. upon notice, promptly declined ; but, coming home, his 
friends. Governor Carroll, George W. Campbell, and others, 
prevailed on him for the safety of tlie then comparatively 
new State bank and for the good of the Democratic party, 
for which he was always willing to work, to accept. Con- 
tinuing in this position only until he brought about resump- 
tion, he resigned and resumed control of his private affairs. 
Planting in Florida during the Seminole war was so haz- 
ardous tliat he broke up and moved most of his slaves to 



Arkansas, where he remained planting until the war came, 
which emancipated his slaves. Having about five hundred 
slaves, he removed them to the Brazos Bottom, Texas, and - 
remained with them during the war, and then brought 
them (free people) back to Arkansas. 

The end of the war not only brought the emancipation 
of his slaves, but found him in debt, mostly as surety for 
his friends, about three hundred thousand dollars. Nearly 
all in. a like situation wont into bankruptcy; but though 
nearly seventy years old he resolved to struggle through, 
and now he is entirely out of debt and one of the most 
successful planters in Arkansas. 

Slill making Tennessee his home, as he always has done, 
ho spends about half his time on his plantation in Arkansas, 
■looking closely after his large planting interests, and by his 
superior judgment is making the raising of cotton profitable 
to himself as well as large numbers of his former slaves. 
His .relations with them are of a most friendly character; 
he knowing their weaknesses and they knowing liis worth, 
the rights of each are never infracted. 

Col. Williams' father died when he was only four years 
old, at a camp near Dandiidge, in East Tennessee, when the 
family were moving from North Carolina. 

While very young, Willoughby went into a store at 
Knoxville, and worked as a store-boy on a salary sufficient 
to buy his clothes, and then for a time at Abingdon, Va. 
His mother having stopped in Roane County, in East Ten- 
nessee, after the death of his father, he came first to Nash- 
ville, riding on horseback in company with her to visit his 
two aunts, Mrs. Col. Donelson, whoso husband was the 
brother of Mrs. Jackson, and Mrs. Judge Robert Wliyte. 
Remaining for nearly a year that time, he was much at the 
house of Gen. Jackson, and, being a boy of quick percep- 
tion, he imbibed many of his lifetime ways from that early 
visit to the coming great hero. His next visit to Nashville 
was in 1S13, when he witnessed, and is the only living man 
now who did witness, the fight between Jaekson and the 
Bentons. Nashville became his home in 1818. The con- 
nection between himself and the Jackson family brought 
him, at a very early day, into close relations with the old 
general, and it can be said with absolute certainty that of 
all the men now living, none were so close to Gen. Jackson 
for so long a time. A man of the greatest prudence, and 
himself of unbounded popularity, of good address and 
courtly manners, and firmly fixed in all the principles of a 
Democratic government, Gen. Jackson looked upon him 
through all his struggles as one of his staunchest and most 
reliable friends. 

The relations between Col. Williams and Gen. Sam Hous- 
ton, at the time in the history of that great man when ho 
resigned the oificc of Governor and put Tennessee's greatest 
secret under cover, of separating from his wife without tell- 
ing the world the cause, were of a most intimate and con- 
fidential character. It was to him that Gen. Houston 
perhaps first communicated his purpose, and to him were 
intrusted some of the details of' this most extraordinary 
move ; but it is due to the memory of the hero of San 
Jacinto that, so far as Col. Williams knows or believes, ho 
never, through his long life, communicated to any living 
person the secrets of this domestic tragedy. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



415 



Tlirough a life now turning into the eighty-third year 
Col. Williams has been a man of strict temperance and uni- 
form habits, never intoxicated, and never playing even a 
game of cards for amusement. He attributes his success in 
life in a groat measure to the advice given him by his life- 
time friend and adviser, Gen. Jackson. With him, next to 
the sweet memory of his wife and the love of his children, 
the name of Andrew Jackson is most sacred. He is a liv- 
ing evidence of what has become historic, to wit: that Gen. 
Jackson's friends were devoted to him in a wonderful man- 
ner, exceeding even the devotion of Napoleon's followers. 

He lias lately, with his own hand, written up the early 
events of Davidson County, giving families, their marriages 
and deaths, tosethor with localities, roads, and many inci- 
dents of early life in Davidson County, which for detail is 
■without a parallel, coming from one man's recollection of 
old time.'!. 

Col. Williams is above medium size, remarkably erect, 

I with a strong face full of decision as well as benevolence. 

I He is one of the most companionable of men, quick of 
speech, accurate in thought, chaste in language, exceedingly 
neat in person, and in his memory of past events and people 
he has no peer. He is a living library of all that has taken 
place in Tennessee, of a public nature, since 1809. 



ADAM GILLESPIE ADAMS. 

Adam Gillespie Adams was born in County Tyrone, Ire- 
land, July 12, 1820. He was one of a family of twelve 
children, consisting of nine boys and three girls. His 
father, besides being a farmer, was a blacksmith. His 
mother's maiden name was Jane Gillespie; both sides of 
the family are of Scotch-Irish descent. This title means 
that the North of Ireland was largely settled by Scotch ; 
the descendants are therefore justly called Scotch-Irish. 

His early life was surrounded by the air of piety ; the 
religious influence of his mother is most gratefully acknowl- 
edged by the subject of this sketch. 

Besides the advantages of a rudimentary school near 
home, Adam had town school privileges. He entered a 
wholesale establishment at the age of twelve years, and 
remained in this house till he was nineteen years old, 
when, with a younger brother, he emigrated to America. 

It should be noted that he had acquired in his seven 
years' services with his first employer a wide experience in 
merchandise and men. The firm dealt in a great variety of 
domestic and foreign goods, and only in a wholesale way ; 
they handled grain, lumber, iron, groceries, liquors, and 
tobacco. But Adam had steadily carried out his mother's 
instructions, and never made habitual use of either of the 
two articles last named. 

Landing in New York in 1839, Mr. Adams undertook 
the long journey to Nashville, Tenn., where he had two 
brothers and many relatives living. He arrived there July 
1st, having refused then, as he always has since, to travel 
on Sunday. 

He secured employment as a clerk with Eakin Bros., who, 
while they were in the wholesale line in Nashville, had two 
retail stores in Shelbyville, Tcnn., where he spent over a 



year. Returning to the wholesale house at Nashville, he 
remained with them until 1850, when, on the death of two 
of the firm, he became a partner. 

His first year's salary with this firm was one hundred 
and fifty dollars, and, though it was advanced from time to 
time, he saved a larger percentage from this small salary 
than from that of any other year. 

In 1858 a division of the business occurred, and Mr. 
Adams, taking the boots and shoes and clothing departments, 
withdrew, and bought the old Eakin & Bros, house, on the 
public square, and continued under the firm-name of A. G. 
Adams & Co. 

In 1849, Mr. Adams made a trip to his home in Ireland. 
On his return he was strongly tempted to remove his busi- 
ness to New York City ; but the sight of the glorious 
country and the noble people of Middle Tennessee, from 
which and from whom he had been so far absent, revived 
his admiration, and ho resolved to live permanently in 
Nashville. 

Mr. Adams was dedicated to God in baptism at the age 
of fifteen years; made a public profession of religion in 
the Presbyterian Church, and has always taken an active 
interest in her welfare. 

In 1842 he was one of the first movers in organizing the 
Second Presbyterian Church ; he was elected an elder, and 
also superintendent of its Sabbath-school in 1843, and held 
the office till 1862. 

In 18G6, on his return from New York, where he had 
resided during the greater part of the civil war, he was 
elected superintendent of the Sabbath-school and a ruling 
elder in the First Presbyterian Church ; both of these 
positions he has held ever since. 

Resuming business after the war, under the former name 
of A. G. Adams & Co., and continuing under that name 
till 1876, when the present firm-style of Adams, Throne & 
Co., was announced, he is now one of the oldest whole- 
sale merchants on the square. 

Mr. Adams' whole soul has been interested in the cause 
of religion. His church and Sabbath-school have been his 
chosen field of labor outside the duties of his business life. 
He has held the office of treasurer of the National Bible 
Society since 1854; also the position of director in the 
Union Bank of Tennessee, to which he was elected in 
1854, and in that connection passed through the trying 
times which all the banks experienced in the civil war. 
Mr. Adams was also a director in the Tennessee Marine 
and Fire Insurance Company, now closed, and has lately 
been persuaded to take the presidency of the Equitable 
Fire Insurance Company. He took an active part in the 
establishment of the first cotton-mill in Nashville, llie " Ten- 
nessee Manufiicturing Company," which now is in success- 
ful operation ; he was elected a member of the first board 
of directors, which position he still holds. 

At a public meeting of the citizens of Nashville to take 
steps to celebrate their Centennial (April 24, 1880), Jlr. 
Adams was appointed chairman of the committee of re- 
ception, and by virtue of this appointment was constituted 
a member of the board of directors of the Centennial Com- 
mission. 

Mr. Adams has been twice married, — first, in 1846, to 



416 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Susan Porterfield, daughter of Francis Porterfleld and Ma- 
linda Morgan, after whose death he married, in 1S51, Mary 
J. Strickler, of Shelbyville, Tenn., daughter of Benjamin 
Strieklcr and Sarah Eakin. By this marriage he had eight 
children, — five sons and three daughters. 

Iq the community in which he resides Mr. Adams is 
highly esteemed as a public-spirited, honest, and upright 
man; a man of sound judgment, courteous and elegant 
manners, kindly sympathies, and strong religious tendencies. 



WILLIAM II. JACKSON. 

William H. Jackson was born in Paris, Henry Co., Tenn., 
Oct. 1, 1835. His father, Dr. A. Jackson, and his mother, 
Mary W. Hurt, both natives of Virginia, were married in 
1829, and removed to West Tennessee in 1830. The only 
surviving children of this marriage were William .H. and 
Howell E. Jackson, the latter now an eminent lawyer of 
Jackson, Tenn. 

The subject of this sketch was reared amid good and 
wholesome precepts in the home circle, and sound instruc- 
tion in the school and church. 

Possessed of a sanguine spirit, his fearless bravery and 
warm espousal of the weaker side in boyhood's strifes se- 
cured him strong friends and ardent admirers. His impet- 
uosity of spirit and love of adventure made field sports 
more attractive than the monotonous duties of the school, 
and clearly foreshadowed his manhood. 

While a member of the senior class of the West Ten- 
nessee College he received the appointment of cadet at West 
Point, and entered that institution in 1852. 

The discipline of the military school was of the greatest 
benefit in its influence on the restless and ambitious spirit, 
and at the same time the prospects of a military life opened 
up broader fields and presented strong stimulus to exer- 
tion. He graduated with credit in the large class of 185G, 
and after the usual furlough at home, he reported in the 
fall of the same year at the cavalry school of instruction at 
Carlisle, I'a., to Col. Charles May, of Mexican war fame. 
One year later he joined his regiment of Mounted Rifles, 
U.S.A., then stationed in various parts of Texas and New 
Mexico. He remained in this frontier service as second 
lieutenant under Col. W. W. Loring from 1857 to the 
spring of 1861. In this connection full scope was given 
his love of adventure in following Indian trails and the 
exciting incidents peculiar to this branch of military service. 
Individuality was developed, self-reliance constantly exer- 
cised, perils encountered, and bravery stimulated. 

For persistence in duty and gallantry in action he was 
frequently complimented, not only from regimental head- 
quarters, but from the headquarters at Washington. 

At the commencement of the civil war he was oper- 
ating against the Apaches in the vicinity of Fort Staunton, 
New Mexico. 

Viewed from the standpoint of that day, it was to be ex- 
pected that our young cavalry officer should take sides with 
the South. There resided his family, his dearest friends. 



his childhood associates. While separating with regret 
from his companions in arms who had with him stood the 
brunt of many an Indian onslaught, or participated with 
him in the fierce attack on savage hordes, yet without hesi- 
tation he decided to go with his native State in the con- 
flict. His decision adds another to the many instances 
illustrating the controlling influence of the accident of birth. 

In pursuance of his resolve to aid his native State, Lieut. 
Jackson tendered his resignation, turned over to the proper 
officer of the United States army every cent of government 
funds and every description of public property in his pos- 
session, and, in company with Col. Crittenden, of Kentucky, 
made his way into Texas, ran the blockade at Galveston,, 
reached New Orleans, sent in the tender of his services 
through Maj. Long-street to the Confederate government, 
and was at once commissioned captain of artillery by the 
Governor of Tennessee. 

After performing various duties lie was assigned at New 
Madrid in 1861 to the command of a battery of light artil- 
lery. At the battle of Belmont, being unable to land his 
battery, Capt. Jackson, by order of Gen. Pillow, led an 
infantry charge against a portion of the United States 
troops, and was wounded in the side with a minie-ball, 
which he still carries, — a striking reminiscence of the hor- 
rors of war. 

After recovering from what was at the time supposed to 
be a mortal wound, he was promoted to a colonelcy and 
assigned to the command of the Sixth Tennessee and First 
Mississippi Cavalry, then operating in West Tennessee and 
Mississippi. 

-At the taking of Holly Springs, Col. Jackson, for gallant 
conduct, was promoted brigadier-general, and in command 
of cavalry took part in all the various movements of Gens. 
Hardee, Pulk, and Joe Johnston, commanding the cavalry 
on the left wing in the memorable Georgia campaign. 

Among other military services was his engagement with 
the dashing Kilpatrick at Lovcjoy's Station, leading with 
Porrest the Confederate advance into Tennessee and cover- 
ing the retreat of Hood. For this he was recommended 
for promotion to a division, and was assigned to the com- 
mand of Forrest's old division, with the Texas brigade 
added. With this fine command he operated until the 
close of the war, when he was assigned by Gen. Dick Tay- 
lor on the part of the Confederates, and Gen. Dennis on 
the part of the United States army, as commissioner for 
the parole of troops at Gainesville, Ala., and Columbus, 
Miss. 

To delineate fully the part Gen. Jackson played in the 
civil war is not our purpose ; it is not necessary to place be- 
fore the reader so voluminous a history as would be requi- 
site to do justice to the subject. His characteristics are 
what we seek ; these stamp him as a man of high type. 

He engaged in the service of the South from a sense of 
imperative duty. He gave to the cause unquestioned 
ability. His courage was spontaneous and impetuous. His 
training and experience gave him coolness and sound judg- 
ment. He was chivalrous to his foes, and disposed always 
to conduct war upon the principles of civilized usage, with 
as little of severity and harshness as its barbarous nature per- 
mitted. 




yfOlJhayH {2c/<X^J 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



417 



AFTER THE WAR. 

The war closed, and, with the same resolute purpose that 
had always actuated his life, Gen. Jackson engaged in agri- 
cuhurc. Taiving charge of his father's planting interest, 
lie managed two farms, organizing a mixed force of white 
and colored labor, superintending their worlc with judgment, 
and securing profitable results. 

He engaged in agriculture with all his characteristic en- 
ergy of purpose; bringing to bear a quiciv and observant 
mind, he lias gained a distinction in his new field of labor 
not inferior to the fame which he earned for himself in the 
profession of arms. 

For three or four years he thus superintended the culture 
of cotton in West Tennessee. 

In December, 18G8, he married Bliss Selene Harding, 
the daughter of Gen. W. G. Harding, of Belle Meade, 
near Nashville, Tenn., one of the most eminent agricul- 
turists and stocli;-raisers of the South. For this happy 
change of his life, habits, and tastes he is indebted to the 
lost cause, to his connection with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, to his marriage, and subsequent intimate associa- 
tion with his father-in-law, one of the most extensive and 
successful farmers of Tennessee. 

Gen. Jackson's pre-eminent qualifications in his now 
chosen field of labor have been so appreciated that he has 
already filled the offices of president of the National Agri- 
cultural Congress, president of the Farmers' Association of 
Tennessee, president of the Bureau of Agriculture for the 
State, and president of the executive board of tiio " Bural 
Sun Publishing Company," a weekly journal devoted to 
Southern agriculture, also Master of the Heart of Oak 
Grange of Patrons of Husbandry at Nashville. 

From the Bureau of Agriculture for the State was issued 
that comprehensive and highly- valued work entitled " The 
Ilesources of Tennessee." 

An uncommon feature in connection with the issue of 
this work should be recorded. As the fiscal agent of the 
State for the disbursement of all requisite expenses in the 
publication of this work. Gen. Jackson delivered to the 
State the cheapest piece of printing for a public document 
it has ever received, and he actually returned to its treas- 
ury an unexpended sum of over six thousand dollars. For 
this and other services to the State and county he has 
never received one cent of compensation, for he never 
■would accept it. 

Gen. Jackson's cliildren are three in number, — viz., Eu- 
nice, now nine years old ; William Harding, now five years 
old ; and Selene Harding, three years of age. 

Since the close of the war Gen. Jackson has been one of 
the foremost men in the South in all that tends to elevate 
the profession of agriculture, and to unite the North and 
the South as one fraternity, in order that the workers in the 
soil might realize their full value as a great factor in the 
scale of national importance and power. 

In politics he is a Democrat, taking interest in county. 
State, and national affairs, but has wisely concluded not to 
enter the political field, regarding it as equally as disturbing 
and unsettling as the military life, and the fruits in old age 
as unsatisfactory in the one life as in the other. 



NATHAN ADAMS. 

Nathan Adams, the subject of this sketch, although not 
a native of Davidson Co., Tenn., came here at so early an 
age that he may be said to be identified with the county 
and State as truly as many of those who were born here. 
A native of the beautiful town of Strabane, Ireland, Na- 
than Adams was brought by his parents, in 1814, at the 
age of four years, to America, landing at New York, where 
his father had already a brother settled and prospering in 
business ; we allude to the lamented and universally re- 
spected John Adams, who had emigrated to this country 
in 1794, and who for twenty-eight years held the honor- 
able position of president of the Fulton Bank of New York 
City, and for even longer periods the responsible posts of 
treasurer of the New York Hospital and of the American 
Bible Society. 

The parents of Nathan Adams proceeded at once to 
Philadelphia, where, in less than three years, the father 
died, leaving his widow wiih a large family of three sons 
and eight daughters, one of the latter hav^ing married and 
removed to Nashville, Tenn., with her husband, our former 
well-known citizen, George Crockett, Sr. 

Soon th.e widow resolved to follow this married daughter, 
and during the year 1817 the whole family were settled in 
Nashville, Nathan, then seven years old, being the youngest 
child. Few of the old citizens of Nashville will fail to re- 
member the gentle, loving mother of this numerous family, 
and her unremitting labors in rearing and educating them. 
Her uniform steadfiistness of purpose and her quiet, unob- 
trusive piety insured her the respect of all who knew her, 
from the highest to the lowest, our noble President, An- 
drew Jackson himself, never leaving his home for Washing- 
ton City without calling to say " Good-by" to Mrs. Adams. 
With such a mother, young Nathan was sure to have care- 
ful training; and, after receiving a good English education, 
at the age of nineteen it was thought best that he should 
" go West" to seek his I'urtune. He set out, therefore, and 
located, in 1829, in Covington, Tenn., where he was en- 
gaged for three years in mercantile business. During his 
residence there he was elected vice-president of the first 
Bible society organized in that section of country. From 
Covington, Mr. Adams removed to AVesley, Tenn., where, 
in 1833, he married Grace Arlington Stanton, only daugh- 
ter of Joseph B. Stanton ; and in 1835, relinquishing bus- 
iness, he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, to wliich 
he adhered until the death of his wife, which occurred in 
November, 1877. 

In 18G9, Mr. Adams was elected president of the Mem- 
phis and Ohio Railroad Company, and continued in that 
position until its consolidation willi the Louisville and 
Nashville Railroad Company. In 1873 he was appointed 
by Governor John C. Brown commissioner from the State 
of Tennessee to Vienna, and also by the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Memphis, Tenn., as its representative at the same 
exposition. Mr. Adams was also appointed by Governor Por- 
ter one of the commissioners from Tennessee to represent the 
State at the Geographical Congress and Syndicate of Trade 
at Paris, France, in 1875 ; and again to represent Tennes- 
see at the International Industrial Exhibition in Paris in 



418 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



1878. After spending part of five years in the various 
countries of Europe in foreign travel, Mr. Adams, after an 
absence of fifty years, bas now returned to the bame of liis 
j'outb to pass tlie remainder of bia life. There is some- 
tbin" touebins; in the return of sucb a man to the scene 
of his boyhood days, and it argues well for the attractive- 
ness of our little " City of Rocks," implanted as it is in 
the very garden-spot of our own loved Tennessee. 

We must not omit to touch upon the religious record of 
Mr. Adams, so well begun at the early age of twenty-one 
as the vice-president of a Bible society. Becoming a mem- 
ber of the church in 1842, he was ordained an elder the 
same year in the Presbyterian Cburch at Emraaus, Hay- 
wood Co., Tenn., of which church be continued an elder 
until its removal to Stanton, Tenn. There, in this village 
named for bis wife's father, Mr. Adams contributed be- 
tween four thousand and five thousand dollars to erect a 
Presbyterian church, in which he was a ruling elder 
until his recent removal to Nashville. Tbis generous act 
of Blr. Adams is but one of many that might be selected 
to show the munificent, liberal spirit of our esteemed fel- 
low-citizen. That little village church, as well as the 
magnificent Stanton Block, erected as a memorial to the 
memory of his wife's father, J. B. Stanton, in Blemphis, 
Tenn., by Mr.. Adams, are living monuments of his desire 
to benefit his fellow-men and of his enterprising public 
spirit. His many relatives and friends can testify to the 
fact that he is one of those with ■whom " it is more blessed 
to give than to receive," and the numerous instances in 
which, for years p;igt, be has caused " the widow's heart to 
sing fur joy," and has " delivered the poor that cried, and 
liim that bad none to help," will surely bring upon him the 
'■ blessing of those who were ready to perish" here, and an 
unfading crown of glory hereafter. May be long remain 
with us ! 



CAPT. WILLIAM PHILLIPS. 

Capt. William Phillips, one of the oldest and most highly- 
respected citizens of the county, and long a successful mer- 
chant of Nashville, died at bis residence, a few miles north 
of the city, Feb. 17, 1880, of pneumonia, after an illness 
of about four days. Capt. Phillips was born in the State 
of Pennsylvania, moved to Ohio at the age of fifteen, and 
at the age of nineteen, thrown upon his own resources, went 
manfully to work at tlie first employment that oSln-ed, — as 
deck-baud on a steamboat. It thus happened that he first 
came to Nashville. As an illustration of his pluck and 
energy at tbis time it may bo mentioned that on one occa- 
sion he walked all the way from tbis city to Smilhland to 
reach a boat with which he had engaged. His rapid pro- 
motion afterwards was due to bis sterling qualities. He 
successfully filled every position on a steamboat, from deck- 
hand up to captain, and for years was one of the most re- 
liable and successful of Western navigators. He first em- 
barked in mercantile business in tbis city with Mr. Henry 
Hart, under the firm-name of Phillips & Hart, on the north 
side of the public square. He subsequently formed a 
partnership with Mr. L. H. Lanier, and the firm of Lanier 
& Phillips was continued fur fifteen years, and up to the 



breaking out of the late war. The same firm in 1865 and 
1866 continued the business in the city of Cincinnati for 
about a year. In 1867 he returned to Nashville and '.\ 
formed a partnership with Mr. John W. Terrass, which | 
continued for two years. He then engaged in the business ! 
of pork-packing with his brother-in-law, Andrew Hooper, 
and the late Capt. Len Hooper, which business was con- 
tinued for about three years. In 1872 he formed a partner- 
ship with his son, Blr. C. H. Phillips, and Mr. George M. 
Jackson, under the firm-name of Pbillips, Jackson & Co., 
which firm still exists. Capt. Phillips bad reached the 
age of seventy-one years at the time of his death, and died 
at the old homestead, where be bad resided for many years, 
on the Dickerson turnpike, a i'evi miles north of the city. 
He leaves a wife, whom ho married April 15, 1846, and 
seven children, as follows : two sons, C. H. and W. K. 
Phillips, and five daughters, — Mrs. Mary Bang, wife of W. 
F. Bang, Jr. ; Mrs. Ella Connell, wife of A. P. Connell ; 
Mrs. Bettie Connell, wife of Walter Connell; and two un- 
married daughters, Laura and Mattie Phillips, the youngest 
aged six years. 

In bis death Nashville bas lost one of her best citizens, 
and one whose past life can be held up to the young as an 
example of what is in store for those who follow the course 
be pursued. He won the confidence of all with whom he 
come in contact, and proved himself worthy of those who 
confided in him. After life's tempestuous voyage, let us 
hope he bas found a haven of rest. 

As a tribute to the memory of the late Capt. Pbillips, 
the Merchants' Exchange at a meeting held Feb. 17, 1880, 
adopted the following : 

" Whcreaa, We have received the sad intelligence of the 
death of Capt. Phillips, which occurred at his residence 
near this city at six o'clock this morning, and 

" Whereas, For fifty years Capt. Phillips has been closely 
identified with the business interests of our city, and, at 
the time of bis death, was one of the oldest and most 
highly-esteemed merchants of the city, — eventually a self- 
made man, — commencing life under serious and, to some, 
insurmountable difficulties, be rose through the power of 
native intellect and industrious application to an honored 
position in life to which few men attain. As a man, he 
was modest and retiring ; as a citizen, public-spirited and 
charitable; as a merchant, honest and just in all his deal- 
ings; as a friend, unyielding in his attachment ; as a hus- 
band and father, devoted and true. He fully exemplified 
throughout his entire life that be was, indeed, an honest 
man. He recognized bis responsibility to God, and was a 
faithful and devout Christian. 

" Resohed, That in the death of Capt. Phillips tbis Ex- 
change has last one of its most valued and highly-esteemed 
members. 

" Resolved, That we extend our condolence to bis family I 
in tbis sad hour of their affliction. 

" Resolved, That we do attend his funeral, and (hat the 
merchants on the streets through which the procession may 
pass be requested to close their doors. | 

" Resolceel, That a copy of these proceedings bo spread l 
upon the minutes of the Exchange, a copy presented to his 
family, and furnished the city papers for publication." | 





n-'T^-C^f^^ i_ 




BIOGRAPHIES. 



419 



GEiSr. WILLIAM G. HARDING. 

Gen. William G. Harding was born Sept 15, 1808, in a 
log cabin now standing at " Belle Meado," near Nashville, 
at that time the home of his parents, who were John Hard- 
ing and his wife, Susannah Shute. 

Mr. Harding's family trace their lineage to Martin Hard- 
ing, the Huguenot. The Shute family emigrated from 
Pennsylvania to Tennessee previous to 1798, and were 
among the early settlers of the State. 

The characteristics of Gen. Harding's youth were en- 
ergy, courage, and unswerving devotion to truth. His edu- 
cation in the primary branches of reading, writing, and 
arithmetic was acquired in such schools as the neighbor- 
hood aiforded at that time, his schooling interrupted by 
work on the farm (his father believing that a valuable part 
of education was to teach a boy how to work.) 

At the age of fourteen years lie entered the Nashville 
University, of which Dr. Philip Lindsloy was president. 
His associates were not of a studious bent, clever but 
wild boys. Their bad influence was recognized by young 
Harding, and, with a decision of character uncommon for 
his years, he communicated to his father his conviction that 
the only practical course for him was to seek another school. 
His father advised him to return to his class and resist the 
influences about him ; but said young Harding, " These boys 
are my friends ; I will not ofi'end them ; my only way is to 
leave the school and seek another." Receiving permission 
to make his own selection, he set out from home at the age 
of sixteen, and examined for himself how discipline was 
maintained at Princeton, N. J., and Harvard College, at 
Cambridge, Mass. He also visited Middletown, Conn., 
where " The American Literary and Scientific Academy," 
taught by that highly accomplished military man and ripe 
scholar, Capt. Alden Partridge, formerly superintendent of 
West Point Jlilitary Academy, was located. 

Carefully examining the routine and curriculum, and 
being highly pleased with its management, he entered 
the latter school, a total stranger to professors and stu- 
dents; keeping himself aloof from his associates, he formed 
no intimate relations before he had ample opportuni- 
ties to become acquainted with the characters of his 
fellows. 

He graduated in 1829. His course was marked by 
studious ways and high military habits and bearing, hold- 
ing every oflice in his company from corporal to captain. 
He was also inspector of the corps of cadets, the highest 
military office of the institution. 

The school embraced among its students while young 
Harding was in attendance such distinguished gentlemen as 
Horatio Seymour, of New York ; Harry Seymour, of Con- 
necticut ; Iturbide, of Mexico ; Col. M. H. Sanford, of New 
York, now the proprietor of the justly celebrated breeding 
farm " North Elkhorn," Kentucky ; ex-Governor Hoge, of 
North Carolina, and many others equally distinguished in 
the civil offices of the country. 

The only certificate of graduation ever given in Capt. 
Partridge's own handwriting was given to young Harding. 
The certificate closes with the following words : 

" I hereby recommend William G. Harding, a graduate 
53 



of this institution, as a scholar, a gentleman, and a soldier, 
to all whom it may concern." 

A strong and lasting friendship sprang up between Capt. 
Partridge and young Harding. On leaving his Alma Mater 
he persuaded his instructor to accompany him to his home 
in Tennessee. While here they both visited Gen. Andrew 
Jackson, in whom they found a congenial spirit, since both 
Partridge and Harding were possessed of many of the traits 
of character that distinguished the old hero. 

On the 17th of November, 1829, Mr. Harding was mar- 
ried to Bliss Mary Selene McNairy (daughter of Nathaniel 
McNairy, and his wife, nee Catharine Hobson), of Nash- 
ville, Tenn. By this marriage he has one son living, — viz., 
John Harding. After his marriage he settled in a log 
cabin on what is known as the " Stone's River Farm," 
where he lived a plain, retired, and economical life, engaged 
in cotton-growing. He was the first in this section to ship 
hay to New Orleans and corn to Charleston, S. C, by rail. 
His wife died in 1837, and in 1839 his father turned over 
to him the " Belle Meade Estate," then comprising about 
fourteen hundred acres of land and about one hundred and 
twenty-five slaves of all ages. He has here resided to the 
present time, constantly giving his personal attention to his 
plantation, and adding adjoining acres to the estate to make 
room for the increase of his negroes. He was opposed, as 
his father before him had been, to purchasing slaves. He 
was also opposed to trusting his slaves under the charge of 
an overseer ; consequently ho would never invest in a cotton 
or sugar plantation, but kept his slaves around him. He 
was in this course declining what was regarded as the more 
profitable method of working slave labor, but preferring 
what he considered as the more humane. Rather than mor- 
tify his negroes and separate their families, he enlarged his 
plantation and kept them under his own supervision. 

During the civil war his slaves remained faithful to him, 
and a goodly number of them remain with him at the 
present time. He cares for them in sickness and in health 
as formerly ; they are a contented, happy set, well fed, well 
clothed, fat, sleek, and merry. 

On the 2d of January, 18i0, he married his second wife. 
Miss Elizabeth McGavook (daughter of Randal McGavock 
and his wife, nee Sarah Rogers, of Franklin, Tenn.). By 
this marriage he has left two daughters, — Selene, the eldest, 
the wife of Gen. W. H. Jackson, the present assistant of 
Gen. Harding in the management of " Belle Meade," and 
Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Judge Howell E. Jackson 
(brother of Gen. W. H. Jackson), and a lawyer of emi- 
nence, residing in Jackson, West Tennessee. Mrs. Harding 
died Aug. 9, 1867. 

Gen. Harding has been a leading agriculturist and stock- 
breeder in his State. He has taken great interest in affairs 
of State and the general government. In politics he is a 
Democrat of the Jacksonian type. He was the first person 
to suggest to Dr. Overton the necessity for the construction 
of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and labored 
with him several days before he could exact a promise from 
that gentleman to agitate the subject. Dr. Overton pro- 
nounced Gen. Harding wild and visionary when he first 
broached the matter. 

Gen. Harding has been a reader all his life, and an ad- 



4'^0 



HISTOllY OF DAVIDSON COUxXTY, TENNESSEE. 



vanced agriculturist, keeping pace with the times in the use 
of impi'oved farming implements and machinery, and espe- 
cially the improvement of the blooded horse. In this con- 
nection it will be interesting to insert his essay on " The 
Blood Horse," read before the Davidson County Farmers' 
Club: 

the blood horse. 

" Mr. President and Fellow-Members of the 
Davidson County Farmers' Club, — At our last meet- 
ing I addressed to the Farmers' Club some desultory re- 
marks on the relative value of the various breeds of domestic 
animals, the horse included, when you had a right, as per 
request of the club, to expect an essay on the blood horse. 
I will now proceed to comply with your just expectations. 
Among all the numerous varieties of domestic animals 
which a benevolent Providence has created for the use of 
man, the blood horse stands pre-eminent, without a compeer 
in the animal kingdom. In beauty he is without a rival, — 
a coat as fine as the finest .=atin ; his eye, in repose, as mild 
and gentle as the lamb ; under excitement as bright as the 
eagle and as bold as the lion, denoting the energy of his 
nature; his skin as thin and elastic as the fawn ; his form 
as perfect and well placed as beautifully defined muscles 
can make it. This is his exterior, or that which is visible 
to the human eye; but there is an interior or invisible 
structure which contributes more perhaps to his powers 
than even his perfect exterior formation. His large heart 
and capacious lungs give him the wind of the high-bred 
hound ; his large blood-vessels and soft, thin skin enable 
him to throw oif the excess of heat that must be gen- 
erated by great and rapid exertion, especially in a heated 
atmosphere ; his muscles firm and beautifully defined with 
bone of ivory texture, — all combine to give him strength, 
endurance, action, and beauty far exceeding all of the equine 
race. 

" The uninstructed in horseology may inquire, How do 
you know of this internal and invisible structure? The 
veterinary will answer. By dissection of blood horses we 
find universally large heart, capacious blood-vessels, thin 
skin, and ivory-like bone, possessing solidity and consequently 
strength fiir superior to coarse breeds. Therefore, when 
we know the pedigree is pure we also know that this per- 
fect internal structure exists. The uninitiated may also 
ask, "What do you mean by a thoroughbred or blood horse? 
I mean the horse which traces back, with certainty, tlirough 
a long line of distinguished ancestry to the beautiful and 
game little creatures which were imported into England 
from the deserts of Arabia about the middle of the six- 
teenth century. How they came there, or by what means 
they had been brought to the degree of perfection they 
possessed at that early period, I am not able to answer. 
'From that time to the present the best talent of intelligent 
breeders has been zealously and energetically employed 
throughout the world, aided too by all the leading govern- 
ments (except our own) to develop and improve this noble 
animal. They have not failed. By attention to his com- 
fort, with a liberal supply of proper food from infancy to 
maturity, his size has been enlarged, consequently his 
strength and speed increased ; though beautiful when 
brought from his native desert, he is now magnificent. 



He has been made so nearly perfect that breeders of the 
present period are puzzled to know what further improve- 
ment can be anticipated. He is now as large perhaps as 
desirable for all the wants of man, as beautiful as imagina- 
tion can picture, as fleet as the wind, — under proper teaching 
and kind handling as docile as the lamb and a giant in 
strength ; the kind treatment should commence when the 
animal is a day old. 

"To form an idea of the wonderful powers of the blood 
horse, we will suppose his weight to be nine hundred 
pounds, this being about the weight of race-horses. By 
the strength of his muscle he carries this weight together 
with his rider, one hundred pounds more, making one 
thousand pounds, not on a down grade, but on a horizontal 
line, a mile in one minute and ibrty-three seconds, almost 
equaling the power of steam. Of all animated nature the 
feathered tribe alone can equal his speed. If we imagine 
a feathered monster of equal weight, I doubt much whether 
he could surpass him in his flight. Persons not versed in 
horseology liave of course but an imperfect idea of his 
history, or of all the care and labor bestowed in its prepa- 
ration, or of the perfect reliability of the record ; no human 
history equals it in point of accuracy nor. human pedigree 
in point of purity of blood. His genealogy is traced, 
through many generations, back to his Eastern origin 
without a shadow of doubt ; spurious pedigrees, though 
sometimes attempted, are easily detected by the experi- 
enced pedigreeist. Though the blood horse is more beau- 
tiful and possesses more strength (according to weight), 
more speed and durability, than any of the equine race, 
and is, therefore, justly admired by all men, but by the 
uninformed only as a beautiful creature, many of whom 
imagine he is bred for a race alone and is fit for nothing 
else, has no other value than occasionally to contribute to 
the amusement of the public on the race-course. This is 
an egregious error ; the race-course is only the school to 
educate and prepare him to exhibit his wonderful powers 
in competition with the best of the royal family, — a field the 
plebeian dare not enter, no scrub ever having won a prize 
with thoroughbred competitors. Ten drops of plebeian 
blood in one thousand would endanger his success. The 
race-course is, therefore, a necessity, for through its instru- 
mentality the blood horse has been brought to his present 
high degree of perfection. Human judgment is often in 
error, but on no subject more frequently than in the opin- 
ions we form of the relative power and value of the horse. 
It is as easy to judge the powers and qualities of man by 
the eye, and all will admit the fallibility of such judgment. 
No, my friends, we can only judge correctly of the intel- 
lectual and moral worth of our great men when we view 
them on the world's stage in competition with distinguished 
competitors. Without a theatre the world could never 
have known those distinguished delineators of human char- 
acter whose names now fill many an honored page in human 
history. Without a race-course the world would never 
have known of the great powers of Lexington, the horse 
that has contributed more to the improvement of his race 
than any predecessor. I am aware of the prejudices exist- 
ing against the race-course by religionists, generally on 
account of its immoral tendency ; that these prejudices are 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



421 



not altogether groundless, I admit, but that the immoral- 
ities of a well-regulated race course arc greatly magnified 
by those who know the least of their operations, I am por- 
■ fectly satisfied ; that it may be still further improved and 
all objectionable features removed, I earnestly desire. For 
near forty years I have been a breeder of the blood horse, 
and an active participator in his education and development, 
and can aflirm that vice and immorality do not neccssariJi/ 
attach to raising, and while, as before remarked, the race- 
course is a necessity, for without it the breeder could not 
know the superior horses and the best strains to propagate, 
and without this knowledge his improvement would cease 
and deterioration boirin. 

" Here the question arises whether we will permit this 
noble and most useful creature, which has been brought to 
his present degree of perfection by the efforts of breeders 
for the past two hundred years, and by the expenditure of 
as many millions of money, to retrograde into the coarse 
and clumsy brute he is represented previous to the intro- 
duction of the Arab, or go on to improve and develop still 
higher and more useful qualities. For one, I advocate his 
preservation, and at the same time call upon the moralist to 
unite with mo in the effort to remove all objectionable fea- 
tures that may attach to the institution so necessary to his 
development. Beauty, speed, action, durability, and the 
many admirable qualities I claim for this magnificent animal 
do not constitute his chief — ^nay, nor his greatest — value. 
His mission is to improve his race. The pure and unadul- 
terated blood which flows in his veins improves and gives 
additional value to all the horse family. To the children's 
pony it imparts more action, sprightliness, and beauty ; to 
the saddle-horse more action, durability, and style; to the 
trotter, a class of animals at present so highly prized, and 
for which such fabulous prices are paid, blood is indispen- 
sable, for without it, with all his great strength, when 
pressed, his muscles will tire and grow weak for want of 
breath, — the natural result, not of his exterior formation, 
but of his defective internal organization. 

" Great speed and durability are not attained without the 
judicious infusion of blood ; a thorough scrub is incapable . 
of either speed or endurance. Never did blood tell with 
more effect than in the beginning of the late civil war, 
when the successes of the Southern cavalry proved more 
than equal to the North, two to one. But towards the 
close of the war, when the well-bred horses of the South 
fell into the possession of the Northern cavalry, this supe- 
riority failed to appear. A dash of blood is indispensable 
to the war-horse, giving not only action and durability, but 
courage and boldness, which it is said is in some degree 
imparted to the rider, hence the enlightened governments 
of Europe encourage the production of blood horses with 
aid from the national treasury, — a wise policy, that should 
be imitated by this great and rapidly-increasing govern- 
ment. No people on earth make so much use of the horse 
as the people of the United States, especially of the south- 
ern and western portion. Here some of my hearers may 
ask the question whether, with all the perfection you 
claim for the blood horse, you esteem him the horse of all 
work ? I answer, no — emphatically no. No such horse 
or breed exists on earth. The horse is now an inhabitant 



of all countries, of nearly every clime, from the torrid to 
the frigid zone, used by all people (civilized) under varied 
and totally different circumstances and for a thousand 
different purposes. Of course no single animal or breed 
can be best adapted to all these various circumstances and 
conditions. The children's pony and the slow and easy 
pacer for the old man would ill suit the dashing cavalry- 
man, or the rapid riding of young men. Again, the thin 
hair and delicate skin of the blood horse unfit him for use 
in extreme northern regions, — as much so as the long and 
shaggy hair of the moose or reindeer disqualify or unfit 
them for dwellers in southern climates. 

" No, my friends ; a benevolent Providence has made for 
the use of man a great variety of domestic animals, but no 
one breed of horses or other domestic animals best suited 
to the wants of man everywhere, in all climates, and under 
all circumstances. The stately and valuable Durham would 
be worthless in either extreme of temperature ; also in all 
poor localities, where herbage is scarce, in any climate. 
Though I admit the blood horse is not the horse of all work, 
and best for all the varied uses of man everywhere and 
under all circumstances, I affirm he is better adapted to a 
greater variety of uses than any of his race. The opinions 
here expressed are not theoretical, but the result of the ex- 
perience of more than forty years ; the facts stated the 
result of experiments for a like period. The best and most 
durable plow-horse I ever owned was a thoroughbred. 
On a hot day, in high corn (the most severe test for farm 
stock), he could kill all the horses and mules that would 
keep up with him, without injury to himself. The best, 
most active and durable saddle-horse I ever owned was a 
blood horse. I rode this horse till he was twenty-four years 
of age before he ever fell or made a bad blunder. I then 
set him free, and had the pleasure of providing for his com- 
fort for several years after. 

" The best harness-horses I have used were well bred. I 
find them more sensible, and consequently more safe and reli- 
able. The best mules I ever worked were from well-bred 
mares. Indeed, no animal is more improved by a dash of 
blood than the mule. It imparts to liim the action and 
spirit which he so greatly needs. 

" Since writing this essay I have read a most excellent 
editorial on the subject of ' Thoroughbreds and Trotting' in 
the National Live Stock Journal. In the article referred 
to he says, ' So far as we are advised and believe, there is 
no individual fast trotter nor admitted family of trotters 
whose blood, if known, is not traceable in part to the 
thoroughbred. In other words, thoroughbred blood, if not 
the foundation — the sine qua noa — of speed at the trot, and, 
we may add, at any other gait, is always present where 
speed is found. There is no speed without blood ; and we 
think the inference fair that none is expected.' 

" I would be pleased to quote much more from Col. Rey- 
nolds' sensible article, but have already extended this essay 
to an unexpected length, and will conclude it with the re- 
mark that my hearers have only to make the acquaintance 
of the blood horse to become like myself his admirer and 
zealous advocate. 

" I thank you, Mr. President and gentlemen of the club, 
for the compliment and courtesy extended to me in the call 



42:f 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



1^ 



upon me for this my fiist essay upon my favorite sub- 
ject." 

BLOOD-STOCK DEPARTMENT. 

Belle Meade has a national reputation as the home of the 
" thoroughbred horse," and is juslly entitled to it. Gen. 
Harding has made a large outlay in this department for se- 
curing the most fashionable strains of blood. He has now 
three stallions, — "Enquirer" (imported), "Great Tom," 
and " John Morgan," — also sixty-five blood mares, all of 
the choicest families. 

He has his annual sales, at which, by public outcry, the 
entire product of his thoroughbred mares arc sold without 
reserve, and no by-bidding. 

Gen. Harding has retired from the turf, but takes a 
natural pride in the success of colts of his raising. Profit 
is now crowning his enterprise, begun from a taste for the 
blood horse. Gen. Harding began breeding thoroughbreds 
about 1835 on a .small scale, — not with the expectation of 
making money, neither with the intention of losing money. 
He therefore resolved never to bet a cent on the re.sult of 
any contest of speed or any game of chance, to which good 
resolution he has i'aithfully adhered to this day. 

Gen. Harding is of the opinion that of all the domestic 
animals that a beneficent Creator has given for the use of 
man, the blooded horse is without a rival for courage, beauty, 
action, and endurance. He advances prominently this idea 
touching the necessity for a well-regulated system of turf- 
raisin"-, viz. : Without the theatre the world would never 
have known of those distinguished delineators of human 
character in all its wondrous phases. So without the turf 
the world would never have known of the wonderful powers 
of the great Lexington, Glencoe, Vandal, Bonnie Scotland, 
and other noted sires, and equally in darkness as to these 
valuable strains of blood to propagate, and which strains 
have contributed so much to improve the horses of America. 
Americans make a more extravagant use of the horse in all 
departments of industry and for pleasure than any other na- 
tion, and, since the mission of the thoroughbred is to improve 
all the equine race, it is of great importance that intelligent 
breeders should know where to obtain those strains of blood 
noted for perfect symmetry and great endurance. This 
knowledge is only attainable from witnessing actual contests 
on the horse's theatre of action, " the turf." 

BELLE MEADE. 

The estate comprises now about four thousand acres, and 
is cultivated in the mowing grasses and the cereals. A 
large part of it is set in the grazing grasses. The planta- 
tion is worked by from twenty to twenty-five negro laborers. 
There is a saw-mill and grist-mill on the place, run by 
water at certain seasons of the year, also by steam when 
necessary. The estate thus has facilities to supply all 
building-materials requisite on the place. There are three 
quarries of excellent building-stone and timber of all kinds, 
including a fine supjply of that most excellent timber, the 
walnut. 

One point of pleasure and interest to the visitor to Belle 
Meade is the park of four hundred acres, containing about 
two hundred and forty to two hundred and fifty deer. The 
park has a beautiful sod of blue-grass. It contains a great 



variety of timber. There is attached to the park, only 
separated by a low fence, a plat of about thirty acres, left 
in its primeval state, kept as a browsing and hiding-place 
for the deer ; they can go there and be undisturbed by any 
otlier stock. 

Gen. Harding has held peculiar views on the subject of 
immigration, and we cannot do justice to those views in a 
better way than to here insert his essay on the subject: 

IMMIGRATION AND ITS EFFECTS. 

Gen. Harding replies io Ids assailants — a vigorous defense 

of Ins position — Ms vieivs tersely stated. 
" To THE Editors of the Union and American : 

" Many friends advise me to let this subject drop and 
run no further against the popular current. But I re- 
member an excellent motto promulgated by that odd but 
worthy man, Davy Crockett. When dying he said, ' I 
leave this motto for other men when I am dead, — Be sure 
you are right, then go ahead.' I do not profess more of 
acumen or foresight than others, but I honestly entertain 
opinions upon a subject, engaging at present much of the 
public mind, directly in opposition to the views generally 
entertained. I claim the right to express them and throw 
them out to the public for what they are worth. I earnestly 
desire that they be considered and closely scrutinized by all 
classes of the community, both foreign and native. This 
question (immigration) is an extensive subject, and, like all 
others of magnitude, has two sides, which I hope to show 
before I am done. I will deal fairly with it, and endeavor 
to show in my crude way its advantages and disadvantages, 
its blessings and discomforts, who are to be its beneficiaries 
and who will be the sufferers. 

" To present some of the strongest points usually claimed 
by its advocates : 

"1. It will make our nation strong. Now, my friends, 
I ask whether you have a personal interest in strengthening 
the great American nation, already strong enough to pro- 
tect itself against the encroachments of the greatest powers 
or all the powers of Europe? 

" 2. It will enrich this great nation by increasing its rev- 
enues and fill its treasury with untold wealth. Let me ask. 
How are you to obtain a personal benefit by increase of gov- 
ernment revenue unless you are so fortunate as to get your 
fingers into the public crib ? Do you expect your taxes to 
be decreased by enriching the treasury (national or State) ? 
Let me assure you, paradoxical as it may appear, the re- 
verse is true. Increase of national wealth, I believe, uni- 
versally increases national taxes ; the older and more populous 
a country, the greater the burdens of taxation. If increase 
of national wealth has the effect of decreasing taxes, then 
the citizens of the old and wealthy governments of Europe 
should not feel, as they do now, the burdens of taxation. 
Then, if I am right, you have no personal interest in this 
matter. 

" 3. Immigration will help to occupy and cultivate our 
wild and unoccupied lauds, greatly beautify our country, 
and thereby add to the pleasure and interest of the passing 
traveler : but, my friends, let me ask again. How is all this 
to contribute to the individual interest (financially) of those 
who have no lands? It will certainly add to the value of 




RESIDENCE 
PARK 



sAWA^ocnisTmuL \/ie:ws at bell meadbx 

GENERAL VJEW 




MEAR NASHVILLE TENN, 

lOM PIKE. 



SALE STASL/zS- 



Gen. HARDING'^ BIRTHPLACE . 

FORMER RACE STABLES . 



i 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



423 



the land, and in the same ratio increase the difficulty of you 

iand your descendants to possess it. 
" 4. It will make the rich man richer by enhancing the 
value of his houses and lands. A.mong all the classes of so- 

icicly, if the landholder consults his own individual interest, 
he will be the strongest and loudest advocate for foreign 
immigration, for he will be most assuredly the greatest bene- 
ficiary (financially). The true prosperity of governments 
cannot be measured by their wealth or power, but by the 
prosperity, comfort, and moral condition of their citizens. 
Now, my foreign fiiends, let me a;k, do you not number 
among your foreign friends some of these lordly aristocrats 
who can boast of their acres by the thousands and herds 
without number? If so. you will find them the ardent ad- 
vocates of immigration societies, and aiding them with their 
ample means, thereby adding to the value of their vast pos- 
sessions as well as to their flocks and herds. These wealthy 
gentlemen, like yourselves, have left their native land, the 
graves of their ancestors, their homes with all their dear sur- 
roundings, to cast their lot and that of their descendants with 
the citizens of the United States. All classes and conditions 
have come to our shores for a like object, — the rich to grow 
richer; the artisan hoping to find greater demand for his 
skill ; the laborer, more remunerative reward for his labor, 
hoping thereby to procure a home fur himself and family. 
Now, my friends (foreign and native), have I not fairly 
presented the strong points of your side of this great na- 
tional question. Do I ask too much when I request you 
for the moment to lay aside your prejudices, unduly excited, 
perhaps, by recent occurrences, and examine ftiirly and 
critically the other side ? I have said that the tendency of 
the increase of population is to make the rich richer; 
therefore the arguments which I shall advance are not ad- 
dressed to that class, but to all other men, foreign and 
native, who live by the sweat of the brow. I include all 
those, also, who live by their wits. The policy of the gov- 
ernment should not be directed to advance the particular 
interests of the wealthy, — they already possess an abund- 
ance of the world's goods and do not need help, — but to assist 
the poor and needy. Now, my foreign friends, you know 
much better than I that a great and powerful government, 
with its millions of treasure and of population, did not 
supply your wants. Ay, population, this great blessing 
from which many imagine all human comfort, prosperity, 
and happiness are to flovf, is the very thing from which you 
fled. True, it has enriched your country ; it felled the 
forest, it cut up the possessions of lordly landlords (to their 
pecuniary gain), beautified the land and built magnificent 
cities; but, my friends, did all this wealth and beauty sup- 
ply your daily needs ? If so, you have not acted wisely to 
leave your native land to cast your destiny in this sparsely 
populated country. I have sometimes thought my native 
friends, many of whom are the warm advocates of immigra- 
I tion, ought to meet that human current that is daily flow- 
I ing from the old world and tell them of their mistake, — 
j teach them the blessings of a dense population and the 
curse of a sparse one. Tell them we in America arc too thin 
to thrive, and thus turn them back to enjoy the blessings 
of the dense population from which they are fleeing, and 
that they themselves might sooner reach the object of their 



hopes by going with them. I fear they would fail in their 
mission of love. Perhaps the emigrants would reply : ' We 
have experimental knowledge of all those blessings of which 
you speak. We found our country too thick to thrive. 
Every avenue to wealth is closed to us ; every place of honor 
and profit is already occupied, and legions of disappointed 
applicants are waiting in the hope that something may turn 
up ; and even we, who live by the energetic application of 
our own strong muscles, fail, on account of competition, to 
find employment sufficient to feed ourselves and the dear 
ones for whom we live. No, my friends, we will not turn 
back ; we are seeking a more sparsely populated country, 
where we expect to find more room and less competition, 
where wo hope to meet greater demand for our skill and 
better rewarded labor.' They wisely persevere in their 
course, and I hope that all who are worthy may attain the 
realization of their hopes. Now, my friends, these people 
leave their country for their country's good, and millions 
more might follow to the great relief of their friends whom 
they have left. Well, my friends, who live by labor, and 
who have experienced the inconvenience of a dense popula- 
tion, if similar causes produce like results, tell me what are 
the benefits you, who have cast your destiny here, and with 
your descendants design in all the distant future to remain 
citizens of this your adopted country, expect to accrue to 
you from immigration ? I have stated it will increase the 
strength and wealth of this great nation, fell the forest, 
build great cities, beautify the country. All this you left 
behind you, but failed to realize therefrom the means of 
.support for yourselves and families. Why, then, are you 
impatient to bring about the same troubles upon the coun- 
try of your adoption ? Many will say, ' It will be long 
years before we can experience any great inconvenience 
from density of population ; that we have still a vast unoc- 
cupied domain, neither benefiting the government nor its 
citizens.' True, nor is it doing harm, or costing anybody 
a cent to keep it. In the distant future, how far distant I 
know not, but I do know, so sure as time continues we will 
arrive at the same crowded condition that now troubles the 
governments of tlie old world and so inconveniences their 
people. Then our descendants (I mean foreign and native) 
will have no unoccupied domain ; no wild lands upon which 
to locate. They will already be preoccupied by former citi- 
zens of the old world, greatly to the relief of their respec- 
tive governments and peoples. This condition has been 
greatly facilitated by that famous Homestead bill, which 
gave popularity, influence, and position to Andrew Johnson, 
while depriving our citizens, native and foreign, and their 
descendants, of property justly theirs, and which at some 
future period they will need. I think, my friends, you are 
advocating a policy against your best interests. You should 
seek to increase the rewards of labor. Did competition ever 
do this anywhere or at any time in the history of the 
world ? Will it increase the wages of any human being 
who lives by the sweat of the brow (either physical or men- 
tal) ? There is one very intelligent class who lead society 
and control the public policy of the country (I, of course, 
mean lawyers), who, as far as I know, are universally the 
advocates of immigration, expecting thereby to increase 
the number of their clients ; doctors, too, advocate it, ex- 



424 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



pecting to increase the number of their patients. But, my 
friends, immigration will import lawyers and doctors too, 
increase competition, and as certainly, I think, decrease 
your fees. If I am mistaken in all this, why do you not 
pull up stakes and go to population, and not exhaust your 
patience waiting here for it? I do not know but the above 
arguments will apply with equal force to our moneyed capi- 
talists. My reading teaches me that the value of money, 
like labor, is decreased by competition ; hence it is cheaper 
ill the old world than in the new, — cheaper in New York 
than in the sparsely settled country of the South. 

" I have thus far presented this subject solely in a finan- 
cial point of view. I will now endeavor to show the eflfect 
of crowded population in a moral point. Here the aristo- 
cratic landlord is equally interested with all other classes 
and conditions of society. More than threescore years 
ago 1 was born upon the spot where I now live, — the 
country then new and sparsely peopled. Hospitality, gen- 
erosity, charity, sociability, and integrity were common 
virtues, and per co'iseqii jnee confidence almost universal. 
These I esteem great human virtues, which contribute 
largely to the enjoyments and well-being of society. At 
that period every one esteemed it a duty to help his neigh- 
bor when called on ; to build his cabin, his crib, and if 
need be to shuck his corn, — when his neighbor's word was 
as good as his bond. Then penitentiaries nor jails were 
hardly thought of True a small log pen, called a jail, was 
sometimes used, but so rarely that the incarceration of a 
single criminal produced quite an excitement in the public 
mind. All this has changed even here. Now no man is 
expected to assist his neighbor to build his house or even 
to shuck his corn ; no man's word is taken, — the bond always 
demanded. Why this change, and what has produced it 
if not increase of populatiou ? I leave my readers to decide 
the case for themselves. In New York, the great metrop- 
olis of the United States, I think I witnessed a scarcity of 
the virtues spoken of; more wealth, yet more selfishness; 
more want and greater degradation than could be found in 
any ton sparsely populated States of the Union. Popula- 
tion increases competition ; competition reduces loagcs ; re- 
duction of loiigcs generates loant ; want leads to degrada- 
tion and crime. 

" I am not accustomed to public speaking, nor in the habit 
of writing fur newspaper publication, but at a meeting of 
tlie Farmers' Club of this county, held in the city of Nash- 
ville on the 14th inst., the labor question being under dis- 
cussion, I made some remarks, which, it appears, greatly 
excited the indignation of a portion of the foreign popula- 
tion of Nashville. An indignation meeting was held in 
the Capitol of the State. Iii that meeting my views were 
misunderstood or willfully misrepresented. I was advocating 
negro in preference to foreign labor for the following rea- 
sons: First, The negroes were already here and citizens of 
the country. We had raised them. They had boon our 
slaves. We had enjoyed the fruits of their labor in the 
past. That humanity, even common justice demanded that 
we, their former owners, should give them a fair and patient 
trial. That if we cast them off, they must, necessarily, 
become paupers, and as a consequence thieves and robbers, 
and a most dangerous element in society. Further, without 



experience in regard to the value of foreign labor, except 
as artisans, I stated, as my opinion, after many years of ex- 
perience, that the negro from his organization, physical and 
mental, was better adapted to the drudgery of farm work 
than any other race of people ; that we could board them 
cheaper, that they were the most patient, contented, and 
happy race in their humble position, resulting from an or- 
ganization that did not belong to any other people. Besides 
they pos.sess the capacity of enduring labor under a sun 
that would be distressing, if not insupportable, to any other 
race. For these reasons, and many others, I did not think 
we would gain by exchanging the negro for the SCUM o: 
the old world who were daily landing on our shores, 
' Scum' — this is the little word that raised the tempest. Ij 
hope it did not apply to any in that indignation meeting, 
But, my foreign friends, what country has no scum ? You' 
must answer, not one under the canopy of heaven. Un- 
fortunately for our race, too many here and everywhere else. 
Where there are most people, there you will find most 
scum. Chiefly from this class we must select laborers to 
do the farm work. Among other things a fling was made 
at my Virginia ancestry. My friends, I have spent much 
more time in learning the pedigrees of my horses than my 
own. As far as I know, my paternal great-great-grand- 
father was from England, — a gentleman of good position. 
My maternal great-great-grandfather from Germany; of 
his history I know nothing. He might, for aught I know, 
have been a scum. A word in reply to the slur and mis 
representation of my remarks on the subject of educatin: 
the negro race. I said that they should have the rudiment 
of education, enough to protect themselves against the im 
positions of bad men ; further than this I did not deem 
necessary. (I mean the laborers of this class, those who 
live by use of muscle and not of brains.) 

" I do believe, ' Where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be 
wise,' that the class of people whose lot it is to do the 
drudgery of the world (be they white or black) would be 
made discontented and unhappy by a high order of educa- 
tion. No intelligent and highly educated man would be 
content to spend his life with the shovel and hoe, or the 
axe and the plow. This drudgery must be left to feed the 
SCUM. Another of the arguments used by a newspaper 
writer or editor, I suppose to help to swell the indignation 
of the foreign population, was that I was a large slaveholder 
and an aristocratic landlord, who counted his acres by the 
thousand. To those I plead guilty in part. I was what 
is termed, in this locality, a large slave-owner, every one of 
whom under sixty years of age had been raised on the 
plantation. Their rapid increase forced me to add to my 
landed possession, often to give them room, rather than 
mortify them and myself also by selling them to strangers. 
I always treated them well and cared for them, as I now 
do, in sickness as in health. Now I have no slaves, but a 
large surplus of land, which is dead capital and which I am 
anxious to sell. If my ideas were based upon and con- 
trolled by selfishness, I would be an advocate otimmigration. 
No, my friends, they are not selfish, and whether right or 
wrong, true or false, they are the deliberate and honest con- 
victions of my mind for the past thirty years, and if there is 
' any vitality in them they will live after I shall be no more.' 




MARK R. COCKRILL. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



■425 



" In conclusion, permit me to request the leaders of my 
foreign friends at their next indignation meeting, that they 
will read, for the benefit of their audiences, this, my first 
and, I hope, my last essay on immigration. 

" W. G. Harding." 

It will be seen from the extracts given that Gen. Hard- 
ing is a strong thinker, and not afraid to give expression 
to his thoughts; at the same time he has great liberality 
towards those who differ, conceding to others the same 
independence in thought and action he claims for himself 
Always bowing to the mandate of the laws of the land, 
subscribing to the Calhoun doctrine that the general gov- 
ernment should be seen and felt as little as possible, and 
ought not to perform anything that could be done by a 
State or States. 

Gen. Harding enjoys the reputation of being a man of 
spotless honor and the highest integrity. He is given to 
large charities, and prefers to bo his own dispenser. 

His military title was given him by election of the people 
as brigadier-general of the State militia in his early life. 
He has never known active service in the field. 

Gen. Hardingisaliving witness to the growth of Davidson 
County. He has seen Nashville with a total population of only 
four thousand. No steamboat plied the waters of the Cum- 
berland. It was an eventful day when a keel-boat laden 
with groceries and other supplies arrived from New Orleans. 
It had been from four to six months on the voyage, and 
the high prices necessarily attendant on such expensive 
transportation made the purchase of a pound of coffee an 
event in the family. The boldness of Jackson, his wealth 
and power, can be appreciated, when he was known to buy 
a whole sack of coffee at once. It was the talk of the town. 
The only road south of Nashville, known as the old Natchez 
Trace, was laid directly past " Belle Meade." Over this road 
Gen. Harding saw Gen. Jackson move his troops to the 
defense of New Orleans, large numbers of his cavalry 
stopping at his father's noted blacksmith's shed to have 
their horses shod. The Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw 
Indians made their trading visits to Nashville by this same 
road. They brought in ponies, furs, and peltries ; they 
were always well treated at Mr. Harding's plantation. One 
of W. G. Harding's early presents from his father was an 
Indian pony, bought from a passing company. 

Gen. Harding remarks with regret the decline in the 
simplicity and honor and kindliness of manner which has 
transpired in his day. In those early days a man's word 
was as good as his bond, — written contracts regarded as 
impertinent, mutual help the rule. Was there a neighbor's 
barn to be built, his corn to be shucked, or any other 
assistance needed, all cheerfully rendered the service. Great 
personal bravery was developed by the isolation of settlers. 
Self-dependence also was naturally the characteristic of pio- 
neers. But while comforts and conveniences have multi- 
plied, so have crime and fraud and pauperism. Gen. Hard- 
ing recalls the character of the past society, and regards it 
preferable in manhood and honor to the later days. 

In this connection it is due to Gen. Harding to say that 
in his advocacy of the improvement of the horse, including 
the necessary arena of the race-track, he does not disregard 



or overlook the incompatibility which many good people 
seem to see in the influence of the race-track as an oppo- 
nent of religion. 

Gen. Harding regards religion as a help to man of ines- 
timable value. He would go further and advise every man 
who has the requisite faith to identify himself with the 
church ; but, instead of holding aloof from the race-track, 
if religious men would recognize its usefulness and neces- 
sity as in England, they would help to eliminate all objec- 
tionable features from it. Further, Gen. Harding is clearly 
of the opinion, from his own experience as a turfman and 
from extended observation, that vice and immorality is not 
a necessary concomitant of the race-course. 



DAVID McGAVOCK. 



David MeGavock was one of the early settlers of Nash- 
ville. He was a son of James MeGavock, Sr., of Rock- 
bridge Co., Va., where he was born on the 6th of February, 
1TG3. When it became known in Southwestern Virginia 
that the new and desirable lands in the Cumberland Valley 
were open for settlement, and that Robertson, Donelson, 
Rains, and their associates had established their little col- 
ony at Nashborough, the young men of that region who 
were ambitious and had their fortunes to make hastened 
away over the mountains and joined the colonists at their 
new settlement. 

David MeGavock, who had just become of age, made 
his appearance in Na.shville in 1785-86, and located and 
purchased for his father and himself two thousand two 
hundred and forty acres of land, situated on both sides 
of the Cumberland River north of the bluff. All that 
part of the city known as North Nashville stands on 
one of their tracts, and that known as North Edgefield 
stands on another. The lands selected by him show that 
he was an excellent judge of them, and the plats and 
charts executed by his own hand, which are still extant, 
show that he was an accurate and experienced surveyor. 

After ho had purchased his lands, the next thing neces- 
sary was to bring them under cultivation, for he had come 
to establish for himself a home in the new country, and 
not as a mere adventurer or speculator. At Freeland's 
Station, now known as McGavock's Spring, in the middle 
of his father's nine hundred and forty acre tract, he built 
him a cabin, and, with all the laboring force he could com- 
mand, proceeded to make arrangements for putting in a 
crop. He took the lead of all the settlers in agriculture, 
so that, as the historian of Nashville says in 1792, a large 
crop of corn was raised by him, which sold at a very high 
price. He had joined the colony to work, and had brought 
with him from Virginia not only the means of purchasing 
the choicest lands, but he had brought his axe, his hoe, 
and his mattock, with which to make the wilderness blos- 
som as the rose. 

He made annual visits to his Virginia home between the 
seasons of harvest and planting, and it was on one of these 
occasions, in 1789, that he married Elizabeth McDowell, 
a lady belonging to a prominent and influential fomily of 
his native town. They had been neighbors and friends 



426 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



from childhood, and their married life was prosperous and 
happy. He had not yet fully prepared liLs new home in 
the Cumberland Valley for her reception, nor was it yet 
considered a safe or comfortable residence for women and 
children on the defenseless frontier. It was therefore the 
better part of wisdom for him to leave his wife at home 
with their parents, while he spent nearly the whole of every 
year at Nashville, cutting away the cane and clearing up 
his fields. It was not till 1795, after the birth of his sons 
James, John, and Francis, that he moved his family from 
the old home at Max Meadows, where the ancestral hamlet 
still stands near the railway station, off over the Cumber- 
land Mountains to their new and well-arranged abiding- 
place in the Far West. 

He had erected what was considered a palatial residence 
on the frontier, — a frame house with glass windows, with iron 
trimmings for the doors, and with wide, spacious porches 
on either side, — within a few yards of an unfailing spring 
of water. And there the little family began their home- 
life on the frontier. It was but a few years, however, be- 
fore he was enabled to build a nice brick house near the 
spot, the largest and most convenient in the settlement at 
that time, and which is still standing near the cotton-fac- 
tory in North Nasliville. There he reared a large and re- 
spectable family, becoming identified with the city, county, 
and State in all their interests for more than half a century, 
and there he died on the 7th of August, 1838. 

Two of the children of David McGavock and Elizabeth 
McDowell died in infancy ; the survivors, six sons and a 
daughter, — all of whom have now passed away to the better 
world, — were among the most thrifty and enterprising 
people of the county. James and John, who were the 
two eldest, married sisters, the daughters of Mr. Kent, of 
Wythe Co., Va., and inherited in equal shares one of the 
quarter-sections located by their father north of the river. 
Francis McGavock, who married the daughter of John 
Harding, settled upon a fine estate on Richland Creek, 
near Nashville, and enjoyed a long and happy life there, 
llandall McGavock married and moved to Louisiana, where 
he reared a highly respectable family, some of whom re- 
turned to the ancestral home in Virginia and some to Ten- 
nessee. Lysander McGavock, who married Elizabeth Crock- 
ett, of Virginia, settled in early life on a thousand produc- 
tive acres near Brentwood, in Williamson County, where 
his children still reside in the delightful home left them by 
their parents. Hugh and Sally, the two younger children, 
were twins. The former inherited many of the noble quali- 
ties of his fatlfer ; the latter married Joseph L. Ewing, 
who for many years was a leading man in his section of 
the county, enjoying in a large degree the confidence and 
esteem of his fellow-citizens. 

' Later in life David McGavock married the widow Hub- 
bell as his second wife, by whom he had two children, one 
of whom died young. The other was Dr. David McGavock, 
who inherited from his father the family mansion, and occu- 
pied it until his death, in 1865. 

These were the children of David McGavock, who, re- 
spectively, have many descendants in the city and county. 
For the last thirty-two years of his life he was register of 
the land-office, to which he was elected by the Legislature, 



and the books so long kept by his own hand bear witness 
that he was a man of method and a most faithful public 
servant. Nor had his education been neglected. His 
father, James McGavock, Sr., who was born in the county 
of Antrim, Ireland, in 1728, and came to this country when 
a young man, had married, in 1760, Mary Cloyd, a daughter 
of David Cloyd, of Rockbridge Co., Va., and had been 
altogether the architect of his own fortune. He was 
qualified, therefore, to give his son David the most useful 
of lessons and to teach him how to work his way onward and 
upward, as he had done himself, by constant diligence and 
uniform integrity in all his dealings with his fellow-men. 
And right well did the dutiful son profit by these lessons. 
His father had no doubt advised him to make a comfortable 
home in the Cumberland Valley before he removed his 
young wife and children to the then Far West. At all 
events, he labored with persistence and energy to this end, 
visiting his old home iu Virginia once a year, and fore- 
going the happiness of constant companionship with his 
wife and children that he might lay the foundation of future 
competency, perchance of fortune, and better prepare his 
new home for the reception of her who was to be its mis- 
tress. About six years he labored in this way, and then, 
when all was in readiness, removed his little family to a 
home which proved one of comfort and happiness for the 
future, and in later life one of affluence. David McGavock 
was a fair specimen of the best young men from Virginia 
and North Carolina who laid the foundations on which rests 
the superstructure of Tennessee and its beautiful capital, 
and none among the solid old pioneers left a fairer name or 
a better heritage to their descendants than did he to his 
numerous and influential posterity. 

James McGavock, Sr., like all his descendants, was a 
great lover of land, for he believed, as did Lord Mansfield, 
that real estate is the best estate in the world. He accu- 
mulated a large fortune in lands located in Virginia and 
Tennessee, and most of them are still in the possession of: 
his descendants. His reputation is that of an honest, in 
dustrious man, of liberal principles, honored as a public: 
officer and beloved as a kind neighbor and friend. 

Randall McGavock, the fourth son of James McGavock, 
Sr., was tlie assistant of his brother David in locating the 
early lands, and his deputy in the land-office. He wa* 
mayor of Nashville in 1824, and afterwards clerk of the 
Circuit Court of Davidson County and of the Supreme 
Court of Errors and Appeals, after which he removed to 
Williamson County and settled on his vast tract of excellent 
land near Franklin, now owned and occupied by his son, 
Col. John McGavock, where he died at a ripe old age in 
1854. He was a citizen of high character and of unques-, 
tionable integrity, and, though spending all the latter part 
of his long and useful life in Williamson, he was still much 
devoted to Davidson County. 



FRANCIS McGAVOCK. 

Francis McGavock, third son of David McGavock, was 
born Jan. 31, 1793, in Wythe Co., Va. At the age of 
two years he moved with his father to Nashville, Tenn., 




"<&-»*». 



y*«— «^ 



li 





^^i:/t^Hy 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



427 



where he was reared and educated, completing his course 
under Dr. Priastly iu the University of Nashville, in the 
year 1813. 

He was for half a century one of the solid and thrifty 
men of Davidson County. In early life he had charge of 
the State office for the registration of lands, as had his 
Aither before him for years, and was remarkable for the 
fidelity and accuracy with which he discharged his duties. 
By industry and good management he soon added many 
valuable acres to his inheritance, and his fortune was still 
further advanced by his marriage, Oct. 23, 1823, with 
Amanda, daughter of 'John Harding, the pioneer, after 
which he settled on a well-selected plantation in the Rich- 
land Valley, adjoining that of his father-in-law, now known 
as Belle Meade, si.x miles from Nashville. There he reared 
his children, — namely, John Harding, David II., Elizabeth, 
and Amanda, — and there he continued to reside with his 
estimable wife until the time of his death, Dec. 2-1, ISGG. 

It is .safe to say that few men have lived so nearly ac- 
cording to the Golden Rule as did Francis BIcGavock, and 
fewer still whose memories are more sincerely reverenced 
by so wide a circle of friends and neighbors. 

The old jMcGavoeks of Davidson were all men of high 
standing in the county. It was a family maxim that they 
should love labor for the physical and mental health that 
it assures, even though not immediately necessary for daily 
subsistence, and they closely supervised their own fields. 
They were men of large stature, of great decision of char- 
acter, and of exemplary habits. 

They took a lively interest in all public affairs, and were 
ever careful in the bestowal of their suffrage at elections, 
insisting that the reliable character of candidates was quite 
as essential as the correctness of their political principles, 
and yet they eschewed all political office themselves, per- 
sistently declining to become candidates, and wisely adher- 
ing to the maxim that " the post of honor is the private 
station." 

An old friend who fondly cherishes the memory of Fran- 
cis McGavock says he was one of the very finest gentlemen 
of the old school in the State of Tennessee. Always given 
to hospitality, he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to 
young men who deserved his aid, and he left a son who 
lives in the style of his fathers upon highly-cultivated 
acres, out upon the banks of Stone's River, who is one of the 
best specimens of the old stock in the county. 



COL. A. W. JOHNSON. 

Anthony Wayne Johnson was born in New Hampshire, 
July 10, 1797. He is of English descent, and the young- 
est of ten children of Oliver Johnson and Hannah George, 
who moved to Tennessee about 1801. Oliver Johnson was 
a farmer, his plantation lying opposite Lick Branch, across 
the river from Nashville. He leased the two ferries oppo- 
site Nashville. The upper ferry crossed from just above 
Broad Street ; the lower one at a point now occupied on 
east side of the river by the Indiana Lumber Company. 

He and his wife died of what was known as the " Cold 
54 



Plague," in April, 181G, within three days of each other. 
Col. Johnson attended the common school, then Cumber- 
land College, and entered business with his brother-in-law, 
David C. Snow, at the age of fifteen. He succeeded Mr. 
Snow, whose impaired health caused Col. Johnson to take 
direction of the business, which was managed advantageously 
for Blr. Snow's family. In 1827 he organized the firm of 
Johnson & Rayburn, wholesale commission house, which 
was successful. From 1837 to 1842 he was member of 
the firm of Johnson, Rayburn & Co., Nashville, which 
was, and of Price, Johnson & Co., New Orleans, which 
was not successful, chiefly on account of the absence of the 
conservative management of Col. Johnson's personal direc- 
tion. From 1843 to 1847 he was member of the firm of 
Johnson, Weaver & Co., composed of the late lamented 
James Johnson and the late Dempsey Weaver, two of the 
most successful and honorable merchants that ever did busi- 
ness in Nashville. 

On expiration of this partnership he became associated 
with Col. Granville P. Smith, the firm being Johnson & 
Smith, wholesale commission and produce merchants. He 
retired from this firm, and from active business, Jan. 1, 
1857, with a handsome competency, having been successful 
in all enterprises of which he had the active and sole con- 
trol. 

He has had a long business career, embracing extensive 
transactions, during which no one ever lost a cent by in- 
dorsing for him or for any firm with which he was con- 
nected. He invested his means in real estate, which he 
improved, thus contributing to the wealth and prosperity 
of the city. Col. Johnson is now (1880) perhaps the oldest 
living inhabitant of Nashville. At one time he owned 
near three hundred acres of land on which East Nashville 
is now built, except the eighty-acre farm now owned by 
Governor Neil S. Brown, just outside of the corporate limits, 
which Col. Johnson sold to Ephraim H. Foster, and the 
balance, of two hundred acres, to N. Hobson and Robert 
Weakly. Col. Johnson's rule of life was personal probity 
and rigid punctuality, and the pride of his declining years 
was the manifestation of the confidence and esteem of the 
associates of his business career. He is a man of fine per- 
sonal presence, and having lived an active, temperate life, 
he is remarkably well preserved for his advanced years. 

Socially and politically Col. Johnson is Democratic ; in 
association a Mason and a Methodist, in which church he 
filled the usual lay positions, and for which he and a few 
others built •' Hobson Chapel," a handsome edifice in the 
suburbs of East Nashville. 

In public life he was colonel of volunteers, a magistrate, 
alderman, director in the State, also in the Union Bank of 
Tennessee, State senator, president of the Bank of Tennes- 
see, which election he declined in 1861, president of the 
Broad Street Bridge Company, president of the Nashville 
Insurance Company, which during his administration was 
signally successful, having when he left it six hundred 
thousand dollars surplus. He was twice married. His first 
wife was Elizabeth Hobson, daughter of Capt. William 
Hobson. Their union was in April, 1823. Of their chil- 
dren there are now living Col. AVilliam H. Johnson, promi- 
nent dealer in blooded live-stock near Nashville, and Susan, 



428 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



wife of W. G. Brean. His wife, Elizabeth Hobson, died 
in December, 1S37. Six gTaiidcbildreti, four daughters and 
two sous, are living in Virginia, — the children of his eldest 
daughter, Elenora, wife of the late Calvin Ferguson. 

His second wife was Mary E. Cheney, daughter of Capt. 
George S. Smith and widow of Hampton J. Cheney, of 
Louisiana, whose only child, Capt. Hampton J. Cheney, is 
now a resident of Alabama. They were married July 10, 
1838. Of their children three are now living: Dr. A. W. 
Johnson, Jr., physician, and George S. Jolinson, farmer, 
in Alabama; and Mary E. Johnson, wife of Maj. John S. 
Dransford, banker, of Nashville. A view of Maj. Brans- 
ford's residence, the old Johnson homestead, will be found 
in this history. 

Col. Johnson has contributed material for the history of 
Davidson County, of which he has been a resident from the 
beginning of the nineteenth century. He voted against 
secession, but when Tennessee formally joined its fortunes 
with the South he went with his State. Although in his 
eighty-fourth year, he is yet a fine-looking man, and his old 
homestead is one of the handsomest in Tennessee. The 
accompanying portrait of Col. Johnson is from a photograph 
taken in his eighty-third year. 



JAMES WIIITWOllTH. 

James AVliitworth was born in 1816 in Sumner Co., 
Tenn. His grandfather came from Amelia Co., Va., and 
settled on the Cumberland River in ISOli. His father, 
James Whitworth, also born in Virginia, came to Tennes- 
see with his parents, and became the owner of a poor farm 
of about one hundred acres, on which he reared a family 
of four sons and seven daughters. The family is now 
widely scattered through the South and Southwest. 

James was only thirteen years old when his father died. 
As one of the oldest ho worked the farm for the support 
of the family. His mother was Ann Harding before her 
marriage, born in Virginia, and, early left a widow with 
this large family, struggled hard with the battle of life. 
The facilities of school education were poor. James worked 
the farm till he was twenty-two years old, but was not con- 
tented to remain, and with the proceeds of the sale of wood 
he had rafted down to Nashville he secured five months' 
schooling at Wirt's Seminary, in Sumner County. In 1840 
ho taught school one season in Smith County, and returning 
took further lessons at Wirt's. Returning home in July, 
1841, he bought a few law-books, and devoured their con- 
tents. Failing in his first efforts to enter a law-ofiice, he 
was persuaded by his early and constant friend, Edmund 
Turner, of Sumner County, to visit Nashville. Here, with 
the added influence of John Trimble, he was received as a 
law student in the ofEce of Messrs. E. li. and A, Ewing. 
His means were extremely limited. His mother had fur- 
nished him a bed ; he slept in a back office, and boarded at 
the home of William Garrett, who took a great interest in 
him, gave him very low rate for his board, and never pre- 
sented a bill till the end of the year. Mr. Whitworth 
speaks of this contract for board as the first and only one 



he ever made when he had no money to secure its fulfill- 
ment. He therefore keenly appreciates the kind generosity 
of this early friend. 

In September, 1842, he was admitted to pi'actice at the 
bar. His first case of any importance was a suit against 
the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike Company, with the 
present Judge -Jo. Guild as opposing counsel. A nice ques- 
tion of law was involved. The legal aspect of the case 
presented by our young lawyer was sustained, and though 
the case was appealed it was finally decided in his favor, 
and he won reputation by this success, receiving an offer of 
partnership from R. M. Williams, with whom he was asso- 
ciated for a while, when he became a partner with Messrs. 
E. IT. and Andrew Ewing. This relationship continued 
until 1847, when a now firm, including Andrew Ewing, 
W. F. Cooper, and Mr. Whitworth, was formed, and car- 
ried on a successful business until 1853, when Mr. Whit- 
worth retired to a farm he had purchased, lying some five 
miles out of Nashville. In 1856 he was elected county 
judge, and held this responsible and honorable position for 
ten years. After the close of the war farming with free 
labor presented so many complications and uncertainties 
tliat Judge Whitworth decided to sell his fine farm of five j 
hundred acres and return to the practice of law. Shortly 
after opening his ofiioe anew, gentlemen interested in the 
organization of a national bank sought his assistance, and 
offered him the position of its president. He accepted the 
proposal, and has held the office of president of the Fourth 
National Bank of Nashville ever since. 

Judge Whitworth was active in the organization of the 
Tennessee Manufacturing Company, and its president for 
many years. He has been active in the councils of the 
Methodist Publishing Company, and has given the benefit 
of his sound financial judgment to this large business en- 
terprise, with which, as a Jlethodist, his religious sympa- 
thies wore allied. Judge Whitworth has never held politi- 
cal office, though frequently solicited so to do. His name 
has been prominently mentioned in connection with the 
office of Governor of the State. He has been identified 
with the development of the railroads and the bridge com- 
pany, and held office as director in a number of them. 

In 1849 he married Martha Keeling, daughter of Dr. 
George Keeling, son of one of the first settlers of this 
county. He has four living children. His oldest son, 
George K. Whitworth, was recently elected county trustee. 

Judge Whitworth's administration of the trying and re- 
sponsible position of judge of the County Court was char- 
acterized by integrity, sound practical sense, and kindness 
of heart. He is pre-eminently a clear-headed business man, 
and being thoroughly honest is therefore a safe adviser. 
He is often consulted by friends on matters of business, 
such as the management of estates, investments of money, 
and conflicting interests among neighbors. Pie is naturally 
a peace-maker, and has often aided his fellow-men in settling 
difficulties of various kinds and prevented much litigation. 
He has been a successful man in monetary affairs. 



^^.^^^»v 





<^:?'^^3«^*-^-/ 




JOHN HOWS. 



John Hows was born near Raleigh, N. C, May 
17, 1811. His father, John C. Hows, emigrated to 
Davidson County about 1816 witli a family of six 
children, settled on Sara's Creek, lived in the county 
many years, and died at an advanced age. 

The immediate subject of this sketch, John Hows, 
lived with his father until he had attained his ma- 
jority. Working at various vocations summers and 
attending school a portion of the year, and making 
good use of such opportunities as were presented, 
he acquired a good practical education. When 
twenty-six years of age, Dec. 14, 1837, he was mar- 
ried to Catharine D. Jones ; her father, Jarvis Jones, 
came from North Carolina and settled on the Har- 
peth River before 1800, reared a family of six chil- 
dren, and died Mai'ch 11, 1844. The first year after 
Mr. Hows svas married he lived on a rented farm ; 
then purchased a place of his father and commenced 



making himself a farm, and by industry and perse- 
verance has secured a large farm and a handsome 
propertv. While farming has been the business of 
his life ho has also been interested in other matters. 
He has been called to fill some of the important 
offices of the county, including that of justice of the 
peace. In 1875 the law provided for only one as- 
sessor for tiie county, and Squire Hows was elected 
to fill that important position. Politically, he was 
formerly a Whig. Was opposed to the war and 
friendly to the national cause ; a man that commands 
the respect and esteem of all who know him. 

This worthy couple, representing two of the pioneer 
families wiio have aided in transfoi-miug the pri- 
meval forest into a civilized community, are justly 
entitled to a place in local history. To them have 
been born fourteen children, eleven of whom are 
now living, — seven daughters and four sons. 








Pliuty. by Armsti-nnfr, NasliviUe. 




-<i:^^-^=e<5^ <i?ii:i<!t^-c^ 



/ 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



429 



JOHN HARDIXG. 

John Harding, son of Gen. W. G. Harding, was born 
Jan. 5, 1831, in District Number Two, Davidson County, 
on the farm where he now resides. Mr. Harding received 
a good education. In 1850 he entered Harvard College, 
Cambridge, Mass., but on account of illness subsequently 
completed his studies at Chapel Hill, N. C, and began the 
practical farmer's life he has since followed. II is farm of 
thirteen hundred acres, where his father liad lived before 
liim, is one of the finest farms in the vicinity. 

Mr. Harding has given attention to breeding and train- 
ing trotting-horses. 

He married, March 28, 1853, Sophia W. Merritt, 
daughter of W. IT. K. Merritt, of Brunswick Co., Va. 
His only child by this marriage was Sophia M. Harding, 
who married Granville S. Johnson. They have one son, 
named William Harding Johnson. Blrs. Harding died in 
August, 1855, and in December, 185G, Mr. Harding mar- 
ried his present wife, Mrs. Margaret A. E. Owen. Thty 
have three children, — Selene M., William G., and John. 
Mr. Harding's life has been a quiet, uneventful one. His 
large farm has required his undivided attention. 



COL. THOMAS L. BRANSFORD. 

Thomas Louis Bransford was born in Buckingham Co., 
Va., Nov. 29, 1804, and died in Union Springs, Ala., Feb. 
26, 1865. On liis father's side ho was of Englibh and 
on his mother's of French Huguenot descent. His father, 
Thomas Bransford, moved from Virginia to Barren Co., 
Ky., in 1817, where, some four decades after, he and his 
wife, Ann Lee Snoddy, died. 

Col. Bransford when a boy carried the mail four years 
on horseback to aid his father financially ; taught school for 
a brief period; and when twenty-one years of age, in 1825, 
moved to Gainesboro', Jackson Co., Tenn., where he con- 
ducted for a quarter of a century a prosperous mercantile 
business, until 1850, when he moved to Glasgow, Ky., 
where he remained until 1856, when ho removed with his 
family to Nashville, Tenn., where all of his surviving 
children now reside. 

Col. Bransford's ancestry on both sides were soldiers in 
the Revolution and against the Indians in Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, and Southern States. One of the family (Samuel 
Bransford) was a graduate of West Point, and subse- 
quently was Professor of Mathematics at West Point 
Academy, where he was accidentally killed while training 
the cadets in horsemanship. 

During Col. Bransford's successful business career he 
was a member of the firms of Parrott & Bransford, Gaines- 
boro', Tenn. ; Parrott & Bransford, Rushville, 111. ; Kin- 
naird & Bransford, Gainesboro', Tenn. ; Joel W. Settle & 
Co., Gainesboro', Tenn. ; Watson M. Cooke & Co., Gaines- 
boro', Tenn ; Amonett, Fowler & Bransford, Amonett & 
Bransford, and Fowler & Bransford, Celina, Tenn. ; and of 
the wholesale firms of Snoddy & Bransford, Louisville, Ky. ; 
Bransford, McWhirter & Co., Nashville, Tenn. ; and Brans- 
ford, Goodbar & Co., Memphis, Tenn. 



While residing in Kentucky he was elected president of 
the Na.shville and Cincinnati Railroad Company, and a dele- 
gate to the Whig National Convention that nominated Gen. 
Scott for the Presidency, which Col. Bransford truly pre- 
dicted was the last Whig National Convention that would 
ever be held. In this connection, as further illustration of 
his foresight, it may also be stated that he truly predicted 
that the election of Buchanan was the last peaceable elec- 
tion of President that would take place in this country. As 
foreshadowed by his apprehension, the subsequent election 
of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency resulted in war, and each 
election since has been attended by troops at the polls or 
at the counting of the ballots. His sagacity was remarked, 
also, in the early comprehensive railroad system which while 
in the Legislature of 1840 he devised for Tennessee, the ex- 
ecution of which — a line from Knoxvilleby Na.shville direct 
to Blemphis, Tenn. — would probably have prevented the 
flanking of Nashville on the one side by the Memphis, 
Clarksville and Louisville, and on the other by the Mem- 
phis and Charleston Railroads. The people of Tennessee 
now concede liis superior judgment in this matter, and are 
endeavoring to build the line he then proposed. c'' 

Col. Bransford endeavored, in like manner, to show that 
Nashville should not contribute anything to build railroads 
to the north of that city, but to the south of it, from which 
direction only could Nashville ever hope to secure any trade, 
a proposition since so clearly demonstrated that it is now 
patent to all. 

While a resident of Jackson Co., Tenn., Col. Bransford 
was a member of the Legislature; was elected elector in 
1840, and again in 1844, on the Whig Presidential tickets ; 
was the Whig candidate for Congress in 1843, and subse- 
quently was nominated by tlie counties eonvposing the con- 
gressional district for Governor of the State. On questions 
of the tariff, banking, etc., that formerly divided the Whig 
and Democratic parties, Col. Bransford was pronounced by 
President Polk to be the ablest debater he had heard in 
Tennessee; and President Johnson said of him that if the 
world had to be cut up into facts and figures, he would 
select Col. Bransford as the most capable, of his acquaint- 
ance, to perform that service. 

Speaking of his death, the Maeon, Ga., Telegraph said, 
" The death of such a man deserves more than a passing 
tribute. Without the advantage of an early education, 
through the intuitive force and energy of a mind highly 
endowed by nature, and ever in quest of knowledge and 
truth. Col. Bransford, unaided and alone, worked his way 
to position and wealth. His mind was a perfect chronology 
of the past. In the sphere of varied attainments no fact, 
however minute, but was ever ready at liis command. In 
politics, in finance, and in commerce, throughout the States 
of Kentucky and Tennessee and the commercial cities of 
the North, his name is as llimiliar as a household word. 
The two leading faculties of his mind were memory and 
fact. In liim their development was no less remarkable 
than accurate. As a public speaker and conversationalist, 
whether upon political topics, finance, currency, or internal 
improvements, the endless train of facts which he brought 
to bear rendered his argument invincible. On these and 
other subjects he wielded a powerful pen. The war be- 



430 



IlISTOllY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



tween the States, 18G1, found him at his home in Nash- 
ville, in the enjojment of wealth and surrounded by an in- 
teresting fiimijy. . . . His memory will long be cherished 
by those who knew him best, and his life is a part of the 
liistory of his adopted State." 

He was remarkably well informed, and was blessed with 
a most tenacious memory, liis wonderful mind retaining 
what ho read with seemingly as little effort as a sponge holds 
water. Few men were gifted with a loftier sense of honor, 
few possessed more earnestness and force of character, and 
who were more of an honor to their family name ! A hand- 
some marble shaft marks his resting-place in the beautiful 
Blount Olivet Cemetery, near Nashville. He married Lu- 
cinda A. Settle, daughter of Willis and Nancy Priekett 
Settle, of Barren Co., Ky. His children were Matilda, 
wife of Eussell M. Kinnaird, now (1880) of wholesale firm 
of Settle & Kinnaird, Nashville ; Lizzie Marshall, wife of 
Capt. Andrew J. McWhirtcr, for many years a leading 
popular wholesale merchant of Nashville; Maj. John S. 
Bransford, banker ; Capt. Tiiomas L. Bransford, Jr., mer- 
chant of Now Orleans, La., deceased ; William Amonett, 
a gifted son, who died in youtlVfrom injuries received by a 
fall from a horse; Walter L., unmarried, named after his 
father's only brother, a resident; of California ; and W. S. 
Bransford, of the wholesale hardware house of Ewing, 
Bransford & Gaines, Nashville. 

The pioneer of the family, John Bransford, came to this 
country from England and settled in Virginia. He died in 
Eichmond, Va., 1781, a few days after the surrender of the 
city to the British under Lord Cornwallis. John Bransford 
(2d) was the great-grandfather of those of the name now 
in Tennessee. All of the name known reside in the South- 
ern States. The ancestors of Col. Bransford's grandmother, 
Judith Amonett, came from France after the revocation of 
the Edict of Nantes and the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 
and settled in A-'irginia in the reign of William III., about 
1GS5.* 

As illustrative of the intolerance of opinion in the past, 
Col. Bransford's ancestry were not only driven from France 
on account of its religious or Protestant belief, but his 
grandfather was imprisoned in Virginia, by order of Col. 
Archibald Cary, for permitting a Protestant minister to 
preach in his house. 

Reference to the family of which Col. Bransford was a 
conspicuous member may be found in Dr. McFerrin's 
" History of Methodism in Tennessee," vol. iii., pages 481- 
489. 

The portrait herein is a copy of a photograph taken after 
lie became an invalid. He was literally capacitated to adorn 
any station in life. The retentive powers of his memory 
were simply marvelous. He was distinguished for his 
. general information, and universally accredited with ability 
to thoroughly comprehend any subject he investigated. 



« By reference to Bishop Meade's "History of FamiUes in Vir- 
ginia" and other records we find that with the Huguenots that 
came from France to America were the Shandoin, La Shure, Maney, 
Maury, Fountaine, Sublett, Boisseau, Sally, Eondurant, Tralue, 
Agee, Dibrell, Depp, Du Pre, Guerrant, and Chastccn families, names 
familiar as household words in the Southwestern States during the 
nineteenth century. 



Eminently practical, constitutionally upright and trust- 
worthy, public-spirited and generous, he was everything to 
his family, and leaves an honored name in the annals of 
Tennessee. 



BIAJ. JOHN S. BRANSFOBD. 

John Sweeazy Bransford was born in Gainesboro', Jackson 
Co., Tenn., Blarch 8, 1836 ; moved with his father's family 
to Glasgow, Ky., 1850; became an attache oi the whole- 
sale establishment of Snoddy & Bransford, Louisville, Ky., 
1853; attended Centre College, Danville, Ky., 1853-54 ; 
removed to Tennessee in 1856, and became junior partner in 
the wholesale dry goods house of Bransford, McWhirtcr & 
Co., Nashville ; was the " Jay Sweeazy Bee" sohi-iqiiet corre- 
spondent of the Nashville Union and American to the 
National Democratic Convention in 1856 that nominated 
Buchanan and Breckenridge ; and in ISGO was member of 
the wholesale firm of Bransford, Goodbar & Co., in Mem- 
phis, Tenn. 

When war between the States was precipitated, in 1861, 
he joined a military company in Blemphis, and shortly there- 
after was commissioned major of infantry by Governor 
Harris, and a.ssigned to duty by CoL V. K. Stevenson, 
quartermaster-general of Tennessee, in charge of railroad 
transportation in Nashville. He retired from that post 
Feb. 20, 1862, with tlie army under Gen. Albert Sidney 
Johnston; was subsequently commissioned major in the 
Southern army, and appointed chief of railroad transpor- 
tation for the " Army of Tennessee." 

During the attack on Chattanooga, 1803, Maj. Bransford 
remained at that post until all of the army stores and 
equipage had been removed, leaving there himself on the 
last train, although during the bombardment'preceding the 
evacuation, which lasted for days, his oflSce was riddled 
with' shot and shell, all his assistants wounded, and his own 
inkstand knocked from under his hand by a cannon-ball. 
He was with Gen. Joe Johnston's army in the memorable 
campaign, of three months' incessant fighting, from Dalton 
to Atlanta, and at the cessation of hostilities, April, 18G5, 
was with that command in North Carolina, having in four 
years' military service never been absent from duty, except 
on leave to visit his invalid father, who died in the South 
just before the close of the war. 

Returning after the war to Nashville, Blay 20, 1865, 
he addressed himself to the task of adjusting the ante 
bellum Memphis firm business, meantime engaging .with 
the Hon. James Guthrie, president of the Louisville, and' 
Nashville Railroad, to become general agent (chief officer) 
of that company in Nashville. When he took charge ' 
the Nashville station was some twenty thousand dollars in 
arrears, which the company lost. When he left the road 
the company gave him receipt for upwards of a thousand 
dollars more than he owed it, being clear " overs" that; 
had accumulated iu the correct management of the com- 
pany's business. Thus the station, instead of being thou- 
sands of dollars behind, as formerly, was, under his direc- 
tion, more than a thousand dollars ahead. He handled 
the company's funds, exceeding sometimes one hundred 



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BIOGEAPHIES. 



431 



thousand dollars a month, for more than ten years, during 
which time he was never asked for nor gave a bond as 
security for the safe handling of the company's money. 
During this decade he was never absent from railroad duty; 
had a large money credit at end of every month ; reduced, 
unsolicited, during a heavy business the expenses of the 
station some five thousand dollars the first year, and turned 
over to the company several thousand dollars, proceeds of 
sale of " overs" merchandise that had accumulated in that 
station. 

While in railroad service he was executor for his father's, 
also of his deceased brother's estate, the first being quite 
complicated, the latter involving partnership in St. Louis 
and New Orleans firms. These estates were wound up 
advantageously, and to the perfect satisfaction of all inter- 
ested, as evidenced by the afiidavits of the heirs of each, 
which are on record in the ofiice of the clerk of the county 
court of Davidson County. He" was also trustee for various 
parties, whose interests, likewise, prospered in his hands. 
At the same time he was chairman of the board of stewards 
of Tulip Street Church, Nashville, during which period of 
several years it had a surplus fund on hand, a condition 
that had not before and has not since existed. He was 
elected president of the Nashville and Edgefield Street 
Railroad Company, also a member of the board of Meth- 
odist Foreign and Domestic Missions ; for four years was a 
member of the board of trustees of Tulip Street Church, and 
secretary thereof; was director of Nashville Gas-Light Com- 
pany, Broad Street Bridge Company, Building and Loan 
Association Company, director of various street railroad 
companies, and cashier of national bank in Nashville, the 
pecuniary interest in which he disposed of, and has since 
declined active business engagements in order to endeavor 
to build up a constitution never very robust at any period 
of life. 

In the sphere of finance Maj. Br.uisford was systematic 
and successful, never buying anything until ready to pay 
for it, avoiding security complications, and never spending 
more, but always less, than his income. An inflexible rule 
in his domestic affairs was never to wound his wife's sensi- 
bilities by having her at any time to come to him for money. 
On the contrary, her wants were anticipated, and on the first 
day of every month she was, without solicitation, furnished 
with funds sufficient to meet every requirement. 

Maj. Bransford is the eldest son of the late Col. Thomas 
L. Bransford, who was, intellectually and by great force of 
character, one of the foremost men in Tennessee. Col. 
Bransford's biography and portrait will be found in this 
history. 

The steamboat " John S. Bransford," named in honor of 
the subject of this biography, is now (1880) running on the 
Ohio and upper Cumberland Rivers. 

If the proverb be true that " he who plants a tree is a 
benefactor," Maj. Bransford might claim to be doubly so, 
since few men, if, indeed, any other man in Davidson 
County, has planted so many and such beautiful trees. 
His taste for trees or love oftbe beautiful is so well known 
that his property has often been recognized as such by its 
characteristic culture and ornamentation. 

He was united in marriage, Nov. 30, 1865, with Miss 



Manie E. Johnson, daughter of Col. Anthony W. John.son, 
a retired merchant of Nashville, the two families having 
ever since resided together as one household. 

Maj. Bransford has only two living children, a son and 
a daughter, Johnson and Lizzie, the first-born, Mary Lu, 
having died Aug. 8, 1874, in early childhood. A view of 
his residence — one of the most attractive in Davidson 
County — will be found in this history. 

He is of English and French Huguenot descent. His 
immediate ancestry on both sides came west from Vir- 
ginia to Kentucky and Tennessee. The family history, 
epitomized, may be found in Dr. McFerrin's " History of 
Methodism in Tennessee," vol. iii., page 481. 

Sliij. Bransford never applied for membership nor be- 
longed to any secret society. In politics he was inde- 
pendent, voting, so far as he could judge, for the best man 
or best interest of the community. 

The investigation of maturer years led him, after somewhat 
extensive reading on the subject of religion, to discard dogma , 
bigotry, aud superstition, and to regard profession of belief 
in them as an infinitesimal part of any man's character. 
To do right, as far as we know, and may be able to practice 
it for right's sake alone, regardless of promise of reward on 
the one hand or threat of punishment on the other, he es- 
teemed the most God-like action of which man is capable, 
the loftiest ideal in any sense attainable in practical life ; 
acts, not professions, constituting, in his opinion, all that 
there is in what may be termed the sentiment of religion. 

He justly inherited aspirations for the freedom of 
opinion, his Huguenot ancestry having been driven from 
France for opinion's sake and his great-grandfather having 
been imprisoned in Virginia fou allowing a Protestant min- 
ister to preach in his house. I 

Maj. Bransford declined to furnish his portrait for in.ser- 
tion in this volume, and though practically conceding the 
value of data such as herein given, — not to the public, but, 
maybe, to some one of an after-generation of the name, like 
his talented father, who felt such an interest in the past 
family record, — yet as to portraits he would fain believe that 

" bowe'er baseless his vanity in other things, 

'Twas all outside ' the shadow of what the substance seems.' " 



DAVID n. McGAVOCK. 

David H. McGavock, second son of Francis McGavock, 
and grandson of David McGavock, Sr., was born in Nash- 
ville, Tenn., Sept. 1, 1826. He was early taught the value 
of time and money by his honored father, who reared his 
children to industry and economy on the farm. He grad- 
uated at the Nashville University, at Nashville, Tenn., in 
1845, and immediately removed to Arkansas, where he 
continued to reside until 1849. In 1850 he was married 
to Willie, only daughter of William Harding (deceased) 
and Elizabeth Clopton, and settled on one of the finest 
forms in the State, which contains more than eleven hun- 
dred acres of choice land, situated on the Cumberland and 
Stone's Rivers, seven miles east of Nashville, where he now 
resides. 



432 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Mr. McGavock has made many valuable improvements 
on his farm, among which we may mention a fine house, 
whicli is truly an ornament to the county, a view of which, 
together with its beautiful surroundings, may be seen in an- 
other part of this work. Jlr. McGavock has inherited all 
the virtues of his honored father and grandfather, and 
what we say of them can be equally well applied to him. 
He has one son, Frank, who was born in September, 1851, 
and married Lulie Spence, Sept. 16, 1875. They have 
two children, — viz., Spence and Willie. 



DR. WILLIAM J. CARTER. 

From the pen of a personal I'riend we copy the following : 

" Oq the 27th of June, 1878, one of Tennessee's best; 
and noblest citizens. Dr. William J. Carter, passed away. 

" He was born in Halifax Co., N. C, on tlie 22d of May, 
1808, and moved to Tennessee in the fall of 1S16. At the 
age of forty-two. May 9, 1850, ho married Miss Nannie 
Demoss, a daughter of iMr. Abram Demoss. 

" He read medicine under the tuition of his brother, Dr. 
Bellfield Carter, attended the lectures at Transylvania Uni- 
versity, Lexington, Ky., practiced his profession the year 
1830 at Charlotte, Dickson Co., and moved in 1831 to 
ITarpcth River, at Dog Creek, in Cheatham County, where 
by close attention to business he made a large fortune. 
Ninety-two negroes were liberated for him by the late war, 
and at his death he owned two fine farms, besides valuable 
personal property. 

"Dr. Carter was a devoted husband, kind father, and 
true friend. Many widowed mothers and orphaned chil- 
dren have received the benefits of his known skill, and have 
been fed by his bountiful charity with no other compensa- 
tion than the gratification of having fed the hungry and 
relieved the sick. 

" We can scarcely comprehend the vastness of his energy, 
unless we remember the sparsely-settled districts in the 
immediate vicinity of Nashville, and that our city itself 
was but a small place at that time. 

" Ho practiced over a territory forty miles square, and 
through a country almost wholly destitute of public thor- 
oughfares. When he moved to Harpeth his brother gave 
him a horse, and he bought of Dr. W. W. Berry fifty 
dollars' worth of medicines on credit. Dr. Beriy told him 
his face was a sufScient guarantee of its payment. 

" He has told us from the lips that are now forever 
silent that during his travels by day he was forced to 
carry a hatchet, to blaze a path through the forest, and to 
cut the impeding limbs from his path, so that when riding 
.at night he would not be struck from his horse. Rain, 
hail, snow, frozen rivers, full creeks, — nothing kept him 
from his patients when called, it mattered not whether they 
were rich or poor. Often was he called to visit the sick 
across Big Harpeth when it was out of its banks, its waters 
rushing in very madness along its channel ; nothing daunted, 
he plunged into the stream, and frequently landed many 
yards below on the other bank. 

" Almost invariably was he correct in his diagnosis, and 



being skillful in his treatment met with unu.sual success. 
The profession has lost one of its most useful members, his 
family a kind husband and devoted father, and the com- 
munity one of its most useful citizens." 

He leaves a wife and three children, — Carrie F., Ann 
L., and Belfiold F. Mrs. Carter is the youngest daughter 
of Abram Demoss, and was born in District Fourteen, 
Davidson Co., Oct. 19, 1828. 

A'bram Demoss was the son of Lewis Demoss, and was 
born in North Carolina, and came to Davidson County with 
his parents at a very early day, and settled on the Big 
Harpeth. He married Elizabeth Newsome, daughter of 
Francis Newsome, an early settler in Davidson County. To 
them were born twelve children, nine of whom lived to be 
men and women grown. He was a very large farmer, own- 
ing some two thousand five hundred acres of good land. 
He was a man respected by those who knew him. He left 
a good name as the precious legacy to his children. 



LEONARD B. FITE. 

Leonard B. Fito was born Nov. 17, 1811, in Smith Co., 
Tenn. He was the son of Jacob Fite and Matilda Beard, 
from North Carolina. Jacob Fite was the son of Leonard 
Fite, who was the son of Johannes Fite, who emigrated to 
America from Germany at a date unknown. The family 
is one of the most remarkable of which we have a record 
for vigor of health and great longevity, and the fidelity 
with which they have observed that early injunction given 
to our reputed first parents, " to multiply and replenish 
the earth." 

On or about the 10th of April, 1861, two interesting 
events in the history of Tennessee occurred. The one was 
the breaking out of the civil war, the other was the cele- 
bration of the Centennial birthday of Peggy Crosse Fite, 
grandmother of the gentleman whose life we are sketching. 
On that day five generations of the Fite fitmily assembled 
to do honor to the occasion. Eleven of twelve children 
born Mrs. Peggy C. Fite were living, and either present or 
represented. Of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and 
great-great-grandchildren, no less a number than four hun- 
dred and sixty-four were represented. What a picture the 
imagination conjures up! Think of this family assembledj 
to make each other's acquaintance and compare experiences!] 
Such a family is sufficient unto itself. It need not dependj 
on neighbors for companionship ; it had the promise of em-l 
pire within itself. Lot some young mathematician of the! 
family solve the problem of the number of the descendantsi 
there will bo living in 1961, if the family continues to mul-l 
tiply for another century as it has for the last. Peggy C.| 
Fite attained the great age of one hundred and three andj 
a half years. 

Johannes Fite, the founder of the family in America,! 
was a miller by trade. When quite young he emigrated tol 
this country with a large party of his countrymen andj 
women, one of whom, Catharina by name, had inspired thol 
love of Johannes on the voyage. By design or otherwise,! 
the chests of the emigrants containing the clothing and| 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



433 



money wore sent on anotliev ship than that on which the 
passengers were brought. No tidings were received by the 
emigrants of their baggage, and all but two were put up at 
auction on their arrival in New York and sold for their 
passage-money. Johannes and Catharina were bought by 
the same party, a New Jersey miller, who, after he had 
bought Johannes, was by him solicited to buy his sweet- 
heart. They were no sooner bound to the miller to work 
out enough to pay their passage-money than they became 
bound to each other " to love, honor, obey," etc., etc., and 
went to live in the mill of their purchaser. Here they 
lived happy and contented for a long while, — at least, until 
four children were born to them. It was then Johannes 
removed to Pennsylvania, built him a fort to protect his 
family from Indians, and built a mill to support his grow- 
ing family. 

Subsequently a large representative of the family moved 
to North Carolina, and after a residence of years then came 
to Tennessee. The grandfather of the present L.' B. Fite^ 
came to Tennessee about 1800, settled at Buchanan's Sta- 
tion, and afterwards removed to Smith County and erected 
a mill. L. B. Fite's father, Jacob, lived to be eighty-five 
years old, and his mother lived to be eighty-three. His.- 
great-uncle, John Fite, died at ninety-seven yearg of age. 
Mrs. Laniberson, a great-great-aunt, lived to be liinety-six.' 

As illustrating the sturdy character for integrity of Jacob 
Fite, li is son mentions with pride the following incident : 
In 18G4, while the civil war was yetdn progi-e'ss, Jie4with; 
other of his friends and neighbor^ 'was summoned to Nasli- 
villc to take the oath of allegiance to the Feder.aK govern-. 
mcnt and provide themselves witb the -requisite pr.oteetion, 
of the provost-marshal. After- he had taken ithe oath the' 
marshal asked him how many sons he had and. where they. 
were. Being informed that so far as Mr.- Fite Jcnew. four. 
out of the five were South, and if not in tlie Confederate 
army were in sympathy with it, the marshal said, "Your 
love for your sons and attachment for them, sir, make your 
oath of no practical value. It must be stronger than your 
love for the government. Is it not so, sir?" Blr. Fite 
replied that he recognized no right to be questioned on the 
matter : " If I reply as you would have me, my neighbors 
would know I had sworn to a lie, and, worse than that, my 
God would know I had perjured myself I can tie my 
hands, my feet, or my tongue by the oatli I have taken, 
but I cannot prevent mj heart from ffoiiij oat ioivards my 
hoys." 

The provost-marshal snatched from Sir. Fite the certificate 
he had given him, and with profane abuse threatened him 
with imprisonment. A. V. S. Lindsey, a leading Union 
man, interested himself for this old and honest citizen, and 
brought Mr. Fite to an audience with the general com- 
manding, who listened respectfully to Mr. Fite as he recited 
his account of the inton'iew he had had with the marshal. 
Impressed with profound respect for Mr. Fite's regard to an 
oath, he ordered a pass to issue at once, saying, " I have no 
doubt, old gentleman, you will keep your word more strictly 
than many who are now crowding here to make oath to 
their loyalty." 

Leonard B. Fite came to Nashville in the year 1830, 
and went into the store and employment of Robert I. 



Moore, a general merchant. He left Mr. Moore and com- 
menced for himself in a retail dry-goods business in 183-1-. 
lie entered the wholesale trade exclusively in 1853, under 
the style of L. B. Fite & Co. This business he sold out 
in 1859. He was for many years a director in the " Bank 
of Tennessee," and afterwards filled the same ofiiee in the 
Union Bank. lie never would accept political office; his 
tastes inclined him otherwise. He watched with close at- 
tention the details of his large business, and says ho never 
was absent from it by reason of illness for five days in forty 
years. 

Blr. Fite in 1840 married Miss Amanda Reynolds, by 
whom he had one son,-^ — viz., James W. Fite. His second 
marriage occurred in 1853, to Miss Virginia G. L. Randall. 
Of this marriage was born L. B. Fite, Jr. By a third 
marriage he has two young daughters. In this later case 
he married Miss Martha Mann, nee Campbell. 

For .the last eight years of his life he has been connected 
with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

This sketch is furnished not on any desire of Mr. Fite 

to make himself prominent in the history of his county, 

but at;_the earnest solicitation of children and friends who 

hold him- in very high esteem for his many good qualities 

as a man,, as a father, head of a family, as a friend, mcr- 

ohantj and citizen. He is held In high esteem by a very 

large circle, of friends, who have been attracted by his 

straightjorward business methods, by his incorruptible hon- 

t esty and. faithful adherence to his friends. He is a solf- 

maderuaaTi, but has- not found it necessary in order to rise 

himself that, he pull down others; on the contrary, it would 

be difficult 5t.o find-.an ^acquaintance who is not proud to 

' name himself^as a, friend. This is the testimony of others, 

; and it is here Recorded in the hope that it may contribute 

- to Mr. Fite's Jiappiness in the pleasant home to which he 

has retired,. iii Sumner County, about twelve miles north of 

Nashville, Tenn. 



GEN. JOHN F. WHELESS. 

John F. Wheless was born in Montgomery Co., Tenn., 
Feb. 3, 1339, and before six years of age lost both father 
and mother. Soon afterwards he was placed by his brother, 
Wesley Wheless, at school, near Nashville. By the time 
he was fourteen the education acquired was ample to fit 
him for business, and he entered the banking-house of 
Hobson & Wheless, of which his brother, Wesley, was the 
active manager. His advancement was rapid, having been 
promoted to the re.sponsible position of paying teller in less 
than three years. 

In the financial panic of 1857, when all the banks 
throughout the country suspended, the one with which he 
was connected went into liquidation ; thereupon the directors 
of the Bank of Tennessee offered him a position, which he 
accepted, but came near declining rather than ask any one 
to become his security on the bond required. Stepping into 
the president's room to inform him of his intention, he 
most opportunely met there a wealthy and influential friend, 
who, in congratulating him on his election, kindly j))r;^p?-pfZ 
to sign the bond, and thus he was relieved of the necessity 



434 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



of asking that favor. He remained in the Bank of Ten- 
nessee three years or more, during whicli time his generous 
friend became its lionored president. In 1860 he resigned 
to engage in the brokerage and banking business on liis own 
account, which he abandoned in April, 1861, and entered 
the military service of the State as junior lieutenant of 
Co. C, Rock City Guards. In April, 1862, he was elected 
captain of the company by a unanimous vote, although 
the most rigid disciplinarian in the regiment. 

Oct. 8, 1862, he was seriously wounded by a minie-ball 
through the body at the battle of Perry ville ; was captured 
and paroled. His exchange was effected the following 
January, and Lieut.-Gen. Polk offered him a staff appoint- 
ment of assistant inspector-general of his corps, which was 
accepted, and soon afterwards Maj.-Gen. A. P. Stewart 
tendered him the position of inspector-general with rank of 
major, which was declined at the solicitation of Gen. Polk, 
who desired to retain his services, and as a fitting recogni- 
tion of them recommended his promotion. 

After the battle of Chickamauga, Gen. Polk was trans- 
ferred to the Mississippi Department, and Gen. Bragg, by 
special order, assigned Capt. AVheless to duty in the inspec- 
tor-general's department of his own staff, but before reporting 
for duty a communication was received at army headquar- 
ters from the post surgeon at Griffin, Ga., earnestly request- 
ing that an officer of experience and firmness bo sent there 
to prevent serious complications resulting from the disor- 
ganized condition of affairs existing at that point. Capt. 
Wheless was assigned to that duty, and speedily accom- 
plished all that was desired. Ilis efficiency in di.soliarge of 
military duties was well attested by the fact that he was 
not personally known to cither Gens. Polk, Stewart, or 
Bragg when they offered the important and responsible 
staff appointments. 

From the command of the post at Griffin he was trans- 
ferred to the paymaster's department of the navy, where 
business talent was greatly needed. After several months' 
service in North Carolina waters he was ordered to the 
" James River squadron." Soon after reporting there for 
duty President Davis offered him, through Gen. Brasrg, 
then in command at Richmond, a commission as lieutenant- 
colonel in the adjutant and inspector-general's department, 
but it was declined under the belief that the end of the 
war was too near to justify a change. 

In the evacuation of Richmond the naval command to 
which he was attached liad charge of the treasury depart- 
ment, and guarded it to Augusta, Ga., and then back to 
Abbeville, S. C, where it was turned over to the command 
accompanying President Davis, which halted a day or so at 
Washington, Ga., and Paymaster Wheless was sent there 
to try and secure funds with which to pay off the naval de- 
tachment ; his mission was successful, and while there he 
was present at the last meeting of the notables of the 
Confederate government, among whom were President 
Davis, Gen. Breckenridge, Secretary of War, Judge Reagan, 
Acting Secretary of the Treasury, Judge Camp, Treasurer, 
Gen. Bragg, and others of lesser note. He returned to his 
command at Abbeville, paid out the money he had obtained, 
and received from the commanding officer an honorable dis- 
charge from further service to the Confederacy, after which 



he returned home, and, like many others, had but little 
with which to begin the world. On his way stopping in 
Augusta, a merchant there requested him to look after some 
old ante-bellum business, which was faithfully and success- 
fully prosecuted, and resulted in the merchant intrusting to 
him large purchases of grain, which lasted for several 
months. In the fall or winter large capitalists in Cincinnati 
offered him ample means for starting a bank in Nashville, 
but just as the arrangements were completed the Legisla- 
ture repealed the cliarter. About this time the Fourth 
National Bank was organized, and a number of the most 
influential directors tendered him their influence in electing 
him cashier, but, learning that a personal friend eminently 
fitted for the position might be induced to accept it, he de- 
clined, and urged the election of his friend. Subsequently 
he was offered the cashiership of the Second National Bank, 
but, having only a few months previously established the 
commission-liouse of McAlister & Wheless, he declined the 
offer, and carried on the commission business with decided 
success until September, 1878, when he retired for a while 
from that branch of business, but entered it again in May, 
1879, when he established the firm of Wheless, Williams 
& Co., which still has a prosperous existence. 

During the past fifteen years he has been prominent in 
business circles, for most of the time a director of the Nash- 
ville and Decatur Railroad, Equitable Insurance Company, 
and Nashville Warehouse Company ; for several terms 
president of the Cotton Exchange, and by that body, or 
through appointments of the Governor, has represented com- 
mercial interests in nearly all the commercial conventions 
held in various parts of the country, and at the meeting of 
the National Cotton Exchange hold at White Sulphur 
Springs, Va., in 1875, although representing the smallest 
constituent exchange in that body, he was chosen a member 
of the executive council, and in the proceedings of the con- 
vention President Phelps, in announcing the fact, took oc- 
casion to say, " This selection gives me great pleasure, as it 
certainly will all who were members of the convention that 
met in Augusta, for you know and appreciate the impor- 
tant service he rendered in that convention, — a convention 
which accomplished more in less time than any with which 
I have ever been identified ; and its success was due more 
to him than any other member, and he has performed a 
work for this body that cannot be too highly commended. 
All of you know the great difficulties attending the adop- 
tion of a constitution and by-laws in your exchange; you 
therefore fully appreciate the high value which should be 
accorded the work he has accomplished in preparing for 
this body a constitution, bj--laws, and rules so perfect and 
comprehensive as to have commanded your approval with- 
out a solitary change of importance. Such a consummation 
is without a pi'ccedent, and deserves at your hands the 
highest compliment you can bestow ; and while you had 
many distinguished gentlemen to choose from, you could 
not possibly have made a better selection, and it gives me 
great pleasure to announce that Mr. John F. Wheless, of 
the Nashville Cotton Exchange, has been elected a member 
of the executive council of the National Cotton Exchange 
of America." 

In 1876, believing that under the influence of wrong. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



435 



teaching tlie people were drifting towards repudiation, he 
urged upon prominent politicians the necessity for taking 
a bold and decided stand in favor of sustaining the credit 
of the State, and prepared and published a plan for meeting 
the interest on the debt, which was received with fiivor, and 
resulted in his being invited to New York City to confer 
with the bondholders as to the best course to be pursued ; 
and having become convinced that a " compromise" had 
become necessary, and wishing to avoid the State taking 
the initiative in that direction, he urged the bondholders 
the propriety of their asking for a committee of confer- 
ence, and they, acting on this suggestion, sent him a com- 
munication signed by representatives of five to sis millions 
of dollars of bonds for Governor Porter to request the 
Legislature to appoint a committee to confer with them in 
regard to an adjustment of the matter. 

In July, 1877, the City Council and Merchants' Ex- 
change invited President Hayes and Cabinet to visit Nash- 
ville, and Capt. Wheless was requested to visit Washington 
City and deliver the invitations to the gentlemen in person, 
which he did, and succeeded in securing their acceptance, 
and September 19th President Hayes, with several mem- 
bers of his cabinet, accompanied by Governor Wade Hamp- 
ton, arrived in Nashville. Capt. Wheless, as chairman of 
the committee of arrangements, ably assisted by a number 
of prominent gentlemen, made the occasion a grand success, 
it being the largest gathering of people ever seen in the 
city, and everything passed off pleasantly and to the entire 
satisfaction of the guests. 

During the terrible yellow fever epidemic in Memphis in 
1879 the necessity for furnishing provisions to the suffer- 
ing people there and in camps became so urgent that Gov- 
ernor Marks sent for Capt. Wheless and urged him to 
undertake the work of organizing a bureau for their relief, 
and in order to invest him with all the authority possible 
commissioned him brigadier-general and commissary-general 
of the State. Gen. Wheless began immediate and earnest 
preparations for the relief of the fever-stricken city, and in 
a few days had an agent at every depot in the State duly 
authorized to collect and forward supplies. 

In the Centennial celebration of the city of Nashville he 
was assigned to the chairmanship of the committee on mili- 
tary, with authority to appoint its members and to command 
the military during the continuance of tjie celebration, and 
specially charged with the management of the martial cere- 
monies, including the unveiling of the Jackson statue. 

At an early age he made a profession of religion during 
a revival at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the 
fall of 1851, and by the advice of the minister conducting 
it joined the Methodist Church, as most of his associations 
were with that denomination. 

Feb. 27, 1866, he was united in marriage with Fanny 
Aiken McAlister, third daughter of William K. McAlister, 
of Nashville. 

In respect to his wishes the narration of the events of his 
life is made without comment or embellishment, but it seems 
appropiiate that mention should not be omitted of the fact 
that none of the many appointments to positions of trust 
and responsibility were made at his solicitation. 



55 



JABEZ P. DAKE, A.M., M.D. 

Dr. Dake is descended, on his father's side, from an 
English family which settled in New England two imndred 
years ago, and, on his mother's side, from the Roger Wil- 
liams Rhode Island Quaker- Baptist stock. His grand- 
father was at the battle of Bennington, and his father was 
in service in the war of 1812. 

Born at Johnstown, near Saratoga, N. Y., April 22, 
1827, he was educated at Madison University, Hamilton, 
N. Y., and at Union College, Schenectady, under the famous 
Dr. Eliphalet Nott. From the latter institution he gradu- 
ated with honor in 1819. 

His father being a physician, also two of his elder 
brothers, after contemplating briefly the study of law or 
theology, he entered finally and earnestly upon the family 
calling. He took a full course in the Geneva Medical Col- 
lege, under Webster, Coventry, Hadley, and other able 
teachers. Becoming a private pupil, at Pittsburgh, of Dr. 
Gustavus Reichhelm, an educated Prussian, the first prac- 
titioner of homoeopathy to pass west of the Alleghany 
Mountains, he devoted himself especially to the study of 
the new school of medicine. 

Taking another full course at the Horacjeopathic Medical 
College in Philadelphia, he received its diploma in the 
spring of 1851. 

Loc-ting at Pittsburgh, he became tlie associate of Dr. 
Reichhelm, and, finally, his successor in 1853. 

Educated, earnest, and of good address, he was not long 
in winning the confidence of the community and in gaining 
a clientele second to none in the city. 

His practical success and readiness with the pen led to 
his early appointment as an associate editor of the Phila- 
delphia Journal of Uomoeopiathy ; also to his being called 
to Philadelphia as an orator on the occasion of the centen- 
nial celebration of Hahnemann's birthday, April 10, 1855. 
His oration on the " Philosophy of Homoeopathy" won 
upon the profession, and, with other things, led to his ap- 
pointment, at the early age of twenty-eight, to the chair of 
materia medica and therapeutics at his Alma Mater. 

Leaving his practice at Pittsburgh with his partner, Dr. 
J. C. Burgher, in the fall, he spent the winters lecturing in 
Philadelphia, returning to his home work in the spring. 
The double duties proving too much for his strength, he 
resigned his chair and the congenial labors of the college, 
and returned finally to his practice in the spring of 1857. 

His career in Pittsburgh was marked by an earnest ad- 
vocacy, in public as well as private, with pen and tongue, 
of what he deemed to be medical truth. Among his pole- 
mic encounters was one with Dr. James King, late surgeon- 
general of Pennsylvania, in a new.spaper discussion, with 
whom he won much credit as a medical scholar and writer, 
as well as an able disputant. 

In 1857 he was elected president of the national society 
of homoeopathic physicians, the American Institute, at its 
annual meeting in Chicago, and the next year delivered 
the annual address before the same body in the city of 
Brooklyn. 

Broken down by overwork, he was obliged to withdraw 
for a time to his farm at Salem, Ohio, where he found hor- 



4;^6 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ticulture, moi'e especially grape-culture, at once a source of 
pleasure and of renewed health. He was president of a 
large association of grape-growers, and did much to pro- 
mote the culture of fine fruits in Ohio and along the shores 
of Lake Erie. 

His own renewed health, and the failing health of his 
wife, whose family had all been swept away by pulmonary 
disease, led him to abandon his fine fruit-farm and vine- 
yards, and to seek a milder climate and a new field of pro- 
fessional work in the South. 

Mrs. Dake (Miss Elizabeth Church, to whom he was 
married on the 3d of April, 1851) was the daughter of 
Dr. William Church, an eminent physician and surgeon of 
Pittsburgh. A woman gifted as a writer, and especially 
bright and faithful in her domestic relations, the mother of 
five sons, as good and true as ever mother doted on, it was 
not strange that her safety should influence the goings of 
the family ark. 

Selecting Tennessee (for which State he had a lingering 
fondness since playing schoolmaster, at the age of eighteen, 
in her Western District, during a rest from college), the 
doctor arrived in Nashville with his family June, 1869. 

Although personally known to only one or two residents 
of the city, it was not long till the reputation made in 
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia followed him here. The char- 
acteristics which had made him successful at Pittsburgh 
were soon noticed here, — an earnest devotion to the best 
interests of the sick. 

Overworked again, and prostrated by a partial paralysis, 
he was obliged in 1875 to leave his practice to his eldest 
son. Dr. William C. Dake, and to spend several months in 
European travel. 

Upon his restoration to health and return home he was 
elected to the chair of practice and principles of medicine 
in the old college at Philadelphia. Going there in the fall 
of 1876, he gave a course of lectures ; but, finding the 
health of his wife would not admit of her accompanying 
him to Philadelphia in the winter-time, he resigned the 
work in which he had taken great pleasure, and again de- 
voted himself entirely to practice. His patients are widely 
distributed, being by no means confined to Tennessee. 

Besides his practical work. Dr. Dake has been an almost 
constant writer upon medicine, sanitary science, and other 
subjects of public interest. 

His influence has been felt in the halls of municipal and 
State legislation in opposition to partisan and illiberal meas- 
ures, and especially in favor of the increased efficacy of 
public hygiene. His effort last year resulted in the placing 
of two most useful laymen on the State Board of Health. 

Besides articles in society transactions, journals, and 
newspapers, he has written an excellent treatise on domes- 
tic medical practice, and another entitled the " Science of 
Therapeutics in Outline," setting forth a complete system 
of therapeutic principles, in which all known remedial 
measures are assigned appropriate places. The subject 
upon which he has written and spoken most is the regen- 
eration of the Materia Medica upon a basis of thorough 
and exact experimentation, in which all improved means of 
diagnosis are applied to drug effects as to the maniFestations 
of disease in the sick. 



In 1878 he was a member of the special commission ap- 
pointed by the American Institute of Homoeopathy, and 
provided for financially by Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson, for 
the investigation of the yellow fever epidemic. 

His experience in the treatment of Asiatic cholera has 
been large and successful, beginning at Pittsburgh in 1849, 
and extending through the epidemics of 1850, 1854, 1866, 
and 1873. He made an elaborate statistical report to the 
commission appointed to investigate the epidemic of 1873. 

Clear in his views, honest and deep in his convictions, 
uncompromising in his principles, yet liberal and courteous 
and kind towards all. Dr. Dake furnishes an example of an 
educated man who is not overbearing, a reformer who is 
not a fanatic, and a Christian who is not a bigot. He often 
says the last article in every creed to which he subscribes 
must read thus: "All the foregoing articles are open to 
alterations and amendments in accordance with increasinjr 
light and knowledge." 

His confidence in the ultimate triumph of truth among 
the doctrines, and of the " survival of the fittest" among 
institutions and men, has made him liberal and patient in 
the varied conflicts of life. 

His appreciation of his adopted State is very high. He 
has written and talked much of her immense natural re- 
sources. His faith in the future of Nashville is strong : 
he predicts a great city in the central basin of Tennessee. 



HENRY SHEFFIELD, M.D. 

Henry Sheffield, M.D., of Nashville, Tenn., was born in 
Stonington, Conn., Jan. 22, 1828. He is of English descent. 
His grandfather and father were shipbuilders on Long Isl- 
and Sound. It was the wish of his father that he should suc- 
ceed to his business, so at the age of eighteen he commenced 
to study the theory and practice of shipbuilding. While 
thus employed his health became so much impaired that he 
was compelled to abandon the business and seek a more 
suitable and less laborious employment. In 1848 he went 
to Auburn, N. Y., to consult Dr. Horatio Robinson, the 
oldest homoeopathic physician in Central New York, a life- 
long and faithful friend of his father. Under his skillful 
treatment he soon recovered his health, and then entered 
upon the study of medicine with Dr. Robinson. It was 
his privilege to attend the first course of lectures delivered 
at the Homoeopathic College in Cleveland. Ohio. He at- 
tended a second course at the same institution, and received 
the degree of M.D. in February, 1852. After practieing 
at Batavia, N. Y., he went to Cleveland to attend a third 
course of lectures. Here under the tuition of Professor 
Pulte he gave special study to the diseases of women and 
children. In 1854 he went to Sacramento, Cal., but found 
little room there for his profession, therefore returned and 
settled in Nashville, IMarch, 1855. At that time there were 
but three or four families who used homoeopathic remedies. 
He had to endure the unjust ridicule and bitter opposi- 
tion of the medical fraternity and their friends. By his 
numerous cures he has made many homceopaths. By his 
firm and upright course he has made many strong friends. 




Snf"i' 



i?^ 



/ 



%^^ 



^. x5 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



437 



We take pleasure ia closing this sketcli of Di\ S'leffield by 
an article from the pen of William Heury Smith, an 
honored citizen of Nashville : 

" When Dr. Sheffield located at Nashville the prospect 
was not very encouraging ; the field was rather barren in 
appearance. There were but a few families who had become 
I converts to the new practice, and they were firm and stead- 
fast in the faith, but it seemed impossible to extend the 
t circle. The opponents of homoeopathy had stoutly resisted 
I its introduction, and were exceedingly active and industrious 
in their efi^orts to prejudice the popular mind. Tbey had 
brought to bear against it all the resources of argument, 
■wit, satire, ridicule, and misrepresentation, and many who 
were disposed to embrace it were thus deterred from doing 
so. The allopathic practitioners, father-confessors of the 
great bulk of invalids, never permitted an opportunity to pass 
without giving homoeopathy and its adherents a stab. In 
some instances they carried their opposition to the extent of 
social ostracism. The prejudice engendered against homoe- 
opathy was great, but not greater than the ignorance on 
the subject prevalent. Men formed their opinions not after 
fair and truth-seeking investigation, but upon the dicta of 
those who were more or less interested in preventing inquiry 
and keeping the people in ignorance. In a word, Nashville 
was as completely under the domination of allopathy as 
Mexico under the priesthood. It was no pleasant or easy 
task, therefore, that Dr. Shefiield had before him. He de- 
termined, however, to meet and surmount, if possible, all 
the obstacles which stood as a barrier to success. He had 
full faith in his cause, and never wavered in liis conviction 
that a favorable impression could be made, the Chinese 
wall of prejudice broken, and homoeopathy firmly planted 
and extended. He had patience, fortitude, courage, confi- 
dence. All these virtues were taxed in his experience, but 
not in vain. His success as a practitioner of rare judgment 
and consummate skill, his close attention to his patients, and 
his sterling worth as a gentleman of the strictest integrity 
soon resulted in a gradual extension of his practice upon 
sure and solid foundations. In a few years he had so won 
the esteem and confidence of the citizens of Nashville that 
all doubts of success were removed. A little later his prac- 
tice became lucrative, and is still growing. His high char- 
acter, perseverance, foresight, and skill overcame obstacles 
which others found insurmountable ; and now thousands 
are treated according to the homoeopathic system where the 
practice was limited to a few. The career of Dr. SIiefBeld has 
been eminently successful. He has attained the highest rank 
as a physician. No professional man in the city has warmer 
and more devoted friends, or possesses in a greater degree the 
respect and esteem of all classes of citizens. This is due 
to his substantial merits, and not to any pandering to popu- 
lar tastes, partialities, or prejudices. He is firm and 
inflexible in his purposes, unswervingly faithful to his 
friends, and incorruptible. 

"The barren field which Dr. ShefBeld found in Nashville 
is, as we have shown, no longer barren. It has been well cul- 
tivated, and is yielding golden fruit. His friends pray that 
he may long live to enjoy the reward of his labors and the 
gratitude of his fellow-men whose maladies he has healed 
or alleviated." 



JOHNIVY MONROE SHARPE. 

Johinvy Monroe Sliarpe, son of Silas Davidson Sharpe 
and Mary (Feimster) Sliarpe, is of Scotch-Irish stock, and 
claims descent from Archbishop Sharpe, of Scotland. His 
paternal line of ancestry settled in Maryland at an early 
period of colonial history, and, at a date not much later, was 
carried to North Carolina, where, at Liberty Hill, Iredell 
Co., Nov. 29, 1832, Dr. Sharpe was born. His name was 
originally " John Ivy," but fearing that the initials " J. I. 
M." would lead to the application of the nick-name, " Jim," 
Dr. Sharpe coined, in early boyhood, the union of the two 
in one name as now written. 

Dr. Sharpe's paternal grandmother was a Davidson, niece 
of Gen. William Davidson, of Revolutionary fame, who 
fell in action on the banks of the Catawba. Davidson 
County received its name from him. His maternal grand- 
father was Capt. William Feimster, also a participant in the 
Revolution. Capt. Feimster removed from South Carolina 
to North Carolina shortly after that war. He was a quaint, 
peculiar old man, and the first school Dr. Sharpe attended 
was under a teacher employed by him. This school was 
free to all the neighborhood and supported by the pension 
money of the old veteran, which was all used in this man- 
ner. 

After taking the ordinary course of the old field schools 
and two years' instructions of the able Rev. Dr. Millon and 
Messrs. Campbell, in his seventeenth year he went to East- 
ern Carolina and engaged in teaching, going to school, and 
occasionally preaching. After four or five years spent in 
this diversified manner, he was appointed tutor at Emory 
and Henry College, Virginia. Here the energy and resolu- 
tion of his character were shown in a very conspicuous man- 
ner. He taught three or four hours daily, and kept up 
with his college class in its regular course. Dependent on 
himself, without means, he used second-hand books, second- 
hand clothes, anything that with honor and the most rigor- 
ous self-denial would tend to carry him to the successful 
termination of a studious student-life. Thus he passed this 
formative period of life working, striving, struggling against 
obstacles which weaker men would consider not to be over- 
come. Winning some distinction in passing through the 
course, he reached the goal for which he was striving, and 
was enrolled an alumnus of Emory and Henry. 

In 185G he married Miss Kate Hammond, and imme- 
diately removed to Tennessee to engage in tlie profession of 
teaching, which he followed for several years with marked 
ability and success. 

The anarchy and confusion of the late civil war drove 
students and teacher alike from the school-room, and, this 
source of revenue being gone, the necessaries of life for a 
dependent family compelled him to try trading. In this 
new sphere he, at first, was troubled by accumulated debt:, 
of other days, which harassed his mind and tried his in- 
tegrity. But with him the only motto was " persevere." 
This energy brought financial success, and succe-ss confidence, 
and at the close of the war he had won a fine position and 
was worth ten or fifteen thousand dollars. Thus was first 
brought to light the business talent which the sedentary 
life of the school-room might have kept always hidden. 



438 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



After the war Dr. Sharpe returned to the school-room, 
but the new-found business man demanded more active em- 
ployment. Engaging in merchandise, he continued in trade 
for eight years, and success crowned his exertions. The 
Edgefield and Nashville Manuflicturing Company was or- 
ganized at this period. Dr. Sharpe became interested in it, 
and was nominated for its first president. This he declined, 
accepting the position of treasurer. After two years' ser- 
vice in this capacity he was elected president, and, for the 
four years past, has held both oflBces. The success of the 
company has been very gratifying. The business is now 
one hundred per cent, above that done when Dr. Sharpe 
took charge. His character of firmness and decision is im- 
pressed on the entire establishment, and the discipline 
among oSicers and men is harmonious but positive. In this 
field Dr. Sharpe has found his forte. His qualifications for 
success are energy, pluck, firmness, common sense, and in- 
tegrity, combined with the drill acquired in the school-room. 
His post is where his presence is demanded, night or day. 
His work is never done, laboring, perhaps, fourteen hours 
a day on the average through the entire year. His ambi- 
tion is to succeed honorably. What is to be done he does, 
his salary being his least consideration. He regards manu- 
facturing as the highest grade of merchandise, creating 
values as well as fixing them. He believes it the great 
desideratum of the whole South, as it stimulates and em- 
ploys both head and hands, wakes the idle, develops latent 
energy and resources, and produces thrift, wealth, and 
happiness. 

Dr. Sharpe is nervo-bilious in temperament, fair com- 
plexion, auburn hair, with beard almost red,— both slightly 
mixed with gray ; height, five feet nine and one-half inches. 
His politics are conservative, he having been reared an old- 
line Whig. 

His religious views are decidedly Methodistic, yet ever 
advanced, liberal, and independent. He was early ordained 
a minister. As a preacher his work has been incidental, 
but productive of good. The successful organization of 
West End Methodist Church, Nashville, resulted largely 
from his efforts, and for four years he was chaplain of Ten- 
nessee State Prison. Here his faithfulness and attention 
met with reward and secured encomiums from the highest 
officials of the State. Among his circle of ministerial as-_ 
sociates few have warmer friends, and his counsel is ever 
sought, as valuable in church matters. 

The leading business men of Nashville consider him a 
conservative and successful business man of high commer- 
cial standing, sound judgment, and sterling integrity. 

All in all, as a manufacturer, as a clergyman, and as a 
citizen, he is a representative man, enjoying the confidence of 
all who know him, and ever the friend of progress, improve- 
ment, and education. 

Dr. Sharpe and wife have lived to see four of their five 
children live to maturity, — Mora H., who is now secretary 
of the Underwriters' Association of Nashville; Nannie G., a 
graduate of Vassar College ; Carrie G., a graduate of Dr. 
Ward's Seminary for Young Ladies; and Eddie L., who 
graduated this year at his father's Alma B'later, Emory and 
Henry College, Va. 



GEN. CLINTON B. FISK. 

Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, from whom Fisk University, 
Nashville, Tenn., takes its name, was born in 1828, in the 
town of York, Livingston Co., and State of New York; 
He was descended from the Rhode Island Fisks, his grand- 
father having been Deacon Ephraim Fisk, of Killingiy, 
Conn., and his father, Benjamin B. Fisk, a cousin of the 
Rev. Dr. Wilbur Fisk, who was president of the Wesleyao 
University at Middletown, Conn. Gen. Fisk's father emi- 
grated with his family from Western New York to Clinton, 
Lenawee Co., Mich., in 1830. His father died in 1832, 
leaving his widowed mother with six boys, the oldest being 
but fourteen years of age. His Christian mother strug- 
gled in much poverty to rear and educate. her boys. Gen. 
Fisk, at the age of nine years, was placed with a fiirmer, 
with whom he was to live until attaining the age of twenty- 
one years, at which time he was to receive a hundred dol- 
lars, two suits of clothes, a horse, saddle, and bridle, and 
was, meantime, to have the advantages of three months' 
schooling per annum in the district school for four years. 
The fatherless lad entered upon the new relation with high 
hopes of fame and fortune, and labored as but few boys of 
his age ever did, with a hard life, walking to the little 
country scliool miles away from the rude cabin he called 
home, winning the first place in his classes and developing 
in his boyhood a high order of talent. He discovered 
within himself greater possibilities than the advantages of 
his contract with the o|d farmer promised, and at thirteen 
arranged for a release from his engagement, and pushed 
out into the world for himself, working on farms and in 
shops, studying at night, and in the field by day as he fol- 
lowed the plow and harrow. At fifteen, by the aid of 
friends, he was enabled to enter the Wesleyan Seminary at 
Albine, Mich., where, by boarding himself and teaching in 
the common schools a part of the time, he prepared for col- 
lege, and purposed graduating from the Michigan University 
at Ann Arbor. A severe and prolonged attack of inflam- 
mation of the eyes led his physician to prohibit him from 
further study for a time, and he reluctantly turned away 
from his books to engage in business pursuits. 

At twenty years of age he became associated with L. D. 
Crippen, who, with his son, I. B. Crippen, was a merchant, 
miller, and banker. At twenty-one, in 1850, he married 
Miss Janette A. Crippen, daughter of the senior partner, 
with whom he had become acquainted during his life at 
the seminary in Albine, and continued his residence in 
Coldwater until 1858, when he removed to St. Louis, where 
he made his home, and engaged in business. 

He was among the first to rally round the flag in the 
war for the Union, serving on the celebrated Committee of 
Safety in the city of his adoption, volunteering as a private 
soldier in the three months' service, and devoting all his 
energies to the enlistment of troops, providing supplies, 
and in every possible way promoting the interests of the 
government. He was conspicuous in the organization of 
the Union Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis in the winter 
of 1862, and was made its chief executive ofiicer. He was 
commissioned colonel of the Thirty-third Regiment United 
States Volunteers in Missouri in July, 1862. The regi- 



BIOGKAPHIES. 



439 



nient was known as the Blerchants' Regiment, and was the 
nucleus around which the Merchants' Brigade was organ- 
ized. He commauded the Thirteenth Division of the Thir- 
teenth Army Corpsof the Arniyof the Tennessee, under Gen. 
Grant, remaining in that army until the fall of Vicksburg, 
when he was specially ordered by President Lincoln to duty 
in Missouri, where he was successively in command of the 
Districts of Southeast Missouri, St. Louis, and North Mis- 
souri, in each of which he was eminently successful in re- 
storing good order, re-establishing the civil courts, and 
reviving industry. When, in September, 1864, the Confed- 
erate forces, under Gen. Sterling Price, invaded Missouri, 
with intent to seize Jeiferson City, the capital of the State, 
Gen. Fisk, with a force much inferior in numbers, made 
successful resistance, saving the capital, and inaugurating, 
under Gen. Rosecrans, a campaign which resulted in the 
route of the opposing forces, with the capture of their chief 
officers, in Southwest Missouri. 

After the close of the war, in April, 18G5, Gen. Fisk 
was assigned to duty in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 
and Abandoned Lands, with headquarters at Nashville. 
His district comprised the States of Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee, Eastern Arkansas, and the northern portion of Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, and Georgia, with command of the troops 
stationed in Tennessee. He remained in the successful dis- 
charge of the difficult duties incident to the new order of 
things until September, ] 866, when he retired from the 
public service and re-engaged in business pursuits. It was 
while on duty at Nashville that he became specially inter- 
ested in the education of the freedmen. Fisk School, 
founded in 1866, was the beginning of the university which 
bears his name, and which now has world-wide fame 
through the Jubilee Singers, who have so successfully car- 
ried their slave melodies into all Europe and America, and 
out of whose efforts came chiefly the means to erect Jubilee 
Hall, one of the most beautiful educational buildings in 
America. 

Gen. Fisk, on his return to civil life, was by Governor 
Fletcher, of Missouri, placed in charge of the Southwest 
Pacific Railway, then owned by the State of Missouri. 
He subsequently became associated with parties who pur- 
chased the railway and its lands from the State and con- 
structed it to the western border of Missouri. Gen. Fisk 
became the chief financial officer of the corporation, with 
office in New York City, whither he removed in 1872, and 
from that date has resided in the East. He is at this date, 
1880, of the firm of Clinton B. Fisk & Co., bankers and 
brokers, in New York. His residence is on Ramson Hill, 
near Seabright, N. J., on a beautiful height overlooking the 
ocean. Pleasure Bay, and the Shrewsbury River, where 
generous hospitality to his many friends is dispensed. 

Gen. Fisk is an earnest Methodist, and for many years 
has been among the leading laymen of that denomination, 
and was a delegate to the General Conferences of that church 
held in Baltimore in 1876, and in Cincinnati in 1880, and 
was one of the commission on formal fraternity between the 
Methodism North and South. He has long served as one 
of the board of managers of the Missionary Society of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a member of the 
executive committee of the American Missionary Associ- 



ation. He is also a trustee in the Drew Theological Semi- 
nary, and chairman of the Board of Indian Commissioners. 
Gen. Fisk has been most ably supported in all his religious 
and educational work by the hearty co-operation of his wife, 
whose energies have been directed equally with his in pro- 
moting the interests to which he has made generous con- 
tributions of time and money. 



ERASTUS MILO CRAVATH. 

Erastus Milo Cravath, president of Fisk University, is 
the eldest son of Oren and Betsey Northway Cravath, and 
was born July 1, 1833, in Homer, N. Y. His great-grand- 
father, on his father's side, was a Huguenot Frenchman, 
who settled in Connecticut on emigrating to this country. 

The childhood and youth of Erastus were spent at home 
on the farm, and he received the usual advantages of edu- 
cation afforded by country schools in the New England and 
Middle States. At the age of eighteen, having partly pre- 
pared for college at Homer Academy and at New York 
Central College, he went to Oberlin, Ohio, where he spent 
nine years in study, being graduated from Oberlin College, 
in 1857, and from theology in 1860. 

In October, 1860, he married Ruth Anna Jackson, 
daughter of Caleb and Mary Ann Jackson, of Kennett 
Square, Pa. Miss Jackson was a Quakeress, a descendant 
of Isaac Jackson, who came from England to join the 
Friends' settlement near Philadelphia in 1725, and from 
whom descended also the Virginia branch of the family, to 
which Gen. Stonewall Jackson belonged. 

For three years after their marriage they were settled 
at Berlin Heights, Ohio, where Mr. Cravath was pastor of 
the Congregational Church. 

In December, 1863, he was elected chaplain of the One 
Hundred and First Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, and 
in January following he joined the command, which was 
then guarding the poutoouibridge across the Tennessee 
River at Bridgeport, Tenn. He served with the regiment 
during the Atlanta campaign and at the battles of Franklin 
and Nashville, and later in East Tennessee, until the Army 
of the Cumberland, to which the regiment belonged, was 
mustered out of service at Nashville, in June, 1865. 

In the October following he came to Nashville, under the 
commission of the American Missionary Association, of 
New York City, as field agent, to establish schools for the 
freedmen in Tennessee and portions of Georgia and Ala- 
bama. 

The first work done was to assist in the purchase of the 
grouud near the Chattanooga depot fur the establishment 
of the school which developed into Fisk University. In a 
few weeks his family joined him, and Nashville became the 
headquarters for the educational work in what was known 
as the Middle West Department of the association's work. 
A school was opened at Atlanta, out of which has grown 
the Atlanta University. Schools were also opened at Macon 
and other points. In the autumn of the following year he 
was called by the association to the district secretaryship 
at Cincinnati. By this appointment the charge of a col- 



440 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



lecting work in the North was added to the field work ia the 
South. 

After holding this position for four years, he was called 
to the New York office as field secretary, and was given the 
charge of the whole Southern work of the association. In 
1875 he was elected to the presidency of Fisk University, 
of which, as an officer of the association, he had had the 
general charge from the first step that was taken towards 
its establishment. Tlie next three years were spent in 
Great Britain and on the continent of Europe, in connec- 
tion with the work which was being done by the Jubilee 
Singers in behalf of Fisk University. This furnished un- 
usual opportunities for seeing the countries and becoming 
acquainted with all classes of the people. 

On returning to the United States, in the summer of 
1878, President Cravath entered upon his duties at the 
university, having had special advantages in the way of 
preparation through his army experience, his ten years of 
labor, as an officer of the x\merican Missionary Association, 
in charge of educational work in the South, and by his 
three years of close contact with the people of foreign coun- 
tries. 



ADAM K. SPENCE. 

Adam K. Spencewas born March 12, 1831, in the vil- 
lage of Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at the foot of the 
Tap o' Noth, one of the Grampian Mountains, in which 
picturesque locality his parents were then residing, their 
native place being Huntley, in the same county. His 
father, Adam Spence, pursued his studies in Aberdeen 
University, and became a physician. His mother, Eliza- 
beth Ross, is connected on one side with Clan Ross, and on 
the other with Clan Macdonald, and is a cousin of the poet 
and novelist, George Macdonald, in whose poetic inspiration 
she shares, being herself the author of many short poems. 

In the year 1833 they, with a daughter and two sons, 
the youngest being the subject of this sketch, set sail for 
the New World. Embarking at Aberdeen, they passed 
around the North of Scotland and reached Quebec, Canada, 
in six weeks. Steam was not then in use on the ocean. In 
two weeks more, passing up the St. Lawrence River and the 
lakes, they reached the city of Detroit, in the then Territory 
of Michigan. Led by a desire common to foreigners to 
become an owner of land. Dr. Spence purchased a farm in 
the county of Washtenaw, near Ann Arbor, then mostly a 
forest. Here his family were reared, while he practiced 
medicine until his death, in 1849. Deprived to a large ex- 
tent during earlier years of school facilities, at the age of 
seventeen Professor Spence began his eiforts to secure a 
liberal education. To this end, he taught school and per- 
Tormed manual labor. Having prepared himself for college 
in Oberlin, Ohio, he entered the University of Michigan in 
the year 1854, where in 1858 he graduated as Bachelor 
of Arts, taking liis Master's degree throe years later. 

Immediately upon graduation he was appointed in- 
structor in Greek in that institution of learning, and after- 
wards professor of French, which position he left when, in 
1870, he came to Nashville to take charge as principal of 



Fisk University, then in its infancy. In doing this he 
realized his fondly-cherished desire to aid a people long cast 
down, and for whom, from his infancy, he had been taught 
by his Scotch parents to feel a deep sympathy. Under his 
immediate care for eight years, the university made much 
progress in many ways, and especially a college department 
was organized, a college faculty was appointed, and the first 
class of students of the African race in a former slave 
State was carried through and graduated from a college 
course. 

In the year 1863, Professor Spence was married in the i 
city of Detroit to Miss Catherine Mackey, born in Penn- 
sylvania shortly after the arrival of her parents from Scot- 
land. Mrs. Spence has greatly aided the university by 
securing funds in the Northern States for the aid of the 
indigent students, and in 1878 accompanied her husband 
to Great Britain, where they spent a year in Scotland and 
England in the interests of the university and the cause of 
African missions, these latter to be carried on for the most 
part by persons of African descent, born and educated in 
this country. They received a most hearty welcome. 

Their only living child is a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, 
born in 1865, and now a student in Fisk University. 

In January, 1858, a Young Men's Christian Association 
was organized in the University of Michigan, the first 
college Young Men's Christian Association, as it is be- 
lieved, formed in the country, of which Professor Spence, 
then a student, was the first president. 

Professor Spence at present occupies the position of dean 
of the faculty and professor of Greek and French in Fisk 
University, and is an ordained minister in the Congrega- 
tional denomination. 



PROF. H. S. BENNETT. 

Henry Stanley Bennett was born in Brownsville, Pa., 
April 16, 1838, of Quaker parentage. His father, Elisha 
Bennett, was born in the year 1805, in Chester Co., Pa., 
but moved to Western Pennsylvania when a boy. He was 
a boatman, and spent forty years of his life on the Western 
rivers. At the time of his death, Dec. 31, 1863, he was 
captain of the steamer " Franklin," which plied on the 
Monongahela River. 

His mother, Elizabeth Cock, was the daughter of Wil- 
liam Cock, an Englishman, who came to this country when 
a young man, and settled in Fayette Co., Pa. She was 
born in 1809, and died in 1880. Of the family of Elisha 
and Elizabeth Bennett three brothers and three sisters lived 
to grow to maturity. Prof. Bennett has a twin sister, the 
only surviving female member of his father's family. 

The subject of this sketch, when a boy, studied in the 
public and private schools of his native town until the age 
of fifteen, when he went to Merrittstown Academy and re- 
mained a year or two. At the age of seventeen he went to 
Oberlin College, Ohio, and graduated from the college 
course in 1860. During his course and at its close he 
taught several terms in public schools. He studied theol- 
ogy in the Oberlin Seminary, and graduated from that 
course in 1863. 



BIOGKAPHIES. 



441 



The day after the completion of his theological course he 
married Lydia S. Herriok, also a graduate from the classical 
course of Oberlin College. She was the daughter of Daniel 
and Azubah Herrick, of Austinburg, Ohio. She worked 
her way through college by teaching. 

Seven children are the fruits of this union, five of whom 
are living,— Oliver J., aged thirteen ; William M., aged 
ten ; Mary E., aged seven ; Henry J., aged five ; and Anna, 
aged three. 

In October, 1863, Prof. Bennett took charge of the 
Second Congregational Church of Wakenian, Ohio, and 
was ordained by Council to the gospel ministry Nov. 17 
1863. His work in Wakeman extended over four years, 
and was blessed with revivals of much power durin"- three 
winters in succession. The church was much strengthened 
by his ministrations. 

In the year 1864, when the National Guards of Ohio 
•were called out to relieve the veterans located in fortifi- 
cations, that they might strengthen- Gen. Grant on his march 
through the wilderness towards Kichmond, Prof. Bennett 
left his church and went with his company (Company K), 
One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment of the Ohio National 
Guards, as a private. This regiment was located in the 
fortifications around Washington, reaching from Fort 
Thayer to Fort Stevens. Here he spent the one hundred 
days of the enlistment. When Gen. Early made his de- 
scent upon Washington, Company K was in Fort Stevens, 
which was the point attacked. Prof Bennett stood at one 
of the mountain howitzers as sponger during the two days' 
fight. 

In the year 1867, just after Fisk school had been char- 
tered as Fisk University, and had entered upon the larger 
work it has since done, he received a call from the Amer- 
ican Missionary Association to take charge of the religious 
work in the university, and to establish a church in connec- 
tion with it. During the first winter of his connection 
with the university a revival among the students resulted 
from his labors, and in 1868 a church of twenty-four mem- 
bers was organized, of which he has been pastor ever since. 
From that time lie has been in charge of the religious work 
in the university. Under the influence of a devoted band of 
Christian workers, Fisk University has become distin- 
guished for its frequent and thorough revivals of religion 
among the students. From twelve to seventy have been 
converted each year. The religious spirit that pervades the 
institution has told with great power upon the lives and 
characters of the students. 

In the year 1868, Prof. Bennett was elected a member 
of the Board of Education of the city of Nashville by the 
City Council, and retained that position for about eighteen 
months. 

In 1869 he began to train young men for the ministry, 
and has been engaged in that work as a part of his teaching 
duties ever since. 

In 1875, when the first faculty of the university was 
elected, he was cho.sen professor of theology and German. 
In connection with other duties he has also taught classes 
in mental and moral science, United States history, and 
other branches. 

He was chosen a member of the board of trustees of the 



university when he first came to Nashville, and held the 
position till 1879. 

In 1869 he was made a member of the executive com- 
mittee of the State Teachers' Association, and was re- 
elected for eight successive years. That committee was in- 
fluential in securing the passage of the present school-law 
of Tennessee. 

He is at present president of the State Teachers' Insti- 
tute, an organization which has for its object the improve- 
ment of the colored teachers of the State. In order to 
accomplish this result, it holds each summer a series of from 
twelve to fifteen local institutes throughout the State. 

During the summer of 1878, Prof. Bennett took an ex- 
tended trip in Europe, visiting Great Britain, Prance, Italy 
as far as Rome, Switzerland, the Rhine country, Holland, 
and Belgium. His observations on his travels he has given 
to the university in several lectures. 

He has taken great interest in the welfare of the 
prisoners in the penitentiary at Nashville, and has been 
superintendent of the prison Sabbath-school sometimes as 
associated with others for a period of nearly ton years. 



FREDERIC AUGUSTUS CHASE. 

Frederic Augustus Chase was born Jan. 29, 1833, at 
King's Ferry, Cayuga Co., N. Y. His father, Henry 
Chase, though not himself a Quaker, belonged to a Quaker 
family of Rhode Island, whose ancestors emigrated from 
Cornwall, England, in the year 1646. His mother, Har- 
riett King, is a descendant of the Avery family that came 
over in the " Mayflower." His early years were passed on 
his father's farm, beautifully situated on the shore of Cayuga 
Lake, and in the midst of a thrifty, intelligent, and hard- 
working community of Northern farmers. 

When a young man, relying mostly upon his own re- 
sources, he studied in the academies of Genoa, Aurora, and 
Homer. He then went to Union College, in Schenectady, 
N. Y., and afterwards to the University of Michigan, where 
he was an especial pupil of Professor Alexander Winehell 
LL.D. Feeling called to the gospel ministry, he entered 
the theological seminary at Auburn, N. Y., where he 
spent three years, after which he was pastor successively of 
churches of the Presbyterian denomination in Parishville 
and Lyndonville, in the same State. He then, in 1868, re- 
moved to Lyons, Iowa, where he was president of Lyons 
Female College, and in 1872 he came to Nashville to be- 
come professor of physical sciences in Fisk University. To 
his eflTorts is due the progress then made in that department 
of studies. 

Professor Chase grew up in the midst of that agitation 
which shook the nation for a quarter of a century, and 
early espoused the anti-slavery cause, influenced, doubtless, 
by the fact that his father's house was a way- station on the 
so-called underground railroad. At the beginning of the 
late civil war he was about to join the Rev. John G. Pee 
in planting anti-slavery churches in the State of Kentucky. 
It may be added that from the age of ten he has been a 
pledged abstainer from the use of intoxicants as a beverage. 



442 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



In the year 1863, Professor Chase was married to Miss 
Julia Augusta Spence, sister of Professor Spence, and 
early associated with him and another brother, now Rev. 
E. A. Spence, in efforts for the colored people of Ann 
Arbor, Mich. They have three living children, — Mabel 
Augusta, Cleveland King, and Stanley Alexander. 



HELEN C. MORGAN. 

Helen C. Morgan, professor of Latin in Fisk University, 
was born in the year 1846, at Masonville, Delaware Co., 
N. Y. When she was about six years old, her parents 
went to Ohio and purchased a farm near Cleveland. After 
spending a few years there, they removed to Oberlin, Ohio, 
to enjoy the educational advantages of that place. Here 
Mi.ss Morgan spent eight years in study, giving special at- 
tention to the languages, and in 1866 graduated from the 
classical course in Oberlin College, receiving the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts. 

After graduation, three years were spent partly in rest 
and partly in teaching in the North. She then, in Sep- 
tember, 1869, entered upon her work in Fisk University. 
The oiEcers of the American Missionary Association had 
decided that Fisk School should be developed into Fisk 
University, and Miss Morgan was invited to be the pioneer 
in the work of higher education there. During the first 
year of her connection with the school six of the most 
advanced pupils, having previously studied a little Latin, 
commenced the study of Greek under her instruction. She 
also had two classes in Latin and one in algebra. The 
next year Professor Spence came as principal, taking also 
the Greek, and IMiss Jlorgan continued in charge of the 
Latin, retaining the higher mathematics for two years. In 
1876 a college faculty was first established in the univer- 
sity, and the department of Latin was given to Miss Mor- 
gan, to whom, more than to any one else, is due the success 
of the institution in gathering and keeping together, in 
spite of poverty and many adverse influences, classes through 
the college preparatory and the college courses. 

In 1878, Miss Morgan was ofiered a position in Vassar 
College, but preferred to continue in her chosen work at 
risk Uuiver.sity. 



GEORGE L. WHITE. 

George Leonard White, the youngest of three children 
(two sisters are still living in Minnesota), was born at Ca- 
diz, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., Sept. 20, 1838. His father, 
William B. White, is of the New England family of that 
name, and is by trade a blacksmith. His mother, Nancy 
Leonard, is the daughter of George Leonard, a woolen 
manufacturer, of Springfield, Mass. His parents removed 
from Blassachusetts to Western New York in 1835. 

George L. enjoyed the usual advantages of a village 
school until fourteen years of age, working with his father, 
when not in school, from the time he was old enough to 
assist in the blacksmith's shop. At that time, through 



failing health, his father was compelled to give up business, 
and, for the next five years, George worked at any employ- 
ment he could get to aid his sisters in keeping the family 
together. In the mean time he studied as best he could to 
qualify himself for the position of a teacher, and began such. 
work near Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1858. 

While teaching in white schools his attention was drawn 
to the needs of the colored people of the township, who 
were almost entirely destitute of school or church privileges, 
Assisted by two friends, he began a Sabbath-school in a 
grove, for want of a better place, using logs and rails for 
seats. The school was continued summers during his stay 
in the county. 

He abandoned teaching in 1862 to join the "Squirrel- 
Hunters" in the defense of Cincinnati, and afterwards en 
listed in the Seventy-third Ohio Infantry Regiment, under 
the command of Col. Orland Smith. He joined the regi 
ment near Fairfax, Va., in the autumn of the same year, 
and fought in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellors- 
ville, Gettysburg, Lookout Valley, Lookout Mountain, etc, 

At the close of the war he remained in Nashville, in the 
employ of the Freedmen's Bureau, under Gen. Clinton B.; 
Fisk. He retained his connection with the Bureau through 
the administrations of Gen. Lewis, Gen. Carlin, and Col 
Thompson, spending his leisure time in aiding, in any way 
he could, the freedmen's schools, — first the McKee School, 
afterwards, at its first organization, the Fisk School. Iri 
1868 he also assumed the duties of steward, and later, at 
the request of the American Missionary Association, he 
resigned his position in the Bureau in order to give his 
whole time to the work of Fisk University. 

On Aug. 11, 1867, Mr. White was married to Miss 
Laura A. Cravath, the only, then, living sister of Rev. B; 
M. Cravath, now president of Fisk University. Miss 
Cravath came to Nashville in the fall of 1865, and was oni 
of the first teachers in the Fisk School, and retained hei 
position up to the time of her marriage. After this she 
was closely associated with her husband in his work in thej 
university, and later in its behalf in connection with thi 
Jubilee Singers. She accompanied her husband on the] 
occasion of the first visit of the singers to Great Britain, 
and died of typhoid fever in Glasgow, Scotland, in February, 
1874, leaving three children, — Leonard Northway, Willia 
Cravath, and Georgia Laura, — born respectively in 1868, 
1870, and 1872. 

Mr. White, because he saw in it a means of interestin; 
the public and attracting attention to the freedmen's schoolsJ 
while discharging his other duties, used every opportunity' 
and exertion to develop the power of song in the students, 
He was not a professional musician or teacher, having had) 
little opportunity for musical instruction, and made no pre- 
tensions as a vocalist ; but his enthusiasm for music, his 
keen appreciation of musical eflFects, and great magnetism 
as a drill-master, enabled him to bring out of his pupils 
the good singing for which his schools had always been 
famous. i 

With a choir trained from among the students he gave ' 
public concerts in Blasonic Hall in 1867 and 1868, which 
attracted much attention. The choir also sang at the ) 
meetiua; of the National Teachers' Association held in the 



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Present Residence of HENRY W. COMPTON, on H/llsbcA 



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Homestead." ^, _ 

USH PlKE^ FIVE AND A HALF MILES 6, W, NASHVILLE . lENN. 



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CAPi' HENRY COMPTON. 




Res. of the late HENRY COMPTON 6, Miles Soam of Nashville Tenn. 



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FELIX COMPTON. 



Felix Gompton, sun of William and Susan (Mullen) 
Compton, was bom in District No. 11, Davidson 
Co., Tenn., Feb. 9, 1809, and died at his residence 
in the same district, and within a mile or two of 
where he was born, June 22, 1870. He remained 
at home with his parents on the farm until he was 
about nineteen years of age, when he commenced 
business for himself. He left Davidson Co., Tenn., 
about 1830, and settled in the State of Mississippi, 
and was there engaged in business until July 6, 1843, 
when he returned to his native State and married 
Emily G., daughter of J. G. Webster, of Maury 
Co., Tenn., a distinguished gentleman who was a 
United States marshal under President James K. 



Polk. Mr. Compton settled on his farm the Decem- 
ber following, and continued to remain there until 
his death. He was a large and progressive farmer, 
and owned at the time of his death some eight 
hundred acres of good land situated on the Hills- 
boro' pike, five and a half miles from Nashville. 

In politics he was a Clay Whig, and as such 
was several times chosen magisti'ate of his dis- 
trict. 

Mr. Compton lies buried in the old family 
burying-ground by the side of iiis parents. 

He left a wife and seven children, — viz., Emily 
E., William, Mary E., Felix, Loulie S., Hayes A., 
and Martha W. 



BIOGKAPIIIES. 



443 



Capitol in Naslivillc, and gave a public entertainment in tlie 
city, rendering the cantata of Pjsther. He also gave con- 
certs at Gallatin, IMempliis, Chattanooga, and Atlanta. 

In the mean time, Mr. White had been elected a member 
of the board of trustees and the treasurer of the university, 
and later professor of music. He felt that, in his position 
as treasurer and business manager, the duty was, in a meas- 
ure, kid upon him of doing something to provide for the 
permanent establishment of the institution. The university 
was occupying hospital barracks, and the site was not suit- 
able for its permanent occupation. Mr. White felt that he 
could not go before the public in the ordinary ways of 
soliciting help while the uuiversicy had no more promise of 
permanence and had made only so short a record. Yet a 
largo sum of money must be raised to purchase a new site 
and erect at least one permanent building, or the school 
must perish. 

• This necessity led him to select and give e.spccial training 
to some of the best voices in his choir, in the hope that in 
some way the power of song developed in the school could 
be used to accomplish this end. By authority of the trus- 
tees the singers selected were kept together during the 
summer vacation of 1S71, and Mr. AVhite gave his whole 
time and strength to preparing them and maturing his plans 
fi)r the trial. 

When this plan of trying to gain money and sympathy 
for the university was brought by him to the notice of the 
secretaries of the American Missionary Association, which 
was fostering the school, there were various opinions ex- 
pressed, but it was decided that no responsibility could be 
taken by them for the enterprise. 

Rev. E. M. Cravath, then field secretary of the associa- 
tion, personally favored the project, and gave what encour- 
agement and aid ho could. 

As the case was desperate, Mr. White, though possessed 
of limited means, risked all, and, assuming personally the 
entire responsibility of the venture, left Nashville, Oct. 6, 
1871, followed by the good wishes, prayers, misgivings, and 
anxieties of the whole university. 

The history of this unique enterprise for the next seven 
years has been written in " The Story of the Jubilee Sing- 
ers." It was beautifully characterized by the Hon. Edward 
Baines, so long the member of Parliament from Leeds, as 
a " romance of Providence and grace," 

During all this time Mr. White has been at the head of 
the enterprise, though he has on two difterent occasions 
been compelled for several months to withdraw from the 
immediate direction of the company, because of severe 
hemorrhages of the lungs, caused by the overstrain and 
anxiety inseparable from such a work. 

Musical critics of Great Britain, Holland, and Germany, 
as well as those in this country, have given to Mr. White 
the credit of liaving produced some of the finer results in 
singing, to a degree which has been rarely, if ever, excelled. 

No company of American singers have ever been so 
honored in Great Britain and on the Continent as the 
Jubilee Singers. They have been honored in appearing 
before, and have received the distinguished patronage and 
approval of His Excolleucy President Grant; Her Majesty 
Queen A'^ictoria ; Their Imperial jMajesties the Emperor and 
5U 



Empress of Germany ; Their IMajesties the King and Queen 
of the Netherlands ; Their IMajesties the King and Queen 
of Saxony ; Tiieir lloyal Highnesses the Prince and Prin- 
cess of Wales; Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince 
and Crown Princess (Princess lloyal of England) of Prussia ; 
His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught; Their Royal 
Highnesses Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice of Eng- 
land ; The Grand Duchess Gesarevna ; Their Royal High- 
nesses Princes Henry and Alexander of the Netherlands ; 
Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia ; The Grand Duke of 
Saxe-Weimar ; The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess (Prin- 
cess Alice of England) of Hesse ; The Duke and Duchess 
of Argyll, Lord Shaftesbury, and others of the nobility; 
The Right Hon. W. E. and Mrs. Gladstone, and others. 

Mr. White was married again, April 12, 1876, at Wol- 
verhampton, England, to Miss Susan Gilbert, daughter of 
Dr. John Gilbert, of Fredonia, N. Y. Miss Gilbert's edu- 
cation was begun at the Fredonia Academy ; she attended 
Mrs. Worcester's seminary for young ladies in Burlington, 
Vt., and graduated from the State Normal School, Albany, 
N. Y. She was a teacher in Madame Clement's seminary 
at Germantown, near Philadelphia, and entered the freed- 
men's work in 1867, at Beaufort, N. C., continuing as 
principal of the school in Beaufort and afterwards at Wil- 
mington, N. C. In both these places Miss Gilbert left the 
deep impress of her character, as a Christian teacher, upon 
her pupils and their parents in the early days of educational 
work among the freedmen. She was transferred to the 
office of the association in New York, as assistant to Sec- 
retary Whipple, and in Blarch, 1872, joined the Jubilee 
Singers as preceptress to the young ladies of the company, 
and has been connected with them during all their cam- 
paigns siuce that time. 



THE COMPTON FAMILY. 

The Comptons are an old English family. The first 
ancestor of the Compton family who came to America was 
William Compton, one of the old colonists, who came to the 
United States.with Lord Baltimore and settled in Virginia. 
He was one of the pioneer farmers of that State, and reared a 
family of children there. One of his sons was named Wil- 
liam, who grew up to manhood in the State of his nativity, 
married there, and was the father of quite a large family of 
children, one of his sons also being named William. This 
son followed in tlie footsteps of his predecessors in following 
the avocation of farming. He married, and had a family 
of three children, the first of whom was named William, 
the second Henry, and the third Julianna ; she was after- 
wards the wife of John Cartwright. William Compton, 
the father of this family, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
war. His son William was born Dec. 25, 1767, on a farm 
in the State of Virginia, and remained with his father till 
he was ten years of age, when he left his native State and 
went with Capt. John Gordon to Kentucky on a hunting 
and trapping expedition. After reaching manhood he was 
a soldier under the leadership of the celebrated general 
" Mad Anthony" Wayne seven years. He endured untold 



44i 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



hardships and had many narrow, almost mh-aculous, 
escapes. 

lie came to Nashville about the year 1782, and rented 
land from Capt. John Kains. Doe. 9, 1799, he married 
Susan Mullen, daughter of William IMullen, one of the 
earliest settlers of Davidson County. She was born Oct. 
17, 1776, and died July 27, 18G0. They had seven chil- 
dren : Elizabeth B., William, S., Mary Ann, Felix, Thomas 
D. M., Ilcnry W., and Susan L. Mr. Compton soon after 
his marriage settled on the farm now owned and occupied 
by his son Henry W. He commenced in a small way with 
a farm of about one hundred and fifty acres, but at the 
time of his death owned about a thousand acres. Besides 
conducting this farm, he was also a carpenter and joiner, 
and built the flat-boats that carried Gen. Jackson and his 
troops to New Orleans. BIr. CoIUfton went with the party, 
and was deputy quartermaster under Joseph Wood. 
Though he had received but a very limited education, yet 
he was a mun of sterling good sense and was possessed of 
rare mathematical talent. 

In politics he was ever an adherent of the groat leader 
of Democracy, Jackson. As has before been remarked, his 
youngest son, Henry W., resides on the old homestead. 
When a youth his health was very poor, which prevented 
his receiving anything more than a common-school educa- 
tion. He married, ou the 29th of April, 186:-5, Miss 
Annie Ward, daughter of Michael and Margaret Ward. 
They have a daughter Susan. Mr. Compton has proved 
himself a successful business man, having accumulated a 
good property. In politics he adheres to the doctrine of 
his father and votes the Democratic ticket. 

IIEXUY COMPTON, Sk. 

Ilcnry Compton, Sr., was bornat Boone's Station, Fayette 
Co , Ky., May 1, 1784. He came to Davidson Co., Tenn., 
February, 180G. On Deo. 17, 1815, he married Sarah, 
daughter of Tiiomas and Rebecca Cox. She was born 
Nov. 18, 1795, and died June 1, 1808. Of this union 
there were the following children : Rebecca, now Mrs. 
Thomas Alderson ; James W., deceased; Elizabeth, now 
Mrs. 7i. Sherron ; Mary J. (deceased), married Jesse Gil- 
man ; Alvira S., now Mrs. Thomas Goodman; Philip N., 
born Sept. 7, 1826, is a farmer, was soldier in Confederate 
army for three years, enlisted from Arkansas. He married 
Lucy J., daughter of John H. Turner, of Alabama. 
They were the parents of the following children, — Tomie 
Ann, deceased; Henrietta, deceased; William II., born 
Nov. 17, 1832. He fell at the battle of Murfreesboro', 
while in Confederate service, Jan. 1, 1863, was buried on 
the field, and afterwards removed by his father to the family 
burying-ground. He was a brave and faithful soldier. 
Sarah married Henry C. Lockett, and resides in Nashville. 

Henry Compton was a quartermaster under Gen. Jackson 
in the war of 1812. He settled on the old home, consist- 
ing of three hundred and twenty-five acres of land, in 1817. 
He was a member of the Masonic order, and a devoted ad- 
herent of the Christian Church. He was charitable to the 
poor and enjoyed the csteenx and confidence of a large circle, 
of friends. He died xiug. 18, 1873, at the advanced age 
of eighty-nine years, three months, and eighteen days. 



PETER TAMBLE. 

Peter Tamble was born Feb. 9, 1829, at Losheim, in the 
Rhine Province, Pru.ssia. He learned the cabinet-making 
trade at twenty-three years of age, came to America, and 
landed at New York in 1852. He worked there at his' 
trade for some months. From that place he went to 
Chicago, where he remained only a short time, and from 
Chicago he went to Cincinnati, where he started in the 
furniture business with the firm of Henshaw & Sons. On 
the 3d day of February, 1856, he married Miss Mary 
Kiefcr. Of this union there were seven children born. 
In 1859 he came to Nashville, and carried on the furni- 
ture business until 1868. In 1866 ho bought a farm situ- 
ated on the Dickinson pike, four and a half miles from 
Nashville, in the Twenty-first District, where ho now re- 
sides. He has been elected magistrate twice from that 
district, which position he now holds. 

Peter Tamble, Sr., the father of Peter Tamble, was by 
occupation a carpenter and contractor of public buildings.! 
He married Miss Magdalena Schmall in 1828. There wasi 
born one son, the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Tamblej 
died four years after her marriage. In 1834 he married a1 
second time Miss Maria Jlertes. Of this union six chil- 
dren were born. One died at an early age, three are nowJ 
living at Losheim, and the two younger brothers arc doing! 
business in Nashville. They came to this country in 1865. 



MAJ. JOHN LUCIAN BROWN. 

Eighty years ago, when the machinery of this govern 
ment was new, and its powers more of an experiment thai 
a reality, a race of men were born of Revolutionary ances- 
try and grew up under the personal influence of those 
noble spirits, who not only moulded the form of our gov- 
ernment, but gave confidence in its present and hope for its 
future. Those men who are eighty years old now, and aro 
yet with us, looked upon the actors in those stirring Revo 
lutionary times with emotions of love and veneration, while 
their examples impressed the characters in the same lofty 
mould which fashioned that of those old heroes. On the 
29th of March, 1800, John Lucian Brown, the subject ol 
this sketch, was born in Clark Co., Ga. His parents. Col 
Bedford Brown and Sallie Trigg Brown, were of that old 
sterling stock of people so characteristic of that period o: 
our history. His father was born in Prince Edward Co., 
Va., and moved to Caswell Co., N. C, thence to Clark Co.,; 
Ga., where he lived as one of the most popular and enter- 
prising men in that part of the State, and died there much 
respected. His mother was the daughter of Col. William 
Trigg, likewise born in Virginia, but, her father having .J 
moved to Sumner Co , Tenn., she married Col. Bedford jj 
Brown there, on Aug. 29, 1798. The ceremony was per- 
formed by Rev. Thomas D. Craighead, a minister of much 
note at that time in this country. After the death of his 
father his mother married Capt. Peter Mosely, who lived fl[ 
immediately in the neighborhood of the Hermitage (andf,^ 
near which place his grandfather, Col. William Trigg, also 
lived), where she settled in the midst of a large family 



1\ 1 





'" / 



A/"^ PETER TAMBLE. 



PETER TAMBLE. 




L I N 0£N GROVE. 
R^sioeuCe of peter TftmBLE ESQ . 

DICHINSOn Pike, three and OI^E HAt-F MILESj NOP.TH OF NASHVILLE, VENN. 



BIOGllAPIIIES. 



415 



connection in February, 1819. Thoroughly imbued with 
those principles of patriotism which iiistiuated the action 
of our fathers in their struggle for liberty, these parents 
imparted to their children the same spirit and trained tlicm 
under those infJuences which developed not only intense 
love of country and the liigliest reverence for morals and 
religion, but strict observance of all obligations growing 
out of the social relations of life. Little occurred that is 
known with the subject of this sketch outside the usual 
routine of boyhood life. In the language of one of his 
early associates, "^He was a manly boy, — warmhearted, full 
of enthusiasm, and devoted in his friendships." These 
traits of character matured and strengthened witli his years, 
and have hung about him as graceful and attractive orna- 
ments during the good and evil fortunes of his long and 
somewhat checkered life. He received the first part of his 
education at a country school in Clark County, Ga., and 
then at Athens, Ga., then went to school to William Mc- 
Knight, in the Hermitage neighborhood, being a classmate 
there of Gen. Daniel Donelson, who was brother of An- 
drew J. Donelson, the private secretary to Gen. Jackson ; 
thence he went to John Hinton, a celebrated teacher, at 
the Red House, in North Carolina, and finished his educa- 
tion at Chapel Hill in tlie same State. When through his 
educational course he was regarded as a fine scholar. He 
then thought of entering upon the learned profession in 
which his brother, Hon. William T. Brown, afterwards be- 
came so distinguished as judge at Nashville and as an ad- 
vocate and criminal lawyer at Jlemphis, and soon there- 
after, early in 1822, he commenced the study of law with 
AVilliam Williams, Esq., in the vicinity of Spring Hill, in 
Davidson County; his fellow-students were Alexander and 
Thomas Craighead, David Cash, and James Wallace. But 
being the possessor of considerable fortune, and led by his 
ardent temperament to hope for success in any channel in 
which he might direct his energies, he, to the regret of his 
friends, declined to enter upon a professional life for which 
his abilities and attainments so well fitted him. Soon after 
he attained his majority his restless energy and enterpris- 
ing spirit directed his steps to a now and broader field of 
operations. His physical manhood was cast in one of Na- 
ture's finest moulds. Sis feet in height, straight and 
graceful, with fine, earnest face, gemmed with dark-brown 
eyes and an expansive forehead, crowned with jet-black 
hair inclined to curl, made him what the world called a 
handsome man. 

Full of sentiment, of fine literary taste well cultivated, 
of courteous and dignified bearing, he soon found easy ac- 
cess to the best social circles, in which he became a uni- 
versal favorite. One of his earliest associates and friends 
in Nashville, Col. Willoughby Williams, in giving some of 
his interesting incidents connected with persons and events 
in and around Nashville in the olden times, tells of Maj. 
Brown and himself having been of' a party of young ladies 
and gentlemen, twenty-two in number, who made a social 
excursion, lasting several days, to the Hermitage, Capt. 
Moselcy's, and other hospitable mansions in that attractive 
neighborhood, and before they completed their gay and 
festive tour the subject of this sketch, then comparatively 
a stranger to their circle, had played havoc with the hearts 



of half the girls of their party, while, by his courtly man- 
ners, generous and frank nature, had impressed himself not 
less favorably on his companions of the sterner sex. It 
was during this visit that he first became so much attached 
to Gen. Jackson, and from that day there always existed the 
kindest feeling between them, and Jack.son had no more 
enthusiastic admirer or warmer friend. About this time 
he met iMiss Jane Baird Weakley, the daughter of Col. 
Kobert Weakley, who was a member of Congre.ss from the 
Hermitage District, and after whom Weakley County was 
named, whom ho subsequently married on the 20th of Jan- 
uary, 1824. Her mother was formerly Miss Jane Locke, 
a daughter of Gen. Jlattbew Locke, of North Carolina, who 
was a senator in the Continental Congress. His marital 
relations fixed him permanently as a citizen of Nashville 
and vicinity, and from that day to this his energy and en- 
terprise, inspired by a public spirit, have been devoted in 
an earnest manner to the development of the resources 
of the city and county in which he lived, and the cultiva- 
tion of those refined social amenities and agreeable hospi- 
talities which give eclat to a place and people. Perhaps 
no man has lived in this community who observed with 
more strictness the rules of true politeness, especially to 
strangers, or extended a more open-handed hospitality than 
Maj. John L. Brown. Sucli men, by example and counsel 
and energy and prosperity in the business channels of the 
community in which they live, impart tone and refine- 
ment to its social relations. Being po.ssessed of considera- 
ble fortune, both by inheritance and marriage, he used it 
generously, and too often injudiciously, for both public en- 
terprise and private friendships. Guileless as a child, and 
as confiding as guileless, he, in his dealings with men, by 
over-confidence, principally through obligations created for 
other men, became pecuniarily embarrassed. This, how- 
ever, did not affect his uniform good habits nor destroy his 
usefulness, but only impaired the latter to the extent of his 
ability to carry out schemes of public enterprise. Unlike 
the effect of such misfortunes on most men, it neither par- 
alyzed nor fiagged his energies, but gave them, though in 
a more circumscribed sphere, new impulse and increased 
vigor. It was his means and public spirit that contributed 
as largely as those of any one to grading and establishing 
the river wharves on the city's front. The lower wharf 
may be said to be the fruit of his own labor and invest- 
ment, built as it was at a time when steamboats monopolized 
the carrying trade, and the old bridge was an obstruction 
to their passage during high tides in the Cumberland. 
This was regarded at that time as quite an enterprise. 
Thei-e was scarcely a factory or foundi-y, a warehouse or 
large shop, that he did not encourage and otherwise give to 
them favors with credit and influence. But few men, if 
any, in Nashville and Davidson County, at that time, were 
more popular or wielded more personal influence than he. 
Having but little taste for official station, and a repugnance 
to being dependent on public patronage, he eschewed office- 
seeking for himself, but was a strong stay to any friend 
whose cause he espoused before the people. His reputa- 
tion for honesty and fair dealing, his love of justice, his 
frankness of nature, and his strict adherence to truth and 
honor under all circumstances, coilimcndod him alike to 



440 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



friend and foe, and gave him a political, personal, and moral 
influence that but few private citizens possessed. His 
wife died in 1845, leaving, as the fruit of their marriage, 
three children, — Robert Weakley, Sallie J., and Narcissa 
Brown, now the widow of George Bradford, — all of whom 
yet live in our county and are esteemed as most worthy and 
useful citizens. 

At this period of his life, being wifeless, his children 
•well cared for, and war with Mexico being flagrant, he en- 
listed in Cheatham's Third Tennessee Infantry Regiment, 
and was appointed commissary of the same, with the rank 
of captain. There were but few men of his age who entered 
the service during that war, for he was a man then forty- 
seven, the age that exempted men from military duty. 
Nevertheless, he had the enthusiasm of a boy, and threw 
into whatever he undertook an energy and zeal which com- 
manded success. As the greater part of the fighting was 
over before the arrival of his regiment on the plains of 
Mexico, the major, although in the commissary department, 
was considerably chafed by many idle and tedious hours in 
camp. No opportunit}' ofi'ered for a jaunt, where there was 
a probability of encountering the enemy, that he did not 
offer his services and insist upon accompanying the expedi- 
tion. A noted incident is related to the writer by an oSieer 
who was one of his comrades upon one of these missions. 
It was in the spring of 1S4S, just before peace was declared, 
that the remnants of the Mexican army, under various offi- 
cers, were annoying the outposts of the United States forces, 
and recruiting their army for an aggressive movement. 
Gen. Jo. Lane, being full of enterprise, and at the time 
having a command of both infantry and cavalry, learned of 
the locality of a portion of the Mexican forces, and organized 
a cavalry command to make a forced march and attack the 
enemy. No one belonging to tlie infantry could go unless 
by special permission, and then not unless he was entitled 
to a horse and had one. Maj. Brown, as a commissary, 
was entitled to one. He had a mustang, and insisted on 
accompanying the expedition. Gen. Lane, admiring the 
spirit of the applicant, and being personally fond of him, 
took him along as a volunteer aid. The major bore the 
long and fatiguing maich over mountain and valley with 
less fatigue and complaint than many much j'ounger men. 
The enemy had left Tulancingo, but was pursued and found 
in his retreat at Zequaltipan, a mountain town far distant 
from the City of Mexico, from which place the expedition 
set out. The fight was imminent and the forces arranged 
for the onset, and during the solemn silence which usually 
precedes a charge the major, fearing his liorse might be too 
refractory and not respond willingly to the immense rowels 
of his Mexican spurs, took advantage of the momentary 
pause to exchange for a more reliable horse by giving con- 
siderable Loot to a soldier who felt a sublime indifference to 
being in the front on a charge ; in fact, on a charge like 
that had a little rather have a slow mustang than a fast 
horse, hoot or no hoot. 

The charge was sounded, and the major, by the side of 
his chief, led it in fine style. The enemy was routed, and 
the major, conspicuous for his gallantry, elicited the enco- 
miums alike of his general and the command. Maj. Brown 
and Gen. Jo. Lane (the same Lane who ran for Vice-Pres- 



ident on the Breckenridge ticket in 1860) were warm per-, 
sonal friends. The father of Maj. Brown and tlie uncle of.| 
Gen. Lane were also bosom-friends while the former was,' 
clerk and the latter sheriff' of Clark Co., Ga. Gen. Lane 
was deservedly popular with the Tennesseeans under his 
command. He is kindly and affectionately remembered 
now in his extreme old age, for he yet lives in the ease and 
quiet of his Oregon home, and by no one is he more afi"ec- 
tionately regarded than by his old comrade, John Lucian 
Brown. While in the City of Mexico, as commissary, the 
major was vigilant of the rights of the soldiers, who obtained 
their rations through him, and, finding that some of the 
contractors had formed a combination and were swindling 
the government by furnishing an inferior quality of beef for 
the soldiers, made open war on them, and brought the 
matter before the commanding general. The investigation 
resulted in getting rations of bettor quality and in greater 
quantity, and in establishing him in the confidence of his 
superior officers and in the affections of the soldiers. The 
regiment called him " the watch-dog of the commissary de- 
partment," and as a mark of their esteem presented him 
with one of the finest and most costly silver-mounted 
saddles that could be procured in the City of Mexico, 
which is yet in the keeping of his family as a trophy and 
relic. This incident with the beef contractors, together 
with his fine personal appearance, winsome manners, and 
soldierly bearing, attracted him to both Gen. Worth and 
Gen. William 0. Butler, who frequently had him at their 
headquarters. ludecd, the latter is said to have had no 
officer in the entire subsistence department of his army for 
whom he had greater partiality, and of which he gave fre- 
quent evidence during the latter part of the Mexican war. 

When peace was declared between the United States and 
Mexico, Maj. Brown returned with his regiment to Ten- 
nessee, and, on being mustered out of service, resumed the 
quiet walks of life at his old home. He soon thereafter, at 
Gallatin, Tenn., married his second wife, Mrs. Mary Hadly, 
with whom he yet lives in the enjoyment of a green old 
age. She was the daughter of Dr. Redman Baiiy and 
Jane Alexander Barry, who was the daughter of William 
Alexander, of North Carolina, a brother of several of the 
signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. 

Being out of active employment, his restless energy and 
love of enterprise induced him to follow the " forty-niners" 
to California in search of fortune. He remained in that 
wonderful country a year or so, undergoing the hardships 
peculiar to its early settlement, — now on a ranche, now 
delving in a mine, and now speculating and losing his 
earnings. The uncertain turn of the wheel of fortune, 
however, together with home demands, at last caused his 
return to Tennessee, where he engaged in the real-estate 
business, in which he continued very successfully, besides 
enjoying the comforts of domestic life with his family and 
old friends. A few years of this dream of peace and home 
joys, and the tocsin of " war between the States" sounded, 
and broke the spell. Although now upwards of sixty years 
of ago, when his loved Southland was involved he was one 
of the first to espouse her cause and enlist under the Con- 
federate banner. Though unable actively to bear arms, he 
ofi'ered his services to the Governor of his State for any 









J^M. M-^^f 



Feancis M. Woodall, son of James R. and 
Sarah Ann Woodall, was born on the 12t:h of 
August, 1836, in Sumner Co., Tenn. His mother 
(lied when he was about eight years of age, when he 
left home to seek his own fortune. For many years 
following he was variously engaged on the farm or 
in a store, just as he could find something to do. At 
the age of seventeen he began as a clerk for Mr. 
Hermans at Mitchelville, where he remained two 
years ; then attended school two years ; after which 
he taught one term ; then went to Gallatin, and was 
in the employ of M. J. Lucas as clerk in his store 
for two years, when he came to Davidson County 
and settled in Edgefield, where he was engaged in 
the mercantile business with Messrs. Trabue & 
Lucas for twelve months, after which he commenced 
mercantile business alone. 

In 1861, Mr. Woodall settled on a small farm of 
forty acres, four miles south of Nashville, on the 
Franklin Turnpike. To this he has added, until to- 
day he has a fine farm of one hundred and thirty- 



five acres of good land, which is in a good state of 
cultivation, besides property elsewhere. 

He has always been a Jacksonian Democrat, and 
as such has held various offices of public trust to the 
o-eneral satisfaction of his constituents. 

o 

He has been constable of the county six years ; 
deputy sheriff four years ; and sheriff two years, re- 
tiring from office August, 1878. For several years 
he has acted as school commissioner and trustee. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodall are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Oct. 18, 1861, he was married to Mrs. Olivia 
McKay. Of this union there are four sons. Mrs. 
Woodall died July 5, 1871, and Mr. Woodall mar- 
ried for his second wife Miss Bettie T. Hogan, April 
2, 1873. They have one son. 

Mr. Woodall is one of the representative men of 
Davidson County. He has the confidence of his 
neighbors and the love of his family. His health 
has been poor for many years. He reviews the past 
with no apprehension of the future. 



BIOGEAPIIIES. 



447 



duty consistent with his age and ability. His services 
were accepted, and he assigned, with the rank of lieutenant- 
ioloncl, to the commissary department, directing the pro- 
curement of supplies for the troops that were assembling in 
great numbers near the capital of the State. Upon the 
secession of the State and her union with her Southern 
sisters, he was transferred to the Confederate States army, 
in which he was made major. With his political convic- 
tions, — for he belonged to that school of politicians who 
believed the States had a right to control their own domestic 
institutions free from interference by the general govern- 
ment, — with an inborn patriotism, inherited from a Revo- 
lutionary stock, and the fires of which kept burning 
through his long life, — nothing could have been expected 
of him but to throw all the energies of his nature on tlie 
side of his home and kindred. This he did by a prompt 
and bold example. In carrying out this, which he believed 
a high patriotic duty, he never swerved, never faltered, 
never yielded hope or faith in his cause until the surrender 
of Confederate arms, and peace was restored to a riven and 
distracted land. While in field service he did duty with 
Gen. ZolKcoffer until he fell at the battle of Fishing Creek. 
lie was then assigned to the command of Gen. John C. 
Breckenridge, with whom he remained as chief of subsist- 
ence until the fall of 1863, when Gen. W. B. Bate was 
assigned to the command of Brcckcnridge's division, and 
with him, as his chief of subsistence, he remained until the 
close of the war, and surrendered near Greensborough, 
N. C, with his command. Considering the department he 
was in, there was no man in all the Army of Tennessee 
whose career was marked with more personal incidents, or 
who made a more distinctive character for knightly bear- 
ing and love of adventure than did this old hero. His 
position in the commissary department relieved him from 
participating in the fight, yet he declined the immunities 
from the battle-field, and in many of the most noted battles 
actively participated in the fight. This was conspicuously 
the case at the battles of Shiloh and Stone's Eivcr, for 
which he received special notice. 

He also received special notice on the North Georgia 
campaign from his old friend and commander. Gen. Joseph 
E. Johnston. He was with Gen. Breckenridge at the bat- 
tle near Baton Rouge, La., and the troops engaged in that 
fight tell it that at one point of the Confederate lines they 
were repulsed and hesitated to renew the charge when 
ordered, and the old major perceived it, and without sword 
or other insignia of office or emblem of hostility, he gathered, 
on the field, a long reed, and holding it aloft, as a mace of 
power, called on them to follow him and he would " charge 
'em" and take the Federal battery by which they had been 
repulsed and somewhat demoralized. Struck with the 
novelty of the situation, and stung by the implied rebuke, 
they replied with a shout, " We'll follow you ;" and, 
suiting the action to the word, away went the old 
major on his horse, over ditch and field, waving energeti- 
cally his cane, as does a musician his baton, and at the 
head of a part of the brigade did drive away the battery 
in quick and gallant style. That day he was dubbed " Old 
Charge-'em," a sobriquet he wore during the remainder of 
the war, and which sticks to him yet, even in the peaceful 



walks of life. While the command with which he was 
then on duty was at Vicksburg under the surveillance of 
Gen. Grant and his gunboats, an incident occurred which 
illustrates the character of the man. Lieut. W. H. Math- 
ews, of the Twentieth Tennessee, and a large number of 
others belonging to his command were sick in the hospital, 
and the water they drank was very warm and required ice 
to make it palatable, and the physicians prescribed it as 
essential, and there was none to bo had unless procured 
from the bank of the river, which was commanded by the 
gunboats of the enemy, and whenever a man appeared from 
behind the works the enemy would open fire upon him ; hence 
no hospital nurse or other person could be induced to go for 
the ice. The major, having called to see his sick friend, 
learned the situation, and with emphasis said the ice must 
be brought to the hospital, and, every one refusing to go, 
started out himself amid the entreaties of his friends not to 
do so. Sufficient to say he brought to shame those whose 
duty it was to go, by running the gauntlet of shot and shell 
from the gunboats, and brought back the ice to the sick 
soldiers. The most of those soldiers recovered, and yet live 
and bless the courage and kind heart of their venerable 
friend, for, as thoy say and believe, he saved their lives. 

We here copy extracts from a letter of Lieut. Mathews 
to Maj. T. P. Weakley on the subject : " While Gen. Breck- 
enridge was at Vicksburg in 1862, Maj. Brown was acting as 
division commissary. We were there during the heat of the 
summer watching the Yankee gunboats. There was a great 
deal of camp-fever among our soldiers, and I among the rest 
had this terrible disease, with the meanest water in the 
world to drink. Maj. Brown came to see us, and told us 
wo must have some ice or we would die. I sent for some 
of my comrades and tried to get them to go and get myself 
and others some ice. But the ice-house was down at the 
river, and whenever anj' one showed himself in that locality 
it was sure to draw a shower of shells from the enemy's 
gunboats. So I could not get any of them to go. Maj. 
Brown came next morning to see us and asked if we had 
got the ice ; when told that we could get no one to go after 
it, he remarked that we should have it, that he would go 
and get it himself, and he did get it as long as we needed 
it, at the risk of his own life, and we all feel to-day that if 
it had not been for BLij. Brown, we would never have re- 
turned home, but would have been buried, with many of 
our less fortunate comrades, on the bank of the Mississippi 
River. Too much praise cannot be given the old major, 
for no man ever performed a nobler part in war than he." 

Maj. Brown has in his keeping letters from many of the 
distinguished commanders with whom ho was associated, 
containing the most flattering commendations of him per- 
sonally and ofiicially ; among them are acknowledgments 
of Gens. John C. Brown, John C. Breckenridge, William 
B. Bate, Patton Anderson, and one addressed to the Con- 
federate States Secretary of War, and signed by most of 
the prominent ofiicers in the Army of Tennessee, and pub- 
lished in the Southern newspapers of that day. We here 
take the liberty to insert an extract from one of those 
papers: "It is well known that the brave old soldier-hero, 
Maj. John Lucian Brown, was instrumental in getting our 
Tennessee Congressmen to pass a bill to allow officers to 



448 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



draw rations, as their pay hardly clothed them, let alone 
being sufiBcicnt to pay their mess bills. Such a bill, it is 
said, passed both Houses, and yet no notice of the same 
has been received by the army. If the bill has passed, 
instructions should be given to the commissaries to put it 
into operation at once, or else our officers will be obliged to 
starve if they are compelled to pay the present exorbitant 
rates for provisions. No officer in the commissary depart- 
ment has labored with such zeal and devotion in procuring 
supplies for our army as Maj. Brown, known to all our 
troops as ' Old Charge-'em.' Maj. Brown, who was over 
sixty years of age, was Gen. Zollicoffer's commissary, 
having joined the army of Tennessee on the breaking out 
of the war. He served most gallantly on the field at 
Sliiloh, and took Gen. Breckenridge from his horse at the 
time he was wounded. The services of this brave and 
heroic old soldier have been entirely overlooked, and de- 
serve at the hands of his government something more than 
mere newspaper mention." 

During the four years of strife, this noble old man, sep- 
arated from homo and family, deprived of the case and 
comforts of life to which he had been so accustomed, 
breasting the cold and storms of winter, the sweltering heat 
of summer, with its toilsome marches and bloody battles, 
was never heard to complain, but always cheerful and hope- 
ful, encouraging his younger comrades by word and exam- 
ple. Such devoted patriotism, such singleness of purpose, 
and such sacrifices, without personal gain or the hope of 
reward save the satisfaction of having done his duty faith- 
fully, bespeak a heroism of which the more ambitious, 
who hold higher official stations, might be justly proud. 

After the war, instead of yielding with a hopeless inac- 
tivity to the hard fate it had brought upon him, Maj. 
Brown, even in his advanced age, again entered the field of 
active business life. He identified himself in the real- 
estate agency business in Nashville, and brought to bear a 
remarkable energy in his pursuit, and with it marked 
success, until the monetary panic of 1873 prostrated it 
and all other business matters in the South. Notwith- 
standing the dearth of business during this time, he cxliib- 
ited his usual persistence and enterprise. Upon the inau- 
guration of Governor Albert S. Marks, in January, 1879, 
as Governor of Tennessee, Maj. Brown was appointed by 
him superintendent of the Capitol building and grounds, 
which position he now holds. Eighteen hundred and 
eighty being the centennial of Nashville, the major was an 
enthusiastic advocate of a due and proper observance of the 
occasion, and added much to its success by liis zeal and 
earnest advocacy. Maj. Brown, having charge of the Capi- 
tol grounds, and observing a space on the east side of the 
State-house left for a statue of his old personal friend and 
-political leader. Gen. Andrew Jackson, became an early ad- 
vocate, if not the suggester, of the movement resulting in the 
purchase and final inauguration of Clark Mills' celebrated 
equestrian statue of Jack.son. The major, by personal en- 
terprise in getting subscriptions, raised nearly all the 
money which purchased and planted it where it is now 
seen by admiring thousands. 



JOHN CONAWAY GAUT. 

John Conaway Gaut, son of James and Rosamond Gaut, 
was born in Jefferson Co., Tenn., Feb. 27, 1813. In 1821 
the family removed to McMinn County, and settled near 
Athens. He was the eldest of nine children, of whom only 
his brother Jesse H. now survives. 

His father was a farmer, and with his large family to 
support could only give the subject of this sketch a rudi- 
mentary education. Working on his father's farm until 
twenty-one years of age, he then by labor secured means 
with frequent interruptions to advance himself in literary 
culture. He was a student at the Forest Hill Academy, 
near Athens ; also, in the spring of 1835, he entered the 
Literary and Scientific Department of the Thio Seminary, 
at Marysville, Tenn. In 1836 he entered the East Ten- 
nessee College, at Knoxville. 

His determination had been formed when only a youth 
to make the profession of law his pursuit. At the age of 
fifteen years his attention was arrested by the crier of the 
court at Athens, where young Gaut had gone to deliver a 
load of corn. Curiosity led him to enter the court-room, 
where he listened spell-bound to an able legal argument ; 
the infiuence on his iuagination was profound, and then 
and there his decision taken to fit himself one day to fill 
such a place as tliis eloquent speaker, Spencer Jaringan. 

It will be of interest to the legal fraternity to know the 
title of the case on trial. It was the case of John McGhee 
against McConnell and Miller, reported in 7th Yerger, pp. 
63. 

In October, 1837, lack of money compelled him to re- 
turn to his father's house, but shortly after he commenced 
the study of law in the office of the Hon. Spencer Jaringan, 
at Alliens. 

In November, 1838, lie received his license to practice 
law at the hands of Judges Scott and Keith, and located at 
Cleveland, county-seat of Bradley Co., Tenn. 

This was only three months after the removal of the last 
detachment of Cherokee Indians from the district in which 
young Gaut had settled. Much litigation immediately 
arose concerning rights to lands, and Mr. Gaut soon found 
himself in a lucrative practice throughout the judicial dis- 
trict. 

On the 26th of September, 1839, he married Miss Sarah 
Ann McReynolds, of McMinn Co., Tenn., by whom he had 
seven children. Of these but two are now living, — his son, 
John M. Gaut, and his daughter, Mrs. Ann G. Manlove, 
both of Nashville, Tenn. 

Mr. Gaut continued the practice of law in the district 
of his first location until 1853, when he was elected by the 
General Assembly to fill the office of circuit judge made 
vacant by the resignation of the Hon. Charles F. Keith, and 
in the following year, \dien under the constitutional amend- 
ment the office became one of popular election, he was, on 
the 25th May, 1854, elected to the same position for a term 
of eight years. Although a Whig, and residing in a dis- 
trict largely Democratic, his majority was about eleven hun- 
dred votes. 

At the expiration of his first term in 1862 he was re- 
elected by the people, and held the office until the spring 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



449 



of 1SG5 ; he then resigned it to resume the practice of law 
at Nasliville, whither he had removed a few weeks pre- 
vious. 

As a judge he had held court by interchange with other 
circuit judges and chancellors in at least one-third of the 
counties of the State. It is but just to him to say that 
in the estimation of the lawyers who had practiced before 
him, the people whose rights he adjudicated, and the judges 
of the Supreme Court who revised his decisions, he ranked 
among the foremost in his profession. 

Judge Gaut was a leader in the one great enterprise 
which gave to East Tennessee its great agricultural and 
commercial prosperity, — viz., the building of the East Ten- 
nessee and Georgia Eailroad from Dalton, Ga., to Knos- 
ville, Tenn. Discreditable failure had attended the first 
effort to accomplish the work ; to obtain the requisite legis- 
lation and capital to undertake a second time a work of 
such magnitude required courage, patience, and public 
spirit. 

In 184G a i'liw gentlemen resolved to unite for the ac- 
complishment of the work ; they agreed to give their ser- 
vices without pay if by so doing they could restore public 
confidence. Eight years long did Judge Gaut so serve the 
Slate in his capacity as a director for the State in this mat- 
ter; long journeys on horseback and much valuable time 
were given without even so much compensation as his 
traveling expenses. 

In politics Judge Gaut was a Whig; in the campaign of 
1860, a warm supporter of Bell and Everett. When the 
clouds of civil war began to threaten, he promptly took sides 
with the Uoion, and denied in ioto the right or policy of 
secession. 

llecognizcd as a Union leader, he incurred naturally the 
ill will of local secession leaders. Much valuable property 
was taken from him, and his personal liberty constantly en- 
dangered. 

Notwithstanding this, when the authority of the Federal 
government was established in Tennessee he allowed no 
feeliogs of resentment to control him. He used all his in- 
fluence for the protection of the rights of those who had 
persecuted him ; he condemned violence and disorder, and 
favored the earliest possible establishment of civil law and 
order. He participated in the re-establishment of the State 
government as a member of the convention convened for 
that purpose. This assemblage of exclusive Union men, 
fresh from the dire experiences of war, was naturally radi- 
cal and extreme in its policy, and in this juncture Judge 
Gaut illustrated the conservative tendencies of his judicial 
education, and fought as strongly for moderation as he had 
opposed the spirit of rebellion. Under such circumstances 
the instincts of the time-server and politicians to go with 
the multitude were met by the statesmanship of the true 
patriot, and signally through this era of fanaticism on the 
part of Union men in power was Judge Gaut ever found 
contending for law, for clemency, for moderation. 

When, in 1866, the bill disfranchising- rebels was pend- 
ing he wrote several elaborate articles against the bill, which 
appeared in the Union and American. Although offered 
any position he might choose in the gift of Governor 
Brownlow he persistently declined, and continued to wage 



war against that extraordinary administration. Affiliation 
with the party in power being impossible, he found his 
natural position with the organization known as the " Con- 
servative Party," and acted as the chairman of its executive 
committee. 

In 1866 he, in connection with John S. Brien and A. 
S. Colyer, appeared as counsel for P. C. Williams in the 
memorable haheas corpus case proceedings before Judge 
Thomas N. Frazicr, judge of the Criminal Court of Nash- 
ville, and subsequently, when it was sought to impeach 
Judge Frazier for his decision in thi.s case. Judge Gaut, 
with Edwin H. Ewing, John S. Brien, and E. H. East, 
defended Judge Frazier before the State Senate. 

Space will not permit a resume of this remarkable case, 
the only one of like character ever known in this country. 
The Assembly were the plaintiffs, the Senate the court, but 
so thoroughly in sympathy with the plaintiffs as to become 
at once accusers as well as judges. 

Judge Frazier's decision in liberating Williams, who was 
held a prisoner by the Assembly under a charge of contempt 
for absenting himself and thereby preventing a constitu- 
tional quorum, was the ground of the action of the Assem- 
bly in proceedings for his (Judge Frazier) impeachment. 
The evidence of a criminal intent on his part was lacking, 
but under the stimulus of popular political excitement, in- 
tensified to an unparalleled degree, this fearless judge was 
stricken down, and by a vote of sixteen to four was found 
guilty and forever debarred from holding office in Tennessee. 

The Constitutional Convention of 1870, however, an- 
nulled the judgment, and the people of Davidson and Ruth- 
erford Counties re-elected Judge Frazier to the office of 
criminal judge. The argument of Judge Gaut in this case 
(now the heat of strife has passed) is regarded as a proud 
monument to his legal ability, his integrity, and patriotism. 

As a member of the Conservative party he opposed the 
disfranchisement act as illiberal, impolitic, and unjust. He 
especially controverted the right, even under the extraor- 
dinary provisions of the fi-anchise law, of the commissioners 
of registration to open and hold the elections in the State 
and appoint judges of the same. As chairman of the Con- 
servative executive committee he directed the sheriffs in 
the various counties to open and hold such elections without 
interfering with the attempt on the part of the commis- 
sioners to hold elections also, with a view of letting the 
courts determine which elections were legally held. But 
here again despotic power asserted its contempt for civil 
law. Governor Brownlow issued a proclamation, and pri- 
vately notified Judge Gaut if he persisted in encouraging 
the sheriffs to follow his instructions he would have hira 
arrested and confined in the penitentiary. Counseling and 
contending for moderation on the part of indignant and 
violent opponents of the party in power, he encountered 
and bore with patience the maledictions of the latter, only 
to effect the political emancipation of those of whose intol- 
erance he had formerly been the victim. 

In this career of politics he, to the best of his ability, 
stood as a bulwark between the raging factions of rebellion 
on the one hand and radical Republicanism on the other, 
actuated by the desire of restoring lawful and just govern- 
ment to the country and peace to his native State. 



450 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



On the return of ex-President Johnson to Tennessee in 
1869 a public reception by the people of Nashville was 
accorded him, and Judge Gaut delivered the reception 
speech. 

Upon his removal to Nashville in 1865 he resumed the 
practice of law, and has ever since occupied a leading posi- 
tion at the Nashville bar. 

On the 9th of June, 1 873, Mrs. Sarah A. Gaut died of 
cholera, and on the 16th of February, 1875, Judge Gaut 
was married to BIrs. Sallie A. Carter, of Franklin, Tenn. 
He continues to take the part of a private citizen in State 
and national politics. He favors a speedy and honorable 
compromise of the State debt. 



JOHN M. HILL. 



" All experience shows that the great high-road of human 
welfare lies along the old highway of steadfast well-doing, 
and they who are the most persistent, and work in the 
truest spirit, will invariably be the most successful : success 
treads on the heels of every right effort." 

This maxim is happily exemplified, we think, in the 
active and useful life of an upright business man, of which 
the following is a brief and imperfect sketch: 

John Blelchoir Ilill was born in the old town of Lanca.s- 
ter, on the 6th of April, 1797, of parents of German de- 
scent, wliose ancestors were among the colonists who settled 
in that part of Pennsylvania early iu the last century. 

His parents, Gottleib and Sarah Hill, were in comfortable 
though not affluent circumstances, and were enabled to give 
him and his three younger brothers and an only sister a 
fair education in German and English, but above all they 
endeavored to instill into their minds a love of virtue, 
teaching them also the need of relying upon their own en- 
ergies and character for success in life. Being pious Lu- 
therans, salutary religious influence was thrown around 
their young children which ever after clung to them. 

At an early age, John, as was the custom in those days, 
was apprenticed to a substantial old German merchant in 
Lancaster, and thus started upon the business of his life. At 
the expiration of his apprenticeship, being at an age buoy- 
ant with hope, he determined at once to seek a better field 
for talent and enterprise than that which seemed to present 
itself in his native village, and bidding adieu to family and 
friends, and the green fields around old Lancaster, he started 
for Pittsburgh, which he then expected would be his future 
home. But, catching the spirit which at about that time 
induced many young men of Pennsylvania to go West and 
South, he with a number of others from about Pittsburgh 
emigrated to Tennessee, and settled in Giles County, at Pu- 
laski. Here, however, he only remained for a short time, 
and finally settled in Nashville, in 1819, being then twenty- 
two years old. 

On the 21st of July, 1824, he laid the foundation for a 
future happy life and a great estate by marrying a wise and 
prudent woman, Miss Phoebe Thompson, a native of Cin- 
cinnati, descended from one of the pioneer settlers of that 
part of Ohio, — a woman of great personal beauty, but still 
more remarkable for her lovely and exemplary character. 



She has survived him, and still lives in her old homestead 
surrounded with all the comforts and elegances of life, 
esteemed, loved, and venerated by all the young people as 
well as a host of old friends in the county of Davidson. 

In the same year the young couple set up for themselves 
in a little store-house on the east side of Market Street, 
about midway between the old Union Hall and the public 
square, the humble beginning of a most successful and in ' 
many respects a remarkable business career. Cheered and 
encouraged by his energetic young wife, and assisted by her 
helping hand, John M. Hill now determined to grow rich, 
and applied himself to the attainment of this end with a 
vigor and resolution which nothing could daunt. Exact 
and conscientious in all his dealings, he at once gained the 
confidence of the community, and his little store was soon 
tlironged with customers. Managing his affairs with a 
sagacity and an untiring industry rare in so young a man, 
at the end of three or four years his business had so in- 
creased a larger room was now required, and he moved up 
the street to a store which had been previously occupied by 
Porter & Rawlins, using the upper story as a family resi- 
dence. 

His business now rapidly enlarged and he soon accumu- 
lated sufficient capital to extend his operations, which he 
did by opening two branch houses, one of them under the 
management of Vernon K. Stevenson and the other in 
charge of Ralph Martin, both of them young men of pop- 
ular manners, good habits, and excellent business training. 
Directing the whole with that clear judgment and sound 
discretion for which he was so pre-eminent, all prospered. 
He next formed a partnership with Maj. Joseph Vaulx and 
James J. Gill, and went into an cxten.sive auction and com- 
mission business, in a house which stood upon the ground 
now occupied by Gray & Kirkman's hardware-store. This 
adventure was also a great success. There being at that 
time but two or three small jobbing houses in Nashville, 
largo amounts of merchandise were sent out from the East- 
ern cities to be sold at auction, and it was through this 
channel that country merchants were mainly supplied with 
goods. 

In 1845, having accumulated a handsome fortune, Mr. 
Hill retired from active business, being succeeded by his 
brothers-in-law, George and Charles Thompson. Ho always 
regretted that he gave up active commercial pursuits so 
early in life, often saying " it was far better to wear out 
than to rust out." His great success, where so many failed, 
shows conclu.sively his eminent business qualities. 

We must now speak of his religious life. Overwhelmed 
for many years with the anxious cares and toils of a large 
business, ho had grown careless, neglecting his religious 
duties and seldom entering a church door. But during a 
great revival in all the churches in Nashville, in the fall of 
1833, he became deeply concerned about his spiritual con- 
dition, was happily converted, and joined the Presbyterian 
Church, then under the pastoral care of Dr. p]dgar. The 
careful training given him by his pious parents in his early 
youth was now bearing fruit, and under the instruction of 
this godly man he soon became as active and efiicient in 
the church as he was in his store. Earnest and indefati- 
gable in everything, he was his beloved pastor's right arm. 




't^ 



^ ^C^t 




0. B. HAYES. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



451 



Foremost in every scheme devised to promote the growth 
and prosperity of his church, he was soon honored by being 
elected a deacon, and in a few years was made a ruling 
elder. He was an open-handed Christian, most generous 
in all his donations to the benevolent enterprises of his 
church, and liberal though unostentatious in his private 
character. In his will he bequeathed in trust to the elders 
of the First Presbyterian Church twenty thousand dollars, 
to be used for various benevolent objects. 

Mr. Hill was a good citizen. In his younger days he 
shunned no public duty. As a young fireman he was one 
of the first men at the brakes of the " old machine" when 
the alarm was given. As an alderman he was wise and full 
of zeal for the public good. In ante-helium times he was 
a shareholder and a director in all our banks and in.surance 
companies, and foremost in every manufacturing project. 
He never made usurious loans of his money. He loved 
his adopted city, and in all his investments he had an eye 
to the interest and prosperity of Nashville as well as his 
own. Deep down in his heart he had a soft place for the 
young men of Nashville. Many a young fellow has had 
material aid and comfort from him when about to begin the 
rugged journey of life. He was a lover of good cheer, 
and it was his delight to have his many old friends around 
his bounteously supplied table. He was a genial host and 
enjoyed a well-timed jest or sparkling repartee. He was a 
lover of nature, bad great delight in his flowers, and be- 
came quite skillful in selecting and cultivating beautiful 
exotics, of which he had a rare collection. In his old age 
he loved a quiet day's fishing. He especially liked to make 
preparation for it. It was a pleasing sight to see him and 
his boy Mose spending the day with busy care in selecting 
and arranging their tackle preparatory for an early start 
next morning for some neighboring stream where the active 
trout abounded. He always took " Isaak Walton's Com- 
plete Angler" with him, and had the finest copy of this 
pleasant old book the writer has ever seen. 

To sum up his character briefly, BIr. Hill was a man of 
inflexible will, a stern lover and doer of the truth, but with 
the broadest aud kindliest views of men and things. His 
native mental powers were uncommon, and, had his massive 
intellect been carefully trained for it, he could have become 
eminent in any of the higher pursuits of life. He died 
Jan. 2G, 1870, lamented by the whole city. 



OLIVER BLISS HAYES. 

Oliver Bliss Hayes was born May 21, 1783. ■ His mother, 
, Mary Bliss, of Wilbraham, Mass., was a direct descendant 
of Chas. Chauncey, second president of Harvard College, 
and his father. Rev. Joel Hayes, of Simsbury, Conn., was 
pastor of the Congregational Church at South Hadley for 
forty-five years. Their children were Oliver Bliss, Joel 
Hayes, Jr., llosswell, Mary, Harriet, Catherine B., and 
Julia Ann. 

Oliver Bliss Hayes was educated in New England, re- 
ceiving the highest literary culture in the best schools of 
that section, and qualifying himself for his profession, 
P7 



which was that of the law. He came to Baltimore, where 
he remained a short time, and finally settled in Nashville 
early in 1808. About this time and contemporary with 
him were many great names at the Nashville bar, — White- 
side, Overton, Grundy, Dickinson, and others who have 
long since departed. There were at this time, also, great 
questions involving great interests to be settled by the 
courts, particularly those growing out of the conflicting 
land-titles of the country. By his genius, his tact, his 
knowledge of men and accurate business habits, the ready 
resources of his intellect, his power of investigation, and 
graceful, vehement elocution, he made a strong impression 
upon the public mind, and his services were eagerly sought 
for by the suitors in the courts. His practice was extended 
through a considerable portion of Middle Tennessee, and in 
most of the important causes he was retained as counsel. 
During the whole period of his professional career he 
ranked with the ablest of his contemporaries. His fine 
conversational talent, cultivated taste, ready wit, and varied 
knowledge have rarely been surpassed, and made him ex- 
ceedingly attractive in the social circle. 

Having acquired a competent estate, ho retired from his 
profession with the view of devoting himself to the min- 
istry, and was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian 
Church. Commencing his labors at so late a period, and 
having no pastoral relations, it is not to be supposed he 
could acquire the same high distinction as in the former 
field, but the fervor of his piety, the fidelity with which 
he discharged the various duties assigned him by his breth- 
ren, and the ability of his occasional efibrts will be attested 
by them all. 

In the conclusion of this imperfect sketch, the greater 
portion of which is from an obituary at the time of his 
death, it will not be out of place to add that in his own 
house he dispensed a liberal hospitality, and in the exercise 
of all the domestic virtues as a husband and father his 
character shone with peculiar beauty and loveliness. 

His wife was Sarah Clemants Hightower, a descendant 
of the Clemants of England. Their children were Richard 
H., Joel A., Adelicia, Laura, Oliver, Henry Martyn, and 
Corinna. 

Oliver Bliss Hayes died Nov. 1, 1858. During his last 
illness, which was protracted for several months, in which 
he endured much physical suiFering, he exhibited the most 
perfect resignation to the divine will, never murmuring or 
complaining. 

Thus passed from earth this eminent lawyer and servant 
of the Most High, leaving his bright example as a rich in- 
heritance to his children and those who may come after 
them. 

His eldest daughter, Adelicia, was born and educated in 
Nashville, graduating with the highest honors of her class. 
She was married, July, 1839, to Isaac Franklin, an opulent 
planter of Louisiana, who died in the year 184G. She was 
married the second time, to Col. J. A. S. Acklen, May, 
1849, the grandson of John Hunt, the founder of Hunts- 
ville, Ala. He was appointed United States attorney for 
the Northern District of Alabama during the administra- 
tions of Van Buren, Tyler, and Polk, and promoted to a 
colonelcy for bravery in the Mexican war. He died in 



452 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Louisiana in 1863. At the close of tlie war Mrs. Acklen 
made a tour in Europe, and after her return married Dr. 
W. A. Cheatham, June, 1867, of Nashville, Tenn. Her 
children are Hon. Joseph H. Acklen, of Louisiana, William 
Ethan Acklen, Claude Acklen, and Pauline Acklen. The 
family name is extinct except in this branch of the family. 
Blrs. Dr. Cheatham is very extensively known through- 
out the South and West, not only for her social position 
and personal graces, but fur her liberal donations to benev- 
olent purposes. Her home, " Belmont," bearing the name 
of the residence of Portia, in the " Merchant of Venice," has 
long enjoyed the reputation of being the Mecca of travelers, 
with its vast lawns, miracle of landscape gardening, and its 
extensive conservatory crowded with tropical plants, flowers, 
and fruits, its gallery where may be found masterpieces of 
paintings and sculpture selected and purchased by the owner 
during her stay in Italy, forming a private collection un- 
equaled by any in the South. 



TOLBERT FANNING. 

Tolbert Fanning was born in Cannon Co., Tenn., May 
10, 1810. His parents were Virginians, of English de- 
scent. Tolbert had but little opportunity for the acquisition 
of knowledge, as the family was poor and consisted of many 
members. He early became united with the Christian 
Church, and at nineteen years of age spoke in public in his 
Redeemer's cause. 

Keenly appreciating the value of an acquaintance with 
the Latin and Greek languages in his studies of the Scrip- 
tures, he made extraordinary exertions to secure the means 
necessary to the acquisition of this knowledge. Having 
always this object in view, he ginned cotton, did his own 
cooking, and performed various other chores that he might 
attain the object of his ambition. 

While performing this manual labor, he failed not, on 
Lord's Day and other occasions, to teach with earnestness 
and success the truths of Holy Writ. 

In 1831 he came to Nashville, and in 1835 was graduated 
at the university, then presided over by Dr. Philip Linds- 
ley. While attending college, and in vacation, he availed 
liimself of every opportunity to teach and preach. Before 
and after graduation he accompanied Alexander Campbell 
on extensive preaching tours, and with earnestness and abil- 
ity aided the great reformer in their gospel meetings. 

At Nicholasville, Ky., he was married to Miss Sarah 
Shreeve, who did not long survive. On Dec. 25, 1836, he 
chose another companion in Miss Charlotte Fall, of Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Immediately after marriage, in connection with his wife, 
he opened, at Franklin, Tenn., a female boarding- and day- 
school, which was largely patronized until his removal (Jan- 
uary, 1840) to " Elm Crag," a beautiful farm five miles 
east of Nashville. 

About this time he was selected by the State Agricultural 
Society chief editor of the Agriculturist, a paper issued from 
Nashville. He filled this place for five or six years with 
marked ability. During this period and throughout the re- 



mainder of his life, he held everything subordinate to his 
duties as a Christian minister. 

Mr. Fanning was much interested in agriculture, and was 
especially active in encouraging the raising of improved 
stock. He imported and placed upon his farm the finest 
breeds of cattle, sheep, hogs, and horses. So enthusiastia 
was he in the cause that he opened at Elm Crag an agricul- 
tural school for young men, with whom he labored in the 
fields, taught in the school-room, and preached to on Sundays. 

This school was operated for several years with such grat- 
ifying results that he conceived and executed the design of 
establishing a college on the same plan. So, with the aid 
of a few friends, he had erected at Elm Crag suitable build- 
ings, employed a corps of competent aids, and, with himself 
as president, announced the opening of Franklin College in 
the following language : 

." Young men of the country, mechanics who are willing 
to work, blacksmiths, carriage- or wagon makers, saddlers, 
carpenters, cabinet-makers, printers, plow-boys, can be edu- 
cated at Franklin College by their labor, and are earnestly 
invited to attend the institution." What a noble under- 
taking ! 

The opening was an auspicious one, and throughout the 
States are numerous grateful individuals who received the 
benefits of Franklin College. Hours were set apart for 
business as well as for study. Some of the students en- 
gaged in agriculture, a printing-office was opened, from 
which was issued the Agriculturist, catalogues of the insti- 
tution, and the Christian Review, a popular periodical, of 
which Mr. Fanning was the editor and proprietor. Other 
industries, enumerated in the announcement, were carried 
on, and the whole continued to thrive until the breaking 
out of the late civil war. 

In January, 1844, Mr. Fanning began to publish the 
Christian Review. Four years afterwards, with some mod- 
ifications, the Review became the Christian Magazine, which 
periodical was quite popular among those of Mr. Fanning's 
faith. 

In addition to his duties as an editor of two papers, a 
preacher, a farmer, and president of Franklin College, the 
general supervision of a largely patronized female day- and 
boarding-school, conducted upon the same premises, devolved 
upon him. He personally instructed the senior classes of 
both institutions. 

In January, 1855, with W. Libscomb as associate editor, 
Mr. Fanning began the publication of the Gospel Advocate, 
a periodical which, with the exception of a temporary sus- 
pension during the late war, continues to be published, and 
is weekly mailed to thousands of subscribers throughout 
the Union. Mr. Fanning, however, disassociated himself 
from this paper in 1872, and in obedience to a long-felt de- 
sire began to publish the Religious Historian, which was 
continued till his death. 

In 1865, just after it was reopened, Franklin College and 
the family dwelling were destroyed by fire. Mr. Fanning 
then made a purchase of Minerva College (distant about 
twenty rods from the old home), and, with Mrs. Fanning in 
immediate charge, opened Hope Institute for Young Ladies. 
Many children of former students were matriculated in this 
excellent school. 




Jf ,^71^ J^^^Jzcn^ytt 



^' 



''/ 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



45S 



On Sunday, May 3, 1874, after four days of extreme 
suffering, occurred the dissolution of Tolbert Fanning. But 
a brief time before his death he broke the loaf in memory 
of that Saviour whom, with all the energy of his character 
and the great power of his mind, he unfalteringly served. 

Though certainly a superior man, mentally and physically, 
we must record the fact that many of the achievements of 
Tolbert Fanning are due to the energy and ability, the de- 
votion and co-operation, of her whom he delighted to call 
wife. ^ ,,. , 

^ Y V- 

ARCHER CHEATHAM. 

Archer Cheatham was born in Springfield, Tenn. ; his 
father, John Cheatham, died when Archer was five years 
of age. Four years later his mother was married to Dr. 
W. K. Bowling, of Kentucky, where the family lived until 
1850, when they removed to Nashville. 

Ai'cher Cheatham had preceded them, coming to Nash- 
ville when a young man, and finding employment as clerk 
in a dry-goods store for a time ; was then engaged in the 
manufacture of iron, and subsequently was in the wholesale 
liquor business. He was a man of good business abilities 
and strict integrity ; in social relations he was genial and 
companionable. He died Aug. 15, 1879, leaving a widow 
and three children,— two daughters and one son, — who re- 
si3e at their fine home, known as " CliflF Lawn," some four 
miles from the city, on the Harding pike, which is one of 
the finest farms and homes for which Davidson County is so 
celebrated. 



WILLIAM HUNTER WASHINGTON. 

William Hunter Washington is descended from John 
Washington, who was the uncle of George Washington, 
and grandson of the original John Washington, who emi- 
grated from the North of England in the year 1657. 

" The Washington family," says Washington Irving, " is 
of an ancient English stock, the genealogy of which has 
been traced up to the century immediately succeeding the 
Conquest." The genealogy of the Virginia Washingtons 
has been given in a letter written in Philadelphia in the 
year 1792, by George Washington to Sir Isaac Heard, 
which has been preserved by Mr. Sparks in his writings 
and life of Washington. "In the year 1657," writes he, 
" or thereabouts, and during the usurpation of Oliver 
Cromwell, John and Lawrence Washington, brothers, emi- 
grated from the North of England and settled at Bridges' 
Creek, on the Potomac River, in the county of Westmore- 
land. . . . John Washington was employed as general 
against the Indians in Maryland, and, as a reward for his 
services, was made a colonel, and the parish wherein he 
lived was called after him. He married Anne Pope and 
left issue two sons, Lawrence and John, and one daughter, 
Anne, who married Maj. Francis Wright. The time of his 
death the subscriber is not able to ascertain, but it appears 
that he was interred in a vault which had been erected at 
Bridges' Creek. 



" Lawrence Washington, his eldest son, married Mildred 
Warner, daughter of Col. Augustine Warner, of Gloucester 
County, by whom he had two sons, John and Augustine 
(the latter being the father of George Washington), and 
one daughter named Mildred. He died in 1697, and was 
interred in the family vault at Bridges' Creek. John 
Washington, the eldest son of Lawrence and Blildred, 
married Catharine Whiting, of Gloucester County, where 
he settled, died, and was buried. He had two sons, Warner 
and Henry, and three daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, and 
Catharine, all of whom are dead. 

" Warner Washington married the daughter of Col. Wil- 
liam Macon, of New Kent County, by whom he had one 
son, who is now living and bears the name of Warner. 
His second wife was Hannah, youngest daughter of the 
Hon. William Fairfax, by whom he left two sons and five 
daughters, as follows,^namely, Mildred, Hannah, Catharine, 
Elizabeth, Louisa, Fairfax, and Whiiing. The three oldest 
of the daughters are married, — Mildred to Throck- 
morton, Hannah to Whiting, and Catharine to 

Nelson. After his second marriage he removed from Glou- 
cester and settled in Frederick County, where he died 1791. 

Warner Washington, his son, married Whiting, by 

whom he has many sons and daughters ; the eldest is called 
Warner, and is now nearly if not quite of age." 

The family tradition has it that the many sons and 
daughters here mentioned numbered nine daughters and 
ten sons. Those whose names are still preserved are Warner, 
Henry, Francis Whiting, Lawrence, John, and Lucy. 

Lucy married Walker, and emigrated to Arkansas. 

What became of Warner, Lawrence, John, and those sons 
and daughters of the family whose names have not been 
preserved is not known, other than that many emigrated 
to various parts of the United States, while others remained 
in Virginia. 

Francis Whiting Washington, one of the sons, was the 
grandfather of William Hunter Washington. Ho was 
born in Frederick or Clarke Co., Va., in the year 1781. 
He was educated at Liberty Hall, Lexington, Va., before 
it was endowed by George Washington and its name 
changed to that of Washington College. In 18 — , falling 
in with the tide of emigration to the westward, he quit the 
associations of his youth and the home of his ancestors and 
emigrated to Tennessee. He first settled in Franklin, Wil- 
liamson Co. He married in the year 1813 Elizabeth Ma- 
son Hall, sister of the late Allen A. Hall. Soon after the 
marriage they removed to Logan Co., Ky. The issue of 
this marriage was five sons, — Beverly, James, Allen H., 
John, and Francis Whiting. He resided in Logan County 
until 1834, when, in order to facilitate the education of his 
children, he sold his estates in Logan County and returned 
tp Nashville. Here he embarked in the drug business, 
first on the corner of Deaderick Street and the square, and 
later on the southwest corner of Union and College Streets. 
He lived in Nashville many years, but finally removed to 
Augusta, Ga., where he died in the year 1871, at the resi- 
dence of his son. Dr. Beverly Washington, at the advanced 
a"-e of ninety years. His sons Beverly, James, Allen H., 
and John are dead. Dr. Beverly Washington had become 
eminent in his profession. James was a leading hardware- 



454 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



merchant of St. Joseph, Mo. John entered the Methodist 
pulpit, but was killed by a horse in 1856, soon after his or- 
dination. Allen H. became a wholesale merchant of Nash- 
ville, and was of the firai of O'Bryans & Washington at the 
time of his death, in 1873. Francis Whiting Washington, 
the father of William Hunter Washington, is the sole 
survivor. He resided in Nashville from 1834 until his 
marriage. Soon after attaining his majority he married 
in Rutherford County, at the residence of Gen. William 
Hunter Smith, brigadier-general of the Tennessee militia. 
Sarah Catharine Crockett. After his marriage he removed 
to Rutherford County, and has lived there ever since, on 
the ancient manor of Springfield, except during the war, 
when he served with distinction in the Confederate army. 
Springfield is a majestic and antique brick mansion on the 
bank of Overall's Creek. It has an interesting and eventful 
history, having been continuously in the family of Sarah 
Catharine, on her mother's side, for sixty-six years. It was 
built in 1814 by Col. John Smith, her maternal grandfatiier. 

Sarah Catharine Crockett was a young lady of great 
beauty, accomplishment.s, and popularity. She was de- 
scended from the Virginia Crocketts. Col. Anthony 
Crockett, her grandfiither, was a first cousin of the famous 
David Crockett, and was born in Wythe Co., Va. He served 
in the Revolutionary war as a lieutenant in the Continental 
army. Afterwards he removed to what subsequently became 
Frankfort, Ky. In 1812 three of his sons, Overton, Gran- 
ville S., and Fountain P. Crockett, emigrated to Rutherford 
Co., Tenn. Granville S. entered the field of political life 
at an early age. He represented his county several times 
in the State Legislature, both in tlie lower house and 
Senate. He also represented his district in the Congress of 
the United States. He was appointed by President Polk, 
soon after his inauguration, minister abroad, but died while 
journeying to his post. Fountain P. Crockett died young, 
leaving orphan children, — among them Sarah Catharine, 
who, at the time of her father's death, was but six years of 
age. She was adopted by her uncle. Gen. William H. 
Smith, a man of great wealth and childless. 

The first-born of the marriage of Francis Whiting Wash- 
ington and Sarah Catharine Crockett was William Hunter 
Washington. He was born at Springfield, the family man- 
sion, on the 9th day of September, 1850. There were two 
other children, — America Isabella and John Henry. The 
former was born Jan. 29, 1852, and died twenty months 
thereafter. The latter was born Sept. 4, 1857. He has 
entered the medical profession, having graduated at Van- 
derbilt University in 1879. 

Nothing unusual signalized the childhood and boyhood 
of William H., who was sent to school in the neighborhood 
of Springfield and in Murfreesboro'. 

After the war between the States was declared, and in 
the year 1862, some time before the fall of Forts Donelson 
and Henry, the boys in the neighborhood of Murfreesboro', 
imbued with a spirit of chivalry and martial glory, and 
having high notions of defending their mothers and sisters 
against the advancing hosts of the enemy, organized them- 
selves into a military company. Its name was the " Juve- 
nile Home Guards." It numbered thirty-five ardent young 
rebels. William H. was elected captain, though among 



the youngest in the company. They became very ciEcient 
in the drill, maintaining the organization six or eight 
months, but were finally disbanded a sliort time before 
Rosecrans advanced upon Murfreesboro'. 

William H. remained at Murfreesboro' during the war, 
the only protector of liis mother, his father having entered 
the Confederate army early in the struggle. 

In September, 1866, he matriculated as a student of 
Washington College, Lexington, Va., which was then 
under the presidency of Gen. Robert E. Lee. While there 
he boarded in the family of Rev. W. M. McElwee, a Pres- 
byterian divine. In the beginning of the session of 1867, 
having many boarders, he ofi"ered to give a handsome Bible 
to that boarder who should be most punctual in attending 
family prayers during the nine months' session. William 
H. won the prize, which was presented to him in June, 
1868. During the fall of 1867 he became a member of 
the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Chapter I. 

In June, 1868, he returned to Murfreesboro' in such a 
precarious condition of health his parents forbade his return 
to college the next session. 

In the following fall there was a grand agricultural and 
mechanical fair at Murfreesboro', one of the features of 
which was a tournament to decide the champion equi;strian- 
ship of Middle Tennessee. The first prize was a silver set 
valued at fifty dollars, and the second an elegant silver iete- 
d-tete set valued at a little less. The day for the contest 
arrived. There were fully five thousand people in attend- 
ance. The joust was to take place inside the circular am- 
phitheatre. There were nine rings up. Victory was to 
belong to that knight who carried off the greatest number 
of rings in a given number of rides at full speed. Twenty- 
five knights from all parts of the State, gorgeously attired 
and armed with the famous lance of chivalry, entered the 
arena as contestants. Among the number was William H., 
whose sobriquet was " Knight of the Grecian Bond." 
After the contest was over, the judges reported that two of 
the knights had tied for the first prize, each having taken 
off the same number of rings and the greatest number. 

These knights were ■ of Sumner County, who was 

the champion of many similar contests, and William 11. 
When they entered the arena for the final struggle there 
was the utmost enthusia.sm. The excitement was so intense 
and the sympathy with William H. so extensive (his com- 
petitor having received several prizes theretofore and being 
from another county) that he became nervous and lost the 
first prize. He won the second, however, which was pre- 
sented with great ceremony by the judges. 

In June, 1869, his health having been thoroughly re- 
stored, William H. re-entered Washington College and took 
the summer course. He joined the Plioenix Literary So- 
ciety, was elected its orator for the annual celebration, and 
delivered an oration, in the presence of Gen. Lee and a 
large audience, in the college chapel on the 6th day of Sep- 
tember, 1869. 

At the close of the session in June, 1870, the degree of 
"Distinguished Undergraduate" was conferred upon him, 
and he lel't Washington College finally. 

Upon his return home he was shown the following letter 
to his father from Gen. Loe : 




/ 




BIOGRAPHIES. 



455 



"Washington College, Lexington, Va., June 2S, 1870. 
" F. W. Washington, Esq., Murfrcesboro', Tcnn. 

" Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure of communicating to 
you the action of the faculty of AVashington College com- 
mending your son William H. Wasliington for his distin- 
guished industry and success in his studies during the late 
session. With best wishes for his future welfare, 
" I am, respectfully, 

"R. E. Lee, 

" President:' 

In September, 1870, he entered the senior class of Union 
University, and graduated in June, 1871. 

In July the annual convention of the Sigma Alpha 
Epsilon fraternity, composed of delegates from all parts of 
the South, assembled in Nashville, Tenn. William H. at- 
tended as a delegate, and entered the contest for the gold 
medal oifered for the best oration delivered before the 
convention. He won the medal by the unanimous de- 
cision of the three judges selected by the convention to 
award it. 

In January, 1872, having chosen the law as his profes- 
sion, he became a student of the Lebanon Law School. 
While there he joined the Philomathian Literary Society, 
and was elected one of the four debaters to contest, in a 
public debate, for the gold medal to be awarded to the best 
debater. On the evening of the 10th of May the debate 
took place. The judges were the Hon. Player Martin, Hon. 
William G. Brien, and Hon. R. McPhail Smith, all of the 
Nashville bar. The question was : " Resolved, That the 
right of suifrage should be extended to women." William 
H. had the affirmative, and was beaten. Hon. R. McPhail 
Smith decided for him, and Messrs. Player Martin and Wil- 
liam G. Brien for one of his competitors. A few days 
after the debate he received a handsome edition of " Ten- 
nyson's Poems," accompanied by the following letter from 
Hon. R. McPhail Smith, one of the most scholarly and 
accomplished members of the Nashville Bar : 

" Do me the favor to accept the little volume which I 
send . . . and to read closely and carefully the poem of 
' The Princess,' where you will find treated with wisdom 
steeped in ethereal hues the general subject of which the 
question of your recent discussion is a branch. I present 
it as a slight tribute to the talent displayed in your argu- 
ment of Friday night, to which my judgment would un- 
hesitatingly have awarded the prize of the contest. I am 
familiar with the topic of discussion from having looked 
into the literature of it, and also having heard it discussed 
by the women themselves, and I was therefore prepared to 
appreciate the neatness of your succinct presentation of the 
points involved, as well as the judgment with which you 
■refrained from lugging in anything irrelevant to the special 
issue in controversy. Without in any wise disparaging the 
highly creditable effijrts of your competitors, I pronounced 
you with emphasis to have been 'primus inter pares.' . . . 
I think you will agree with me that ' The Princess' is an 
exquisite combination of subtle thought, rich condensation 
of expression, artistic narrative, pathos, and fairy-like purity, 
— all fu.sed together with wondrous poetic tact. It is a 
great favorite of mine. I suppo.se I have read it a dozen 



times. It will amply repay, and indeed it requires for full 
appreciation of its manifold felicities, repeated perusal. 

" In conclusion, I feel impelled to compliment the man- 
liness and good taste with which you bore the bitterness of 
defeat." 

In September, William H. entered the senior class of the 
Law Department of the University of Michigan, Ann Ar- 
bor, Mich., and graduated with the degree of " Bachelor 
of Laws" on the 27th day of March, 1873. On the 10th 
day of April he commenced the practice of the law in the 
city of Murfreesboro', Tenn. 

In the year 1878 he embarked in the canvass for the 
office of attorney-general for the Nashville District, com- 
posed of the counties of Davidson and Rutherford. There 
were soon eight competitors in the field, seven in Davidson 
and one in Rutherford. His competitor from Rutherford 
proposed to submit to the licensed lawyers of Rutherford 
County the question as to which should continue in the 
race from that county. The proposition was cordially ac- 
cepted, and the bar assembled in mass convention in response 
to the invitation. After organizing by electing Hon. Ed- 
win H. Ewing chairman, a ballot was taken, which resulted 
in the selection of William H. by a vote of twenty-seven 
to five for his competitor. 

Near the close of an arduous canvass, and about a month 
before the day of the election, the Republicans having 
threatened to put a candidate in the field, the Democracy of 
both counties called a joint convention, which assembled in 
Nashville, and nominated William H. Washington for the 
office of attorney-general. On the first day of August, 
1878, he was elected attorney-general of the Nashville 
District for the term of eight years from the first day of 
September thereafter. 



ANDREW E. BURR. 

The subject of this sketch is descended from the cele- 
brated Burr family, of Fairfield Co., Conn., noted for its 
long line of eminent and honored men, among whom was 
the brilliant jurist and statesman Aaron Burr, Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

The genealogy of this family in America dates back to 
the landing of Winthrop's fleet in 1630, when Jehu Burr, 
the first of his race in this country, landed and settled at 
Roxbury, Mass. He subsequently became one of the pio- 
neers of Springfield, Ma.ss., and later of Fairfield Co., Conn. 

Andrew Eliot Burr was born in the city of New York 
Aug. 27, 1833. He came to Nashville in 1869, and has 
since been engaged in receiving, compressing, and forward- 
ing all the cotton coming to and going from the city of 
Nashville under contracts from the Louisville and Nash- 
ville and the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Compa- 
nies. About one hundred thousand dollars are invested in 
the business in Nashville, and eighty hands are employed. 
Mr. Burr, in connection with his brother, John T. Burr, 
also conducts a like interest in the city of Memphis. 

Mr. Burr's father, Jonathan S. Burr, removed from Fair- 
field Co., Conn., to New York in 1825, and pursued an 
active business career until 1877. He was a son of Ger- 



•156 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



shorn Burr, who, father and mother dying in infancy, was 
reared by Thaddeus Burr, of Fairfield. Thaddeus Burr 
early espoused the colonial cause during the Revolution, 
and was an active and influential citizen. He was an inti- 
mate friend of John Hancock, and it was at his residence 
that Hancock was married to Dorothy Quincey. The notice 
reads as follows : 



" Sept., 1775, on the 28th ult., was married at the seat 
of Thaddeus Burr, Esq., by the Rev. Andrew Eliot, the 
Hon. John Hancock, Esq., Pres't of the Continental Con- 
gress, to Miss Dorothy Quincey, daughter of Edmund 
Quincey, Esq., of Boston." 

Hancock was on his return from presiding over the 
Continental Congress at Philadelphia. 




ISAAC PAUL. 



Isaac Paul was in several respects a remarkable man. 
He was born in Montgomery Co., Ky., March 10, 1806. 
He was apprenticed to Mr. Austin, a brick-mason, and 
came to Nashville when he was a youth. Having served 
his time he began business for himself, and for years 
enjoyed prosperity as brick-mason and builder. He formed 
a copartnership with James M. Murrell. The two, having 
great energy and unlimited credit, did an estensive and 
profitable business and acquired large property. In the 
mean time Mr. Paul rose to position in society, acquired 
reputation, and had the confidence of the people. He 
served as member of the City Council, was mayor of South 
Nashville while it was a separate corporation, a member of 
the Board of Education, and for many years an acting jus- 
tice of the peace and member of the County Court. 

In early life he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and was a devoted and consistent Christian till death. He 
was a pioneer Sunday-school worker, superintending a large 
and flourishing Sunday-school most of his life, first in a 
warehouse, next in a log cabin, then in a school-house, and 
finally in a church. 



College Hill, Elysian Grove, Mulberry Street, and Elm 
Street Churches all shared the benefit of his arduous 
labors. 

Mr. Paul was a man of large liberality ; he had a hand 
in every good work. In promoting the interests of Nash- 
ville in schools, in church-building, in aiding young men, in 
contributions to the poor, in relieving the needy, in every 
public and benevolent enterprise, Mr. Paul was among the 
foremost. 

His' moral character was above reproach, and his closing 
hours marked by peace and complete Christian triumph. 

Mr. Paul was twice married, — first to Miss Nance, a 
most estimable lady, belonging to an old and respectable 
family of Davidson County ; secondly, to a Miss Menifee, 
an excellent Christian lady, who survives him. His gen- 
erosity led him to indorse for many who imposed upon his 
kind nature. This finally exhausted his large estate, leav- 
ing him with but a meagre income. In the days of his 
adversity he maintained his purity of character, and died 
lamented Oct. 21, 1876. He left his children the savor of 
a "ood name. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



457 



WILLIAM J. McMURRAY. 

William J. McMurvay is of Scotch-Irish descent. His 
great-grandfather came to this country and settled in Ken- 
tucky at an early time. In 1785 he married Miss Kin- 
kade, whose father was an Irishman, and mother of Welsh 
descent. In 1790 they emigrated to Tennessee, and settled 
six miles from Nashville on the old Lebanon road, on the 
farm now owned by the Gen. Gillem heirs, where he was 
killed by the Indians in the year 1792. 

Samuel, the second son, married Levicy Morton, and had 
eight children, — five sons and three daughters. The oldest 
of these was John, father of the subject of this sketch. 
He was born and reared in the Sixth Civil District of Da- 
vidson County, on the farm now owned by the Rev. W. A. 
Whitsett, where he received a fair common-school educa- 
tion. 

In 1836 he married Mary J. Still, who resided just 
across the line, in Williamson County, where he after- 
wards purchased a farm and spent the remainder of his life 
in farming and school-teaching. He died at the age of 
thirty-seven years, leaving a wife and seven children, of 
whom four are living and three are deceased : Sallie A., 
died in 18G3 ; Samuel J., who was sergeant-major in the 
Twenty-fourth Tennessee Volunteers, was killed at the 
battle of Franklin, Tenn ; the third is our subject, William 
J. ; Lucy Ellen, now married ; John H., a successful drug- 
'gist in Edgefield; and Thomas M., a physician at Nolens- 
ville, Williamson Co. 

The mother of this family was born near Danville, Pitt- 
sylvania Co., Va., emigrated at the age of nine months 
with her parents to the farm in Williamson County, where 
she was brought up, married, and reared her family, until 
1871, when she broke up housekeeping, and has since 
lived with her sou, William J. She is also of Irish de- 
scent. 

William J. McMurray was born Sept. 22, 1842, being the 
same month and same day of the month on which his father 
was born. His father being a teacher, he was placed at 
-school early, but at the age of nine years his father died 
involved, by becoming surety and by other debts, so that all 
the property he left was one hundred and fifty acres of land. 
Upon this William performed important services, sustain- 
ing a widowed mother and younger brothers and sisters up 
to the breaking out of the civil war. 

At this time he was eighteen years of age. He joined a 
company raised by Col. Joel A. Battle, — the " Zollicoflfer 
Guards." This company was mustered into service May 
17, 1861, and went into camp of instructions at Camp 
Trousdale, near the Kentucky line. It was afterwards or- 
ganized with the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment, of which 
its captain was elected colonel, and was placed in Gen. 
ZoUicoffer's brigade. Our young friend participated in all 
the battles of Gen. Zollicofier's campaign in East Tennes- 
see and East Kentucky in 1861-62. 

At Cumberland Ford, in 1861, he was promoted from 
the ranks to first corporal. The first time he was under 
fire was at Wild Cat, in East Kentucky. In that engage- 
ment was an old Mexican veteran by the name of John 
Smith, who was next to McMurray, and had been under 



fire many times. McMurray asked Smith to watch him 
and not let him run if he showed any disposition to do so. 

After the battle at Mill Springs, Corp. McMurray was 
elected second sergeant by his company, and served for 
several months as orderly sergeant. 

The brigade was put under the command of Col. Stat- 
ham, colonel of the Fifteenth Mississippi Regiment, marched 
to the battle-field of Shiloh,and was in that eventful engage- 
ment of 6th and 7th of April, 1862, as a part of Gen. John 
C. Breckinridge's division, which was held in reserve until 
late in the day. About one o'clock on the 6th it was 
ordered forward. 

The Twentieth Tennessee engaged the Twelfth Illinois, 
when a severe struggle of an hour ensued. During this 
time the Forty-fifth Tennessee Volunteers, who were next 
to the Twentieth Regiment on their left, became confused 
and fired a number of volleys into the left companies of the 
Twentieth. At this juncture the right wing of the Twen- 
tieth Regiment was flanked by the Federals, and was forced 
back some fifty yards, but was rallied by that bravest of 
brave commanders (Col. Battle) and carried back to the 
front again. While the struggle was going on in the midst 
of a dense smoke McMurray had loaded his gun and placed 
the butt between his feet, leaning forward on his piece, 
with the bayonet one inch from the right side of his head, 
when a minie-ball struck and bent it about half double, 
stunning McMurray considerably. When the fight had 
been going on for one hour a charge was ordered by Gen. 
Breckeuridge, and was executed handsomely. The Fed- 
erals broke, and where their lines were formed they lay 
three deep at one place. They ran for half a mile before 
they rallied. In the stampede McMurray captured a first 
lieutenant, and while taking him to the rear came across his 
prisoner's captain, who had been killed. The prisoner said 
he must get some papers out of his captain's pocket ; Mc- 
Murray told him he could not, but the prisoner said he 
would, and started towards the dead captain. McMurray 
cocked his Enfield rifle and pulled down on him, and he 
gave up the undertaking. He had the best of reasons. He 
and his captive were there in the bushes alone ; having dis- 
armed him, he suspected he wanted to arm himself from the 
captain. He then took the lieutenant and guarded him 
until Prentiss' brigade was captured, about four o'clock P.M. 
He then put him in with the other prisoners. 

The victors lay in the Federal camp that night, exhausted 
and worn out, and next morning, when day broke, they 
found that the troops they had handled so nicely the day 
previous had been reinforced by thirty thousand fresh 
troops under Gen. Buell ; and the next day the battle was 
a kind of " hide-and-seek fight" until late in the evening, 
when the Confederates withdrew to Corinth, and Gen. 
Breckeuridge covered the retreat and lay near the battle- 
field three or four days. The ZollioolFer Guards lost in 
the battle nineteen men killed and wounded out of sixty- 
four. 

After the battle of Shiloh the Confederate army was re- 
organized, and young McMurray elected second lieutenant 
of his company, and made a fine reputation as a drilled 
officer. He served in this capacity until near the close of 
the war, when he was promoted to first lieutenant. 



458 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



His regiment next went to Vicksburg, and during the 
firet siege of that city, while quartering in a warehouse near 
the bank of the river, the enemy threw a huge shell that 
burst over the building, and a fifty-pound fragment came 
crushing through the roof and fell between Capt. Guthrie 
and Lieut. McMurray, who were lying on the same blanket. 

After passing through the campaign of Mississippi and 
Alabama, in the summer of 1862 his regiment was carried 
back to Murfreesboro', Tenn., and participated in the mem- 
orable battle at that place. During the first day's fight his 
command was engaged on the Nashville pike, where hard 
fighting was done. The second day, while McMurray was 
standing by a cedar-tree, a cannon-ball took it off a few 
feet above his head. The third day he participated in that 
bloody charge made by Gen. Breckenridge on Friday even- 
ing, when he lost half of his division ; in the charge Lieut. 
McMurray laid off his sword and took a gun. 

As the division moved forward to the charge through an 
open field some four hundred yards wide, the Federals were 
lying in a skirt of woods in two lines, about thirty paces 
behind a fence, and when the Confederates had advanced to 
seventy-five yards of their lines, they rose and fired a volley 
of death into their ranks, in which was swept away the 
man just on McMurray's left. The Confederates moved to 
the fence and were ordered to lie down, and as it happened 
McMurray occupied a panel of the fence alone. He shot 
at one of three Federals who were standing by a bending 
tree, and as he turned over on his back to load one of these 
fired at him and cut off a number of splinters across his 
breast, and as he fired the third shot a second ball from the 
enemy cut ofi' another piece of rail by his left breast. 

The Confederates then moved forward, and in the charge 
a Minie-ball struck him in the left breast, making a wound 
some five inches long over the fifth rib, and passing between 
a pocket-Bible in his coat-pocket and his heart. This 
stunned him so that he was left on the field all night till 
near break of day. He crawled to an old deserted cabin, and 
was there found by his Captain and surgeon, who had been 
searching the battle-field for him, and dressed his wound. 
He was afterwards detailed as a conscripting ofiScer and 
put on Gen. Pillow's staif, where he remained until the 
spring campaign of 1863, when he participated in the bat- 
tles of Hoover's Gap, Bethpage Bridge, and Chickamauga. 
At the latter place he was thought to have been mortally 
wounded while charging a battery, but recovered during 
the winter and reported for duty at Dalton, Ga., when the 
spring fights opened again. 

When the first shell fell in his regiment in that cam- 
paign he was heard to say " Welcome, thrice welcome, thou 
unfriendly visitor." He participated in the following bat- 
tles of that campaign : Rockface Gap, Resaca,* Dallas, 
Pine Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, and Peachtree Creek 
(22d July), this being the battle in which the Federal Gen. 
McPherson was killed. 

■••■'At this place be was wounded in the left foot. As his regiment 
moved into the charge Lieut. McMurray went in singing one of those 
familiar Southern songs : 

" And now, young man, a word to you : 
If you would win the fair, 
Go to the field were honor calls, 
And win your lady there." 



On Aug. 5, 1864, while engaged in a skirmish in front 
of Atlanta, McMurray lost his left arm. He soon recov- 
ered from the amputation, and his friends tried to persuade 
him to return home, as he had been so badly used up, but 
he answered, " No ; there is yet something I can do ; 
when the old ship goes down, I want to be on the last 
plank." So he stayed with the army and received his 
parole of honor on May 17, 1865, just four years to the 
day from the time he entered the service. 

On his return home he was arrested three times by the 
Federals, — once at Clarksville, while on board of a boat. 
He was reported to a Federal major as having used some 
disrespectful language about President Lincoln ; so he ar- 
rested him with the intention of having him tried by 
court-martial. When this was known on board, his Con- 
federate friends (some of whom are now living in this city, 
— viz.. Marsh Pinkard, Dr. John W. Morton, Sr., now dead, 
Harry Martin, and Capt. Douglass, of Sumner County) 
rallied around him, and told the officer that he was misin- 
formed, and that he should not be taken off the boat ; so 
the major abandoned his proposition. Again McMurray 
was arrested for the same offense when he arrived at Nash- 
ville, but soon convinced the authorities that it was a mis- 
take. Two hours later he was arrested for wearing his 
Confederate uniform on the street. He told the officer in 
charge that he had no money to buy clothes with, and they 
were all he had, and he was forced to wear them. His 
conduct was so ingenuous and fearless that he was released 
on the spot, and arrived at his home June 2, 1865, laying 
aside the Confederate garb forever. 

On reaching home he found that the Federal soldiers had 
stripped his widowed mother and her young children of 
everything that could be carried away. On the second day 
after his return he went to work in the field with one hand. 
He matured his plans and shaped his course at once. He 
determined to educate himself, but had to make the money 
first. He succeeded in getting a few dollars together, and 
entered the excellent school of Professor Didiot, at Nolens- 
ville, where he managed to continue for nearly two years, 
in the mean time making a little money at spare opportuni- 
ties. 

In the fall of 1867 he began reading medicine with the 
firm of William M. Clark (now of the Nashville Banner) 
and T. G. Shannon, now practicing in East Nashville. He 
continued this study for one year, not knowing where the 
money was to come from to carry him through the approach- 
ing lectures, but was trusting to luck. Ten days before lec- 
tures began an old friend met him in the road and told him 
that he had been watching his efforts and wished to assist 
him, and that he had a thousand dollars in gold at his com- 
mand. This McMurray refused, but said that he would be 
glad to get a less amount in greenbacks, which was promptly 
handed him. 

He then left for the lectures at Nashville, where he made 
a reputation as a student, and graduated in anatomy the 
first winter and stood at the head of the anatomical class for 
two years. He was elected vice-president of the medical 
society of the University of Nashville, that being the high- 
est position a student was allowed to hold in it. He was 
then made chairman of a committee that overhauled all the 




m, 



v^. 





BIOGRAPHIES; 



459 



old papers of the society and got up a new set of by-laws. 
At the dose of liis second course he was elected valedicto- 
rian without a dissenting voice. 

Having acquitted himself honorably at college, lie went 
immediatoly into practice, bought thirty dollars' worth of 
drugs on thirty days' time, and expected to pay for them from 
his practice, and made known his intention to one of his 
preceptors, who told him that he would not get a call in 
thirty days. But he did get calk, did make the money, 
and did pay the debt at the stated time. 

He began practice in 1869 at Flat Rock, three miles 
from Nashville, on the Nolensville pike. His first year's 
practice, except enough for a scanty support, was absorbed 
in paying a security debt. He practiced there for three 
j-oars, doing a very large business, when, on account of the 
severe exercise of liorseback-riding (he having been badly 
wounded in the leg), he was compelled to abandon his 
country practice and remove to the city. A short time 
after he had located in Nashville, he was appointed phy- 
sician to the county jail. He was appointed twice by the 
jailer, three times by the sheriff, and elected twice by the 
County Court. 

Dr. McMurray was united in marriage on Oct. 22, 1872, 
to Miss Fannie May McCampbell, who was born in this 
city in 1854, and raised near the Hermitage. 

Miss McCampboll's mother was a Miss Gowdy, the 
daughter of Thomas Gowdy, an Irishman, who fought 
under Wellington at Waterloo. On her paternal side she 
is a descendant of the McCampbells and Andersons, of 
Knoxvillc, Tenn., whose legal talents have always ranked 
high. Her father, Thomas McCampbell, represented the 
Knoxvillc District in the State Senate when quite a young 
man. After his marriage he withdrew from the profession, 
and spent the remainder of his life in farming. 

Mrs. McMurray is a woman of rare strength of mind 
and character. She graduated with honor at Dr. Ward's 
seminary in 1871, and married the next year. 

The fruit of this marriage is only one child, Addie Blor- 
ton, born June 30, 187G. 

Dr. McMurray was elected alderman in 1876 to repre- 
sent the Eighth Ward of the city in the Common Council, 
and while a member presented the first bill establishing the 
island filter of the city water-works. 

Having only one arm, the other being off at the shoul- 
der, the doctor would naturally be expected to avoid all 
surgical operations, especially those of a difficult nature, 
but, true to his leading characteristic, — to never surrender, — 
he has never failed to perform successfully every surgical 
operation which has I'allcn to his lot in an extensive 
practice. 

■ The doctor never attached himself to any church until 
1863 while in the army, but was always moral ; and during 
four years of wild war he never drank any spirits, swore an 
oath, played at cards, bet, nor used tobacco. 

Dr. McMurray is a man who never forgets past favors 
I or old friends. Instances of his lasting appreciation of 
1 favors shown him when quite young might be given did 
space permit. 

Prof. Didiot says of him as a student that he was prompt 
in every duty, always respectful and obedient to his teacher, 
18 



generous and amiable towards his male companions, and 
gentlemanly in his bearing towards the girls; that he 
always knew his lessons, and was the best scholar of his 
grade that he ever had. 



THOMAS N. FRAZIER. 

Thomas N. Frazier was born on the 24th day of May, 
1810, in the county of Greene and State of Tennessee. 
His paternal grandfather, Samuel Frazier, was of Scotch • 
descent. He married Rebecca Julian, and they emigrated 
from North Carolina to Greene Co., Tenn., shortly after the 
close of the Revolutionary war. He was a member of the 
Constitutional Convention which framed the first constitu- 
tion for the State of Tennessee. His eldest son, Abncr, 
came with him, and settled in Greene County, where he mar- 
ried Mary Edmonson, by whom he had five children, to 
wit : Samuel, Rebecca, Abner, Thomas N., and Beriah. 
Abner Frazier, Sr., was a farmer of moderate circumstances; 
he did all his means would permit to educate his chil- 
dren, and succeeded in giving his eldest son, Samuel, who 
was a cripple, a liberal education, graduating at Washing- 
ton College, Tennessee. His other children received an 
ordinary education at the common schools of the county. 
His two youngest sons, Thomas N. and Beriah, succeeded, 
by their own exertions, in attending Greenville College for 
two years, during which time they applied themselves with 
sreat assiduity to the study of the sciences and the Latin 
language. Thomas N. Frazier, after his short collegiate 
course, went to Kha Co., Tenn., where he studied the pro- 
fession of the law with his. brother, Samuel, who was then 
attorney-general for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of the 
State of Tennessee. He obtained a license and commenced 
the practice of his profession in 1836 ; shortly after he was 
appointed clerk and master of the Chancery Court at Pike- 
ville, Bledsoe Co., Tenn., which office he held for about ten 
years, in the mean time applying his leisure time to the 
practice of law in the Circuit Courts of the district where 
he resided. After this he resigned the office, and applied 
himself exclusively to the practice of his profession until 
the breaking out of the late war. He early attached him- 
self to the cause of temperance, and diligently applied him- 
self to the advancement of its principles by precept and 
example during the whole course of his life. In politics 
he was an unicavcring Whig. When secession began to be 
publicly advocated, ho espoused the cause of the Union, 
and resisted the doctrine of secession to the utmost of 
his ability. When the Legislature of Tennessee ordered 
an election for members to a convention for the purpose of 
determining whether the State should secede or not, and 
also to submit to vote the question of a convention or no 
convention, Thomas N. Frazier was run as a Union can- 
didate for a seat in the convention, and was elected by an 
overwhelming majority ; the convention was, however, de- 
feated, and none was ever held. The State afterwards se- 
ceded, and those opposed to secession were compelled to 
submit. Frazier acquiesced, but took no part in the Rebel- 
lion, and, deeming it unsafe to remain in Bledsoe County, 
removed to Rutherford County in the spring of 1861. 



460 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Soon after lie settled in Rutherford County he was appointed 
judge of the Criminal Court for the counties of DLividson, 
Rutherford, and Montgomery, by Andrew Johnson, who 
was then Governor of Tennessee, and held the office under 
this appointment until 1867. He resided in Rutherford 
County two years, and then removed to Davidson County 
in January, 1866. 

In 1866 there was an extraordinary session of the General 
Assembly convened by the proclamation of Governor Brown- 
low for the purpose of ratifying or rejecting a certain amend- 
ment to the Constitution of the United States. A number 
of the members-elect were opposed to the amendment and 
lailed to attend, and when the House of Representatives 
attempted to organize it was found that there was no quo- 
rum present. After waiting and adjourning from day to 
day for some time, the members present, by their Speaker, 
issued warrants for the arrest of the absent members, and 
two of them were arrested and brought to the Capitol in 
custody. A petition for a writ of habeas corpus for their 
release was presented to Thomas N. Frazier, then judge of 
the Criminal Court for Davidson County, who granted tlie 
same, and the question was argued at length before him, 
who was of the opinion that there was no law in the State of 
Tennessee authorizing a part of the Legislature less than a 
quoium in either branch to enforce by warrant or otherwise 
the attendance of absent members, and that the arrest of 
members was simply illegal and void; consequently the 
prisoners were discharged. For this opinion and judgment 
the Legislature of 1867 preferred articles of impeachment 
against him ; the same was heard by the Senate, and after 
a protracted, useless, and one-sided trial, the charges were 
sustained by a majority of the Senate, the office declared 
vacant, and the judge disqualified from ever holding office 
again in Tennessee. The next Legislature of the State of 
Tennessee, however, were of a different opinion, and by an 
act passed on the 11th of November, 1869, the impeach- 
ment and conviction were declared " unjust and undeserved, 
and calculated to injure an honest man, a pure patriot, and 
an upright and incorruptible judge, and the pains, penalties, 
and disqualifications imposed by said impeachment were re- 
moved, and Judi;e Frazier was restored to ail the ri<rhts, 
privileges, and immunities of other citizens, as though said 
impeachment had never occurred." And the Constitutional 
Convention which was held in 1870 fully ratified and con- 
firmed the previous act of the Legislature removing said 
disabilities, and also providing for an election to fill all the 
offices in the State under the new constitution. 

Mr. Frazier was a candidate for the same office of crim- 
inal judge, from which he had been expelled by unjust im- 
peachment, and at the regular election in August, 1870, he 
was elected by a handsome majority ; and Governor Senter, 
who had been one of his most active prosecutors in the 
impeachment case, signed his commission as such judge. 
And so the character and conduct of Judge Frazier was 
most triumphantly vindicated by the act of the Legislature, 
the Constitutional Convention, and the vote of the people • 
he held the office for the full term of eight years, and then 
retired to his farm in the Second Civil District in Davidson 
County, whore he now resides. 

Thomas N. Frazier was twice married, first to Margaret 



A. Spring, on the 22d of September, 1839. She was a 
daughter of John Spring, who was one of the first settlers 
in Bledsoe Co., Tenn. She died on the 16th of November, 
1840. She left one cliild, Mary Ellen, who married Maj. 
George S. Deakins on the 9th of December, 1862, and died- 
on the 27th of September, 1863. His second wife was Mar- 
garet BI. Mclleynolds, whom he married on the 10th of 
April, 1845. She was the eldest daughter of Samuel Mc- 
lleynolds, of Bledsoe Co., Tenn. ; her father was of Irish 
descent ; he emigrated from the State of Virginia to Bledsoe 
County when quite young. He married Jane Hale, a 
daughter of Alexander Hale, a highly-esteemed citizen of 
Blount Co., Tenn. She had nine children, three of whom 
died in infancy; she died in 18-i-l. He afterwards married 
Anna Stephens, by whom he had three children. Ho died 
in 1865. He was a scientific and successful farmer, and 
by his industry and perseverance he had accumulated a 
large property before the war. He was a man of unim- 
peachable integrity, and highly esteemed by all who knew 
him. Blargaret M. Frazier was born on the 8th of Novem- 
ber, 1824. She has ever been a prudent, industrious, and 
exemplary wife, and an affectionate mother. She is the 
mother of five children, four of whom are now living, to 
wit : Samuel, Sallie, Rebecca, and James. 



GEN. ALVAN CULLEM GILLEM. 

Gen. Alvan Cullem Gillera was born in Jackson Co., 
Tenn., July 29, 1830, and died at his residence in David- 
son Co., Tenn., Dec. 2, 1875. What follows is quoted 
principally from memoirs of the deceased by ex-United 
States Senator Joseph S. Fowler : 

" The true hero is assured of a never-ending remembrance. 
Humanity is ever ready to commemorate worthy and hon- 
orable services rendered in its behalf This characteristic 
tends to ennoble those who pay the devotion, whilst it in- 
spires all witli the desire to make disinterested sacrifices in 
the interest of the race. 

" Among those who contributed so much to the cause of 
human liberty was Gen. A. C. Gillem. Only a brief allu- 
sion to some of his valuable services will now be attempted. 

" His parents had emigrated from Tennessee to North 
Carolina, and settled in a county remote from the ad- 
vantages of schools of the higher class. Young Gillem 
could obtain only the rudiments of an English course in 
his native county. His devotion to study and his rapid 
advancement induced his father to send him to Nashville, 
where he could secure the advantages of a liberal educa- 
tion. His industry, good morals, and intelligence attracted 
the attention of his representative in Congress, who nomi- 
nated him to a cadetship at West Point. He repaired 
promptly to the scene of his duties, and during his scho- 
lastic period manifested the same devotion to his studies 
and other duties that had heretofore marked his life. He 
secured his diploma June 18, 1851, and received his com- 
mission of second lieutenant in the First Artillery, Dec. 3, 
1851. March 3, 1853, he was promoted to first lieutenant. \ 
He served in the Florida, Texas, and various forts, until \ 
the Rebellion ; at this time he was at Key West. 



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BIOGRAPHIES. 



4GI 



"Lieut. Gilleui married Miss Margaret Jones, of Hamp- 
den, Vu., an accomplished and beautiful lady, whose family 
was among the most worthy of that State. Five children 
blessed their union, three of whom were left to the care 
and devotion of their noble mother, who has since died. 
Gen. Gillera loved his family with supreme tenderness. 
No hour that could be spared from his professional duties 
was withheld from them and their interests. He superin- 
tended. the education of liis children by explaining their 
lessons and seeing that they properly understood them, 
and directing their minds to the importance of intellectual 
culture and refinement. His energies were stimulated and 
economy rigidly practiced with a view to provide for their 
support in case he should bo called to leave them. 

" He was six feet in height, remarkably well-propor- 
tioned, and gracefully formed. His temperament was 
active, and his muscles of purest steel ; his brain was large, 
his forehead high, his eyes bright, cheerful, and full of 
genial friendship; his mind was quick of apprehension, and 
his will, strong, followed instantly his convictions. His 
imagination, active and creative, lifted bin) above the ordi- 
nary level of life. . . . 

"He was commissioned July 12, ISGl, assistant quarter- 
master with the rank of captain in the regular army. He 
served on the staiF of Gen. Thomas at the battle of Mill 
Springs, Ky., early in 18G2. After this campaign, Capt. 
Gillem was assigned to the staff of Gen. Buell, who now 
marched on Nashville. Capt. Gillem was Buell's quarter- 
master during his campaign, which terminated at the dis- 
persion of the army after the fruitless siege at Corinth. 
After this Governor Johnson offered Capt. Gillem the com- 
mand of the First Middle Tennessee Infantry, and he was 
commissioned colonel of volunteers. May 13, 1862. A 
new and important duty awaited him at Nashville. He 
was made adjutant-general of the State. In addition to 
these duties, he commanded a brigade during the autumn 
of 1862, and also served as provost-marshal of the city. 
Upon the arrival of Gen. Rosecrans, he desired Col. Gillem 
to accept the command of a brigade in his army, but Gov- 
ernor Johnson could not dispense with his services. Aug. 
17, 1863, he was commissioned brigadier-general of volun- 
teers, and assigned to the command of the Fourth Cavalry 
Division of tlie Army of the Cumberland. During this 
year he completed the railroad to the Tennessee River, 
which gave the army two lines of road to secure its supplies. 
April 1, 1804, he was appointed under the direct orders 
ot Governor Johnson to the command of an expedition to 
East Tennessee. The Governor had long desired the occu- 
pation of East Tennessee by the national arms. The people 
were generally firm Unionists and inflexible in their devo- 
tion. The forces led by Gen. Gillem were men who, after 
two years' exile, now returned to reoccupy their homes 
and collect again their scattered families. Gen. Gillem, 
having arrived in East Tennessee after severe marches 
through the mountains, had several severe engagements 
with the rebels, principally with those under the rebel Gen. 
Morgan, resulting in the death of the latter and the occu- 
pation at this time of Greenville by the Union forces, af- 
terwards, in conjunction with Gen. Stoneman, capturing 
Salisbury, N. C, with two thousand prisoners and eighteen 



pieces of artillery. The history of the war records no in- 
stance of greater activity on the part of any body of troops. 
The field of operations was in the most rugged and inacces- 
sible part of the country. The season was the most in- 
clement of the year. 

" The war now closing, new duties were emerging from 
the dreadful chaos produced by its sad ravages. 

" Early in the year 1865 an effort was made to re- 
store civil order in Tennessee by an amendment to the 
constitution and the election of civil officers to supply the 
military rule. Gen. Gillem was returned as a member of 
the Legislature to represent his native county, and took his 
seat in the body, but soon resigned to attend to his military 
duties. He was assigned to the command of East Ten- 
nessee/ 

" We must pass by his duties in Mississippi as military 
superintendent of the Freedman's Bureau and abandoned 
lands, etc. He was also proconsul of that State. 

" ' Bright,' says his biographer, ' as was his military his- 
tory and his devotion to the flag of his country, they pale 
before his manly administration of Mississippi and Arkan- 
sas.' . . . 

"Gen. Gillem was assigned to the Department of Texas, 
where he served until the spring of 1871, when he was or- 
dered to Benieia, Cal. The intense labor of the past ten 
years and a chronic diarrhoea, contracted at Shiloh, began 
-to tell on his health. 

" His labors at his new post of duty were not the le.=s 
imperious in their demands. After the JModocs had estab- 
lished themselves in the Lava Beds, he was ordered to com- 
mand the expedition sent against them. His declining 
health was subject to too great a strain, and broke down 
under it. . . . He obtained leave of ab.sence and returned 
to his home in Tennessee, where he lingered on a decline 
until his death. . . . 

" Though his family and friends mourn the ab.sence of 
his sustaining and encouraging presence, his spirit will 
linger upon the battle-fields of the republic, and his illus- 
trious deeds become a part of her glories to cherish and 
perpetuate. In every sphere of life, in every transmutation 
I'rom the cradle to the grave, his character is not only with- 
out reproach, but glowing with all the active virtues of a 
noble manhood." 



JOHN LIVINGSTON HADLEY. 

Dr. John L. Hadloy was a native of North Carolina. 
His progenitors settled in that country while it was yet a 
colony of England. During the struggle for independence 
a deadly feud existed between all of the name and the 
Tories. In a night attack, directed by his voice, they shot 
the eldest member of the family through the head, killing 
him instantly. 

Of liis two sons, they at the same time captured the 
elder, John ; the younger, Joshua, made good his escape, 
and reappeared on the scene of action next morning barely 
in time to save his brother from death on the gallows. The 
gallows was utilized by hanging thereon those by whom it 
was constructed. The two brothers served throughout the 



4(52 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Revolutionary war, during wliich each was severely wounded, 
one at Brandywine, and the other at Germantown. 

The elder, John, married Slargaret Livingston, of which 
marriage the only issue was a son, John Livingston Hadley. 
In due time he was entered as student at the University of 
North Carolina. On completing the curriculum of that in- 
stitution he studied medicine under the tutelage of Dr. 
Benjamin Rush, of Pennsylvania. On receiving the de- 
gree of M.D. in the Sledical Department of the University 
of Pennsylvania he was at the instance of Dr. Rush ap- 
pointed surgeon in the navy, but declined the appointment. 
A few months subsequently war was declared with England 
(1812), and he was tendered, and accepted, the post of 
surgeon in the army, in which capacity he served until the 
conclusion of peace. 

The war being ended, he resigned his position, and, 
moving to Tennessee, married Amelia, daughter of Joshua 
Iladley, of Sumner County. He immediately entered into 
business with characteristic energy and industry, with the 
intelligent view that the interest of the individual went 
hand and hand and was inseparably connected with the 
welfare of the commonwealth. 

He at first (1815) gave his attention exclusively to the 
practice of his profession. Subsequently he engaged ex- 
tensively in agricultural pursuits ; was ever a zealous advo- 
cate of the cause of education, being one of the few mem- 
bers of the board of trustees of Nashville University who 
were prompt and active attendants of its meetings. 

In all the vicissitudes of an extended life, his conduct 
was a correct exponent of the view that the present state of 
existence is but probational, — the mere prelude of another. 



F. R. RAINS. 

To those familiar with the annals of our State, the name 
of Rains suggests the staunch protector of her capital in its 
earliest infancy. But, aside from any historical association, 
no name is more worthy of praiseful mention than that of 
F. R. Rains, for in his character we find many of the crown 
jewels necessary to every successful life. 

A man of rare judgment, of irrepressible energy, he has 
" hewed to the line" of an unshaken purpose, and takes his 
rightful place now among those worthy to adorn the pages 
of our country's history. 

Newton, when the world was bending before him in 
amazed acknowledgment of his wonderful discoveries, said, 
" If I am anything, which I much doubt, I made myself 
such by hard work." So all the world over, in every ago, 
in all science and art and literature, it is not so much what 
the world calls genius, but energy, which makes a man rise 
above the common level. More and more, as we take a 
nearer view of the life before us, we find that success is 
owing to the energy of the man, — that ingredient in the 
human composition without which life remains an unful- 
filled promise. 

But before going farther with this personal history we 
turn back a century to where the name of Rains first appears 
in connection with that of Tennessee. 

In June, 1769, a party from North Carolina and Virginia 



was formed for the purpose of hunting over the western 
part of this State. In this company was John Rains, of 
Virginia, grandfather of the subject of this sketch. West- 
ward they traveled, reaching Cumberland River at that 
point which was afterwards the crossing-place leading to 
Kentucky. They continued their course until they came 
to a place since called Price's Meadow, in Wayne County. 
This, being in an open country and near a fine spring, 
seemed a desirable place for a camp, and ihey concluded to 
return here at the end of every five weeks and deposit their 
game and .skins. They separated, taking dlflFerent courses, 
all, however, tending to the southwest. The hunt was con- 
tinued eight or nine months, over trackless miles of luxu- 
riant grasses, with no signs of human existence except an 
occasional attack from the skulking red man. 

In October, 1779, Mr. John Rains left New River, Vir- 
ginia, for Kentucky, where he intended settling, but before 
going very far ho met Capt. James Robertson, who per- 
suaded liim to go to Cumberland with him. Others in 
small parties, some of them the hunters of 1709, were 
moving to the same place. In January, 1780, they came 
opposite the bluff where Nashville now stands. The winter 
of 1779-80 is alluded to as the cold winter. Snow had 
fallen, and the Cumberland was frozen over for many 
week.s. Mr. Rains, with his family and all Jiis stock, 
crossed the river on the iee, leaving the remainder of the 
party on the opposite shore. His children never forgot 
this occasion, but delighted, in after-years, the ears of his 
children and children's children with the wonderful story 
of having been drawn across the river on bears' skins used 
as sleds. Some of the emigrants settled on the north side of 
the river, but the greater number came over to the Nash- 
ville side and built block-houses and stockades. Mr. Rains 
on the same day of his crossing settled the lands known as 
Deadericks' Plantations. Here he remained three months, 
when, a huntci; being killed by the Indians, he removed to 
the Bluff for greater safety, living there four years before 
making his permanent home on his lands. Many wore the 
depredations of the Indians, who sought every opportunity 
to prove to the whites their undying liostility, irequontly 
waylaying and killing them in their fields. Mr. Rains' 
daughter Patsey, riding on horseback, with Miss Betsey 
Williams behind, was fired upon by the Indians ; the latter 
was killed, while the former escaped only by desperate riding. 
Some time later, when the number of the little party had 
been greatly increased by the arrival of other settlers and a 
company of troops sent for their protection. Col. Robertson 
was enabled to send out a patrol, whose duty it was to ex- 
amine the woods and the crossings of rivers for the trails of 
savages lurking in the neighborhood. At this time canes 
and weeds grew so thickly that anything passing through 
left a trail which a practiced eye easily detected and fol- 
lowed. One of the men forming tliis patrol was Capt. 
John Rains, "selected by Col. Robertson," says a contem- 
porary, '• because of the entire confidence he had learned to 
place in his diligence and prowess " Subsequently, " Capt. 
Rains raised a force of sixty men, marched southwardly, 
crossing Duck River and Swan Creek, and, turning south- 
east, came upon an Indian trail freshly made. Following it 
for some distance, he overtook and attacked a party of five 




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BIOGRAPHIES. 



463 



srrown savages and one boy, all of whom were killed except 
the boy, who was captured, and to whom was given the 
name of John Eains, by which he was ever afterwards 
called." 

Capt. Eains became noted for his vigilance and courage, 
and for his skill in detecting and following the trails of the 
savages, and was given entire command of the troops. 

These were turbulent times, — " times which tried men's 
souls," — destined, however, to be of short duration, and fol- 
lowed by peace and plenty and prosperity. 

John llains, Jr., about this time purchased a section of 
land eight miles south of Nashville, and lived the quiet life 
of the farmer. Plad necessity arisen, he doubtless would 
have manifested all the courage, daring, and high sol- 
dierly qualities which characterized his Aither ; but he lived 
in peaceful times, and his efforts were directed into other 
channels, and with his fixedness of purpose and decisive 
energy he became a most successful farmer, achieving victo- 
ries in other fields, believing and demonstrating that " Peace 
hath her victories no less renowned than those of war." 

Felix Kobertson Rains, subject of this memoir, was the 
sixth of thirteen children, and was born Jlarch 11, 1810, 
in the Eighth Civil District of Davidson County. Educa- 
tional advantages in those days were limited to the winter 
school of a few months in each year, but these few months' 
training he improved to the best advantage. He had time 
only for the simplest branches. A fifteen days' course in 
arithmetic was followed by an examination which would do 
credit in these days to a long acquaintance with mathe- 
matics. Becau.so of these disadvantages he was not fitted 
for a professional career, but his after-life, so crowded with 
business cares, shows that he must have improved the oppor- 
tunities he did have, and stored away a good deal in a very 
short time. Having never studied it, grammar, technically 
speaking, remained to him an unexplored mystery; but a 
wide-awake mind and a keen appreciation of " the eternal 
fitness of things" have gained for him much which comes 
to others only by laborious study. He looked not into the 
geography long enough to get the exact location of all the 
cities and the courses of all the rivers fixed in his mind, 
bat all his life he has known the social, political, and finan- 
cial route he was taking and where it would lead, and into 
Ills avocation he has brought those elements of manly 
character which dignify and exalt whatsoever path in life 
man may choose. Living 

" Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, 
His sober ivishes never learned to stray j 
Along the cool, sequestered vale of life 
He kept the even tenor of his way." 

He remained with his father until he was twenty-one 
years of age. Having early developed a capacity for busi- 
ness, he was honored with many positions of trust by his 
appreciative fellow-citizens. 

In looking over bis long, active life of willingly-accepted 
responsibilities, we feel that much of the grandfather's 
dauntless energy has descended to the third generation. 
Energy is the corner-stone of this character before us, the 
secret of this successful life, — well-directed, steady, perse- 
vering energy. 



Felix Robertson Rains, for more than five years, was 
sheriff of his county, was for a long time director of the 
Bank of Tennessee and a prominent member of the agri- 
cultural association, and was awarded a one-hundred-dollar 
pitcher by the State bureau for meritorious services in the 
cause of agriculture. 

Two attacks of paralysis have sadly impaired his once 
vigorous frame. For fifteen years he has boon a constant 
sufferer, but no weight of affliction has disturbed the steady 
balance of his mind. Day after day he is seen driving 
anywhere, everywhere, over his well-ordered place, directing 
and planning each day's undertakings. Although the phys- 
ical man has been so feeble, yet every branch of his largo 
business has been under his direct supervision. He is a 
living illustration of what can be accomplished by an un- 
swerving determination, despite the inroads of disease. 

About a mile from Nashville, upon a beautiful eminence, 
his house stands, almost in sight of the location of Rains' 
Station. Death has often broken into his household band, 
and one son has gone out from under the paternal roof to 
make a home for a wife and children of his own. We leave 
the subject of our sketch here. A glance over his well-kept 
place shows the agreement of it with the character of the 
man whose motto is heaven's first law. — order. Nor are 
his labors confined to his own home, for many, elsewhere, 
rise up and call him blessed for hi.s ready assistance in time 
of need. In the companionship of his wife, daughter, and 
son he is spending the remaining years of a long and useful 
life, and in the faithful ministrations of his family he finds 
the crowning comfort of his declining years. 

There is an inspiration to others in the history of every 
selfmade man ; so we gather up these fragments from the 
life of F. R. Rains and lay them with honored record 
among the names of tho.se worthy to occupy a place in our 
country's history. With this near view of bis character, its 
upright principles, its thorough honesty, its inflexible justice, 
and its untarnished moral purity, we say, " Who does the best 
his circumstances allow does well, — acts nobly; none others 
can do more." 



HIRAM VAUGHN. 

Hiram Vaughn is the representative of one of the im- 
portant pioneer families of Davidson County. His father, 
David Vaughn, came from North Carolina when a young 
man and settled on a small farm, where Michael Vaughn 
now lives. Here Hiram was born Nov. 27, 1S27. David 
Vaughn was a man of energy and perseverance ; from this 
small beginning be added other lands, until his farm cm- 
braced some two thousand acres of choice land under a 
good state of cultivation. He died in 1836, at sixty-four 
years of age, leaving a widow and six children, — four sons 
and two daughters, — the eldest of whom was only thirteen 
years of age. The responsibility of the family and the man- 
agement of the large farm fell upon the mother, who proved 
to be equal to the occasion, conducting her business affairs 
successfully, and bringing up the children with the strictest 
care and giving them all a liberal education. She was the 
daughter of Joshua Thomas, a farmer of Davidson County, 
who was killed at the battle of " Nickajack." 



4G4 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Hiram Vaughn was educated at the Nashville University, 
where he graduated in 1847. He chose the vocation of 
agriculture; settled upon a portion of the old farm, where 
he has since resided. 

Mr. Vaughn has also been interested in the growth and 
prosperity of Nashville, and a successful operator in real 
estate and stocks in that city. Politically, Blr. Vaughn was 
formerly a Whig, but not a politician. He was a member 
of the Tennessee Legislature in 1871. Has been twice mar- 
ried; his first wife was Catherine A. Hobbs; she died April 
14, 1853. He was again married, Jlay 13, 1858, to Mar- 
tha Ann Johnson, daughter of James Johnson. They 
have five children, — four sons and one daughter. 



DR. JAMES DACE PLUNKET. 

Dr. James Dace Plunket is of Irish parentage, and is de- 
scended on the paternal side from an ancestry many of whom 
liavc been distinguished in the service of State or Church. 
Among the former may be mentioned Lord Plunket, who 
was queen's counsel in the famous trial of Robert Emmett in 
1803, and among the latter might be enumerated many who 
have been priests and bishops in the Catholic Church in 
Ireland. His maternal ancestors were Scotch-Irish, from 
the North of Ireland, and were chiefly Protestants, being 
Covenanters, Seceders, or, in modern parlance, Presby- 
terians, many of them eminent divines in that church, to 
the memory of one of whom was erected and endowed by 
his mother the Magee College, located at Derry, Ireland. 

Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D., an uncle of Dr. Plunket, 
and graduate of Princeton University, was for a period of 
forty years pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, Charles- 
ton, S. C, and was a prolific author both of religious and 
scientific literature. He was noted for erudition and elo- 
quence. They were a hardy, ingenuous, intelligent, people, 
characterized by great energy and will-power, frank and 
bold in their expression, and strongly religious. 

Dr. J. D. Plunket was born in Franklin, Williamson 
Co., Tcnn., Aug. 20, 1839. He was the fourth child of a 
family of ten — four girls and six boys — which was given to 
James Plunket and Anna Smyth, the former from Edge- 
worth, County of Longford, and the latter from Belfast, 
Ireland. They came to the United States, she in early 
childhood, and he when a young man, and met in Pater- 
son, N. J., where they were afterwards married. 

James Plunket was for many years an extensive manufac- 
turer of cotton-mill machinery in Paterson, but during the 
great financial crash of 1832 his large fortune was utterly 
wrecked. His courage and determination were equal to the 
emergency, however, and he resolved to '• go AVest" and 
.begin life anew, and accordingly moved to Dayton, Ohio, 
where he resided four years. His naturally rare qualifica- 
tions, coupled with a splendid education, he being a graduate 
of Trinity College, Dublin, made him much sought after 
as a wise and safe counselor, and he was consulted far and 
near on difiieult ques:ionsof scientific mechanics. Having 
received a liberal offer to take charge "of the large cotton- 
mill and mercantile establishment located at Franklin, 
Tcnn., he accepted, and at once, moved his family to that 



place. But a short time elapsed until he became the lead- 
ing proprietor of that then mammoth concern. 

In a few months after the arrival of the family at this 
place, James Dace, the subject of this sketch, was born. 
Notwithstanding his physique was frail and enfeebled by 
successive attacks of illness, he early gave evidence of pos- 
sessing a bright, quick mind, and made rapid progress in 
his studies. His literary education was conducted under 
the direction of private tutors, supplemented by a collegiate 
course. In order to obtain an insight into the laws of trade, 
and to receive proper drilling in those two cardinal virtues, 
system and promptness, and which can only be acquired by 
a course of practical business training, he entered, at the 
age of fifteen, the wholesale mercantile establishment of 
Morgan & Co., of Nashville, where he remained three 
years, and then accepted a very liberal offer from Messrs. 
De Annan & Co , of New Orleans, commission merchants. 
He remained with them a year, and then, abandoning com- 
mercial pursuits, he began the study of his chosen profes- 
sion, medicine. In the fall of 1859 we find him a medical 
student in the office of Dr. George A. J. Blayfield, Nash- 
ville, Tenn. Twelve months afterwards he became the 
private pupil of Dr. Joseph Leidy, professor of anatomy 
in the University of Pennsylvania, in which institution he 
attended medical lectures, and from which he graduated 
with distinction, receiving the degree of M.D. in the spring 
of 18G3. During his two years and a half stay in Phila- 
delphia he spent his summer seasons as an interne in the 
large and famous hospitals of that city, and was thus af- 
forded abundant opportunity of applying those principles 
which he had been taught from the lecturer's desk. 

The war between the States had now become a serious 
affair,* and it was apparent to all that the struggle would 
be prolonged until one or the other side should become ex- 
hausted. 

Dr. Plunket resolved to at once offer his services to the 
Confederacy, — the land of his birth and the home of his 
nearest living relatives. When he arrived at Nashville an 
order had been issued by the provost-marshal of the United 
States army to the citizens of Nashville requiring them to 
take the oath of allegiance to the United States government 
or to register at his office to bo sent South. Dr. Plunket 
immediately registered to be sent South, and a few days 
afterwards he was one of a little company under Federal 
escort wending their way into "Dixie." On arriving 
within Confederate lines, he, upon the official invitation of 
Surg.-Gen. Moore, Confederate States army, appeared bo- 
fore a board of medical examiners at Charleston, S. C. 
With what credit he passed this examination may be seen 
from the following extract taken from an official notice sent 
him by this board the following day at his hotel : " Your 
examination was unesceptionably good, and it is with much 
regret that the board finds the existing law such as to 
forbid them the pleasure of unanimously recommending 
one so proficient to the department at Richmond for com- 
mission as full surgeon in Confederate States army." He 
was ordered to the Department of East Tennessee, and was 



»As the theory under which the ninety-day soldiers had been en- 
listed was abandoned. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



465 



assigned to duty as as'iistant surgeon in the " Frank A. 
llamsoy Hospital," at Knosville ; here he remained until 
the evacuation of East Tennessee, when he was ordered to 
Cassville, Ga., where the above-named hospital was re-estab- 
lished. Eight months afterwards Cassville was evacuated 
in that wonderful retreat of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston from 
Palton to Atlanta, when Dr. Plunket petitioned to be 
ordered into the field, and was assigned to duty with the 
Fortieth Georgia Regiment of Infantry, Gen. Stovall's Bri- 
gade, but was shortly afterwards transferred to the Fifty- 
second Regiment, same brigade, with which he continued 
to the close of the war, except during the time that he was 
twice a prisoner of war, being left with the wounded on the 
field after the battle of New Hope Church, and again at 
Columbia, Tenn., after the battles around Nashville and 
Franklin. 

After the surrender he returned to Nashville, where he 
arrived in May, 1865, and at once opened an oiEce and be- 
gan the practice of medicine. 

Having a marked fondness for sanitary science in its 
broadest significance, and finding Nashville in an extraordi- 
narily bad Sanitary condition, in consequence of the dis- 
banding of the Federal army, whieh had been in and around 
Nashville for the three past years, he soon began to agitate 
the formation of a local board of health, which took definite 
shape on June 4, 1S66, in the organization of the Nashville 
Board of Health, composed of ten of the leading physicians 
of the city as volunteers. 

Dr. Plunket was chosen secretary and executive ofiicer 
of the board. Notwithstanding it was near the end of July 
following before the City Council by proper enactment gave 
the board even legal existence, — denying it means, and cloth- 
ing it with very limited powers, — yet during the disastrous 
epidemic of cholera that swept the city six weeks later it 
was enabled to do much good by mitigating the efi'ects of 
unsanitary localities, and by allaying panic through wi.se 
and timely official counsel. This organization continued 
until the spring of 1869, when the city government was 
placed by the courts in the hands of a receiver on account 
of its having become a means of oppression and robbery 
to its citizens through the noted " Alden Ring." 

Upon the eve of the epidemic of 1873, by appointment 
of his honor the mayor, there was organized a " Sanitary 
Commission," composed of seven of the leading medical 
practitioners of Nashville. The services of Dr. Plunket 
were again called into requisition, and ho was made presi- 
dent of the commission, and by a vigorous and thorough 
disinfection of the city it is believed the stay of the pesti- 
lence was shortened and the number of its victims much 
reduced. In May, 1874, the Board of Health was re- 
organized, and of the four physicians elected by City Council 
to compose the board Dr. Plunket was one, and upon its 
organization was chosen its president. In June, 1876, he 
was unanimously elected health ofiicer, but declined to 
accept the ofiice, because of the pay being too small to 
justify him in giving up his practice. He continued, how- 
ever, an active member of the board to June, 1879, when 
he retired, declining re-election on the grounds of the ofiice 
being anon-paying one, and requiring sacrifices at his hands 
which he regretted he was unable to continue. 



The importance of a State Board of Health he had for 
many years urged, and, at his suggestion, at the meeting of 
the State Medical Association in 1874, a committee was 
appointed to petition the Legislature to establish such an 
organization. At first all cfibrts were unsuccessful, and it 
was not until March, 1877, when, through the almost 
unaided eflbrts of Dr. Plunkett, a bill was finally passed 
by the Legislature establishing " The State Board of 
Health of the State of Tennessee," authorizing the Gov- 
ernor to appoint a board consisting of " five physicians of 
skill and experience, regular graduates of medicine, who 
have been engaged in practice not less than ten years." 
Immediately upon the approval of the bill by the Governor, 
he notified Dr. Plunket of his appointment as a member of 
the board, and asked him to " name four other physicians 
through the State who would be worthy to receive and 
capable of discharging so high a trust, and he would com- 
mission them." With this request he complied ; and, upon 
organization. Dr. Plunket was unanimously elected presi- 
dent for the ensuing twelve months, and was re-elected for 
the four successive terms following. Immediately after 
the last election (May, 1880) he resigned the ofiice on 
account of the state of his health, and the steadily increas- 
ing duties of the ofiice interfering with his professional 
duties to such an extent as to render it necessary that he 
should do so. 

The trying and demoralizing scenes incident to the yellow 
fever epidemic which occurred at Memphis in 1879 
brought him, as president of the State Board of Health, 
prominently before not only the people of Tennessee, but 
of the entire Union, as the difficult and hitherto — in 
this country at least — untried experiment of quarantining 
a great inland city was assigned him. This, however, only 
served as an opportunity for him to display tlie remarkable 
executive, admini.-trative, and scientific abilities he pos- 
sessed, coupled with that courage and unwavering deter- 
mination which only belongs to one who, knowing his duty, 
dares to perform it. It was natural that in the enforce- 
ment of the rigid rules it was found necessary to prescribe 
he should be met with opposition and protest from some 
of those whose pecuniary and trade interests were, for 
the time being, embarrassed. This opposition in some in- 
stances found expression in the most vehement manner. 
Dr. Plunket was caricatured in every conceivable manner. 
Cartoons cleverly executed were displayed in shop-windows 
and in many public places ; he was even hung and burned in 
efiigy in the streets of Memphis. The press of the city, while 
not countenancing such extremes as this, after a time joined 
in the howl, and that, too, in terms that must subsequently 
have appeared absurd and puerile even to the writers them- 
selves. As the epidemic, with all its attendant horrors and 
excitements, passed away, and the great good effected by the 
rigid quarantine in confining the pestilence almost within the 
city limits became apparent, public opinion, with remark- 
able unanimity, indorsed the action of Dr. Plunket in 
daring to perform, in the face of sucli pronounced oppo- 
sition, this unpleasant duty. 

Through the efforts of Dr. Plunket there was held at 
Memphis, on June 30, 1879, a conference of representa- 
tives from the various Boards of Health in the Mississippi 



466 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Valley. Eighteen different States were represented, and 
the convention was resolved into " The Sanitary Council 
of the Mississippi Valley," with Dr. Pluukct as its presi- 
dent. The great wi-sdom and advantage of this union of 
effort was realized and fully appreciated during the epidemic 
of yellow fever which shortly after developed at Memphis. 

Dr. Plunket is a member of the "American Public Health 
Association,'" and has twice been elected a member of the 
executive committee of that body. He is a member of the 
"American A.ssociation for the Advancement of Science," 
and in 1878 was made chairman of the committee on me- 
teorology. He is a member of the " American Medical 
Association," is a member of the " Medical Society of the 
State of Tennessee," and from 1865 to 1875 was its per- 
manent secretary, and for the sixteen years ending April, 
1881, he has continuously served as treasurer. He is a 
member of the " Davidson County Medical Society," and in 
1868 was elected to the chair of surgical anatomy in the 
Medical Department of Cumberland University. In 1870 
he was elected alderman from the Third Ward of Nashville, 
and was chosen president of the City Council. After serv- 
ing several months in this relation he resigned. He is 
the author of several papers — " Disinfection of Sewers by 
Ozone," " Cotton as a Fomite" — and a number of articles 
scattered through medical journals and the secular press. 

On Nov. 19, 1872, he was united in marriage to Eliza 
Jane, youngest daughter of John Brevotte Swope and 
Frances Hunton, of Boyle County, Ky. There were born 
to them a daughter and a son, both of whom, however, 
died in infancy. 



JOHN ROBERTSON WILSON, M D. 

John Robertson Wilson, M.D , was born in South Caro- 
lina, on the 4th of April, 1799, and moved, when quite 
young, with his parents to Rutherford Co., Tcnn. He was 
the second of a large family of children, and, his parents 
being in very moderate circumstances, ho early learned the 
important lesson of sGlfdependence. His early education 
was obtained principally in a neighboring school. With 
an untiring energy and perseverance, which he possessed to 
the fullest degree, he mastered the classics and other branches 
of education preparatory to attending medical lectures, teach- 
ing school during the day and reading and studying until 
late at night, frequently by torchlight. 

His medical education was under the supervision of Dr. 
Wilson Yandell, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. He attended 
two courses of lectures at Transylvania University, of Lex 
ington, Ky., and graduated there in March, 1825, among 
the first in his class. While there he was the private pupil 
. of Drs. Dudley and Drake, for whom he afterwards enter- 
tained the highest reverence and esteem. He commenced 
practicing medicine in McMinnville, Warren Co., Tenn., 
and afterwards moved to Murfreesboro', Tcnn., near which 
place he was married to Bliss Eliza P. Black, daughter of 
Samuel P. and Fanny Black. After living in Rutherford- 
County for several years he moved to the vicinity of Nash- 
ville, where he finally settled, and where he gained a very 
extensive and successful practice, doing a work which none 



but the most energetic and determined of natures could 
have accomplished, acquiring a host of friends among his 
patients and a competence for himself and family. ; 

He was very successful in his practice and singularly 
correct in his diagnosis of cases. He performed some very 
difficult operations, among the most difficult of which was 
one for "intussusception of the bowel," performed on the 
person of a negro man in Rutherford County, — an operation 
at that time unknown in surgery. The patient recovered 
and lived to an old age. The notes of the operation having 
been lost, a more extended notice could not be given. He 
retired from the practice of medicine about tlie year 1845 
or 1846, and turned his attention to cotton-planting in 
Yazoo Co., Miss., and to improving his property in and j 
about Nashville. He died, Aug. 4, 1855, at his residence '■ 
(Cottage Home), five and a half miles from Nashville, on 
the Blurfreesboro' pike, aged fifty six years. 

His wife, Mrs. Eliza P. Wilson, died at the same place 
January, 1864. Their children were W. L. Wilson, who 
resides in Nashville; Thomas B. Wilson, near Saunders- 
ville, Sumner Co. ; Mrs. Fanny W. Harris and Lucy W. 
Harris, near Nashville. i 



HIRAM V. HOOPER. 

Hiram V. Hooper was born near Green Hill, Nelson Co., 
Tenn., Nov. 20, 1834. His father was John J. Hooper, 
who removed from Virginia to Tennessee a short time before 
the birth of his son Hiram. His father was a Virginian, 
and a soldier of the Revolution. His name was Samuel 
Hooper. 

Hiram Hooper's mother was Blildrcd R. Watlington, 
also of an old Virginia family of excellent social position. 
His father was a man of more than ordinary education and 
force of character. He gave Hiram not only all the oppor- 
tunities for education afforded by the district schools, but 
subsequently placed him under the tuition of Gen. James 
PI Raines, at Milwood Institute. At a later day he en- 
tered Bethel College, at Russelville, Ky., where a scientific 
course of study was begun under Prof Charles D. Lau- 
rence, and continued for some time, but not completed on 
account of the death of his father. This event made it 
best for the son to assume the charge of his father's farm, 
which he had under his sole care for the following year. 

Young Hooper had traveled extensively through Tennes- 
see and neighboring States during school vacations in his 
father's interest. His father was connected with the lead- 
ing Whig paper of the State, — viz.. The Republican. He 
was a zealous politician, a man extensively known, and 
popular. He was known as the " Whig Jlissionary." His 
correspondence with his paper was spicy and very readable. 
He sent his son out to collect for The Repuhlican, and he 
was kindly received everywhere by his father's friends, and 
for a young man had thus made a wide circle of acquaint- 
ances, which afterwards became valuable to him when he 
had removed to Nashville and engaged as a salesman in a 
wholesale boot and shoe business. 

After a year or two of traveling he embarked in the same 
line of business on his own account, but the civil war 




^m- 




H. V. HOOPER. 



^' 



■f^.*. 




f 




Photo, by Armstrong, Nashville. 




BIOGRAPHIES. 



4C'7 



broke up liis business; and thougb educated a Wilis, and 
theoretically opposed to secession, he was carried by sym- 
pathy with his State into the Confederate service. He was 
attached to John H. Morgan's cavalry, afterwards to Gen. 
Wheeler's command. In October, 1SG3, he was captured 
near Lebanon, removed to the prison at Camp Morton, 
near Indianapolis, and detained there until near the close 
of hostilities, when he was paroled at Columbus, Miss., and 
returned to Nashville. 

Gathering up the fragments of his former property, ho 
became one of the newly-formed firm of Hollins, Wright 
& Co., in his old line of business. Between 1866 and 1876 
the firm was three times changed as to some of its partners, 
liut every change found Mr. Hooper the successor to the 
books and business of his predecessors, though his asso- 
ciates clianged. During these ten years the business grew 
in extent ; it was conducted with sagacity and profit, and 
when, in January, 1S76, the present firm of Halls, Hooper 
& Mitchell was formed, it held a very prominent position 
in the trade, and continues so to do. 

The war eff"ected almost the total destruction of the job- 
bing trade of Nashville. Only by strenuous and united 
efforts has the tendency to seek larger markets been over- 
come by demonstrating to the trade that they could be as 
well served here as farther north. Large stocks have been 
Tiept in all staple branches of trade ; the merchants have 
co-operated with each other generally, and when one could 
not supply the wants of a buyer he has freely and cheer- 
fully taken the buyer to a neighbor, being desirous to have 
the buyer suited at Nashville if possible. One result arising 
from this determined effort to make Nashville equal to any 
competing market has been to repress the small jealousies 
and rivalries among different houses. New firms have 
been welcomed, for the larger the stocks kept the more 
securely was the trade held here. Nowhere is there a more 
fraternal spirit among merchants exhibited than in the city 
of Nashville. 

Mr. Hooper married Mi.ss Sally Long, daughter of Nim- 
rod Long, Esq., of liusselville, Ky., Nov. IS, 1869. Her 
death occurred May 29, 1877, since which time he has 
remained a widower. No children were born to them. 

Mr. Hooper has never taken active part in politics, 
though entertaining decided political convictions, his entire 
attention being devoted to the care of his extensive and 
growing business. 



JAMES A. HAIIWOOD. 

James A. Harwood, son of William M. and Sarah (Griz- 
zardj Harwood, was born on the Big Harpeth River, Dav- 
idson Co., Teun., Jan. 11, 1811. His father was a native 
of Virginia, and settled in Tennessee in the year 1794. 
He married Sarah Grizzard in 18U4. She was a native 
of North Carolina. 

James A. Harwood was reared on the farm. His advan- 
tages for education were very limited. On the 22d of 
July, 1884, he married Verlinda C. Bcazley, from Virginia, 
and immediately removed to Gibson Co., Tenn., where he 
purchased a small farm and built a log cabin. As years 
passed his farm increased in size, until he owned some six 
59 



hundred acres. In 1847 he entered the mercantile busi- 
ness, which he carried on in connection with his farm until 
1865, when he went to Jlcmphis, and was there engaged for 
two years in the cotton trade, when he returned to D.ivid- 
son County and settled in District Five, on what is known 
as Mount Airy Fruit-farm, since which time he has given 
much attention to the cultivation of various kinds of fruits. 
Sir. Harwood has seven living sons by his first marriage, 
and one son by his second. 

Mrs. Verlinda C. (Beazley) Harwood was born Nov. 8, 
1815, and died Sept. 15, 1857. Mr. Harwood married 
Lydia R. Everett, Feb. 22, 1858. She was born May 27, 
1825, and is the daughter of Thomas H. and Elizabeth 
Everett, and granddaughter of John Buchanan, one of the 
pioneers of Davidson County. 

Mr. Harwood is a progressive f^rrmer and fruit-grower of 
Davidson County. A man of unsullied character and true 
to all the duties of a good citizen, he has held various 
offices to the satisfaction of his constituents. 



BURRIL G. WOOD. 



Burril G. Wood was born in Harrison Co., Ky., Jan. 2, 
1830. He was the son of William F. Wood and Rebecca 
(Hill) Wood. 

He had common-school advantages, and attended tlie 
Georgetown College at intervals till he was fifteen years 
of age. At this time liis father removed to Lexing- 
ton, Ky. At eighteen years of age he joined the Third 
Kentucky Volunteers in the Mexican war. Miles B. Thomp- 
son colonel, and John C. Breckenridge major, of his regi- 
ment. He was in the City of Mexico when peace was 
made. Returning from the war, he next apprenticed him- 
self to the trade of boiler-making at Pittsburgh, Pa., where 
he worked at the Fort Pitt Works. 

In 1851 he came to Nashville as a journeyman. In 
1859 he began business for himself in his present location. 
The establishment (Wood & Simpson) is the oldest in the 
city of its kind, at present employing twenty to twenty-five 
men. Mr. Wood was not interrupted by the war, but kept 
his business moving, while many were le.ss fortunate. 

He has not been ambitious for office, though he has been 
called to represent his ward in City Councils. 

He has been identified with every exposition held in 
Nashville, including the Centennial Exposition. Of three 
out of four of them iie has held the position of chairman of 
the committee on machinery and power. This indicates 
the regard in which he has been held in his department of 
business. 

In politics he was an old-line Whig before the war, but 
since that event has been in sympathy with the Democratic 
party. 

Mr. Wood married Sarah A. Allen, of Nashville, in 1863, 
by whom he has two children living. 



PATRICK BYRNE. 

Patrick Byrne was born in Kingstown, near Dublin, Ire- 
land, on the 28th of February, 1840. Kingstown is a sea- 



468 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



port, and young Byrne from early boyhood had a strong love 
of sea- life. > 

He was educated in the common branches at home, 
chose the trade of a carpenter, and showed such skill and 
proficiency in it that at eighteen years of age he was made 
foreman in the first steam carpenter-shop in Dublin. 

He entered the evening classes in Dublin University, 
taking instruction in higher mathematics, engineering, 
mechanical and architectural drawing. 

Shortly after reaching the position of foreman of the 
above-named establishment the owner retired, and Mr. 
Byrne was thrown out of employment. He visited Lon- 
don, and after passing a competitive examination secured 
the position of assistant draughtsman at Chatham navy- 
yard. Here he improved his opportunity for further educa- 
tion, and studied navigation. In about a year he was pro- 
moted to the position of assistant sailing-master in the 
British navy, and appointed to the Brazilian squadron, 
where he spent about one year. 

On the breaking out of the civil war, being in sympathy 
with the South, he resigned his position in the navy to join 
the Southern navy, and to secure his end he shipped on a 
blockade-runner from Liverpool for Charleston, S. C. 

There was no navy organized on his arrival, so he re- 
mained in the blockade service. He was in this service 
tiiree years and nine months, acting as second officer till his 
capture at Wilmington, N. C. He was removed to New 
York until paroled in February, 1SG5. His experience 
during this service was full of adventure and excitement. 

When paroled he returned to England to adjust his busi- 
ness afiiiirs in connection with the blockade-running, re- 
turning on its completion to New York and entering the 
mercantile service, making voyages to the Pacific, to 
Europe, Gulf of Mexico, and Europe again. This seafaring- 
life on merchantmen covered some three and a half years 
and brings us down to 1868, when he visited a brother in 
Cincinnati and resumed his old business as a carpenter and 
builder. IMr. Byrne came to Nashville, Jan. 1, 1869, as 
ibreman for P. J. Saxton, Esq. 

In 1870 he commenced business for himself, under the 
firm-name of McDonald & Byrne, as carpenters and builders 
and manufacturers of warehouse elevators, being the first to 
make elevators a specialty in Nashville. 

In 1S71, Byrne's patent elevator was first built, since 
which time other valuable improvements have been patented, 
and in this section of country and especially south of Nash- 
ville these elevators have been largely introduced. This suc- 
cess has not been so much due to location of the factory as 
to their intrinsic merit and simplicity. 

Mr. Byrne was married in 1872 to Miss Mary McGuire, 
daughter of Terrence McGuire, formerly a large railroad 
contractor. 

In politics, Mr. Byrne is in sympathy with the Demo- 
cratic party, and, while not a professional politician, is an 
active and earnest worker, having been a member of the 
executive committee of the county for several years. 

His interest in military matters has been a permanent 
one ; he is an active member and first lieutenant of the 
Burns Tennessee Light Artillery. Mr. Byrne dissolved 
his business partnership in 1870, and now conducts the 



business of elevator manufacturing and building at 90 Line 
Street, Nashville. 



A. H. HURLEY, Sr. 



A. H. Hurley, Sr., was born in Lincoln Co., Teun., on 
the 24th day of October, 1832. He is of Scotch-Irish de- 
scent, but both his parents and grandparents were born in 
North Carolina. His father, Aiuos Hurley, married there 
in 1814 Miss Mary Rhodes, and on the day following his 
marriage started for Lincoln Co., Tenn., where he engaged 
in firming, and continued to reside on the same farm to 
the time of his death, which occurred in 1876. j 

To this union there were born eight children, — W. R. 
Hurley, who, after attaining manhood, became a physi- 
cian, but is now dead; D. P. Hurley, who for many years 
was a prominent lawyer, but who is now proprietor and 
principal of a female college in Troy, Ala. ; E. R. Hurley, 
who is now a farmer residing upon the old homestead ; Z. 
G. Hurley, deceased ; F. M. Hurley, deceased ; A. H. Hur- 
ley, subject of this sketch ; W. P. Hurley; now a produce j 
merchant in Nashville ; and B. F. Hurley, deceased. 

A. H. Hurley, Sr., leccived a common-school education 
in the county of his nativity, and when about seventeen 
years of age attended Hiawassa College, East Tennessee. 
Upon leaving college two years later he commenced the 
study of law under the tutelage of his brother, D. P. Hur- 
ley, then a practicing lawyer in East Tennessee. Having 
qualified himself for the profession, he practiced law there 
four years and then came to Nashville and located, where, 
on the 14th day of October, 1856, he married Miss Nar- 
cissa C. Murrcll, a daughter of James N. Murrell, one of 
the early pioneers of Davidson County. He continued the 
practice of law in Nashville to the year 1860, when, owing 
to declining health, ho abandoned the profession and turned 
his attention to merchandising, first engaging in the gro- 
cery business, in which he continued about ten years. He 
then commenced the business in which he still continues, 
— viz., grain, produce, and commission. 

Mr. Hurley has by prompt attention to business, by an 
honest upright course of action, and strict integrity of char- 
acter, succeeded not only in amassing a competence, but, 
what is of greater value, succeeded in winning the confi- 
dence and high esteem of those who have come in either 
business or social contact with him. In some respects Mr. 
Hurley is an exceptional man. He has never made use of 
profane language in his life, has never been intoxicated, 
and for many years not even a drop of ardent spirits has 
passed his lips. 

He comes of a devotional and religious family ; both his 
paternal grandfather and grandmother were zealous mem- 
bers of the Baptist Churcli. His father was also a Baptist, 
while his mother was an Old School Presbyterian. Mr. 
Hurley, his wife, and only surviving child, a son, are mem- 
bers of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He has never 
coveted political or official distinction, yet has from prin- 
ciple been a lifelong Democrat ; has been a member of the 
board of aldermen in Nashville five years, holding the office 
of president one year. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



469 



Mr. and Mrs. Hurley have had but two children, — one, 
a daughter, dying in inftincy ; the other, a son, A. II. Hur- 
ley, Jr., now a young man in business with his father, and 
who is following in the pathway of piety, sobriety, and 
honesty so plainly marked out and so faithfully trod by 
his father. 



DR. S. J. COBB. 



S. J. Cobb was born in Wayne Co., N. C, Aug. 14, 
1829. He was left an orphan at an early age, without 
means or education. At the age of fifteen he left homo 
and started in the struggle of life. Ho at once determined 
to obtain an education, and up to his eighteenth year, at 
intervals, when his means rendered it possible, he attended 
school. When he was eighteen years of age the Mexican 
war broke out. and he volunteered as a soldier from his 
native State. After his return from Mexico he went to 
college, where he remained until 1849, at which time he 
removed to Tulip, Dallas Co., Ark., where he engaged in 
the mercantile business. While there he devoted all his 
spare time to the study of dentistry. In 1852 he removed 
with his preceptor to Kentucky, and after three years more 
of study and practice became connected with him as a full 
partner. During their partnership he practiced in Logan 
Co., Ky., as well as Robertson and Sumner Cos.,Tcnn. At 
the expiration of this partnership Dr. Cobb located in Gal- 
latin, Tenn., where he practiced his profession with success 
until 1861, at which time he moved to Nashville. Soon 
after his removal to Nashville he went to Louisville, Ky., 
and practiced there until 1864, when he returned to Nash- 
ville, where he has continued the practice of his profession 
ever since. While in Louisville, Dr. Cobb assisted in or- 
ganizing " The Louisville Dental Association" and " The 
Central States Dental Association." Soon after his return 
to Nashville he commenced agitating the subject of a 
dental association in that city, and on the 10th of October, 
1865, he and a few other dentists organized "The Nash- 
ville Dental Association," the first dental society ever organ- 
ized in the State of Tennessee. As soon as this society was 
fairly under way he commenced conferring with his brother- 
dentists as to the propriety of organizing a " State Dental 
Association," and on the 26th of July, 1867, he had the 
pleasure of assisting in organizing " The Tennessee Dental 
Association," a society that has done a great deal to elevate 
the standard of the profession in the State. As an indica- 
tion of his good work, he was one among the first elected 
to preside over said society. Dr. Cobb has belonged to 
many dental societies, and, believing as he does in the ne- 
cessity of associated eifort, he has always been active and 
zealous in forwarding the true objects of such associations. 
In 1877, Dr. Cobb, then the presiding ofiicer of " The 
Southern Dental Association," joined with other leading 
dentists of the United States in an effort to organize an 
"American Dental Congress," based upon State representa- 
tion. A meeting was called at Deer Park, Md. After 
full discussion, it was agreed by the societies represented to 
' organize such a body. Committees were appointed to meet 
I at Niagara Falls, and it was hoped they would succeed in 



fairly starting a national society. This, however, has not 
yet been accomplished. A committee on organization, of 
which Dr. Cobb is a member, is to meet in New York City 
on the 11th of August, 1880, at which time it is expected 
to bring to a successful issue this very laudable enterprise. 
In 1869, Dr. Cobb was elected first vice-president of "The 
American Dental Association," held at Saratoga Springs, 
N. Y., and succeeded in having the next meeting take place 
at Nashville, Tenn., the first and only meeting of the asso- 
ciation ever held in the South. Dr. Cobb is a strong ad- 
vocate of dental education, not only in the profession itself, 
but among the people. He has gone so far as to suggest 
the propriety of putting in school-books short dental lessons, 
inculcating in the youth of the land a proper appreciation 
of their teeth, and giving general rules for their preserva- 
tion. In a paper read by him at a meeting of the American 
Dental Convention at Detroit, Mich., in 1864, he elaborated 
this idea, and received a vote of thanks from the convention 
for his valuable suggestion, and a committee was appointed 
to prepare a dental catechism for use in common schools. 
Dr. Cobb was elected dean of the faculty of one of the 
Nashville dental schools, but, believing as he did that it 
was an error to attempt to build up tico schools in that city, 
he declined to become identified with either. 

He has always been honest and strictly conscientious in 
the discbarge of his professional duties, and has gained the 
confidence of his patrons and the respect of his fellow-citi- 
zens. His practice is large, and he has amassed a comfort- 
able estate. 

He is plain and unassuming, kind and charitable, stands 
in the very front rank of his profession, and is thoroughly 
identified with every efibrt to elevate the standard of pro- 
fessional learning among his brother-dentists, and make the 
profession not only lucrative and honorable to the dentist, 
but useful and beneficial to the people. Few men have 
observed and adhered more faithfully to the Golden Rule 
than he has in all his dealings with his fellow-man. 



CAPTAIN CALVIN G. CABLBR. 

Frederick Cabler, paternal grandfather of Capt. Cabler, 
was born in North Carolina, and came to Buchanan's Fort 
in 1787. He was in the Revolutionary war, and partici- 
pated in the battle of Guilford Court-House. He had five 
children, of whom John was the father of Captain Cabler. 

John Cabler was born in North Carolina in 1785 ; coming 
with his parents at the age of two years to the then wild 
Davidson County, he was reared among the privations and 
thrilling scenes of border life, and familiar with the chase 
and Indian warwboop in boyhood's days. He grew up and 
enjoyed this life. He was married in 1808 or '9 to Chris- 
tine Corbett, daughter of William Corbett, who also came 
from North Carolina to Buchanan's Fort in 1788. She 
was born in Davidson County, April 24, 1793. They had 
three children,— Sarah, born in 1810 ; Calvin G., born 
Oct. 22, 1816 ; and Martha, born in 1820. Mrs. Cabler 
is still living in Nashville, at the advanced age of eighty- 
seven years. 



470 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Captain Calvin G. Cabler was boru three miles south of 
Nashville, on the place now owned by Capt. David Hughes. 
He stayed on the farm until his parents moved to Nashville, 
in 1824. He is pre-eminently a type of a self-made man, 
commencing his carver at nine years of age, without 
schooling, by borrowing his small capital of three dollars from 
an uncle, and peddling apples on the street. He did this for 
two years. He then began to haul water in a cart to the 
houses of Nashville. (Tliis method of water-supply pre- 
ceded the water-works system.) He worked at this for 
nearly two years. In 1S29 he engaged as cook on a kccl- 
boat, following this avocation on keel- and flat-boats until 
1832, when ho commenced steamboating in the same capa- 
city. In his leisure hours he took lessons from the pilots, 
and so thoroughly learned the river in four years' time as 
to be able to assume the position of pilot himself, which he 
did in 1836, on steamer " Tally Ho," running from Nash- 
ville to Memphis and St. Louis. Up to 1845 he acted as 
pilot on different boats, making trips to New Orleans, St. 
Louis, and other points. 

Captain Cabler engaged as commander as well as pilot from 
184.5 to 18.50. He was saving and economical, and accu- 
mulated sufficient funds to purchase, in 1850, with Captain 
0. AV. Davis, the steamer " Republic," running on the 
Cumberland and Ohio Rivers. Captain Cabler was captain 
and pilot until their purchase of the '' Exec!," in same year, 
when he assumed command of the " Excel." In six months' 
time he had made more money with this boat than he had 
in the five or six previous years. They continued in partner- 
ship, purchasing another boat, until 1853, when, selling 
these boats, they bought an interest in the Memphis 
Packet Line, consisting of three splendid steamers, " City 
of Huntsville," "John Simpson," and "J. G. Cline," and 
two small lighters. Captain Cabler was given command of 
the " City of Huntsville," the finest steamer over running 
on the Cumberland River. In 1855 he sold out his in- 
terest in this line, and the next 3'ear, with two other per- 
sons, built the steamer " Commerce," of which he took 
command, and commenced making trips to Cincinnati, St. 
Louis, and on tlie Upper Cumberland. He ran this boat 
until 1862, in which year he, with the Hughes Brothers, 
built the " Mattie Cabler," placing her, as soon as com- 
pleted, in the United States service, with himself as cap- 
tain. In the same year, he, in company with the Hughes 
Brothers, bought steamers " Beard" and " John A. Fisher." 
In 1803 the same company bought the steamers " Emma," 
"John H. Baldwin," " Piketon," and " Olla Sullivant." 
In 1864 they sold several boats to the government and 
bought others. 

In 1864, Captain Cabler had such an extensive govern- 
ment business as to necessitate his constant personal atten- 
tion in Nashville, and this occupied his time fully till July, 
1865, when he sold all his interest in boats, and has owned 
none since. He was in the coal business from 1866 to 
1872. Since that time he has been engaged in real estate, 
in which he is now largely interested. His financial suc- 
cess has been marked, and ho is in possession of a hand- 
some competency, resulting from his thrift, economy, and 
attention to business. He (njoys the confidence of the com- 
munity in a high degree, and is a staunch personal friend. 



Captain Cabler married Sarah Emily Newberne, Aug. 
27, 1843. She was born May 18, 1827, dying Sept. 21, 
1878. She was of the old family of Newbernes, in North 
Carolina, which gave name to Newberne, in that State. 
They had seven children, two of whom — Bettie W. (Mrs. 
C. A. Litterer) and Cemmie — are living. 

Mrs, Litterer has two children, — Wilhelm and Cemmie 
C, — aged respectively four and two years. 



JOHN BRADEN. 



John Braden was born in New York City, Aug. 18, 
1826. His father, dying in 1832, left a widow with six i 
children in comparative poverty. His mother was a 
woman of strong body, vigorous mind, and a devout Chris- 
tian. She supported the children by such labor as she 
could peiform, not forgetting to give them such religious ] 
training as her limited time and means would allow. Two 
of these children died in infancy ; the others are still living, 
are heads of fsimilies, occupying respectable positions in i 
society, and all are members of some evangelical church. ' 
In 1836 the subject of this sketch was sent to Philadelphia j 
to enter upon his duties as errand-boy in a store, where he 
remained for nearly a year. He returned to New York, and 
in a few weeks he was sent to Peekskill to learn shoemakins, 
but he was so small that the gentleman with whom he was 
to learn the trade secured a place for him in the country on ' 
a farm with a good Christian family, where he remained 
over three years, working in the summer and going to 
school two or three months in each winter. In the latter 
part of his stay here he was permitted to take books out 
of the school-district library. Hitherto he had cherished 
no friendly feelings for school other than affording an op- 
portunity to meet with playmates and enjoy school sports ; 
but while reading the " Life of Benedict Arnold," the 
desire to know something was awakened in him, which has 
largely shaped his subsequent life. In the spring of 1840, 
in company with his stepfather and other relatives, he went 
to Illinois. Here he worked on a farm for some time, then 
went to St. Louis, where he was employed in a dairy, and 
while so employed he went to New Orleans and spent 
about eight months. During his stay here he went as 
cabin-boy on the steamer "New York" to Galveston and 
Matagorda Bay. The Gulf was very rough, and he ex- 
perienced so much of sea-sickness that on the return of the 
vessel to New Orleans he left the position, having no desire 
to renew his acquaintance with a seafaring life. In 1845 
he returned to Illinois, and spent several months at Monti- 
cello, working at wagon-making. The next year he went 
to Springfield, III, where he engaged in teaching school, 
and also classes in singing. In the spring of 1848 he went 
to Zanesville, Ohio, where, after trying the business of a 
patent-right vender, he engaged again in teaching. During j 
the summer of this year, while he was preparing to attend 
another school, his attention was called incidentally to the 
Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, which he 
entered in September, and remained until he graduated, in i 
1853. The year after graduation lie taught in the Xcnia ! 




.^. # ^sC^'^^ZJX,.^:::' 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



471 



Female College, at Xenia, Ohio. The early religious in- 
stiuetions of liis mother were never forgotten, and in 1846 
he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church near 
Monticello, 111. At the close of liis year of teaching in 
Xenia, in accordance with his own convictions of duty, he 
was licensed to preach, and recommended to the Cincinnati 
Annual Conference, which he entered in September, 1S54. 
His first appointment was New Carlisle, the next year 
Jamestown ; the third appointment was two years on New 
Burlington charge, then two years on the Eaysville circuit. 
At the next Conference, ISCO, he was appointed principal 
of the New Carlisle Academy. This position he retained 
two years, doing considerable preaching, and part of the 
second year he was in charge of the circuit. 

In 1862 he was appointed to York Street Church, Cin-, 
cionati, remaining two years, then to Carr Street, in con- 
nection with the Ladies' Home Mission, whore ho continued 
three years. In 1867 the work among the freedmen was 
attracting the attention of the church, and energetic eiforts 
were made to establish schools for them, as well as to preach 
the gospel to them. Among the churdies that took active 
part in this work was the Methodist Episcopal, which had 
organized the Freedmen's Aid Society, and had schools 
already established in the South. When the call was made 
Mr. Braden offered himself, and was transferred from the 
Cincinnati to the Tennessee Conference, and stationed at 
Clark Chapel, Nashville, and also appointed principal ef the, 
freedmen's school, which was taken. under ihe local .-super- 
vision of a board of trustees, who.liad secured from- the State 
a charter for the school, under the jiame of the Central. 
Tennessee College. He was elected president of tho'school. 
At the close of the school year he resigned Jiis position and 
accepted the principalship of the city school,^ ^which was 
held in the same building, — viz., the " GunFactory,"— 
the college being removed to its present location on Maple 
Street. At the close of the school year he was re-elected 
president of the college, and at once entered upon his duties. 
He has continued to hold this position to the present time, 
1880. Under his administration the school has steadily 
advanced from a primary school, in which the spelling-book 
and primer where the principal text-books, to the college, 
with its full course of study. This advancement has taken 
years of toil and patient labor, and Mr. Braden has had 
the gratification of seeing some who entered the school as 
students in the lowest classes pass through tlio entire course, 
and graduate in the classical course with credit to themselves 
and the college. 

The great demand for teachers made it necessary that 
special care should be taken to provide them, and the nor- 
mal department of the college was early organized. This 
was followed by the academic, the preparatory, the theo- 
logical, the collegiate, and, in 1876, the Jleharry Medical 
Department, so named from Kev. Samuel IMcharry, who, 
with his brothers Hugh, Jesse, and Alexander, contributed 
liberally to establish and bring it into successful operation. 
The law department has been recently organized. The Ten- 
nessee Conference elected him a delegate to the General 
Conference of 1872, and also 1876. 

In 1873 the Iowa Wesloyan University gave him the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity. From 1870 to 1873 he was 



secretary of the State Teachers' Association, and in this 
position aided in developing the public opinion in favor of a 
more efficient system of free public schools. In addition to 
his duties in the college he was presiding elder on the Nash- 
ville District from 1872 to 1876, and at the same time mem- 
ber of the general committee from the Seventh Episcopal 
District of the Board of Church Extension. As president 
of the college he has maintained his position under peculiar 
difficulties, securing the respect and confidence of his asso- 
ciates and the esteem of the thousands of students who have 
been connected with the college. As a preacher he is above 
mediocrity, always practical, having but little taste for mere 
speculation when presenting the practical duty of men to 
obey the gospel and secure its benefits. As a writer for 
the weekly press his articles are always readable. 

In 1856 he married Miss Collier, of Hillsdale, N. Y., a cul- 
tured lady of sterling Christian character, who has shared 
the vicissitudes of the itinerant's life and the ostracism 
visited -on all who engage in elevating the freedmen, with 
cheerfulness, and has made their home a delightful retreat. 
Two of their children died in infancy, leaving the oldest, a 
daughter, who is now engaged with her father in the college 
as teacher of music. 



DR. A. P. GRINSTEAD. 

Dr. A. p. Grinstead was born in King and Queen Co., 
Va., on the 5th of May, 1815. His parents were of Eng- 
lish descent, yet his , paternal grandfather was a valiant 
soldier under Washington. 

■ -Early in life Thomas Grinstead wedded Frances Skilton, 
and to this couple were born three children, — Elizabeth 
Ann, who married Joseph H. Skilton ; Bathurst J. Grin- 
stead, who died at fifteen years of age ; and A. P. Grin- 
stead, the subject of this sketch. The greatest misfortune 
of his life occurred at his birth, for within the same hour 
that he became a living soul his mother's heart was stilled 
in death. 

A maiden sister of his mother undertook the rearing of 
the little orphan, but within a brief time she, too, was laid 
away in the family burying-ground. He was then received 
into the family of his mother's brother. This uncle, how- 
ever, did not long survive his sisters, yet the orphan babe 
was retained by his aunt until he had reached his eleventh 
year, when he was taken to Essex County to reside with 
his guardian, James Sample. 

Mr. Sample treated his ward as though he were a son, 
and the few hundred dollars left him by his mother were 
judiciously expended for his benefit. 

Young Grinstead early acquired the rudiments of an ed- 
ucation as well as a desire for general reading. When 
about fourteen years of age, he was placed by his guardian 
at Fredericksburg, with the intention of having him learn 
the jeweler's trade. Owing to ill health, however, he was 
shortly afterwards returned to the farm, where he remained 
until offered a desirable clerkship. Sometimes clerking, 
sometimes at school, young Grinstead passed the time till 
his majority. 

Arriving at age, Mr. Grinstead determined to gratify a 



472 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



long-felt desire (common among youth) of seeing more of 
the world. Accordingly, we find him at twenty-two in 
charge of a rural school in Haywood Co., W. Tenn. 
While here he began the study of medicine in connection 
with his general reading. Within a few years we learn of 
him at Sau Antonio, Texas, applying himself with diligence 
and success to the study of the Spanish language with the 
view of becoming a commercial interpreter along the Mex- 
ican border. 

At twenty-five he began to have a longing for a com- 
panion, one with whom lie could share the pleasures and 
the ills of life, — a counselor, a wife. As if by impulse, he 
returned to Tennessee to supply his heart's deficiency. 
Arriving in Haywood County, the scene of his former 
labors, he was warmly greeted by his old acquaintances. 
He found the community quite ablaze with political excite- 
ment concerning the election of the chief magistrate of the 
Union. He entered the delegation from his county to 
Nashville, and while there realized his heart's fondest wish, 
for in January following be was joined in wedlock to Sarah 
S. Shumate, of Davidson County. 

Pretty soon after this important step Mr. Grinstead took 
the oath of allegiance to the United States government, 
settled down on a farm a few miles south of Nashville, and 
is now residing within the immediate vicinity of the first 
location. 

Amid many embarrassments Mr. Grinstead persevered 
in the study of medicine, and in 1847 took a regular course 
of lectures at Louisville, Ky. His farm interests in the 
mean while were managed by his wife. In 1853, Mr. Grin- 
stead had conferred upon him all the privileges and immuni- 
ties of the medical profession by diploma from the Nashville 
University. 

For nearly thirty years Dr. Grinstead has enjoyed a large 
and successful practice in the thriving community in which 
lie resides, and is universally esteemed by his neighbors as 
an efficient physician and a kind, worthy Christian gentle- 
man. 



ARIS BROWN. 



Aris Brown was born in the county of King's and Queen's, 
Va., Aug. 6, 1802, and was left an orphan at the age of four 
years. He emigrated to Davidson Co., Tenn., in ]S2t), and 
engaged in carpentry, which he followed for three years. 
IMarch 1, 1827, he was married to Emily, third daughter 
of David and Elizabeth (Powel) Cartwriglit. David Cart- 
wright was the son of Robert Cartwright, one of the early 
pioneer settlers, coming to Davidson County with Robertson 
and .settling with his family at what is now Nashville. He 
brought with him fruit-trees of apple and pear, which he 
sot out, and which would undoubtedly have thriven had the 
Indians allowed them to remain ; but in a spirit of wanton- 
ness and hostility characteristic of the aborigines found in 
that portion of our country, they pulled them up as often 
as he set them out, until, to save them from being an utter 
loss, he carried them to Kentucky, whither he removed 
with his family shortly after, remaining two years, at the 



expiration of which time he returned to Tennessee, bring- 
ing with him some of the identical trees he had carried to 
Kentucky with him, setting them out again, this time 
within a few miles of the present city of Nashville, where 
they grew unmolested and bore an abundance of fruit to 
him and his posterity. One of these trees is said to bo still 
standing on the Gallatin turnpike, near, or in, the old Cart- 
wright burial-ground. 

The children of Aris and Emily Brown were John Da- 
vid, deceased ; Albert H., deceased ; Edward Fox, decea,sed; 
Dr. Joseph W., deceased ; Mary E., the wife of Dr. T. B. 
Raines, of Murray Co., Tenn. ; Aris Brown, Jr., Charles F., 
Martin N., James K. P., deceased ; Samuel W., John Davis, 
Archie F., Emma A., wife of 'Squire John S. C. Davidson. 

Aris Brown filled the various offices of constable, deputy 
sheriff, and deputy United States marshal, being in public 
life in some capacity for more than a quarter of a century. 
He was director of the Bank of Tennessee, of the Nash- 
ville and Chattanooga Railroad, and also of the State prison. 
In 1834 he removed to the farm in the Twelfth District 
which was his home until his death, Dec. 4, 1877, and 
where his family still reside. 

Mr. Brown was a gentleman of remarkable energy, tem- 
perate in his habits. During the latter part of his life he 
was active in the interests of the church of which he was 
a consistent member, — the Methodist Episcopal Church 
South, — and contributed liberally to its support. The min- 
isters of God always found a hearty welcome and cordial 
hospitality at his home. In politics he was always a Dem- 
ocrat of the Jeffersonian school, and took an active interest 
in the politics of the country, both State and National. 



WILLIAM A. HAMILTON. 

William A. Hamilton, son of Andrew and Sarah A. 
Hamilton, was born April 27, 1851, in Nashville, Tenn. 
His father was a merchant, cotton and commission broker, 
and steamboat proprietor combined for more than thirty 
years in the city of Nashville. 

Of course his father's position and wealth secured to 
William all the advantages of an educational kind to be 
had. His first school-days were spent in Nashville at the 
public schools ; at the age of nine his parents removed to 
the country, and he was sent to Professor E. L. Crocker's 
school at White's Creek Springs, where he remained about 
six years, going from there to Bethel College, Russelville, 
Ky., where he remained four years, but from which insti- 
tution he was prevented graduating by a severe attack of 
typhoid fever. In the fall of 1875 he entered the Medical 
Department of Vanderbilt University, graduating with the 
degree of M.D. three years later, and at once began the 
practice of his profession in District Twenty-three, of 
Davidson County. 

May 13, 1872, he was married to Mary F., youngest 
daughter of Isaac and Sarah Darrow, of Nashville, formerly 
of Cheatham County. Their children are Thomas A. 
(deceased), Musette Jane, William Andrew, Jr., and 
John. 




ARTS BROWN. 




Plioto. by Arinstryug;, Nasliville. 



6C. /v£^l.^!-T^-^<^*' 




Pliiito. l>y Armstrong, Nashville. 



T. H. JONES. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



473 



T. H. JONES. 

The subject of this sketcli (Thompson H. Jones) was 
born in Logan Co., Ky., near Russellsville, on the 4th day 
of Jlay, 1844. His grandfiither Jones (father's side) 
came from Wales to the United States, and settled in 
North Carolina, on the Roanoke, in the present county of 
Halifax. He took an active part in the Revolutionary war, 
was in numerous conflicts with the British, and was with 
the American army at the surrender of the British forces at 
Yorktown. At the conclusion of the Revolutionary war 
he came West, following the tide which was flowing after 
Sevier and Robertson, and settled on Station Camp Creek, 
in Sumner Co., Tenn., where, in 1800, Jesse C. Jones, the 
father of T. H., was born. Grandfather Jones reared a 
large family of boys, several of whom took an active part 
in the Creek war with the Indians, and were also at the 
battle of New Orleans under Gen. Jackson. 

Grandfiither John "Williams, on the mother's side, was 
of Scotch-Irish descent, and came to America from Scot- 
land, settled in North Carolina, came West to the Watauga 
settlement, was captain of a company in the Revolutionary 
war, was in the battle of King's Mountain, and afterwards 
came to Tennessee shortly after Robertson, settled on Mans- 
ker's Creek, in Sumner Co., Tenn., was in several engage- 
ments personally with the Indians. His sons also served 
in the Creek war against the Indians, and at New Orleans 
under Gen. Jackson. The mother of this subject, Caroline 
H. Jones, was born in 1802. Both families, afterwards 
moved to Southern Kentucky and settled in Logan County, 
where the father and mother of this subject were married. 
They both died in March, 1864, within a week of each 
other, aged respectively sisty-two and sixty-four years. 

Of a family of seven brothers and sisters there remains 
one sister, Mrs. Susan S. Long, now residing at Mallory's 
Station, in Williamson County, near Franklin, Tenn., and 
one brother, John W. Jones, in Montgomery County, near 
Clarksvillc, Tenn. When T. H. Jones was about five years 
of age, his father and mother removed to the lower part of 
Logan County, near the village of Keesburg, Ky., and 
about three miles from the Tennessee line. Here, varied 
with work on the farm, he was sent to the village school 
and obtained a fair English education ; he was afterwards 
sent to Bethel College at Russellsville, Ky., to be given the 
advantage of a thorough collegiate course, but, the civil war 
coming on in 1861, he enlisted in the Southern army with 
the first-company from Southern Kentucky, being then six- 
teen years of age. His company tendered its services to 
the Confederacy, were accepted by President Jefferson 
I)avis, went at once to Richmond, Va., and into barracks 
at Camp AVindsor, thence to Manassas, Bull Run, Cen- 
treville, Drane's Mill, Mason's Hill (in sight of the Long 
Bridge and Washington City). His company was " K," 
in the First Kentucky Infantry, Col. Tom Taylor com- 
manding. His company was on the Peninsula, at York- 
town, in Virginia, under Gen. Blagruder, when McClellan 
first made his move towards Richmond, a shore time after 
which the company, being twelve months' troops, were dis- 
banded, and he, coming back to Kentucky with a number 
of others, joined Gen. John H. Morgan's Kentucky cav- 



alry, and was with him in all his subsequent operations, in- 
cluding the celebrated raid into Indiana and Ohio, from 
which the subject of this sketch made his escape by swim- 
ming the Ohio River with a small number of companions. 
He with the scattered remainder of Morgan's men served 
under Gen. Bedford Forrest at the battle of Chickamauga 
and in subsequent operations, until brigaded with the Ninth 
Kentucky Cavalry (Col. H. P. C. Brcckenridge) and other 
Kentucky regiments, under command of Gen. John S. 
(Cerro Gordo) Williams, of Kentucky, and with this bri- 
gade helped to cover the retreat of Gen. Joseph E. John- 
ston's army along the railroad, from Tunnel Hill and Dalton 
to Atlanta, Ga. This brigade was scouting and fighting 
almost every day for more than two months. After the 
capture of Gen. Stoneman, at Macon, Mr. Jones came into 
Tennessee with Gen. Hood when he made his attack on 
Nashville, and on the 24th of March, 1865, after Hood's 
retreat, was captured while on a scout in the enemy's lines, 
and imprisoned until the war closed, in May. Throughout 
the whole war Mr. Jones bore the reputation of a good sol- 
dier, always cheerful and ready for duty, and to his credit 
be it said that he was then and has always been strictly 
temperate in his habits, never having used tobacco in any 
form, and never at any time having tasted strong drink as 
a beverage, or been the least under its influence in any 
way. This may to some extent account for the excellent 
health which he now enjoys, and the promise of the long 
life before him. After the close of the war he returned to 
college at Russelville to finish his course of study. In 1866 
-67 he came to Nashville and commenced the manufacture 
and sale of agricultural implements and farming machinery. 
Notwithstanding the almost insurmountable dilEculties 
which presented themselves on account of the changed 
and uncertain condition of labor, the indomitable energy 
and perseverance of the man soon made itself felt, and in a 
remarkably short space of time he had established the 
largest trade in his line of business of any house south of 
the Ohio River. Being a public-spirited man in the true 
sense of the word, he not only labored to build up his own 
business, spending thousands of dollars in advertising and 
traveling for his house, in trying to build manuf;ictories and 
develop the material resources and advantages of his city 
and State, but he was always ready to aid most liberally 
with his money and time any movement for the public 
good and general welfare. Mr. Jones may justly be re- 
garded as the pioneer since the war of his line of business 
in the city of Nashville, and as having done more by pro- 
gressive efi'orts to open the market of the South and con- 
centrate the trade on Nashville than any other one man in 
it. He was a prominent member of the Board of Trade, and 
was more than once called upon to preside at its sessions. 
As president of the Mechanics' and Manufacturers' Associa- 
tion of Nashville, was one of the prime movers of the first 
exposition held in Nashville, and vice-president of the first 
board of managers, and one of the most energetic promoters 
of its success. As a business man Mr. Jones is affable, 
polite, and kind to every one, and has a business acquaint- 
ance as extensive and favorable among the farmers, planters, 
and business men of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the South, 
perhaps, as any other man south of the Ohio River. He 



474 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



is full of "grit" and " grip," and bis ultimate success must 
be in proportion to the energy and determination displayed 
by the man against all the odds and reverses of fortune. 
In politics Mr. Jones is and always has been a staunch 
Democrat, as was his father before him. Mr. Jones has 
been a consistent, active, and faithful member of the Bap- 
tist Church for more than twenty years, and is regarded 
with the highest esteem and good will by the members of 
his church. He is an active Sunday-school worker, and 
has spent his time and money freely in the cause and for 
his churcli. 

Among his intimate acquaintances and Iriends he is noted 
for his generosity and charity. The poor and needy never 
go away from his door empty-handed when he hns the means 
to relieve their distress. 

Mr. Jones is a member of several benevolent organiza- 
tions, including the Masons, Odd-Fellows, and Knights of 
Pythias. He, in company with one other, organized the 
first lodge of Knights of Pythias in Nashville (Myrtle, 
No. 3), and was himself one of the first members of that 
order in the city. 

T. H. Jones was married on the 17tli day of June, 18G9, 
to Miss Emma McElderry, of Talladega Co., Ala., whose 
father. Col. Thomas McElderry, was one of the wealtliiest 
and most iofluenlial planters in that portion of the State, 
and who was one of the pioneer settlers of Talladega County, 
having purchased his lands direct from the Indians, and, a 
prominent Indian chief liaving died, was buried on Col. 
3IcElderry's place, and his grave is still cared for by Col. 
JIcElderry, who is now eighty-five years of age. 

This marriage wa^ blessed with three children, all boys, 
— John Hardin, the oldest, now about ten years of age; 
Harry Sidney, the second boy, about five years of age ; and 
William Albert, the youngest, about twenty-one months of 
age, — all living, and promising, healthy children. T. H. 
Jones now resides with his family at Gil Boscobel Street, 
East Nashville, Teun. 



CAPT. DAVID HUGHES. 

David Hughes, Sr , was born in Virginia, about 1764. 
His father was a stock-trader, and had a large family of 
children, among them Capt. David Hughes. After the 
usual experiences of childhood and youth, ho married Miss 
Elizabeth Frazier and emigrated to St. Louis, thence to 
various places, and finally located in Nashville, engaging in 
trafficking and trading. He worked with diligence and 
economy, having but small means, until his steady industry 
was rewarded by the accumulation of property. His re- 
maining years were spent in Nashville. Of his seven 
children, but three — Matilda (Mrs. Thomas Harmon, of St. 
Louis, Bio.), David, and James (both now of Nashville) — • 
survive. His death occurred in 1823 or '24, at about his 
fortieth year. He was much respected by his circle of 
friends. 

Capt. David Hughes was born in 1825, on Cherry 
Street, in Nashville, in a house standing on the site of Capt. 
William Stockell's residence. His mother was left a widow 
in his infancy, but, being a practical woman of energy, she 



carried on the drayage and transfer business left by her 
husband with fair success. Her sons aided her obediently, 
and in his early years Capt. Hughes was frequently seen 
driving a dray and hauling water in the streets. This con- 
tinued until about his fifteenth year, when he chanced to 
give a horse an unlucky blow which killed it and changed 
the whole subsequent course of his life. He went at once 
to his mother, told her he never could get along with horses, 
and must go and learn some trade. True to his word, he 
commenced at once to learn river-engineering on the 
steamer " Bolivar," running on the Cumberland lliver. 
He continued in this business for about three years, when, 
by diligence, care, and economy, he had acquired a small 
capital, and purchased a small steamer, the " Coaster." 
With himself as captain, he commenced at once making 
trips on the Lower Cumberland from Nashville to its 
mouth. 

This investment was a profitable one, and after a year's 
time he built the steamer •' Moneda" and put her on the 
same route. He sold her to Capt. James Miller after one 
year. He ran her one season and sunk her. Capt. Hughes 
rebought her, raised and refitted her, and ran her about two 
years. 

After selling the " Moneda" to Capt. Miller, Capt. 
Hughes bought the " Day," selling her after one season. 
He then purchased the steamer " Cumberland," soon tore 
her up, and built the steamer " Umpire," at the mouth of 
Marrow-bone Creek. This boat he continued to command 
until 1861. She then was pressed into the United States 
service for a time, and afterwards was sunk at the wharf at 
Nashville. Capt. Hughes was owner of three " Umpires," 
the last in connection with his brother. 

After building the " Umpire," he built at the same place 
the " Hartsville," and took her into the Illinois lliver, where 
in seven weeks' time he states that he realized over forty 
thousand dollars. Returning to Nashville, Capt. Hughes 
navigated the Cumberland River, until be formed a part- 
nership with his brother and Capt. Calvin G. Cabler, and 
purchased the " John A. Fisher," lying at the foot of Har- 
peth Shoals. This was a speculative purchase, as it was 
expected that the Federal soldiers would burn her. The 
new company obtained the boat in safety, however. In 
1862, Capt. Hughes went to Louisville and built the " Mat- 
tie Cabler" for the new firm, and until 1876 was promi- 
nently identified with the navigation of the Cumberland, 
supporting everything tending to that end with a strong 
will, and was always one of the first to aid, financially and 
otherwise, anything that would aid Nashville's interests in 
this direction. He has owned too many boats to name, has 
been connected with such shrewd men as Capt. Cabler and 
James L. Hughes, and has always found his advice and 
counsel sought for, listened to, and heeded. 

In 1865, Capt. Hughes furnished John H. Andenon 
fifteen thousand dollars to engage in the hardware business 
at No. 28 Broad Street, under the firm-name of " Hughes 
& Anderson." This copartnership lasted ten years, when 
Mr. Anderson retired. 

Capt. Hughes continued in business about five years, 
then was burned out, and removed to No. 67 Market Street, 
where, under the name of " David Hughes & Co.," the 




Photo, by Armstrong, Nashville, 




Y^^/^^^ 



BIOGRAPPITES. 



475 



business is now continued. In this new field the candor of 
his former life was continued and won him many friends. 
He has a large wholesale trade reaching into Alabama, 
Georgia, and other Gulf States. 

In 1846, Capt. Hughes commenced buying city property 
in Nashville, and with his real-estate business combined that 
of contractor and builder. Since that time he has built a 
large number of houses, which he rents. He has sold but 
two-lots since his first purchase was made. He is an active 
man, always on the lookout for building, contracting, or 
buying real estate, and is all the time on the wing attending 
to some one of the many things requiring his attention. 
He is now living on his pleasant home-farm of one hundred 
and fifty acres, two and a half miles from Nashville, near 
the Woodbine Methodist church, which was erected by 
him and presented to that society. 

This brings us to another phase of Capt. Hughes' 
character. He has been liberal, hospitable, and freehearted 
in all directions, as river-men are apt to be. 

In 1848, Capt. Hughes married Miss Ellen Drake, 
daughter of Jesse Drake, an old-time citizen of Nashville, 
and has four living children, — Medora, Walter, Blanche, 
and David. Medora, born in 1849, married, first, Ammon, 
son of Capt. Hughes' old-time friend and business associate 
Capt. Cabler. She afterwards married William Perry. She 
has never left her parental home, residing yet with her 
father. Walter, born in 1860, has been in the drug busi- 
ness, and is now with his father in the hardware-store. 
Blanche, born in 1863, and David, born 1864, are also at 
home. 

Capt. Hughes is a notable example of success from small 
beginnings. His determination has been to succeed in each 
of the various kinds of business which he has undertaken, 
and he has done it. Few persons have more tangible re- 
sults of a life of active and persistent labor, and he is to-day 
hale, hearty, and vigorous, with no signs of weakness or 
decay. 



MA J. WILLIAM EDMISTON. 

The writer of this sketch knew the subject of it well and 
intimately from 1838 to the time of his death. He was a 
plain, industrious farmer, following farming all his life on 
the same — his own — farm, in Davidson Co., Tenn. His 
father and grandfather were natives of Southwestern Vir- 
ginia, near Abingdon, of Scotch-Irish descent. His grand- 
father was an officer at the battle of King's Mountain, and 
won honor and distinction. He had also three brothers in 
the same battle, two of whom were killed. The sword 
which he wore on that day was handed down through the 
father to Maj. Edmiston, and was by him presented to the 
General Assembly of Tennessee, and is now in the archives 
of the State mislabled Edmonson, instead of Edmiston, 
as it should be. Maj. Edmiston cherished with pride 
the memory of his grandfather as a " Whig" of the 
American Revolution. He was also connected with the 
Campbells, both of whom were distinguished men and 
Whigs and have a high place in the annals of that part of 
Virginia. His father came to and settled in Middle Ten- 
60 



nessee when it was a territory and part of North Carolina 
and a wilderness. He settled near the town of Nashville, 
then just incorporated, 1784. The Indians were then nu- 
merous and hostile, and frequently killed and scalped the 
white settlers, not sparing even women and children. In a 
fort, stockade, or station, rudely constructed for defense 
against the savages, on the southern side of the town of 
Nashville, in 1792, Maj. William Edmiston was born. 
The men of those days were all brave, and the women were 
refined and brave too. A great number of the settlers were 
killed and scalped in what is now the city of Nashville. 

Haywood's " History of Tennessee" records the names 
of many men which the present civilized and polished citi- 
zens of our city may read and be reminded of the debt they 
owe to the valiant, brave, and hardy pioneers who suffered 
and died that we might have a " city of Nashville." Maj. 
Edmiston obtained what education was obtainable in such 
times and society. Learned reading, writing, and arithme- 
tic from a Scotchman, whose name was Keid, with whom 
he boarded, and whose daughter he afterwards married. 
However, before he married and settled down to the peace- 
ful avocation of farming he volunteered in Jackson's ranks, 
and in the cause of his country and humanity he fought 
through all the Indian campaigns to protect the fron- 
tiers against the depredations, house-burnings, and massa- 
cres of the savages, and when New Orleans was threatened, 
and the South about to become involved in a war against a 
foreign enemy, he again volunteered and stood in the ranks 
a soldier on the plains of New Orleans, and assisted in its 
glorious defense, and ever afterwards warmly cherished the 
pride of having been one of its brave defenders under the 
leadership of the great chief and patriot Jackson. 

Upon his return home from the wars he married, settled 
down in liftj, and became a plain farmer and citizen. He 
never sought or filled office, but chose rather the part of a 
private citizen. Blaj. Edmiston was a good citizen, and 
always felt the interest which a good citizen ever feels in 
the good both of his State and the United States. He 
voted for Jackson for President both times he was a candi- 
date, — he knew him to be a soldier and patriot, — but when 
the party divided in Tennessee in 1836 he became a de- 
cided Whig, and remained for life the supporter of that 
party in every State and United States election. With- 
out becoming a mere partisan, he was a faithful, decided, 
zealous Whig. The writer, then a young man, remem- 
bers as though it were yesterday the great uprising of 
1840, and the great commotion of Nashville resulting in 
the ovation freely and joyously given Henry Clay on his 
reception here, greater than any other man ever received 
in Nashville. Among the thousands who welcomed Clay 
there were no two persons more earnest than Judge Wil- 
liam E. Kennedy, of Maury County, and Maj. William 
Edmiston. Cousins, fellow-soldiers under Jackson, and 
Whigs from conviction and principle, each lived his three- 
score years and ten, and ten more, and when they died, and 
not until then, did the Whig die in them. Their last votes 
were given for Clay, Taylor, Seott, Fillmore, and Bell. 

Maj. Edmiston was in person above the average stature, 
well formed, sandy-haired and whiskered, hazel-eyed, ruddy 
complected, with a sanguine, nervous temperament, excita- 



476 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



ble, brave, and courageous. There was no sternness in 
bim, his expression was kindly and friendly, he was a good 
provider for bis family, and was affectionate towards wife, 
family, and friends, liberal and generous to the poor, and 
humane to his servants, whom be treated as servants, not 
as slaves. As a citizen, always on the side of law, order, 
and good morals. He believed laws were enacted to be en- 
forced, — tempered with mercy, but still enforced ; be was 
free from vices, a decided temperance man, he did not 
drink any kind of spirituous or vinous liquors, not even 
ale or beer. He was a man that " lived and let live ;" in 
his intercourse civil but candid, open and frank in speech. 
He was withal an impulsive man, but of the generous kind. 
He had religious feeling, but was a member of no church ; 
in his latter days he read the Bible much, but seldom or 
never conversed on religious subjects. 

During the civil war he was overwhelmed and silenced ; 
when it was over, his judgment and feelings condemned it 
as folly and madness, and he was again a " Whig" and 
friend of the Union, and so remained. Although an owner 
of slaves, he complained not at their emancipation. 

His only son, survivor, and namesake resides at the old 
homestead ; he is a young man of information and intelli- 
gence, and although four years a soldier in the Confederate 
army, he regards it as a piece of folly, and openly speaks of 
it as such. After the civil war was over, Maj. Edmiston, 
upon application, was again placed upon the pension-rolls of 
the United States as a soldier at New Orleans, and the 
same was regularly paid to him to the time of his death, in 
1874. 



MICAH STIKLINa COMBS. 

This gentleman's family, as the name indicates, is of Eng- 
lish ancestry. His grandfather, James Combs, in company 
with his brother William, fled from political persecution in 
England to this country in 1772, arriving in Virginia in 
time to manufacture guns for the rebels, which he conveyed 
from the manufactory, concealed in the mountains, to them. 

Just at the close of the Revolution, Mr. James Combs 
was married to a lady from his native land (England), by 
whom he had four children, — one son and three daughters. 
The son, James Woody Combs, was the youngest child 
reared, a sister younger than himself having been accident- 
ally burned to death. 

James Woody Combs, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, came with his two sisters (the eldest of whom was 
married to a man named Wilson, of Virginia,) to East Ten- 
nessee about the year 1801, where he employed himself at 
various occupations — farming, brickmaking, etc. — as oppor- 
tunity would offer, using his surplus money in educating 
himself, until the breaking out of hostilities by the Indians, 
against whom he for many years helped to defend civiliza- 
tion, and against whom, as captain, he commanded a com- 
pany at the battle of Tippecanoe, under Gen. Harrison, and 
was with Gen. Harrison throughout his entire Indian cam- 
paign. 

At the close of his military career, about the age of 
twenty-one, he entered the law-oifice of the Hon. Micah 



Stirling, a lawyer of eminence in Troy, N. Y., as a student. 
After devoting two or three years to the study of law in 
this office he returned to visit his sisters in East Tennessee, 
and shortly afterwards permanently engaged in the practice 
of his prolession at Pulaski, Tenn., at which place he mar- 
ried Miss Mary White Buford, the daughter of Capt. 
Charles Buford, formerly of Virginia. 

He practiced law in all the courts of that circuit, and in 
the Supreme Court at Nashville until his death, in 1842, 
constantly residing in Pulaski, with the exception of a few 
months in Savannah, Tenn., about the year 1827. 

Mr. J. W. Combs and Governor A. V. Brown were the 
first two lawyers who commenced the practice of law in 
Pulaski, commencing about the same time. Very many of 
the prominent lawyers of the South were trained in those 
offices. 

Mr. J. W. Combs left a widow and ten children, — three 
sons and seven daughters, — of whom the following are dead : 
Mrs. Ann Augusta Bryant; Harrison, who was killed near 
Spring Hill, Tenn., while serving with Van Dorn's cavalry 
(about 1864); Mrs. Mary Ferguson, at Memphis, Tenn.; 
Mrs. PJlizabeth Glasgow, at luka. Miss. 

The survivors of the family are Mrs. Frances E. Holmes, 
of luka ; Mrs. Eveline Graves, of Pontotoc Co., Miss ; Mrs. 
M. J. Butler, of Nashville ; Mr. James W. Combs, of Nash- 
ville ; Mrs. Alice Copeland, of Itawamba Co., Miss. ; and 
Mr. Micah Stirling Combs, who was born in Pulaski, Dec. 
21, 1829. Was principally educated at Wurtemburg Acad- 
emy, in that place, spending a short time also at each of 
several other schools, one of which was in the country, about 
four miles out. 

His first occupation was farming and the care of stock 
for three or four years, until he was about sixteen years old, 
being thirteen when his father died. 

Between sixteen and eighteen he was generally traveling 
in several different States. At the age of eighteen (1847) 
Mr. Combs commenced learning to print in the office of 
Addison Estes, of Pulaski, at which occupation he continued 
for about four years in several different towns. 

About 1850, Mr. Combs settled in Lebanon, Wilson Co., 
Tenn., purchasing an interest in a journal called the Leb- 
anon Packet, where he remained, publishing the Packet for 
about two years, which enterprise resulted very profitably. 
Mr. Combs at this time became sole owner and proprietor 
of the Packet office, which he removed to Nashville in 1852, 
and established the Evening News, the first evening paper 
ever established in the city ; and of this paper Mr. Combs 
was editor and proprietor for about two years, which resulted 
in entire financial and journalistic success. 

He was married to Miss Mary Georgie Jackson, daughter 
of Daniel and Mary {nee Clay) Jackson, near Nashville, in 
July, 1853. Soon after this Mr. Combs disposed of his 
printing-press, and, permanently retiring from printing, em- 
barked in the livery business. On account of his strong 
attachment for horses, be has, with the exception of one or 
two short intervals, continued ever since in this business, 
being at the same time always engaged in other heavy and 
profitable enterprises, as farming, merchandising, and trading 
generally. 

In the year 1872, Mr. Combs inaugurated the Combs 



%^ 




M. S. COMBS 




"M/f Pie. 
Residence of HENRY W.O'NEIL, on Hiuf 













'^■// /^/Af£: cS" Miles South West of Nashville Teihn. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



477 



Undertaking Establishment, since wliich time he lias given 
his exclusive attention to the business, his livery business 
being conducted by employees. 

Mr. and Mrs. Combs are the parents of eleven children, 
of whom seven are living. The oldest, James A., was ac- 
cidentally drowned in the Cumberland River (while bath- 
ing) in 1869. 

Mr. Combs is a member of the " Christian Church," 
member of A. 0. U. W., the order of the K. of H., of the 
I. 0. 0. p., and Royal Arcanum Societies. 



HENRY W. O'NEIL. 

Henry W. O'Neil, son of John F. and Matilda (Perkins) 
O'Neil, was born Nov. 25, 1820, in Davidson Co., Tenn. 
His father was a native of Burke Co., N. C, and settled in 
Davidson County in December, 1818, on the farm now 





HENRY W. O NEIL. 

owned by his son, Henry W. He died in 1840. He had 
seven children, all of whom are dead except the subject of 
this sketch. He and his faithful wife were members of the 
Presbyterian Church. She died about 1867 or '68. Henry 
W. O'Neil received a common-school education, and taught 
school one term. He has always been a farmer. He com- 
menced life poor, and by his industry and frugality has be- 
come the owner of a beautiful farm, a view of which may 
be seen elsewhere in this work. He is quite an extensive 
dealer in stock, especially sheep. 

He has been twice married, — first to Eigiva McLaughlin, 
March 25, 1856. She died in December, 1860, and he 
married for his second wife, December, 1863, Miss Anna 
Harding, daughter of George and Eliza Harding. They 
have one son, William Henry, burn March 18, 1866. 

Mrs O'Neil died April 1, 1879. She was a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. 



JOHN E. GANNAWAY. 

John E. Gannaway was born at Wartrace, Bedford Co., 
Tenn., Oct. 15, 1857. He traces his ancestry back to John 
Gannaway, who came from Bath, pjnglaud, and settled in 
Buckingham Co., Va., in 1723. Most of his paternal an- 
cestry were planters and slave-holders in Virginia. His 
father now resides at Unionville, Tenn. The subject of 
this notice began life by assisting his father on his farm and 
in his store. He entered the store when twelve years of 
age, and, soon having become proficient in book-keeping, 
acted as salesman and book-keeper. His attendance at 
school was very irregular, and he mastered alone the ordi- 
nary English branches and Greek and Latin. 

Having decided to study law, he entered the Vanderbilt 
Law School, Oct. 15, 1875, being at that time only eigh- 
teen years of age. He graduated in June, 1876, and, going 
to Wartrace, Tenn., taught school in that place five months. 
He came to Nashville Jan. 27, 1877, and began the practice 
of law, and on the 3d of July, 1878, was elected public 
administrator, and was re-elected Jan. 1, 1879. Mr. Gan- 
• naway is a Democrat in politics, and in 1878 was a delegate- 
at-large from Edgefield to nominate candidates for the Leg- 
islature. Oct. 15, 1876, he united in marriage with Marion 
C. Amos, of Cuthbcrt, Ga., and has two children, — Icglena, 
born Sept. 22, 1877, and Herbert, born Nov. 16, 1878. 



ANDREW JACKSON. 

Andrew Jackson, adopted son of Gen. Andrew Jackson, 
was born near the Hermitage, December, 1804. His nat- 
ural father was Severn Donelson, son of John Doaelson. 
There were twins born. Andrew was adopted within two 
hours after his birth ; was taken to the Hermitage, christ- 
ened, nursed, and forever received into the family of Gen. 
Jackson as a son. 

The adopted son was nephew to Mrs. Rachel Jackson, 
wife of the general. He was a beautiful child, and by his 
amiable disposition soon endeared himself to his foster-pa- 
rents, — as much so as if he had been their natural son. He 
was tenderly, lovingly, and carefully reared. He was first 
sent to the neighboring school, and later to the Nashville 
University, where he graduated. 

When Gen. Jackson went to Washington City, after his 
election to the Presidency, young Andrew accompanied 
him, and was offered the place of private .secretary, but 
declined on account of a desire to enjoy youth and to be 
free from the restraint the duties of office would impose. 

He was married to Miss Sarah York, of Philadelphia, a 
refined, an accomplished, and beautiful young lady, of ex- 
cellent family, whom he immediately conducted to the 
White House, where they met with the warmest and most 
affectionate of greetings by the President and other mem- 
bers of the family. Gen. Jackson always manifested much 
attachment for his daughter-in-law, addressing her through- 
out life as " my daughter." 

They remained with Gen. Jackson during the remainder 
of his administration, returning with him to the Hermit- 
age, where he dwelt until his death. A. Jackson, Jr., and 



478 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



liis wife were kind and unremitting in their attentions to 
the great chieftain and ex- President in his declining years, 
and had bestowed upon them the parting blessing of the 
great departed. 

He died April 15, 1865, from a wound received from 
the accidental discharge of his gun while hunting. He 
left his wife, yet residing at the Hermitage, and two chil- 
dren, — Mrs. Eachel Lawrence and Col. Andrew J., who is 
unmarried, and resides with his mother. 

Col. A. Jackson, his eldest son, was born at the Hermit- 
age, in 1835. He was a graduate at West Point, resigned 
Ills commission in the United States army (1861), and at 
breaking out of hostilities between the North and South 
was received into the Confederate service with his old rank, 
lieutenant. He was early promoted to colonel of artillery, 
was twice captured, and spent the last ten months of the 
war in military prison. 

The youngest, Samuel, died of a wound received at the 
battle of Chickamauga, under Bragg. He was four years 
younger than Andrew, was a farmer until breaking out of 
the war, when he took rank as lieutenant in Forty-fourth 
Tennessee Infantry, Confederate army. He served with 
Bragg and Johnson in their different campaigns until mor- 
tally wounded at Chickamauga. 

He was remarkably mild and affectionate, and was uni- 
versally loved by all with whom he came in contact. 



JAMES A. CHILTON. 

James A. Chilton's ancestry were from England, near 
London. His great-great-grandfather arrived in Baltimore, 
Md., about the year 1752, with at least two sons, one of 
whom was the great-grandfather of J. A. Chilton. He re- 
mained in or near Baltimore through a long life, serving in 
the war of independence under AVashington, and died about 
the year 1815, at the age of ninety. His children were 
James, William, John, Lemuel, and two daughters, who 
spent their lives in North Carolina. 

The two sons, James and John, came to Tennessee and 
settled in what is now Marshall County, near Parmington, — 
James in 1826, and John in 1824. William and Lemuel 
went to Kentucky in 1824 

James, the grandfather of J. A. Chilton, was a tobacco- 
planter and manufacturer in Maryland until he was about 
thirty years old, then in Virginia ten years, and in North 
Carolina fifteen years. He was twice married ; his first wife 
lived a very short time. Being greatly afiected by her 
death, he, in company with one companion, took a long 
journey through the then wild West and South, traveling 
on foot generally, with knapsack and gun, as they subsisted 
chiefly on game which they shot. During this trip he passed 
through Nashville, crossed the Tennessee River, and went 
into the Indian nation in Alabama. He returned the 
next year to his native State, and shortly after moved to 
Vii-ginia, where he was soon married to Miss Kennedy, by 
whom he had several children, — Francis, Richard, John, 
James, David, Thomas, Robert, Polly, Martlia, Virginia, 
and Jane. 



Richard, the oldest son, was the father of James A. Chil- 
ton. Richard married Nancy Gassage in 1828, by whom 
he had eight children, — four boys and four girls, — viz., Al- 
fred G., James A., Wesley W., Richard E., Malissa, Jane, 
Nancy A., and Catharine. 

His first wife, Nancy Gassage, died in February, 1844. 
He afterwards married Mrs. Nancy Carroll, by whom he 
had two daughters, — Augustine and Emily. 

He moved to Franklin County in 1845. In 1854 he 
moved to Missouri. At the outbreak of the war he was 




JAMES A. CHILTON. 

driven to Illinois. In 1866 he returned to Franklin County, 
Tenn., where he died soon after. 

James A. worked on a farm until he was ten years old, 
tlien three years in a cotton-factory, then on a farm about 
five years. When he was eighteen he commenced to 
learn the carpenter's trade under T. W. and J. M. Chilton. 
setting up for himself in about three years in partnership 
with T. W. Chilton. 

June 20, 1858, he was married in Nashville to the beauti- 
ful and accomplished Miss Emiiie C. Swan, of Galena, III, 
who was visiting the South on account of her health, and 
at the same time pursuing her favorite studies, ancient and 
modern languages, at the Nashville Female Academy. She 
was descended from a distinguished family of sea-captains 
of Pennsylvania. Miss Emiiie early became one of the 
favorite poetical authors of the South. 

]Mrs._ Chilton was born at Lost Mound, III. ; lost her 
mother when but five years of age ; removed soon after to 
Galena, where she attended the grammar-school until fifteen, 
when she was sent to Rock River Seminary, and there com- 
pleted her education at the age of eighteen. As a school- 
girl she was distinguished for her poetical compositions, fre- 
quently writing her essays in verse. 

For several years she was editress of the Temperance 
Montldij, a magazine published in Nashville. 




A. JACKSON. 




''\\f Iw 



/')T'K.!^^-^-^ 



Eldee William R. Hooten, son of John and 
Mary (Reeves) Hooten, was born in Grayson Co., 
Va., Feb. 13, 1806. Elijah Hooten, liis grand- 
father, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and 
was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at York- 
town. At the close of the war he settled as a 
farmer in Virginia, and became the father of a 
family of seven sons and three daughters. Elijah 
died in Tennessee. 

John H. Hooten, his second son, emigrated to Ten- 
nessee about the year 1811, settling in Giles County. 
He remained iiere a few years, and then moved to 
Warren Co., Ky., afterwards returning to Bedford 
Co., Tenn., and finally settling in Marsiiall County, 
where he died at the advanced age of seventy-five. 

He was married to Miss Mary Reeves, by whom 
he had eleven children, — seven sons and four daugh- 
ters. 
. William R. Hooten was the second son. His 

education was such as the common school of his day 

« 

afforded. He began to preach at the age of twenty- 
one, having " obeyed the call" at a very tender age. 
He was ordained minister of the Christian Church in 
1829 ; is a man of line native ability and of great 
executive talent. He preached, and built up churches 



in various States. He was ordained in Hickman 
Co., Tenn., subsequently preaching for two years in 
West Tennessee. He preached at various times in 
Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, and Georgia. 

In the spring of 1836 he settled on the South 
Harpeth, in the Fourteenth Civil District of David- 
son Co., Tenn. 

Elder William Reeves Hooten is in many respects 
a remarkable man ; of humble parentage, without 
education of a high order, by the force of liis in- 
dividuality and superior qualities of his mind he 
has won his way from obscurity to high favor in the 
hearts of his parishioners, and in the affections of 
the community in which he lives. He has during 
his long career of over fifty years as a preaclier re- 
fused to receive any salary for his services. 

He has preached at South Harpeth, Hannah's 
Ford, and Sand Creek, but tiie principal place of 
worship was at Providence, until the edifice was 
burned. He was married June 28, 1838, to Mary 
S. Berry. 

In 1846 he settled on some two hundred and 
twenty-five acres of beautiful land, where he has 
since resided. 

In politics Mr. Hooten is a Jacksonian Democrat. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



479 



Three children were born of this marriage, — Alberta, 
Johnetta, and James Andrew, of whom only Alberta sur- 
vives, who is rapidly coming into notice as a poetess. 

On the 3d of March, 1864, Mrs. Emilie C. Chilton 
died, while the Federal forces were in possession of Nash- 
ville, aged twenty-six years. The death of this estimable lady 
deprives us of a notice of her poems, which have never been 
published collectively, but many of which have been copied 
in foreign papers. As it is possible that her poetical works 
may be collected into book-form, we can say that it would 
be an admirable addition to our home literature. 

The following piece is a production of Mrs. Emilie C. 
Chilton : 

THE WRENS IN THE LOCUST-TREE. 

I know of a nest whicli the wild birds built 

That you cannot reach, 'tis so high, 
For the tree is strong, and the thorns are sharp, 

And the branches are flouting the sky. 
The birds sit there and swing in the air, 

And warble a song to me, 
And the noles come sweet to my lone retreat 

Prom the wrens in the old locust-tree. 

I know of a nest which the wild birds built : 

I watched as they carried the moss. 
And the little dry sticks and tender twigs. 

And so cunningly wove them across; 
'Twas a curious thing, those birds in the spring 

Were busy as busy could be, 
H iding day after day that wee nest away 

'Mid the thorns in the old locust-tree. 

I know of a nest which the wild birds built, 

And they sing to the soft summer air 
How the leaves will come out and shade us about, 

And hide all our eggs lying there. 
And then, by and by, when the sun warms the sky. 

Some sweet little nestlings there'll be, 
To flutter and hop from our home to the top 

Of this shadowy old locust-tree. 

I know of a nest which the wild birds built, 

And I sit by my window and look, 
While very, very slow does my needle go. 

And closed is my favorite book. 
The birds' sweet lay keeps me dreaming away 

Of how happy wc all shall be. 
They away up above, and I and my love 

Down here 'neath the old locust-tree. 

Mr. J. A. Chilton is above medium in size, fair com- 
plexion, and blue eyes. He has pleasant, winning manners, 
and is an object of the warmest aflfeotion of his neighbors, 
and especially is he the friend of children. He makes his 
home at all times happy, and exerts the same influence 
over the entire neighborhood. 

, While Mr. Chilton claims to be only a carpenter and 
house-builder, and repudiates the idea of an architect, his 
immediate neighborhood and many other portions of Nash- 
ville present residences, both large and small, of his design- 
ing which are universally spoken of as models of neatness, 
beauty, and elegance. 

It is probable that two persons were never united in mar- 
riage better calculated to make each other happy than Mr. 
and Mrs. Chilton. 



HON. A. J. DONELSON. 

Hon. A. J. Donelson. the second son of Samuel Donel- 
son, was born in Sumner Co., Tenn., on the 25th of August, 
1799. His eldest brother, John, died in 1817, soon after 
the Creek war, in which he served as a soldier under Gen. 
Jackson. His younger brother, Daniel L., was a brigadier- 
general, and died in the Confederate service. Their father, 
Samuel Donelson, died when they were quite young. He 
was a lawyer by profession, and the intimate friend and 
associate of Andrew Jackson, after whom he named his 
son Andrew. Their mother, the only daughter of Gen. 
Daniel Smith, was a Virginian by birth, and one of the 
surveyors of the boundary-line between Virginia and North 
Carolina. He also succeeded Andrew Jackson in the United 
States Senate in 1798, was secretary of the Territory of 
Tennessee, and a member of the national convention of 1796. 

Becoming a widow, Mrs. Donelson subsequently wedded 
Mr. James Saunders, of Sumner Co., Tenn., by whom she 
had several children. Upon this second marriage of his 
mother, A. J. Donelson, then quite young, was taken into 
the family of Gen. Jackson, where he remained until he 
entered Cumberland College. After completing the pre- 
scribed course here in 1816, Gen. Jackson procured him an 
appointment at West Point in the first class, under Gen. 
Thayer, finishing the course in three instead of four years. 
He graduated second in a class of great merit. He was 
immediately commissioned in the engineer corps and ordered 
to the frontier, but upon the application of Gen. Jackson 
he was appointed his aide-de-camp, in which position he 
served throughout the Florida campaign and until Jackson 
resigned his commission in the army. He now turned his 
attention to the study of law at Transylvania University. 
Receiving his license, in 1823 he appeared at the bar of 

Nashville in partnership with Mr. • Duncan. His 

sense of gratitude, however, outweighed his own ambition, 
and he again entered the service of his guardian and pro- 
tector, and went on to Washington with him in 1824, when 
Adams, although Jackson had the larger popular vote, was 
elected. During the succeeding four years he lived at 
Tulip Grove, near the Hermitage, in the mean time having 
married Emily, younge.'^t daughter of Capt. John Donelson, 
by whom he had four children, as follows : A. J. Donelson, 
who graduated at West Point, and who served as lieutenant 
in the United States Corps of Engineers until, from ex- 
posure in performance of duty, he contracted an illness 
which resulted in his death ; Mary E., relict of Gen. John 
A. Wilcox, who was member of Congress from Mississippi 
prior to the late war, and who died in the hall of the Con- 
federate Congress, at Richmond, Va. Mrs. Wilcox is now 
in the post-ofEce department at Washington. Capt. John 
S. Donelson, who had command of the Hickory Rifles, Con- 
federate service, and who was killed at the battle of Chicka- 
mauga ; Rachel J., widow of Gen. William B. Knox. 

Alter the election in 1828, Jackson made him his private 
secretary, Mrs. Donelson doing the honors of the White 
House. In 1836 she died, beloved and regretted by all 
who had the happiness of her friendship. In 1841 he 
married Mrs. E. A. Randolph, daughter of James G. Mar- 
tin, and widow of Lewis Randolph, grandson of Thomas 



480 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Jefferson. From this union he had eight children, viz., 
Daniel S., who was prominent in the Confederate service, 
occupying the post of inspector-general at the time of the 
fall of Vicksburg. He was murdered near Memphis in 
January, 1864:. His second son, Martin, is now a pros- 
perous planter in Mississippi, as is also his third son, W. 
A., upon his magnificent farm near the Hermitage. Cath- 
erine, who died in 1868 ; Capt. Vinet Donelson, commander 
of the Rock City Guards, who is engaged in mercantile 
pursuits in the city of Nashville ; Lewis R., residing at 
Memphis; Rosa E., deceased; and Andrew J., who farms 
with his brother, W. A. 

At the close of Gen. Jackson's administration, Mr. Don- 
elson declined office under Van Buren, being anxious for a 
respite from public affairs to enjoy the pleasures of his 
farm, upon which he remained until he was unexpectedly 
called to take part in the negotiation which brought Texas 
into the Union. The commission appointing Mr. Donelson 
minister to Texas is dated Sept. 16, 1844. Mr. Calhoun, 
then Secretary of State, in the letter inclosing the com- 
mission, says, " The state of things in Texas is .such as to 
require that the place (cliargi d'affaires) should be filled 
without delay, and by one who under all circumstances is 
thought best calculated to bring to a successful decision the 
great question of annexation pending before the two coun- 
tries. After full deliberation, you have been selected as 
that individual, and I trust, my dear sir, that you will not 
decline the appointment, however great may be the per- 
sonal sacrifice of accepting. That great question must be 
decided in the next two or three months, and whether it 
shall be favorable or not will depend on him who shall fill 
the mission now tendered to you. I need not tell you how 
much depends on its decision for weal or woe to our coun- 
try, and perhaps the whole continent. It is sufficient to 
say that, viewed in all its consequences, it is one of the 
first magnitude, and that it gives an importance to the 
mission at this time that raises it to the level with the 
highest in the gift of the government. Assuming, there- 
fore, that you will not decline the appointment unless some 
insuperable difficulty should interpose, and in order to avoid 
delay, a commission, with all the necessary papers, is here- 
with transmitted without the formality of awaiting your 
acceptance." 

Mr. Donelson was absent when the messenger arrived, 
but on his return he accepted the delicate trust, reaching 
Galveston on the 16th of October, 1844. 

That his charge was worked by signal ability has been 
conceded by those who have read that portion of the cor- 
respondence growing out of it, all of which has been pub- 
lished. 

Having secured the basis of annexation, he closed his cor- 
respondence and returned home very feeble in health from 
the effects of a malignant fever which prevailed at that time 
in Texas. He was afterwards made minister to Prussia 
till the close of Mr. Polk's administration. He also repre- 
sented the government at the federal court of Germany, 
and for some time discharged the duties of both positions. 
He was afterwards transferred entirely to the German mis- 
sion, in which he was continued under Taylor's administra- 
tion until the German mission was abolished. 



He was a delegate to the Southern Convention at Nash- 
ville in 1850. Standing almost alone, he boldly denounced 
its course as looking to the dissolution of the Union. On 
the 18th of April, 1851, he succeeded Mr. Ritchie on 
the Washington Union, which he conducted with ability. 

In 1856 he was nominated on the ticket with Mr. Fill- 
more, and received one hundred and eighty-one votes out 
of two hundred and five cast. 

The late war found him and family in Memphis, and on 
being asked to unsheathe the sword of " Old Hickory," he 
replied, " Only under the old flag." Very much overcome 
by the misfortunes of the war, he died in Memphis on the 
26th of June, 1871. Genial, frank, bold, and above dis- 
guise, a man of patriotic mould, belonging to a purer and 
better age, was the Hon. A. J. Donelson. 



DR. DAVID F. BANKS. 

Dr. David F. Banks was born Aug. 11, 1852, in Jeffer- 
son Co., Ky. He was the fourth son of Henry B. and 




DR. DAVID P. BANKS. 

Julia C. Banks. Henry B. Banks was a merchant in 
Louisville for many years ; at the time of his death, however, 
he was engaged in speculation in produce. 

Dr. David F. Banks' early life was spent principally in 
Kentucky attending school, and where he enjoyed advan- 
tages of both common school and academy. At the age of 
twenty-two he began the study of medicine with Dr. C. P. 
Mowman, of Charleston, Mo., remaining with him about 
three years, when he entered the University of Nashville and 
Vanderbilt, taking two courses of lectures in the Medical 
Department. Graduating Feb. 26, 1880, he resumed the 
practice of medicine in District Twenty-five, Davidson, 
Tenn., having previously practiced there for two years. 
July 12, 1877, he was married to Adeline, second daughter 
of 0. A. Siiupkins, of Davidson Co., Tenn. One child has 
been born to them, — viz., Beecher, — who died July 5, 1878. 





.MRS. W. 1!. IIUDSO.N'. 



W. B. Ill'DSON. 



WASHINGTON B. HUDSON 



is descended from Eiiglisli anoestry who came to 
tliis country at a very eai'ly day and settled in Vir- 
ginia, where two of tliem remained, while one re- 
moved to New York and settled on the Hudson 
River. 

Of the two remaining in Virginia, from one, Reu- 
ben, is descended the subject of this sketch. 

Joshua Hudson, grandfatlier of Washington, lived 
in Amherst Co., Va., and was a wealthy and influ- 
ential farmer, the owner of nuich land and many 
.slaves, and was killed by the falling of a tree. He 
was a soldier in the war of 1812. 

Aratia Hudson was his only son, who at the age 
of twenty-one married a Miss Banks, of Garrard 
Co., Ky. Their children were Joshua, James, 
Washington B., Dr. Lynn B., Nancy, Isaiah B., 
Reuben, Melvina, Commodore Perry, and Mary 
Louisa. 

Washington B. Hudson was born July 3, 1813, 
in Garrard Co., Ky., on Sugar Creek., His boyhood 
and early manhood were spent at home. Aug. 26, 
1833, he was married to Miss Louisa Marksbury, 



youngest daughter of Isaac Marksbury, a prominent 
man in his day. He was magistrate of the court, 
for more than twenty years, a man noteti for his 
many good qualities of head and heart, and an active 
and efficient member of the Cliristian Cluirch. 

Tlie children of W. B. and L. M. Hudson have 
been William D., Aratia, Isaac M., James, Mollie 
Lynn, Clayton A., Allie, and Thomas J. 

Washington B. Hudson after his marriage en- ■ 
gaged in farming on his own account. In 1848 he 
came to Davidson Co., Tenn., and settled on the 
farm he now occupies, purchasing it from Dr. James 
Overton. His original purchase was five hundred 
and fifty-four acres, to which, however, he added 
from time to time until his farm comprised eight 
hundred acres of excellent laud, three hundred acres 
of which he still retains, the rest having been ap- 
portioned to his children on their marriage. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hudson are members of the Chris- 
tian Church, a pretty edifice of which stands at the 
foot of the lane leading to their house, Mr. Hudson - 
bearing the principal part of the cost of its erection. 













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1 



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a^wi»^u^iL.L.^.4W4;<i^.,gj,w^,.:jja^^^ 




BIOGEAPHIES. 



481 




GEORGE THOMAS NELSON.* 



George Thomas Nelson was born June 16, 1836, in 
Fauquier Co., Va., and came to Tennessee with his parents 
in 1853, and settled at Neeiy's Bend. It is meet, in view 
of his standing in the community and of the stirring times 
which in his young manhood he met and passed through, 
that a friend should take note of his departure and give 
this risumS of his life. 

Enlisting in April, 1861, he was made an officer in Com- 
pany C, Second Tennessee Regiment, commanded by Col. 
W. B. Bates, and in the latter part of said month left with 
his regiment, destined to play no small part in the forth- 
coming drama of war, for his native hills. After a year 
campaigning in Virginia he came West with his regiment, 
and in the latter part of 1862 was connected with the 
cavalry, commanded by Col. (afterwards Maj.-Gen.) Whar- 
ton. This command was noted for its fighting qualities, 
and won for its leader promotion on the retreat of Bragg's 
army from Kentucky, and covered itself with honor dur- 
ing the noted campaigns of Tennessee, Georgia, and the 
Carolinas. His immediate company was attached to the 
headquarters of Gen. Wharton, performing scout and other 
duties for him, and will be remembered by the members of 
that command as the " Cedar Snags." On the memorable 
Georgia campaign it was detached and assigned to the head- 
quarters of Gen. Hood, and performed the responsible duties 
of their position with signal courage and fidelity, winning the 
plaudit of " Well done, good and faithful soldiers!" Dur- 
ing all these trying scenes George Thomas Nelson bore him- 

■!=■ Nashville Daily Banner, 



self a brave and courageous man. At the close of the war 
he returned to his home, and soon showed that he could 
participate in victories on other fields, for peace hath her 
victories no less renowned than those of war. 

With a mind endowed by nature and strengthened by no 
small acquirements, with a memory tenacious and stored 
with a fund of pointed and illustrative anecdote, with a wit 
sparkling and bright, and which he " often brought to turn 
agreeably some proper thought," ho might have entered the 
list and won distinction in any profession. But being en- 
amored of country life, and holding in love of nature com- 
munion with her invisible forms, he preferred the quiet life 
of a farmer. By energy, talent, and tact he dignified his 
calling, and with early and late rains gathered plenteous 
harvests, and with coming years enlarged his boundaries and 
increased his stores. His belief was that farming success- 
fully deserved and required the exercise of those higher 
faculties that give success in other departments of life. 

In the prime of manhood he who had escaped so many 
dangers of fire and flood was suddenly cut down. Wife 
and children are suddenly bereft when all around is promise 
and hope beckoningly on. Truly, the ways of Providence 
are past finding out, and seem dark and mysterious to 
human ken. 

Dec. 24, 1868, he was married to Mary L., eldest daugh- 
ter of W. B. Hudson. The issue of this union was three 
children, — namely, George T., Percy L., and Addison H. 

George Thomas Nelson died at his home in Davidson 
County, July 24, 1877, from injuries received while per- 
forming some work at his barn. 



482 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



WILLIAM H. WOODRUFF. 

William H. Woodruff, third son of C. E. and Elizabeth 
(Patten) Woodruff, was born in Nashville, Dee. 24, 1846. 
His father was a native of Ohio, coming to Nashville in 
1839, having traveled the entire distance from Ohio to 




W. H. WOODRUFF. 

IMiddle Tennessee on foot. He engaged at first as clerk 
and afterwards as proprietor in mercantile business. A 
few years since he purchased a farm at Madison Station, 
some eight miles from Nashville, whither he soon alter 
moved, there combining the business of farmer and mer- 
chant. This business is now owned and conducted by his, 
son William. 

William H. Woodruff, at the age of sixteen, began rail- 
roading as a newsboy on the Chattanooga Railroad trains. 
This he continued a short time, when he accepted a po.si- 
tion as fireman on the Jlemphis and Louisville, going from 
that road to the Edgefield and Kentucky Railroad. He 
afterwards accepted a position on the Evansville, Hender- 
son and Nashville Railroad, first as fireman and afterwards 
as engineer, in which latter capacity he acted for a year 
and a half. 

He was married at the age of twenty-three to Miss Ta- 
bitha A. Rothrock, of Greenville, Ky., and Cornelia J., 
Claudia H., Susie, and Mabel G. are their children. In 
politics Mr. Woodruff is independent. 



MAJ. JACOB M. BONDURANT. 

Maj. Jacob M. Bondurant was born Feb. 4, 1795, in 
Buckingham Co., Va. His father was one of three 
brothers who came to this country from France and set- 
tled in Virginia at a very early date. He removed with 
his family to Tennessee while Jacob was very young, set- 
tling in the Fourth District of Davidson County, on what 



has ever since been the Bondurant homestead, now owned 
by his son Joseph, and originally containing but sixty-four 
acres, but which Jacob increased before his death to more 
than eleven hundred acres. 

Maj. Bondurant was married, Nov. 17, 1824, to Eliza- 
beth C. Read, of Sumner County. The children after- 
wards born to them were Martha, John, Samuel, Elizabeth, 
Jacob, Jr., Edward P., Joseph R., and Robert L. Maj. 
Bondurant was a soldier under Jackson in the war of 
1812-14, where he acquired the title of major. There is 
in the possession of one of his sons a letter to the major 
from Gen. Jackson, instructing him how to proceed to ob- 
tain payment for a horse lost by the major in fording a 
stream. The general and major were lifelong neighbors 
and bosom-friends, their plantations being separated by not 
more than three miles. 

Maj. Jacob M. Bondurant died Dec. 25, 1858. 



TIMOTHY DODSON. 

Timothy Dodson was born in Halifox Co , Va., on the 
14th day of October, 1778. His ancestry was of Scotch- 
Irish descent. Caleb Dodson, his father, had three brothers, 
Joshua, Joseph, and Thomas. Caleb, and perhaps his 
brothers, were Revolutionary soldiers under Washington, 
following their chieftain in his campaigns throughout the 
war. It is a family tradition tliat at the close of hostilities 
the old soldier had a sufficient number of " one-hundred- 
dollar" bills. Continental money, to make a coat, yet their 
value was inadequate to make a purchase of the garment. 

Caleb lived and died in Virginia, as probably did his 
brothers, excepting Joseph, who at one time removed to 
Davidson Co., Tenn., settling finally in Dixon County, near 
Charlotte, where he reared a large family of children. 

Timothy Dodson resided with his father until fully grown, 
when he married (1803) Miss Agnes Wilson, by whom he 
had two children, born in Virginia. 

In 1808 he removed to Davidson Co., Tenn., and rented 
a few acres adjoining t^e Hermitage. His whole property 
at this time consisted of one half-grown and two grown 
negroes. With this help, upon rented property, he began 
his labors in Tennessee, which were continued with unre- 
mitting industry and uniform success throughout his life. ' 

His first purchase of landed estate was very small, not 
more than seventy-five acres, which from time to time were 
augmented into thousands. Some years from the time of 
his coming — precise date not known — he returned to Vir- 
ginia to purchase slaves, conveying his funds, which was all 
specie, upon a pack-horse. The weight of the money was 
in excess of the avoirdupois of Mr. Dodson, and it was a 
relief to the horse that his master should substitute his own 
weight for that of the pack while making the long, weari- 
some journey from the Hermitage neighborhood to Halifax 
Co., Va. 

Mr. Dodson was successful throughout life, and before his 
death had given to each of his sons a fine farm. 

Mr. Dodson was a close neighbor and personal friend of 
President Andrew Jackson, and entertained at his table four 




TIMOTHY DODSON. 





Photos, by Armstrong, NashviDc. 



B. F. WAGGONER. 



MRS. B. F. WAGGONER. 



B. F. WAGGONER. 



Benjamin F. Waggoner's grandfather, Cliristopher 
Waggoner, was born in North Carolina, coming to 
Tennessee in 1792, and settling on White's Creek, 
within three miles of the present residence of Benja- 
min, where he engaged in farming. 

His third son, Cornelins, father of Benjamin, was 
three years old at the time of his settlement in Ten- 
nessee. 

Cornelins married Elizabeth Hoffman. Their 
children were six in number, — Athalaua, Henry, 
Benjamin F., Eliza, Tennessee, and Amanda. 

Benjamin F. Waggoner was born May 15, 1828, 
in Davidson Co., Tenn. He remained with his 
father, attending the district school as opportunity 
oifered during his school days, and at the age of 
twenty-five engaged in the lumber business on his 
own account, running a saw-mill on Long Creek, 
where he had purchased one thousand acres of fine 
timber-land, five hundi'ed acres of which he still 
owns. Here he manufactured poplar and oak plank 
principally. 



In 1859 he engaged in the manufacture of sheet- 
iron stoves, which business he followed until the 
breaking out of the civil war. 

During the war, or for four years, he kept a dis- 
tillery on the Red River, in Robinson County, 
making on an average a barrel of spirits per day. 
After the war he returned to Davidson County and 
to farming, which business he still pursues. 

March 31, 1869, he was married to Miss Tennie 
V. Cato, of Davidson County. Their children have 
been four in number, namely : Lina D., Elvie Leo, 
Mary E., and Charlie F. 

Mr. Waggoner is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church (Alex. Green), which he joined while 
yet a young man, of which he continues to be a con- 
sistent member, and to the support of which he 
liberally contributes. Mrs. Waggoner is a member 
of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Mount 
Hennon. 

In politics, Mr. Waggoner has been a lifelong 
Democrat of the Jacksonian school. 




jy!sp/^'■'TI■^'";W5y'^;7'^";■''^V'^;'" ", '^"^ 



-V . n ,) Va^hf-irsmt V -i! fr,',f n- w 




.>^:^,K;>^^:^ 



Photo, by ArmstroDg, NasliviUc. 




Capt. James M. Smith was born in Adair Co., 
Kv., April 16, 1819. His fatlier, Joim Smith, emi- 
grated from Culpepper Co., Va., at an early day 
and settled in Kentucky, where he was engaged in 
farming for many years. He subsequently went to 
Illinois, where he died in 1853. He had a family 
of six children, of whom James was the oldest. He 
was reared on his father's farm until he was fifteen 
years of age, when he went into a store as clerk, and 
followed that occuijatiou until the spring of 1840, 
when Messrs. William Garvin & Co., of Louisville, 
Ky., set him u]) in the mercantile business at Marion, 
Ky., which business he continued until March, 1847, 
when he came to Nashville, and engaged in steam- 
boating on the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers for four 
years. 

In 1851 he established himself in the mercantile 
business, in which he has continued to the present 
time. While luerchandising has been his principal 



business, he has paid some attention to agriculture. 
Capt. Smith lias a fine farm and home, about three 
miles south of the city, where he makes a specialty 
of raising fine horses. The business firm with which 
he is at present connected is composed of Messrs. 
Smith, Hill & Rose, and, in addition to mercantile 
business, is engaged in the manufacture of salt at 
Clifton, W. Va. 

Mr. Smith has been twice married; first, in 1839, 
to Miss Mary Jane Epley, of Logan Co., Ky. She 
died in 1863, leaving three children, — Marshall M., 
Ella Virginia, and Robert Stevens. He was again 
married, in 1864, to Miss Sallie Nutt, formerly of 
West Virginia. They are active and consistent mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

In social relations, Capt. Smith is genial and com- 
panionable, in business matters prompt and reliable, 
at home cordial and hospitable. He is in the strictest 
sense a self-made, representative man. 



i 




p, 



J. M. BONDURANT. 





SILAS LINTON. 



MRS. SILAS LINTON. 



(Photos, by Armstrong, Nashville.) 





W. J. LINTON. 



MRS. W. J. LINTON. 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



483 



Presidents of the United States, who at different times were 
on visits to the Hermitage. 

Mr. Dodson was the fiither of thirteen children, — namely, 
Caleb, deceased ; Lucy, wife of Thomas Scniple, now living 
in Texas, and who has reared a large family; Jefferson, de- 
ceased, a successful merchant of Lebanon and father of five 
children ; Julia, who married Bird Fitzgerald, both now 
deceased ; Thomas, deceased ; Elizabeth, deceased, wife of 
J. W. Pennington, left one daughter; Capt. Timothy, a 
bachelor, who served with credit throughout the war in the 
Confederate service ; Mary, wife of George Ridley, residing 
in West Tennessee, and the mother of two children ; Joseph 
W., who married Mattie Curd, of Wilson County, and who 
now resides at the mouth of Stone's River, in this county. 
This son was frequently intrusted with important business 
matters by President Jackson. Louisa B., who died just 
as she had reached womanhood ; Sarah Ann Calloway, de- 
ceased, wife of Wade Baker, and mother of two children ; 
William C, married to Elizabeth Ann, daughter of William 
Curd, of Wilson County. He is a prosperous, well-to-do 
farmer and father of six sons. Sallie Ward, the only one 
of thirteen born who failed to attain majority before death. 

It will be seen that Mr. Timothy Dodson was the head 
of a very large family, yet he failed not to provide abun- 
dantly for his household, both in immediate and future 
wants. He was a man of great will and energy, liberal, in- 
dustrious, and temperate. He was a staunch Democrat, and 
in later life a strict member of the Baptist Church. His 
wife was a lady fit in every respect to rear so large a family, 
and Mr. Dodson always attributed much of his success to 
the wise counsel and hearty co-operation of his bosom com- 
panion. She died in February, 1855, and sis months later 
she was followed by her husband. The pair, with nearly 
all deceased members of the family, are interred in the 
family burying-ground upon the old homestead ou Stone's 
River. 



THEOPHILUS SCRUGGS. 

Theopbilus Scruggs is of Scotch ancestry, but his imme- 
diate predecessors were natives of Virginia. His father, 
Drury E. Scruggs, was an aged man with a family of seven 
children, four sons and three daughters, when in 1808 he 
came from Virginia to Davidson Co., Tenn. 

Theophilus Scruggs was his third son ; wasborn in Septem- 
ber, 1782, being aged about eighteen years when he came 
with his father's family to Tennessee. On the 22d day of 
November, 1818, he married Charlotte Perry, daughter of 
George Perry, who was by nativity a Scotchman, but who 
came to Davidson County at an early day in its history. 
After his marriage Mr. Scruggs settled at what is now the 
town of Goodlettsville, in Davidson County, and engaged in 
agricultural pursuits. He was an ardent lover of the chase, 
and was in every sense a representative of the hardy pioneer 
spirits who braved the dangers, endured the hardships, and 
submitted to the privations of border-life to pave the way 
for the advanced civilization of to-day, and who aided in 
transforming what was then a dense wilderness inhabited 
by wild beasts, and at one time by wilder men, into a beau- 
61 



tiful country that is now blooming like a garden. At the 
time of his early manhood, game, such as deer, bears, etc., 
abounded here, and his hours of leisure were spent in their 
pursuit. He was a great admirer of that noblest of all 
animals, the horse, and his early life was engaged in the 
rearing of thoroughbred horses. 

Mr. Scruggs' children, eight in number, made their ad- 
vent in the following order : George P., born Nov. 2, 1821 ; 
Benjamin F., born Jan. 22, 1823 ; flliza Ann, born Nov. 
26, 1824; Narcissa, born Aug. 26, 1826; Allen P., born 
Feb. 28, 1829 ; Christopher C, born April 2, 1831 ; Alex- 
ander, born Oct. 2, 1834; Richard, born Feb. 28, 1837. 

In politics Mr. Scruggs was an old-line Whig. In the 
war of 1812 he was a soldier under the heroic leadership 
of Jackson, having raised a company of volunteers on his 
own account, of which he was made captain. He was in 
nearly every engagement of the war, and acquitted himself 
with honor and distinction, and will be handed down in 
history as one of the heroes of the memorable battle of New 
Orleans; was discharged in 1815, and returned imme- 
diately to the peaceful pursuits of pastoral life, and in the 
quiet avocation of agriculture and developing the interests 
of his county he ended his days. A noble life, nobly spent. 
He lived an unostentatious life and died on April 16, 1864, 
regretted by all who knew him. 

His son, A. P. Scruggs, was reared on the farm with his 
father. At common school he received what education was 
attainable at that time. On the 3d of March, 1859, he 
married Susan E. Speer, daughter of Andrew Speer, who 
was a representative of one of the oldest families of the 
county, his mother having been in the old Buchanan Fort 
at the time of its siege. After his marriage Mr. Scruggs 
settled on the farm on which he now resides, and which he 
has transformed into a beautiful and tasty home. He in- 
serts this sketch in honor of his father's memory, and to 
perpetuate the history of one of the oldest families of the 
county. 



SILAS LINTON. 



Silas Linton, son of Hezekiah and Joanna Linton, and 
grandson of Hezekiah Linton, Sr., was born in North 
Carolina, Aug. 8, 1799. His father was a lieutenant in 
the war of the Revolution, served with distinction, and 
was honorably discharged. In consideration of his services 
he received from the United States government a grant of 
land, but from some cause his family never obtained posses- 
sion of it. 

About 1806 he started with his family from North Car- 
olina to come to Davidson Co., Tenn., but on the way was 
stricken with an illness which proved fatal. His widow and 
family, however, came on, and settled in the Fourteenth Dis- 
trict, Davidson County. Here she married again, her second 
husband being Benjamin Pritehard. She was a faithful 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Silas Linton 
remained with his mother on the farm until he was grown. 
His first start in life was as hired laborer for Robin Hill ; 
he worked two years, and received as compensation for his 
services eighty dollars. He then engaged as overseer on a 



484 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



farm for one Jones. On the 20th of January, 1820, he 
married Margaret Pritchard, and settled on the farm now 
owned by his son, William J., in southeast part of District 
Fourteen, Davidson County. They had three children. 

Mr. Linton was a tidy, practical, and successful farmer. 
He owned about one thousand acres of land. Both him- 
self and wife were zealous members of the Christian 
Church, and for more than fifty years they trod the path 
of life happily, hand in hand, together. He died Aug. 1, 
1873. Mrs. Linton was born in North Carolina in 1802. 
She died Oct. 9, 1878. They were honorable and hon- 
ored people. They lived respected and died regretted by 
all who knew them. This tribute to their memory is 
inserted by their son, William J. 

WILLIAM JAMES LINTON. 

William James Linton, only son of Silas and Margaret 
Linton, was born in Davidson Co., Tenn., Oct. 22, 1822, 
on the old homestead, on which he now resides. He re- 
ceived a common-schoiil education, and by reading much 
has acquired a gotd practical busincs's education. He re- 
sided with his parents on the farm until his marriage, 
Sept. 10. 1843, to Miss Jarutha Vaughn. They had five 
children : Johnson V., who married first Miss Rosanna 
Hughes, and after her demise Miss Elizabeth Hughes, and 
is now a farmer in the Fourteenth District ; Margaret, who 
married Nathan Greer and resides in Williamson County ; 
Silas, who married Miss Kate Anderson and is now a 
farmer in the Fourteenth District ; and William J., Jr., 
who married Miss Mary Givings and now lives on the old 
Linton liomestead. All of them are good citizens and 
are in good circumstances in life. 

Mrs. Linton died July 10, 1853. She was a member 
of the Christian Church ; was an estimable lady, a pious. 



affectionate mother, and a loving wife, and, dying, left behiufl 
the rich fragrance of a good Christian character as a pre- 
cious legacy to her children. 

On Dec. 21, 1854, Mr. Linton married his second wifol 
Miss Mary J. Moss, who lived but six months after herj 
marriage, dying June 25, 1855. 

Mr. Linton married his third wife, Mrs. E. A. McLe4 
more, formerly Miss Hughes, Dee. 24, 1856. She was the! 
widow of Daniel J. McLemore, a lawyer who lived in Tyler,! 
Smith Co., Texas. At the time of her marriage to Mr.i 
Linton she had one son, Thomas J., who is now a clerk in 
Memphis, Tenn. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Linton wore born six children, three of 
whom — viz.. Rose Lee, Sidney H., and Robert L. — are resid- 
ing with them. Of the remaining three, Lucy M. died in 
her eighteenth year, Willie R. died at the age of fifteen 
years, and Eustace A. at the age of two years. 

Mrs. Linton is a daughter of Thomas and Lucy M. 
Hughes; was born near Hillsboro', Williamson Co., Tenn., 
Jan. 9, 1832. Her father was a native of North Carolira, 
born in 1805, and settled on West Harpeth, in Williamson 
County, 1808. He married Lucy M. Bond, with whom he 
has lived fifty years. They have had twelve children, only 
three of whom are living, — Eustachia A., Sidney, who is 
now a farmer in his native county, and Elizabeth P., who 
married a sou of William J. Linton. 

Mr. Linton has a fine valley farm of seven hundred 
acres. He has a beautiful home, with magnificent scenery 
surrounding it; his farm is well watered and in a high 
state of cultivation. Both himself and wife are worthy 
members of the Christian Church. He is liberal in his 
donations to the church, and the poor go not empty-handed 
away. He was formerly a Whig, but of late takes no in- 
terest in politics further than to cast his vote. 






•r 




M". 



W. C HUTTON 



WM. CARTER HUTTON 



was born Jan. 20, 1842, in that part of the Sixteenth District of 
Davidson County which is now Pegram's Station, Cheatham Co. 

John Hutton, his paternal grandfather, was born in County 
Tyrone, Ireland, and emigrated to America soon after the Revo- 
lution, when he was but sixteen years of age. 

He lived in New York and Pennsylvania until manhood, 
was married in Philadelphia to his first vrife, and soon after 
removed to North Carolina, and resided there fifteen or more 
years, thence removing to Rutherford Co., Tenn., in 1807. 
Before his death he moved to Williamson County. He was the 
father of twenty children. He was an independent thinker and 
Democrat in politics. 

Wm. Drennan, son of John Hutton, was born in Mecklen- 
burg Co., N. C, Nov. 17, 1802, and came when a young lad with 
his father to Tennessee. When of age he moved to the Six- 
teenth District, Davidson County, and engaged in farming and 
tanning. He married for his first wife Miss Martha Dillahunty, 
daughter of an old settler in Davidson County. He continued 
in business (adding a shoe- and saddler-shop) until his death, 
Aug. 4, 1858. 

His second marriage was solemnized in 1833. This wife, 
Miss Virginia Perebee, was born near Norfolk, Va., and was the 
eldest of six children of Thomas and Sally Perebee. She was 
brought 'to Tennessee in 1819, when only one year of age. 
Their children, four- in number, are : Sally E. (who man-ied, first 
Col. Jas. E. Newsom, second Rev. W. D. Cherry) ; John H. ; 
Thomas F. (farmers in the Fourteenth District, Davidson 
County) ; and William C. 

W illiam Carter was educated first at common schools, then at 
Charlotte, Tenn., afterwards at White Creek Spring, under the 
tuition of that veteran and able teacher, Edwin R. Crocker. 



In Febraary, 1859, Mr. Hutton went to Franklin, Tenn., 
and commenced the study of medicine with D. B. Cliife, M.D. ; 
in October of same year attended Shelby Medical College ; 
also attended summer course of 1860, fall course of 1860- 
61, graduating as M.D., Feb. 21, 1861. After graduation he 
enlisted in Co. A, Rock City Guards, of Nashville, and was 
mustered into the Confederate army. He served under Gen. 
Lee in Northwest Virginia, and was transferred to " Stonewall" 
Jackson's corps. After twelve months' services he returned to 
Nashville, and began practicing his profession at Pegram's 
Station. In addition to farming and the practicing of his pro- 
fession, he engaged in merchandising from 1866 to 1870. In 
1875 he moved to " Mount Airy," the pleasant home where he 
now resides, on Harpeth River. 

He combines the practice of medicine with agriculture, his 
large and lucrative practice occupying most of his time. 

He married, July 8, 1862, Miss Julia A. Pegram, daughter 
of Roger Pegram, Esq. ; her parents were from Virginia, — on 
the paternal side from Dinwiddle County ; her mother, Caroline 
Williams, from Halifax County. Mrs. Hutton was born in 
Davidson County, about a mile from the birthplace of her 
husband. She was educated at the Tennessee Female College, 
Franklin, Tenn. They have seven living children, — Cora V. C, 
Roger P., Willie D., Sallie, Annie L., Vernon, and Irving. 

Politically Dr. Hutton is a Democrat, though strictly a free- 
thinker. He has never sought office, preferring never to com- 
promise his independence of thought or action. In matters of 
public interest he is liberal, a friend to education and the ad- 
vancement of mankind, and, though not a member of any 
Christian organization, entertains high moral principles and 
fixed convictions. 





Phutua. liy Armstroiig, >>'a:3livillti. 



MRS. W. H. LOVELL. 



W. H. LOVELL. 



WILLIAM H. LOVELL. 



It is not to the soldiery, with its pomp, parade, glitter, and 
clash of arms, not to the politicians, with their noisy orator}' 
and fiery declamations and invectives, that American liberty 
will owe its preservation and perpetuity. These are but the 
foam and froth on the surface of a deep and powerful river. 
The current bearing on in strength and to .'^afetj- the free 
institutions of our land is best typified hy sucli a person as the 
one of whom we now write. The class of which he is a type 
will so long as right triumphs control its destiny. He is em- 
phatically one of the people and a representative man in all 
respects. Without parade, without noise, quietly and steadily, 
conservatively and consistently, he has ever aimed to know 
what was transpiring around him, and, knowing, to use his 
best judgment in choosing a course adapted to produce " the 
greatest good to the greatest number." 

William Harrison Lovell was born on Sam's Creek, in 
Davidson Co., Tenn., May 14, 1810. (This territory is now 
a part of Cheatham County.) His father, John Munroe 
Lovell, was born, Sept. 1, 1777, in North Carolina, and 
moved to Davidson County about the commencement of the 
present centui'y, and settled, after marrying Susanna Pack in 
1808, on Sam's Creek. He resided there about two years, then 
moved to Pond Creek, and lived there until his death, which 
occurred in 1856. He was a justice of the peace, a represen- 
tative farmer, a member of the Methodist Church, and a good 
man. 

William H. Lovell resided with his parents until 1833, when, 
on April 4, he married Miss L. Ruhama House, daughter of 
John C. House, Esq., who came to Davidson County in 1814 
from near Raleigh, N. C. She was born Sept. 21, 1813. About 
two years after their marriage Mr, Lovell made a purcha.se 
of a portion of his present homestead, and they moved to the 



place on the waters of the Harpeth River where, after forty- 
five years of useful and contented life, they now reside. 

To the small farm of ninety-three acres with which he 
commenced his home life, Mr. Lovell has from time to time 
added in various ways, until his real estate at this writing 
amounts to about two thousand one hundred acres. 

Mr. Lovell has always been an admirer and an ardent sup- 
porter of the political doctrines enunciated by Jefferson, Jack- 
son, and other champions of the Democratic party, and cast 
his first vote for Andrew Jackson in his first candidacy for 
President. He was elected justice of the peace, and held that 
office for several years, and has, from time to time through 
his whole life, held various other offices and positions of honor 
and trust, the unsolicited gift of his neighbors. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Lovell have for over thirty years been 
consistent and active members of the Methodist Church, and 
they have always liberally aided, financially and otherwise, 
not alone their own particular sect, but the cause of Christian- 
ity and morality wherever it could be done by them. Their 
children are Susan P., who married Rev. John A. Cox, of 
the Methodist Church (he died in 1874, leaving several chil- 
dren) ; Thomas R. (deceased); William W. (deceased); 
Caroline T. ; Charles B., who served throughout the late 
civil war in the Confederate service; John H. ; Carroll M., 
who graduated in medicine at Vanderbilt University, and is 
now a rising physician in this county ; and Nancy E. 

Caroline married J. A. J. Shelton, who was in the Con- 
federate service in the late war, and was killed at the battle 
of Atlanta, Ga., in 1863. Mrs. Shelton died in 1862, leaving 
two children, — Emma and Ida, — who were taken home by 
Mr. and Mrs. Lovell and cared for and reared as their own 
children. 




n"v 




JOHN BUrrERWOHTLI. 



MRS. JOHN BUTTERWORTH. 



JOHN BUTTERWORTH, 



An early settler! How much of harfly endu- 
rance, of wearing toil, of deprivation, is told in those 
words ! and the most expressive description of John 
Butterworth and his wife is, tiiat they were early 
settlers. 

The ancestors of John Butterworth came from 
England in the colonial period to Virginia, where 
Benjamin Butterworth, his father, resided at the time 
of his birth, which occurred in Campbell County, 
March 25, 1794. His boyhood and early youth 
were spent with his mother on the farm left by his 
father, who was drowned. At the call for soldiers 
in the war of 1812 young Butterworth siiowed his 
l)atriotism by being one of the first to enlist. He 
served faithfully and well, I'eceiviug an honorable 
discharge from service. Immediately thereafter he 
came to Sumuer Co., Tenn., where he married Lucy 
Talley. The young couple commenced housekeep- 
ing on a farm on the waters of Drake's Creek. 

They resided here only a very few years, Mr. 
Butterworth selling his place and removing to David- 
son County when about twenty-five years old. His 
first settlement in this county proved to be the home 
of his old age, and during the many years in which 



this worthy couple lived and toiled together they 
experienced many vicissitudes. Here were born to 
them seven children, — Caroline (deceased), Parmelia, 
Reuben, Sally, AVilliam, James, and Zachariah (de- 
ceased). Sally, William, and James now (1880) re- 
side on the old homestead. 

Mr. Butterworth never had any political aspira- 
tions, preferring the quiet, unostentatious life of a 
farmer, but voted the Whig ticket early in life, after- 
wards the Democratic. He enjoyed the sport of 
hunting, and was a crack marksman, and his labor 
was blessed with competency. He died April 20, 
1877, at the advanced age of eighty-three years, 
never being sick a day till his last illness. 

Lucy Talley, his wife, was born in Cumberland 
Co., Va., June 17, 1792, and moved with her parents 
to Sumner Co., Tenn., at the age of six years. She 
resided in Sumner County till her marriage. She 
was for many years a consistent member of the 
Metiiodist Episcopal Church, and acted well her 
part in the sphere of life which Providence assigned 
to her. A kind, indulgent mother, her memory is 
cherished by a group of loving descendants. She 
died Jan. 23, 1873. 





JOEIN C. BOWERS. 



MRS. JOHN C. BOWERS. 



JOHN C. BOWERS. 



William Pitt Bowers, father of John C, wa.s of 
English parentage, and born in New Jersey in 1767. 
In early manhood he removed to North Carolina, 
where he married Sally Gomer in the latter part of 
the last century. Shortly after his marriage he emi- 
grated to Davidson Co., Tenn., wiiere lie became pos- 
sessed of about five hundred acres of land. He was 
bluff and iiearty, a worthy type of frontiersmen, and 
a representative farmer of that period. He died in 
April, 1823. 

Lemuel, the oldest of their .six children, was born 
in North Carolina previous to their removal to David- 
son County. John and Stephen, both residing in the 
Twentieth Civil District, are the only ones now 
living. John C. Bowers was born Aug. 3, 1801. 
His boyhood and youth were .spent among the ever- 
green-capped hills and beautiful vales where now, in 
the sunset of life, he sits musing over the varied and 
eventful scenes which memory recalls as the pano- 
rama of those many years passes in retrospect before 
his vision. He has lived to see the ahr.o.st bound- 
less forests through which in his youth and early 
manhood he used to chase the bounding stag trans- 
formed into broad and waving fields of grain, inter- 
spersed with beautiful farm-houses, and dotted here 
and there with thriving villages. 

The lofty hills that then echoed the panther's wild 
scream are now resonant with the neigh of the iron 
horse. The very lightning that used to play fantas- 
tic freaks about the cloud-capped summits of his 



native hills, now chained and tamed by the hand of 
man, has become his ])assive .servitor and .swift- 
winged messenger. During the fourscore years of 
his life nature wild and unadorned has yielded to 
the touch and donned the garb of civilization ; great, 
indeed, have been the changes he has lived to wit- 
ness. 

Mr. Bowers received some literary instruction botli 
in Davidson and Montgomery Counties, and when 
twenty-one years of age, on Dec. 26, 1822, he mar- 
ried Sally Jjassiter. Immediately after their mar- 
riage he commenced fVirniing on the same place where, 
after fifty-seven years of harmonious married life, 
they now reside. Their family consists of six living 
children, — Williaui, Lynville, Caroline, .John, Mar- 
tha, and Sally, — all of whom, except John, live 
within three miles of the old homestead. The de- 
.scendants of Mr. and Mrs. Bowers, including chil- 
dren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, num- 
ber over one hundred. 

Mr. Bowers has always been a quiet, unpretentious 
man, a good farmer and citizen, and has been justice 
of the peace in his district for over twenty years, 
during which time his decisions have been noted for 
their justice, yet justice tempered with mercy. He 
has always endeavored to act as peacemaker rather 
than agitator, and now as his long life draws near its 
close he is reverenced and loved by his neighbors and 
friends as one who has lived a worthy, honorable, 
and useful life. 





DE. JESSE HENRY JORDAN. 



MRS. JESSE HENRY JORDAN. 



DR. JESSE HENRY JORDAN. 



The paternal ancestry of Dr. Je.?se Henry Jordan 
were Iri.sh. They came to tliis country at a very 
early day and settled in Davidson County. 

His grandfather, Meredith Jordan, immigrated to 
Tennessee from North Carolina, settled within ten 
miles of Nashville, and engaged in farming. His 
father, Benjamin Jordan, was married to Miss Louisa 
Brown. Their children were eight in number. 

Jesse H., the youngest son, was born in Davidson 
County, Marcli 24, 1838. His advantages for an 
education were not of the best, but by dint of hard 
study he was enabled to graduate at the Nasiiville 
University, in 1864, with the degree of M.D. He 
began the practice of his profession at Sam's Creek, 
Cheatham Co., remaining but one year, and then 
moving to Davidson County, where he now lives. 

Tn November, 1865, he was married to Miss Nan- 
nie, eldest daughter of W. D. and Elizabeth (Cato) 
Simpkins. His first wife dying two years after 
marriage, he married for his second wife her sister. 
Miss Bettie Simpkins, Sept. 28, 1869. Their chil- 



dren are H. Shelly, Nannie B., Leslie, Willie D. (de- 
ceased), and an infant son. 

W. D. Simpkins died May 13, 1871, at the age of 
fifty-five. He was the son of Orman A. and Nancy 
Simpkins, who were of the earliest settlers. W. D. 
Simpkins was a farmer and dealer in live-stock, 
turning his attention in his latter days more particu- 
larly to fat stock, acquiring most of his wealth in 
this business. He was a most enterprising and pub- 
lic-spirited man, and successful in all his undertak- 
ings. He was very benevolent and charitable, 
giving liberally to endowment funds. He built 
entirely of his own means the Cumberland Pres- 
byterian Ciuu'ch, in tiie Twenty-third District of 
Davidson County, with wiiich he became connected 
while yet a young man, remaining a member until 
his death. In all his walk he was an honorable, 
upright man and Christian gentleman. With no 
advantages in his youth, yet by close observation and 
attentive reading he became a well-informed man. 
In politics he was Democratic. 





Photos, by Annstroiij,'. N:ishville. 



MUS. JACOB M. iMAYO. 



JACOB M. MAYO. 



JACOB M. MAYO. 



Jacob M. Mayo was born in Fluvanna Co., Va., 
June 22, 1812. His ancestors were of English origin, 
and emigrated to this country away back in the days 
of the first settlements. Mr. Mayo received a com- 
mon-school education. Shortly after attaining his 
majority he came to Davidson County, and engaged 
as teacher. This occupation he continued for several 
years with success, winning fi'iends and popularity. 

In 1844, Mr. Mayo concluded to change his busi- 
ness to luml)ering, and built a saw-mill in the Twenty- 
fourth District of Davidson County, and from that 
time to the ]iresent he has been engaged in lumber- 
ing, carrying on farming at the same time quite 
extensively. 

In 1848, Mr. Mayo was married to Mary Ann 
Holt, daughter of Henry Holt, an early settler of 
Davidson County, and a particii^ant with Gen. 
Jackson in tiie Creek war and war of 1812. For 
the past nineteen years this worthy couple have re- 
sided on the homestead of about four hundred acres 
in the Twenty-fourth District of Davidson County. 

They have had fifteenchildren, — Tennessee, born 
in 1848; Henry Valentine, born Jan. 3, 1850, died 
June 24, 1873; Mary Ann, born March 31, 1851; 
Sarah Jane, born June 11, 1852, died Dec. 18, 1875; 
Amanda, born Jan. 10,1864; Catherine, born Jan. 22, 



1859; Ellen, born May 11, 1860; Elizabeth, born 
March 24, 1862; Jackson J., born July 22, 1863; 
Joanna and .Jo.sephine (twins), born Oct. 3, 1866; 
George, born April 15, 1867; Susannah Isabel, born 
in August, 1869,.died July 4, 1872. Of thase, four- 
Tennessee, Henry V., Sarah J., and Amanda — are 
married. 

In politics Mr. Mayo was in old times a Whig, but 
has latterly affiliated with tiie Democrats. Mr. Mayo 
has been identified prominently for over forty years 
witii the Methodist Church, and has ever been found 
one of its most liberal .sujjporters, and his house the 
home of the itinerants. In all of his varied business 
transactions Mr. Mayo has deserved and won the 
confidence of the community in a pre-eminent de- 
gree for honesty, fair dealing, and integrity, and no 
one has had reason to doubt his word or to complain 
of an act of injustice. Frank and outspoken him- 
self, he has an admiration for the same qualities in 
others. His desire to oblige others has frequently 
caused him personal inconvenience, yet to-day no man 
is more true to a friend, or a more staunch adiierent 
to a person or cause deemed by him deserving, than 
is he. He enjoys an active life, and as the result of 
the labor of years he has the .satisfaction of possess- 
ing a handsome competency. 




FRANK M. McINTOSH. 



Frank M. Mcintosh, was of Scottisli descent, his 
ancestry being early settlers in Illinois. His grand- 
father was John Mcintosh, whose third son, also 
named John, was the father of Frank. Frank's 
father was born Oct. 15, 1794, in Fayette Co., Ky. 
He was a soldier under Gen. Harrison, and was 
present at the death of the celebrated Indian war- 
rior Tecumseh at the battle of the Thames. He 
was married June 9, 1817, to Miss Sarah Cowley, of 
Baltimore. Their cliildren were Henry A., Plum- 
mer B., Mary A., John W., Frank M., Lucy H., 
and Joseph C. 

John Mcintosh immigrated with his family to 
Tennessee about the year 1828, having been there 
himself previously, and assisted in the building of 
the first jail in Nashville. At the time of his mar- 
riage he could not read, but acquired this accomplish- 
ment of his wife, and in his maturer years was a 
man of fine intelligence, possessing much general 
information gleaned from reading and observation. 
Having experience acquired in the management of a 
similar institution in Kentucky, he was placed in 
charge of the State Prison in Nashville when there 
was but a single prisoner. This position he retained 
for more than thirty years, performing the varied 
duties of the trust with singular fidelity, and with 
great satisfaction to the people and profit to the 
State of many thousands of dollars, resigning the 
place when it became evident that his advanced years 
and declining health prevented him from performing 
the duties of the office with his wonted vigor. He 



was one of the most efficient members of the First 
Baptist Church, Nashville, its elder for many years, 
and contributed liberally to its support. In politics 
he was a Jacksonian Democrat. He died June 1, 
1859, at his plantation in Louisiana, leaving a con- 
siderable fortune, which, however, had been ma- 
terially diminished by unfortunate contracts on the 
Chattanooga Railroad. 

Frank M. Mcintosh was born in Frankfort, Ky., 
April 1, 1827. He enjoyed superior educational ad- 
vantages, and at the age of fifteen was employed as 
clerk by Col. A. W. Johnson, with whom he re- 
mained about nine years, when he embarked in the 
mercantile business on his own account as a wholesale 
and retail grocer. Unfortunately, at the end of one 
year, in which his business had prospered, his entire 
stock was burned, and as the company in which 
he was insured was insolvent, he lost every dollar. 
Very soon afterwards he was appointed deputy United 
States marshal, a position he kept until the breaking 
out of the war of the Rebellion. Nov. 11, 1857, he 
was married to Eliza J., eldest daughter of Henry 
Menees, of Davidson County. Their children were 
John, Henry P., and Lucy. His first wife dying, he 
married for his second her sister. Miss Ellen Menees, 
July 8, 1863. Their children have been Elizabeth, 
Henry, Frank W., Sally, Mary, and Harvest. 

Henry Menees' ancestors were pioneer settlers. 
His mother was a relative of Gen. Coffee, of Revo- 
lutionary fame, also one of Jackson's officers at the 
battle of New Orleans. 





MR. J. A^^ HOWINGTON. 



MRS. J. W. HOWINGTON. 



J. W. HOWINGTON. 



James White Howington is third son of Wil- 
lis Howington, of Newport, Tenn., where James 
was bora Aug. 1, 1810. His mother's name was 
Catherine Johnson, daughter of Noel Johnson, of 
Granville Co., N. C. 

Willis Howington was a soldier in the war of 
1812-14, was reported as missing, and, as he was 
never afterwards heard of, was probably killed. 

James W. Howington, when but a mere lad, was 
apprenticed to one Joel Van Ney, who kept a tavern 
in AVilksboro'. 

At the age of eighteen he went to Murray Co., 
Tenn., remaining one year engaged in farming. 
From there he went to New Orleans, where he 
made his home for three years or more while lie 
followed boating on the Mississippi. 

In 1836 he came to Davidson County, and the 
same year, August 8th, he was married to Rachel, 
fourth daughter of Elisha and Catherine Rhodes. 
Their children were Jame.s, Harvey, and Sarah A, 
(deceased). His first wife died Oct. 8, 1839. Jan. 
5, 1840, he was married to Mary A., eldest daughter 



of Henry and Jemima McNeill, of Williamson 
County. By this union ten children have been 
born, — namely, Permelia, Margaret, William Cave 
(deceased), Knox Polk (deceased), Rachael, Martha, 
Nancy (deceased), Andrew J., Francis Marion, one 
dying in infancy. 

Mr. Howington's business has combined the 
branches of farming and milling. In 1847 he 
bought six hundred acres of heavy timber-land, 
which later purchases increased to fifteen hundred 
acres, the number he now owns. For the conver- 
sion of this timber into lumber, in 1850 he built a 
steam saw-mill, which he carried on for nine 
years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Howington are members of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, to the support of 
whicli they liberally contribute, and of which Mr. 
Howington has been an elder for many years. 

Now in the seventieth year of his age, Mr. How- 
ington can say with pride that he has never during 
his long life used tobacco in any way or drank a 
glass of liquor. 





/ , I jiy]/V'y\fiyy'^ Cyfcrn^ 



The subject of this brief slietch was the son of 
Graves Pennington, and was born in Davidson Co., 
Tenn., May 23, 1804. His father was a native of 
Virginia, and came to Davidson County at an early 
day, where he engaged in farming until his death. 

John W. Pennington was a very successful farmer, 
and as such was a representative man. He was quite 
an extensive dealer in stock. He commenced life 
poor, but by his indomitable energy and frugality he 
became well off. He was four times married, — first 
to Elizabeth Dodson ; second, to Miss America 
McMurry; third, to Henrietta Maxey; and fourth, 



to Miss Alen Brunson, whom he married Oct. 29, 
1867. 

He has one living daughter by his first wife, ^arah 
A., who married W. H. Seal, a farmer in District 
2, at McSpodden Bend. He has two children by 
his third wife, — Lunette P., who married Dr. O. 
Weakley, and resides on the "Old Home;" and 
Johnetta, who married James Burns, a successful 
business man in Nashville. 

Mr. Pennington was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. He died Aug. 25, 1877, and 
was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. 




FELIX GRUNDY EARTHMAN. 



Felix Grundy Earthman is of German descent. 
His paternal grandfather, Isaac Earthman, was a 
native of Germany, but emigrated to tiie United 
States of America more than a century ago, and about 
the close of the last century came to Davidson Co., 
Tenn. His sons were Lewis, Joliu, James, Henry, 
and Isaac; and his daughters were Sally, Mary, and 
Nancy. Lewis is the father of Felix G. Earthman, 
whose portrait is presented above. He was one of 
the hardy, active, chase-loving pioneer farmers of the 
county, and lived and died on the farm now occupied 
by his grandson, William L. Earthman. His family 
consisted of three sons and two daughters, — John 
H., Andrew J., Jane, Felix G., and Mary E. Felix 
was born March 17, 1821. He received at the com- 
mon schools of his district the rudiments of an edu- 
cation, and when he had attained a proper age at- 
tended law school at Franklin, Tenn., and graduated 
with honor. Though Mr. Earthman never practiced 
the profession for which he had qualified himself, 
yet the knowledge he had thus acquired was of the 
greatest service to him in after-life in the pursuit 
■"hich he chiefly devoted himself, — -i.e., that of 
"'iberman, and trader, in Mhich he was 
nged all his life. 

S45, he married Mary Ann Wil- 
^er of William Wilkinson, and step 



daughter of Gilbert Marshall, both early settlers 
Davidson County. To them were born two c! 
dren, — William Lewis and Mary Ann, the latte 
whom died in her fourteenth year. 

In politics Mr. Earthman was an "old-lme Wl 
and always advocated the principles and interes 
his party strongly; in fact, he was the leading s 
in political matters in his distiict. Th uigii ;ei 
iously inclined, and a man of good morals general 
yet he never connected himself with any ch'ir 
organization. 

He was justice of the peace for many years, ^/as 
lieutenant-colonel of militia, and enjoyed tiie con- 
fidence and esteem of the large circle of acquaint- 
ances and friends with whom his extensive business 
transactions brought him in contact. He died on 
the 21st day of August, 1873. 

His only son, William L. Earthman, u 
May 27, 1846. On May 29, 1875, he inarri 
M. Ferrell; they have three children,— 
Grundy, and Mary Ann. He resides on t 
homestead of his father, engaged in farm' 
merchandising. He inserts this portrait ai..i . 
raphy of his father an a monument to the me 
of one who ever proved himself a worthy cii 
a genial companion, a warm-liearted, constant fi 
an honorable man, and a < •' ' ^'ind father. 



NAMES OF PATRONS 

OF DAVIDSON COUNTY HISTORY, WITH PERSONAL STATISTICS. 



Atchison, Tlioiuiis A., Physician, b. Kentucky, s. 1S55-, p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Allison, Andrew, Lawyer, b. Tennpssee, a. 186G; p, o add. Nashville, Term. 
Akfirs, Albert, Lawyer, b. Tenne.'^si-e, a. 1839; p. u. add. Nashville, Tcnn. 
Atchison, W. A., Physician, b. KeuIucUy, s. 1S75 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ainiatrong, W. E., Photographer, b. Kentucky, a. 1S73; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Alley, A. AV. V., Coa! Dealer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1841 ; p. o. add. NaeliviUe, Tenn. 
Alston, Mrs. Lou W., Young Ladies' Hoarding Hall, b. Tennessep, s. 1870; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Anient, Samuel P., Retired, b. Kentucky, s. 1820; p. o. add. Nnahville, Tenu. 
Allen. A. S., Clerk, b. Tennes-see, s. 18-14 ; p. o. add. Njiahville, Tenn. 
Atwell, W. H., Furniture Dealer, b. Virginit, s. 18C5; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Amleraon, Church, Merchant, b. 'i'enuessoe, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Naahville, Tenn. 
Ainiisoii, William, Printer, b France, s. 1839 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Alexander, Allison, Attorncy-at-Law, b. Tennessee, e. 1852; p. o. add. Nasli- 

ville, Tenn. 
Adams, A.G. J., p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Achey, P. H., Auctioneer and Comniissiun, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1820; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Anable, Joseph, Hackman, b. North Carolini\, s. 1845; p. o. add. Na'^hviU", 

Tenn. 
Allen, R. HI., Stone Mason, b. Tennessee, s. 1S7G ; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Aodorson, William E., Nurseryman, b. New York, s. 1877 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Alley, J. M.. Marketer, b. Tennessee, s. 1875; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Andrews, Jim H., Hardware Merchant, b. Tennessee, e. 1842 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Allen, W. W., Blacksmith, b. North Carolina, s. 1833; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Andrew.", T. M., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, a. 1878; p. o. add. Nashville, Tcnn. 
Abbay, Isaac S., Physician, b. Mississippi, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Allen, Jamep, Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Anthony, GecirgeM., Printer, b. Tennessee, e. !8oS; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Armistead, William B., Jr., Book-Keeper, b. Tennessee, a. 1849 ; p. o. add. Naah- 
ville, Tenn. 
Anderson, John D., Insurance, b. Missouri, s. 1S72 ; p. o. ndd. Nashville, Tenn. 
Atkinson, 0. S., Saddlery and Harness, b. Tennessee, s. 1858; p. o. add. Niish- 

ville, Tenn. 
Argn, John J., Book-Keeper, b. Tennessee, s. 1SG5; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Adams, Nathan, Retired, b. Ireland. s. 1817; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Anderson, S. R., Merchant, b. YirgiTiia, s. 1825 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Allen, F. M., Carriage IJuilder, b. Virginia, s. 1850; p. n. add. Naslw-ilh*, Tenn. 
Adams, Adam Gillespie, Merchant, b. Ireland, a. 1839; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Anderson, William F., Blacksmith , b. Tennessee, s. 1834 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Alexander, Toncy, Porter, b. South Carolina, s. 1865; p. o. add. Naahville, 

Tenn. 
Allen, Charles, Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1863 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Armstrong, Fannie, Music Teacher, b. Tennessee, e. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Allen, J. H., Manufacturer, b. Indiana, a. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Adams, Levy, Carpenter and Builder, b. Kentucky, s. 1875 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Alexander, James P., Salesman, b. Tennessee, s. 1S44; p. o. add. Nasliville, 

Tenn. 
Aurich, Charles E.. Farmer, b. New York, s. 185G; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Alford, William, Farmer and Stock Grower, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Alexander, James, Farmer, b. Kentucky, s. 1855; p. o. add. Station A, Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Abbey, S. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1843. 

Allen, M. F., Superintendent Mechanical Department State Prison, b. Tennes- 
see, 3. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Allen, J. B., Foreman of Prison, b. Tennessee, a. 1805; p- o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Adams, J. N., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S52 ; p.o. add. Naahville, Tenn. 
Adams, Mrs. M., b. Kentucky, a. 184G ; p. o. add. Nasliville, Twin. 



Acklin, W. E., Attorney-at-Law,b. Tennessee, b. 1855; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Anient, Samuel P. 

Alford, N. T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1834 ; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 

Alford, Mrs. M. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1832; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 

Alford, R, C, Farmer, b, Tennessee, a. 1817 ; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tonn. 

Allen, James, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1838. 

Allison, Thomas J., Miller and Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1808 ; p. o. add. Bellevuo, 
Tenn. 

Anderson, William, Teacher and Preaclior, b. Tennessee, s. 1876; p. o. add. 
Bellevne, Tenn. 

Anderson, Juo. H.. Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 

Anderson, Thompson, Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Na.shville, 
Tenn. 

Allen, J. C. 

Abernethy, S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1827 ; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek. 

Adkisson, .1. P., Farmer, b. Virginia, s, 1848; p.o. add. White's Bend, Tenn. 

Brown, Neil S., Lawyer, b. Giles Co., Tenn., s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Baxtei', Nathaniel, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1812; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Baxter, Jere, Lawyer, b. Ti'un., s. 1852; p. o add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brigga, W. T., Surgeon, b. Kentucky, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nsushville, Tenn. 

Berry, C. D., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1844 ; p. o. add. Naahville, Tenn. 

Buist, J. R., Physici:in, b. South CaroliuH, r. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bradford, James C, Lawyer, b. Mississippi, s, 1872 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, J. B., Attorn<-y, Justice of the Peace, and Notary Public, b. Tennessee, 
8.1868; p.o. add. Niishville, Tenu. 

Baskette, Jnhn II., Attorney, Justice of the Peace, and Notary Public, b. Ten- 
nessee, a. 1867 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brien, Juhn D:, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, a. 1850; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

Baker, Edward, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashvill-^, Tenn. 

Biien, W. G., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, a. 1852 ; p. o- add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Baldwin, Mrs. V. A., b. Tennessee, s. 1849 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenu. 

Bee. Robert, Miller, b. Scotland, s. 1859 ; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Brown, Mis. Sallie, b. Mi;>sissippi, s. 1S74 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bl.ick, Mrs. H. P., b. Tennessee, a. 1843; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Bruckner, James P., Iron Founder, b. Tennessee, a. 1872; p. o, add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Bearden, A. M., Carpenter, b. South Carolina, s. 1SG7; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Bowers, S. H., Carpenter and Builder, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. adil. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Burr, A. E., Proprietor of Cotton Compress, b. New York, s. 1870; p. o. add. 
Na-;liville, Tenn. 

Burns, James F., Wholesale Liquor Dealer, b. Ireland, b. 1840; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Behan, Thomas, Grocer, b. New York, s. 1862 ; p. o. a3d. Nashville, Tenp. 

Burns, M., Jr., Saddlery and Coacbware, b. Tennessee, s. 1847 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Barnes, J. M., Clerk, b. White County, Tenn., s. 1855 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Byrne, P., Manufacturer of Elevators, Axe-handles, aiid Spokes, b. Ireland, a. 
1868; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bisliop Brothers, Cairiage Manufacturers, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. 
Naahville, Tenn. 

Brooks, AV. F., Publisher Advertiser^ h. Memphis, s. 1869; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Bland, J. A., Southern Exchange Stables, b. Tennessee, a. 1S30; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Burkhardt, Martin, Merchant, b. Germany, s. 18G5 ; p. o. add. Naahville, Tenn. 

Braden, John, President Central Tennessee College, b. Now York City, a. 1867 ; 
p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Billings, Jared M., Cigar and News Stand Maxwell House, b. Tennessee, a. 
1859; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Broderick, John, Policeman, b. Ireland, s. 1858; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenu. 

Bell, R. F , Farmer, b. Tennessee, e. 1814, p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Baskette, W. H., Real Estate Agent, b. Mississippi, s. 1567 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tcnn. 

Bell, T. J., Bouk-Keeper, b. Tennessee, s. 185G ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bryan, Charles B., ,Tr., Merchant Book-Keepor, b. Tennessee, a. 1861 ; p. o. add, 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Behne, Albert, Tailor, b. Germany, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

485 



486 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Buchanan, S. J., Mercliant, b. Tennessee, s. 1S7G; p. o. ncM. Nashville, Tenn. 

Branch, Kobert W., Clerk, b. Teiint-ssees a. 1871 ; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Bradshaw, J. N., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1851 ; p. o. adJ. Nashville, Tenn. 

Barnwell, R. G., Lawj'er, b. Souih Carolina, s. 1872; p. o. add. Nashville, Tcun. 

Bauer, Henry, Stone Cutter, b. England, s. 1S50 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, J. K. Polk, IVL-cper City Work-House, b. Tonnt-ssee, a. 1830; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Baltichroder, F. G., Artist, b. Switzerland, s. 1S43; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Byron, A. G., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Bnrcliett, James P., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Berry, A. Tj., Lumber Merchant, b. Virginia, s. 18C1 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Baxter, Edward, Lawyer, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tt-nn. 

Baker, Frank, Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brennon, P. N., Iron Master, b. Ireland, s. 1852; p. o. ad'l. Njwliville, Tenn. 

Bany, W. F., Sr., Retired Journalist, b. Baltimore, s, 1822; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Brown, W. E., Druggist, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nusliville, Tenn. 

Brighani, W. S., Cabinet Maker, b. New York, s. 1880; p. o. add, Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Buchanan, Samuel, Liveryman, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Bayne, Thomas K., Blaeksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Bradford, Alexander B., Fire Insurance, b. Mississippi, s. 187C ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Burch, James S., Commercial Editor Banner, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Beaty, W. T., Mercliant, b. Tennessee, s. 1878 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Boyd, W. S., Capitalist, b. Tennessee, a. 1825; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bland, J. P., Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1824; p. o. add. Na>hville, Tenn. 

Bryan, John W., Breeder Troiting Horaes, Gallatin, Tenn., b. Mississippi, s. 
1850; p. 0. add. Gallatin, T<.-un. 

Brady, Thomas, Farmer, b. Ireland, s. 1805; p. o. add. Gallatin, Tenn. 

Bransford, W. L., Wholesale Merchant 

Bertheol, Julien E. 

Byington, S. S., Composer of Poetry and Music, b. New York, s. 187G; p. o. add. 
Gallatin, Tenn. 

Boshyshell, Mrs. S. A., b. Tennessee, s. 1807; p. o. add. Gallatin, Tenn. 

Brown, James W. 

Bell, George G., Printer, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. o. add. Gallatin, Tenn. 

Baird, Rev. A. J., Pastor Cumberland Prcsbyteiian Church, b. Pennsylvania, s. 
1860; p. 0. add. Gallatin, Tenn. 

Bailey, Blra. Sarah A., Boarding, 10 S. Cherry Street, b. Tennessee, s. 1872 ; p. o. 
add. Gallatin, Tenn. 

Bradford, Mrs. V. A., b. Virginia, s. 1835; p. o. add. Gallatin, Tenn. 

Baine, M. T., Plumber and Gas-Fitier, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Barnes, Albert, Barber, b. Tennessee, s. 1805; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Booth, W. L. G., Carpenter, b. Kentucky, s. ISOl; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, Campbell, Breeder of J. T. H. S. Downs and Farmer, b. Tenne.ssee, s. 
1840; p. o. add. Njishville, Tenn. 

Baines, Henry, Cai-penter. b. Prussia, s. 1872; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Beaty, Hugh L., Iron Moulder, b. Tennessee; s. 18G8; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Baxter, Nathaniel, Jr., Banker, b. Tennessee, a. 1848; p. o. add. Nashville. 
Tenn. 

Burnham, J. L., Grocer, b. Maine, s. 1862; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Byrne, Clinton, Grocery and Produce, b. Tenuessee, 8.1850; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Bnttorflf, H. W., Merchant, b. Prussia, s. 1858; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, Randall, Real Estate, b, Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Butler, C. H , Clerk, b. Tennessee, s. 1847 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Burns, M., Retired, b. Ireland, a. 1836; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Blume, F. L., Manufacturing, b. North Carolina, s. 1871^ p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Brown, R. Weakley, Real Estate, b. Tennessee, 8.1825; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Bukouitz, I. B., Professor of Music, b. Italy, s. 1878; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Butterfield, W. C, Insurance Agent, b. Maine, s. 1802; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Beefora, J. 3., Merchant, b. Tenne.ssee, 8. 1864 ; p. o. add. Nashville. Tenn. 

Black, S. C, Livery Business !>• Tennesaee, s. 1862 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brent, C, Grocer, b. Ireland, s. 1862; p.o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Blenton, M. L., Railroad Agent, b. Tennessee, 8.1853; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Black, George M., Fireman, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, John T., Joiner, b. Tennessee, b. 1828 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bate, W. B., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, 3. 1860; p. o. add. Na>hvill0, Tenn. 

Bush, W. G., Brickmaker and Builder, b. Tennessee, s. 1820 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Bowman, C. A., Druggist, b. Massachusetts, s. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, Joshua, Grocer, b. Kentucky, e. 1824; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brient, Pt-ter, Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1820; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, John, Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, 3. 1844; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bransford, Jordan, Pastor of Mt. Zion Church, b. Tenneseee, s. 1336; p. o, add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 



Buchanon, Alexander, Pastqr of Second Colored Baptist Church, b. Georgia. 3. 
1821 ; 1). o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Benson, P. H., Boot and Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, s. 1862; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Baine.'!, Robert, Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, s. 1823; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, Thomas, Stone-work Contractor, b. Virginia, 8.1864; p.o.add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Boyd, Robert 0,, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1860; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bainbridge, C. M., Salesman, b. Tennessee, 8. 1855; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bransford, John L., b.Tennessee, a. 1836; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Biltt, Napoleon B., Plasterer and Cistern Builder, b. Tennessee, b. 1864; p 0. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brown, C. F., Merchant, b. Tennesaee, a. 1840; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Berry, Mrs. W. W,, b. Tennessee, a. 1820; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Barker, Robert, Hack Driver, b. Louisiana, s. 1305; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Banks, Poter, Cook, b. Kentucky, s. 1859; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Brooker, A. J., Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1859 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bowen, Jerry, Farmer and Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, a. 1832; p.o. add. 
Donelson, Tc-nn. 

Binns, Mrs. Mary G., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1811 ; p. 0. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Buchanan, II. R., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 3. 1814 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Boyd, William, Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1846 ; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Buchanan, Mrs. S. B., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1830; p. o. add. Donelson, 
Tenn. 

Blair, John W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1837; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Brent, Joseph T., Woodworkman, b. Tennessee, s. 1850 ; p. o. add. Donelson, 
Tenn. 

Baker, W. D., Farmer and Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, a. 1812 ; p. 0. add. 
Donelson, Tenn. 

Blair, S. S., Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1829 ; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Baker, John H., Farmer, b. Tennesaee, s. 18:J4; p. o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 

Bondurant, Edward P., Farmer, b. Tehnesseo, 8. 1836; p.o. add. Edgefield Junc- 
tion, Tenn. 

Barfield, H. N., Farmer, b. Georgia, 8.1874; p.o.add. GlenclifT, Tenn. 

Barfield, T. P., Farmer, b. Georgia, a. 1805; p. o. add. Giencliff, Tenn. 

Beauchamp, J. A., Physician Insane Asylum, b. Kentucky, s. 1866 ; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Bogle, R. M., Dental Surgeon, b. Tennessee, s. 1871; p. 0. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Burnett, I. G., Farmer, b. Tenne.'jsce, s. 1816 ; p. o. add. Rose Dale, Tenn. 

Burnett, Richard D., Gate-Keeper and Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1815 ; p. o. add. 
Rose Dale, Tenn. 

Bukitt, A. J., Physician, b. Tennessee, a. 1855; p. 0. add. Nolensville, Tenn. 

Baker, F. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1827; p. 0. add. Oneyvillo, Term. 

Bosworth, C, Farmer and Rope-Maker, b. Louisiana, s. 1832 ; p. o. add. Paragon 
Mills, Tenn. 

Barnes, T. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8 1837 ; p.o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Black, I. T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1838; p. o. add. Oneyville, Tenn. 

Baker, H. C, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1847; p. 0. add. Paragcm Mills, Tenn. 

Bigley, E. B., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1845; p. o. add. Station A, Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Baker, F. E , Stone and Brick-Mason, b. Ti^nneaseo, s. 1829; p. o. add. Station 
A, Nashville, Tenn. 

Baker, J. L., Farmer, b. Indiana, s. 1833; p. o. add. Station A, Nashville, Tenn. 

Bell, J. L., Farmer, b. South Carolina, s. 1843; p. o.>.dd. Brentwood Tenu. 

Bell, Mra. M. A., s. 1805; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Berry, Mrs. W. W., b. Tennessee, a. 1820 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Battle, L. H., Farmer and Stock Raiser, b. Tennessee, b. 1846 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Bowling, P., Farmer, b. Kentucky, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Breeding, John C, Carpenter, b. Kentucky, 8. 1874; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Blnnkall,^^, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s.1829; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Boyd, W. L., Farmer, b. Tennessee, e. 1850 ;' p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Beasley, A. J., Farmer aud Drayman, b. Tennessee, s, 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Brown, J. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1848 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bradford, John, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Brown, E. N., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1871 ; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Brown, Mra. E. F., b. Mississippi, s. 1869 ; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Brown, M. N., Raili-oad Agent and Postm ister, b. Tennessee, e, 1843 ; p. o. add. 
Newsom Station, Tenn. 

Bowman, Robert, Contractor and Builder, b. England, s. 1S60 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Btien, Robe it C, Book-Keeper and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1851 ; p. 0. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Burges.s, Mrs. Mary J., b. Tennessee, s. 1867; p. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Banks, H. F., Lawyer, p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Barnett, W. W., Farmer, b. Kentucky, s. 1878: p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Barbee, J. W., Farmer, b. Kentucky, s. I860 ; p. 0. add. Edgefield Junction, 
Tenn. 

Baker, Samuel A., Fruit Grower and Nurseryman, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1862 ; 
p. 0. add. Sladiaon Station, Tenn, 

Bowers, S. C, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1806; p. 0. add. Baker's Station, Tenn. 

Bainbridge, E. T., Physician, b., Tennessee, s. 1875 ; p.o.add. Baker's Station, 
Tenn. 

Bainbridge, C. M., p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Bang, W. T., Sr., p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 



NAMES OF PATRONS. 



487 



Baiubridgo, J., Farmer and Physician, b. Teonessee, s. 1850; p. o. ftdd. Riiige 

Fust, Tenn. 
Hennett, J. M., Faiuier, b. Tennessee, s. \»•2^•, p. o. add. Ashbind City, Tenn. 
Itanlis, D. F., Physician, h, Kentncky, s. 1873; p. o, mid. White's Bend, Tonn. 
Buster, D. M., Physician, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Kasliville, Tenn. 
Blown, K. P., Engineer, b. Georg;i!i. s. IStiO; p. o. add. Nashvillu, Tenn. 
Block, "William, Scavenjser and Fowl Dresser, b. Mississippi, s. 1S33; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Buldon, L. B., Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashxille, Tenn. 
Baity, F. B., Jjinitor Cumberland School, b. Tennessee, s. ISoo ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Barry, II. L., Pastor of Gay Street Christian Church, b. Kentucky, s. 1854 ; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Brown. James, Editor Herald^ h. Ireland, 8. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 
Bmdford, A. B. & IJ., Grocers, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn . 
Bell, David, Furniture M'agona, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Buchanon, A. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1828; p.o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 
Bondurant, Jacob J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1834. 
Brooks, Professor J. C, Superintendent Jackson County Schools, b. Tennessee, 

s. 1840. 
Berry, W_ W., Druggist, b. Tennessee ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Berry, Emma, b. Tenne.=see; p. o. add. Na'iliville, Tenn. 
Bass, John M., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Burkart) John, Superintendent Nashville Brewing Company, b. Bavaria, s. 1879 ; 

p. o. add. N:i.shville, Tenn. 
Campbell, R. A., Ca.shier Board of Publication of the Cumberland Presbyterian 

Church, b. Tennessee, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Curry, J. II., Physician and Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1831; p. o. add. Naalivillc, 

Tenn. 
Chishoira, G., Dentist, b. Alabama, s. 1867 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Chamberlain, James, Lawyer, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
(!ook, AV". C, Physician and Surgeon, b. Tennessee, s. 1869; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Covington, W. D., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1868; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cobb, S. J., Dentist, b. North Carolina, s. 1860; p. o. add. Na.shville, Tenn. 
Cheatham, F. K, Real Estate, b. Tennessee, s. 1824; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Callender, J'din 11., Physician, U. Tennessee, s. 1832; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ciimpbi-ll, E. R., Clerk United States District Court, b. Tennessee, s. 1862; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Chilton, James A., Builder, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Clark, S. ftl. D., Bell Academy, Principal Grammar School, Montgomery, b. 

Louisiana, 3. 1SG8 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 
Ctdlin-^, Mrs. Sue V., Assistant Principal Trimble School, b. Tennessee, s. 1S5G; 

p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 
Childness, J. P., Biicklayer, b. Tennessee, s. 1849 ; p. o. add. Nnshville, Tenn. 
Corbett, Capt. Dempsey, Retired, b. North Carolina, 8.1813 ; p. o.add. Naaiiville, 

Tenn. 
Cowgill, G. T., Grocer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1849; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Cockrill, J. G., Lawyer, b. Kentncky, s. 1877; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cooper, George \V., Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1839 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Capps, Robert, Blacksmith, b. England, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Chase, Irvine K., Cotton Merchatit, b. South Carolina, s. 1868 ; p. o. add. Nash- 

v.lle, Tenn. 
Carter, J. J., Capitalist, b. Tennessee, s. 1848 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Callender, Thomas, Real Estate Agent, b. Tennessee, s. 1833; p. o. adJ. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Cronen, P. J.J Locomotive Engineer, b. Georgia, 8.1857; p.o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Cummings, J. F., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1827 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Crawford, J. J., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Carter, J. M., Policeman, b. De Kalb, s. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Chapman, J;ane3, Carpenter and Builder, b. England, s. 1875; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Concli, George M., Bricklayer, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cox, G,, Ciub-IIouso Porter, b. North Carolina, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Crook, L. D., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, e. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cowan, Robert, Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, a. 1866; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
(Elements, J. S., Printer, b. Tennessee, a. ^853 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cantrell, G. M. D., Physician, b. Tennessee, a. 1852; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cunningham & Floyd, Mannficturers of Walking-canes, s. 1361 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Cruttdifield, J. M., Contractor and Builder, b. Tennessee, b. 1821; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Campbell, W. J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1836; p. o. add. Nashville, Teim. 
Capps, R. W., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1830; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 
Cooper, W. F., Plasterer, b. Michigan, a. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Carsey, T. M., Cotton Dealer, b. Tennessee, a. 1S52; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cavender, J. C, Huckster, b. Tennessee, a. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cunningham, R. L., Psiinter, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Caldwell, Solomon, Walter Commercial Hotel, b. Alabama, a. 1869 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Creech, James, Blacksmith, b. Tenneasee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Colton, George R., Carpenter, b. Tonnessee, a. 1840 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Cheatham, Gen. B. F., Farmer, s. 1820; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 



Campbell, Brooking B., United States Mail Agent, b. Tennessee, s. 1862 ; ^. b. 
add. Nash vlllo, Tenn. 

Cliildress, C, Retired, b. Madison, a, 1832; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Crawford, Fi-ancis IL, Locomotive Engineer, b. Georgia, a. 1809; p. o. add. 
Kingston, Ga. 

Quter, James W., Carpenter, b. Tenneasee, b. 1868; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cooper, Henry, Lawyer, e.\.-Unit«d Stjitea Senator, b, Tennessee, s. 1868; p. o. 
add. Nashvilij, Tenn. 

Carroll, E. M., Captain "Ciiizena' Gift" Fire Company, No. 3, h. Tennessee, 8. 
1848; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Carlin, James, Farmer, b. Wilson County; p. o. add. Pekin, Putnam Co., Tenn. 

Chesnut, S. P., Minister and Editor, b. Kentucky, a. 1870; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Cooney, John, Merchant, b, Tennessee, s. 18G4; p. o, add. Nashville. Tenn. 

Catupbell, John Alexander, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, b. 1869 ; p. o. add. Nasliville, 
Tenn. 

Chishohn, L. C, Dentist, b. Alabamn, s. 1S67; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cockrill, Mark S., Breeder of Improved Stock, b. Tennessee, 8. 1838 ; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Cockrill, James R., Farmer, b. Kentucky, a. 1833; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Calhoun, George R., Jeweler, b. Ohio, s. 1847 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cole, E. W., Late President Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, b. Tennessee, 
8. 1827; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Claiborne, H.L., Insurance Agent, Notary Public, b. Virginia, a. 1819; p. o, add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Clark, W, M., Editor, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cooper, James L., Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Campbell, John H., Book-Keeper, b. Tennessee, a. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Cockrill, B. F., Stock Breeder, b. Mississippi, b. 1832; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Clark, W. B., Book-Keeper, b. Alabama, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Childress, E. 11., Farmer, b. Alabama, s. 1S32; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cliildres-, L. S., Livery, b. Tennessee, s. 1856 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cuussens, J. P., Druggist and Chemist, b. Tennessee, s, 1853 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Carter, J. W., State Register of Lands, b. Tennessee, e. 1870; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Cooper, W. F., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1845; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Cornelius, W. R., Undertaker, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Craighed, K.D., b. Tennessee, 8. 1831 ; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Carrick, Samuel P., Shoe Merchant, b. Massachusetts, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Camp, A. S., Printer, b. Tennessee, s. 1827 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Combs, M. S,, Funeral Undertaker, b. Tennessee, a, 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Collier, William C, Merchant, b. Dickson, s. 1848; p. o, add. Nashville, Teun. 

Cooper, W. B., Artist, b. Tennessee, a, 1802 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Carroll, Hugh, Book-Keeper, b. South Carolina, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Cater, William N., Grocer and Marketer, b. Tennessee, s. 1848 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Crawford, Walter H., Grocer, b. Georgia, s. 1879 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cbeny, Henry S., Upholsterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1875; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Clark, Richard, Boot and Shoemaker, b. Georgia, 3. 186G ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Clark, C. M., Sawyer, b. Missouri, s. 1844; p. o. add. Nashville. Tenn. 

Collins, H. W., Engineer, b. Illinois, s. 1835; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Crocket, W. H., Fireman, b. Tennessee, s. 1851, p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

C'Uiley, J. W., Merchant, b. Tennessee, e. 1849 ; p. o. add. Nsishville, Tenn. 

Cooper, W. N., Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cavender, John W., Assistant City Sexton, b. Tennessee, s. 1830; p. o.add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Carter, Clay, Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, s, 1839; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Crosthwait, Scott W., Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Croithwait, David K., Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Cartwright, J. A., Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Chisholm, L. C. 

Chisholm, G. 

Charlton, James II., Physician, b. Tenneasee, 1813; p. o. add. Lavergne, Tenn. 

Cuuningham, W. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Douelson, Tenn. 

Criswell, J. G., Wheelwright, b. Tennessee, a. 1857 ; p. o. add. Hermitige, Tenn. 

Callender, John H., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1832: p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Clements, C. M., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1848; p. o. add. Rose Dale, Tenn. 

Clements, John M., Merchant and Farmer, b, Tennessee, a. 1862; p. o. add. 
Rose Dale, Teun. 

Charlt>>n, G. W., Physician, b. Tennessee, S.1S72; p. o. add. Oneyville, Tenn. 

Chambers, H. S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1854; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Clark, James B, Physician, b. Tennessee, a. 1855; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 

Currin, John P., Locomotive Engineer, b. Ohio, 8. 1858. 

Coleman, J. F., Stone Cutter, b. Tennessee, s. 1SG2; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Colenum, James M., Butcher, b. Tennessee, s. 1837 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 

Conley, J. W., Merchant, b. Tenneasee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 



488 



HISTORY OP DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



CKtler, F. M., Carpenter, b. Mississippi, s. 1879 ; p. o. add. K.ishville, Tenn. 

Chickeriiig, C. B., Farmer, Vi. Tennessee, s. 1837 ; l>. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Compton, Mrs. Feli.\, Fanner, U. Tennessee, s. 1844; p. o. add. Kivshville, Tenn. 

Compton, P. N., Fanner, b. Tenne6.we, s. 1S2G; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

Compton, Mis. L. J., Farmer, b. Alabamn, a. ISal ; p. o. add. Na.sliville, Tenn 

Compton, Henry W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 18l;i ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Colton, J. A., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1834 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cheatham, W. B., Faimer, b. Tennessee, s. 1852. 

Carpenter, J. B., Manager of Singer Manufacturing Company's Office, b. Illi- 
nois, 8. 1870; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Childress, 0. B, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1833; p o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Carter, Mrs. Nannie, Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1827 ; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Carter, Mrs. Sally, b. Tennessee, s. 1830; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Corley, John J., Farmer and Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, s. 1820; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Castleman, C. C, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1828; p. o. add. Stewart's Ferry, 
Tenn. 

Castleman, Lewis, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. ISUO; p. o. add. Stewart's Ferry, 
Tenn. 

Clark, A., Farmer, b. Tennfs.see, s. 1S42; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Corbett, KTigone, Iron and Hardware, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Caiuthers, K., Small Fruits and Farming, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Crittenden, Nannie, Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1864; p. o. add. Goodleltsville, 
Tenn. 

Chadwcll, K. 

Connell, William, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1822 ; p. o. add. Goodleltsville, Tenn. 

Coles, J. W., Dairyman, h. Tennessee, s. 1877; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cummings, G. W., Farmer, h. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Goodleltsville, 
Tonn. 

Crocker, E. L., p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Ciirney, E. M. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1812; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Carni'y, John T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. ISa ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Carney, .loseph E., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 6. 1839; p. o. add. Na.-liville, Tenn. 

Cjaig, W. S., Farmer, b. Kentucky, s. 1843; p. o. add. White's Hend, Tenn. 

Caswell, D. H., Mill Furniture, b. Maine, b. 1868 ; p o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Casselly. T. D., Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, s. 1817 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Cherry, Culler, Nurseryman, b. Ohio, s. 1858 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cuff, John, Laborer, b. Tennes.=ee ; p. o. add. Na.shville, Tenn. 

Cloyd, Samuel, Blacksmith, h. Tennessee, s. 1830 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cloyd, Mitchell, p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
^Caldwell, JelT, Baiber, b. South Carolina, a. 1803. 

Corley, J. B., Farmer, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Crowley, Strong, Stone Mason, b. Missouri, s. 1840 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Cole, Martin, Porter Conmiercial ilotel, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Carter, Feli.\, Transfer Company, b. Tennessee, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville 
Tenn. ' 

Conner, Ira, Book-Kecpei, b. Tennessee, s. 18C2; p. o. add. N.ashville, Tenn. 

Cabler, C. G., Real Estate, b. Tennessee, s. 1817; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Creigbton, A. D., Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, Hanger for Davidson 
County, b. Tennessee, s. 1827; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Crawfo Id, J. Y., Dentist, b. Tennessee, s. 1879 ; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

Canfman, M., River Engineer, b. Tennessee, s. 1812; p. o. add. Nashville 
Tenn. ' 

Buling, S. A., Recorder of the City of Nashville, b. Tennessee, S.18G7; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Dodd, Thomas L., Lawyer, b. Kentucky, s. 1868; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Davis, L. H., Real-Estate and Collection Agent, b. Tennessee, a. 1871 ; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

De Monbreun, W. R., Real Estate, b. Tennessee, s. 1813 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Dismukes, W. L., Dentist, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Drake, E. L., Physician, b. Tennessee, 8. 1879 ; p.o. add. Na.shville, Tenn. 

Davis, W. G., General Agent LnnisviHe and Nashvilleand Great Southern Rail- 
road, b. Tennessee, s. 1835; p, o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

De Lee, Mrs. M. A., Merchant, b. Scotland, s. 1805; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Dcmoss, Abium L., Lawyer, b. Tenn. ssee, s. 1830 ; p o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Di.rris, William D., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1820 ; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

Davidson, H. C, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1842; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Dobson, A. D., Artesian Wells, b. North Carolina, s. 1815; p. o. add. Nasliville 
Tenn. ' 

Davidson, Otis E., Inventor, b. Virginia, s. 1800; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Drouillard,.J. P., Iron Master, b. Ohio, a. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Dews, William, Coal, Lime, and Sand Dealer, b. Virginia, a 1830; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Dougherly, W. C., Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. ISOS ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Donelson, Samuel, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1870; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Davidson, S. A., Carpenter and Builder, b. Virginia, s. 1844 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Duff, Charles M., House and Ornamental Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1871; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Dillehay, A. E.,. Railroad Conductor, b. Tennessee, 8. 1869 ; p. o. add. Nashville 
Tenn. ' 

Bevoy, T., Collector First National Bank, b. Ireland, s. 1807; p. o.add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 



Dodd,Robert, Barber, 42 Cedar Street, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p.o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Decker, Gen. Charles E , The Smallest Man iu the World ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dunn, L. S., b. Tennessee, s. 1872; p. o. odd. Nashville. Tenn. 
Demoviile, J. F., Wholesale Druggist, b. Virginia, s. 1828; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dixon, J. W., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1814; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Duncan, W. M., Broker, h. Kentucky, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Douglas, Byrd, Commission Merchant, b. Virginia, s. 1815 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dortch, W. B., Merchant, b. Montgomery City, 8. 1854; p. o. add. N.ashvillo. 

Tenn. 
Diishiell, John S., Steamboat Captain, b. Maryland, s. 1828 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dortch, Nat. F., Druggist, and Present Clerk of the Circnit Conrt, b. Tennessee, 

s. 1835 ; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Dunnevant, W. S., Contractor and Lumber Dealer, b. Virginia, s. 1858; i>. o.add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Davies, F. L , Jeweler, b. Georgia, s. 1802; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
De Hart, J. N., Carpenter and Manufacturer, b. New Jersey, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Dngger, J. H., Manuracturer of Confectionery, b. Tennessee, s. 1875 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Daltoii, Martin. Merchant, b. Irelaud, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Dismukes, John L., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Dautel, Joseph, Landscape Gardener at Capitol, b. France, 8.1806; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Dnuivan, Tliomaa L., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; p.o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Douglas, Louis, Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Ti-nn. 
Davis, S., Fruit Dealer, b. Tennessee, s. 1873 ; p. o. odd. Nashvi le, Tenn. 
Daniels, S. P., Merchant, b. Tennesaee, a. 1848 ; p. o. adil. NaBliville, Tenn. 
De Inclamore, Maria, Music Teacher, b. Tennessee, 8. 1802; p.o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Darr, Joseph, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1859; p. 0. .add. Donelson, Tenn. 
Donelson, Stockley, Farmer, b. Tennessee; p o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 
Dismukes, Mrs. Elizabeth, Farmer, b. Teiiuesseo, a. 1814; p. o. add. Edgefield 

Junction, Tenn 
Dennison, John V., Farmer and Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, 8.1844; p.o. 

add. Roaedale, Tenn. 
Dunn, Alfred, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1818; p. o. add. Nashville, Station A, 

Tenn. 
Drumiiglit, B. G., Farmer, b. Virginia, 8. 1870; p. 0. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 
Douglas, A. H., Farmer, b. Virginia, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Douglas, David, Gardener, b. Scotland, a. 1872; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Davidson, S. T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1833; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Dozier, Enoch, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Dungee, James, Champion Watermelon Raiser of the World, on Cockrill's Farm, 

b. Tennessee, s. 1832 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Ten;i. 
Denioss, Edwin C, Farmer and Stock Grower, b. Tennessee, a. 1854; p. o. ad'l. 

Bellevue, Tenn. 
Di.x, William, Market Gardener, b. Kentucky, a. 1838; p.o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Durrett, W. T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1871; p.o. add. Edgi-flidd Junction, 

Tenn. 
Dismukes, W. M., p. o. add. Hendersonville, Tenn. 

Drake, J. B., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1820; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek, Tenn. 
Dozier, W., Farmer and Physician, b. Tennessee, 3. 1836; p.o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dozier, D. T., Jr., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1840 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Davis, W. D., Physician, b. Tennessee, s, 1802; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Davis, M. W , Slioemiiker, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Dickinson, George, Tinner, b. Tennessee, a. 1820; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Dale, Jiiiiies, Family Groceries, b. Tennessee, s. 1658; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dale, Mrs. Hattie, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Dale, Miss Alice Blaachc, b. Tennessee, s. 1873; p. o. add. N.asliville, Tenn. 
Donelson, W. A., Farmer, li. Berlin, a. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 
Donelson, dipt. Vinet, Eialesman, b. Tennessee, 8.1854; p.o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dalton, Michael, Merchant; b. Ireland, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Daudridge, E: E., Manufacturer of Saddles and Harness, b. Tennessee, a. 1808; 

p. 0. add. Nashville, Timn. 
East, Edward H., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, a. 1830; p. o. .add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Eve, Duncan, Surgeon, b. Georgia, 8. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 
East, Addison A., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1832 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ewiii, J. Overton, Clerk Louisville and Nashville and Great Southern Railroad, 

b. Tennessee, a. 1861 ; p.o. add. Nashville, Tennessee. 
Elrod, John, Retired, b. Kentucky, s. 1847; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Eakin, J. Hill, President City Transfer Company, b. Tennessee, s. 1847 ; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Erwin, C. B., Merchant, h. Tennessee, s. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Eckelkamp, Bernard, Shoemaker, b. Hanover, a. 1855; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Ewing, Z. W., Lawyer, b. Marshall County, s. 1843; p. o. add. Pulaski, Tenn. 



NAMES OF PATRONS. 



489 



Edwai'ds, John W., Hanagor of Grand Opcra-IIotise, b. Aliibania, s. ISCO; p. o. 

luld. Nashville, Tunn. 
Edington, Iliigli, CiirpeutL-r and Contmctor, h. Tennessee, s. ISGS; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tyiin. 
Ewing. Andrew J. (Foreman), Trnnk Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 186S; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Kastunin, C. H., Clerk County Court, b. New Hampshire, s. 1845 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Ewinp, 0., Wholesale Hardware Dealer, b. Tennessee, s. 1843 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Edwards, S. \V., llailroad Agonf, h. Tennessee, 8. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Eastman, William E., Shinuractnrer Stationery, b. Washinglon, D..C., s. 1847; 

p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 
Ely, Jesse, Morcliant, b. Tennessee, s. 1837 ; p. o. add. NiXsliTille, Tenn. 
Elliott, Frank P., BooU-Kecper, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Eves, Robert, Hotel Proprieter, b. Canada West, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Teun. 
Ewing, E. H., Lawyer, s. 1809; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 
Esllenian, William, Grocer, h. Tennessee, s. 1837; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Enloe, T. E., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1874 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Edwards, Alexander S., Merchant, b. Virginia, s. 1848; p. o. add. Douelson, 

Tenn. 
Evans, James M., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1822; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 
Edmnndson, Henry, Farmer and Constable, b. Tennessee, s. 1838; p. o. add. 

Glencliff, Tenn. 
Ezell, J. M., Carpenter and Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1842; p. o. add. Glencliff, 

Tenn. 
EmII, L., Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1842; p. o. add. Oneyville, Tenn. 
Edmiston, William, Farmer, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Naslivilln, Tenn. 
Earthman, J. H., Keeper of Insane Deparlment, Davidson County Asylum, b. 

Tennessee, s. 1821; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Eubank, D. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1804; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ellip, J. J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1837 ; p. o. add. Stewart's Fcri'y, Tenn. 
I'lUlis, A. U., Farmer, b, Tennessee, s. lS-15; p. o. add. Slewart'n Feri-y, Tenn. 
Evans, Charles, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1857; p. o. add. Edgefield Junction, 

Tenn. 
Earthman, William L., Farmer and Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, s. 1S4C; 

p. o. add. White \^ Creek, Tenn. 
E .rly, F. C, Plasterer, u. Tennessee, s. 1852 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Early, J. AV., Pastor Bethel Chapel, b. Virginia, s. 1815; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenu. 
Eakin, T. E., Boot and Shoe Maker, b. South Carolina, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Foster, Turner S., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Foster, W. F., Civil Engiueer, b. Massachusetts, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Fa!!, Alexander, Clerk Louisville and Na-^hville and Great [southern Railroad, 

h. Tennesi^ee, s. 1848 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Foster, B. F., Retired, b. Tennessee, s. 1803; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fitzhugh, B. S., Receiving Agent North Carolina and St. Louis Railroad, b. 

Tennessee, s. 1822; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
French, Mrs. Mary A., b. England, s. 1S56; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fuller, Charles L., Secretary and Treasurer South Nashville Street Railway, b. 

Tennessee, s. 184t>; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ferguson, J. P., Foreman Wood-shops of Nashville and Decatur Division, 

Louisville and Nashville and Great Southern Railroad, b. Virginia, s. 

1842; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fuller, Gcorjie T., Shoe Manufacturer, b. Massachusetts, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Foster, Will. L., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1820; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fisher, Jo. W., Manager Western Union Telegraph Company, b. Tennessee, s. 

1833; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Foster, A. E., Clerk, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fields, S. H., Policeman, b. Hartsville, s. 1832; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fulgbum, John W., Book-Keeper, b. Tennessee, s. 18G1 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Frensley, Thomas, Blacksmith, h. Tennessee, s. 1824; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Foster, J. E., Cooper, b. Tennessee, s. 18:J5; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fisher, Charles D., Cooper, b. Boston, 8. 18G4; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fulcher, John W., Blanufacturer of Chewiug-Gum and Butter-Scotcli, b. Vir- 
ginia, H. 1858; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fox, T. A., Carpenter and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1834; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Ferris, John C, County Court Judge, b. Tennessee, s.1855; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Flippen, T. D., General Book-Keeper North Carolina and St. Louis Railroad, b. 

Tennessee, a. 1854 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fergusson, James, Constable, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fechan, P. A., Bishop of Nashville, b. Ireland, s. 18G5 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Freeman, L. M., Fireman, b. New Jersey, s. 1844 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Frith, J. II., Merchant Groceries, b. North Carolina, 8.1847; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Freeman, L. R., Merchant, b. New York, s. 1852 ; p. o. add. Nashville^ Tenn. 



Fite, L. B., Jr., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 185(5 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
File, L. B ,Sr.,M(;rchant, b. Kentucky, h. 18G0; p. o; add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ford, P. A., Laborer, b. Tennessee, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Fisher, Alexander A., Principal Tenth District School, b. Tennessee, 8.1851; 
p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Fryar, J. F., Pliysician, b. Kentucky, s. 1871; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

Ford, II. W., Broker and Comiuidsion Merchant; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Fanning, Mrs. C, b. England, s. 1840; p. o. add. Glen ClilT, Tenn. 

I'anning, A. J., Farmer, b. AbUmma, s. 1830 ; p. o. add. Glen Cliff, Tenn. 

Fields, James W., Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1837; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Frazier, Thomas N., Lawyer and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 18CG ; p. o. add. Na.sh- 
ville, Tenn. 

Fitz Gibbons, Edmund, Fireman Tennessee Insane Asylum, b. Ireland, s, 1852 ; 
p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Fly, JanM\s W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Glencliff, Tenn. 

Foster, II. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1825; p. o. add. Rosediile, Tenn. 

Fuqua, Joshua, Miller, b. Tennessee, s. 1828; p. o. add. Gle:iclilT, Tenn. 

Ford, 11. W., &■ Co., Merchants; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Fowler, Mrs. M. R., b. Indian Territory, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Forbes, D., Physician, b. Maine, s, 1875; p. 6. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Frazier, F. H., Section Boss Northwestern Railroad, b. Tennessee, s. 1844 ; p. o. 
add. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Fleming, B. F., Market Gardener, b. Ohio, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Fleming, Benjamin F.,Sr.,General Accountant, b. Ohio, s. 1841 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenu. 

Fuzzell, J. Overttm, Farmer and Stock Raiser, b. Ohio, 8.1840 ; p. o. add. Madi- 
son Station, Tenn. 

Ford, W. R. and A. B., Farmers, b. Virginia, s. 1845 ; p.o.add. Madison Station, 
Tenn. 

Fletcher, P., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 181S; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Ferrell, W. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1870; p. o. add. Goodlettsville, Tenn. 

Ford, J. M.. Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1872; p. o. add. White's Bend, Tenn. 

Fulcher, Joseph W., Medical Student, b. Virginia, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

French, H. S., Retired Llercliant, b. Ohio, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Fite, Thomas D., Merchant, b, Tennessee, s. 1844; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Fite, John A*., Lawyer ; p. o. add. Carthage, Tenn. 

F<--ustet, Albin, Saloon Keeper, b. Germany, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

FuUei, Eben, Boots and Shoes, b. Massachusetts, s. 184D; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Fellis, Francis, Wood, Coal, and Lumber Dealer, b. New York,s. 1862; p.o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Fowler, John P., Plasterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S70; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Freeman, Oscar, Trunk Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Fowler, J. K., Plasterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Glenn, W. F., Physician, b. Tennessee, b. 1854; p. o. add. Njishviile, Tenn. 

Gannaway, Edward, Attornei-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1877; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Gamble, Tip., Attorney-at-Law, b. Georgia, s. 1878; p. c add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Gaut, John M., Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1866; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tonn. 

Gaut, Juhn C, Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1805; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Green, E. S., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1832; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Gault, John W., Commercial Traveler, h. Tennessee, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nasli- 
ville, Tenn. 

Green, J. Walker, Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Greenfield, R. K., Banker, h. Tenn--3see, s. 184G; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Greenfield, Robert W., Merchant, b Tanaessee, s. 1819; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Gartland, Thomas, Florist and Landscape Gardener, b. Ireland, s. 1S53; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Griffin, Henry, Carpenter and Builder, b. Virginia, s. 1858; p.o.add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Gregory, Charles E., Book-Keeper, b. New York, s. 1858 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Gilbert, John V., Manager of Gilbert Sisters' Dramatic Troupe, b. Virginia, s. 
1839; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Gwyn, J. A., Miller, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Greer, B. K., Plasterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S34; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Gower, 0. C, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, b. 1S32; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Gammon, George W., Hotel Waiter, b. North Carolina, s. 1801 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Grizzard, Erasmus, Barber, t- Tennessee, s. 1873 ; p. o. add: Nashville, Tenn. 

Goodwin, W. G., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 183S; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Groff, James G., Cooper, b. Ohio, b. 1877 ; p. o. add. Na.shville, Tenn. 

Gresham, William J., Wagon Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 1874; p.o.add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Goldberg, A. L., Lumber Dealer, b. Kentucky, s. 1805; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Gwinncr, John, Tailor, b. Germany, b. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Griffitli, David, Steamboat Man, b. Tennessee, s. 1822; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Gilliam, W. H., House Builder and Contractor, b. Tennessee, s. 1855 ; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 



490 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Glas-gow, V,\ T., Manager Empire Coal Mining Co., b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. 

add. NaMiville, Tcnn. 
Gowiiry, Jjimes F., Salosmiin, h. Teiinrssee, a. 1S43; p. o. add. Nnshville, Tenn. 
Gniiit, J. F., Physician, b. Lincoln County, s. ISSU; p. o. :idil. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gee, J. W., Livery, b. Bavidson County, s. 1831 ; p. o. add. Njishville, Tenn. 
Goodbsir, A. J,, Wholesale Hats, b. Tennessee, b. 18l'i7; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Ghisgow, W. F., Coal Merchant, h. Tennessee, g. 1840;, p. o. add. NaBhville, 

Tenn. 
Green, lUchard, Merchant Tailor, b. Scotland, s. 1876; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
GaiTelson, William, Publislier, b. New Jersey, s. 1870; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Gowcr, E. E., Contractor and Builder, b, Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Goodman, Fmnk, IVincipal Goodman's Business College, b. Ohio, s. 1S74; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gardner, R. H., Maxwell House, b. Tennessee, s. 1828; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gibson, J., Miller, b. North Carolina, s. 18G5 ; p. o. add. Niisliville, Tenn. 
Gennett, Andreu', Mealiant, b. Tennessee, s. 1845; p. o. add. NiisUville, Tenn. 
Gale, W. D., Insunince Agent, b. Mississippi, s. 1833; p. o. add. Nnshville, Tenn. 
Gordon, Jno. C, Commission Merchant (Cotton and Tobacco), b. Tennessee, s. 

18C7; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Green, James, Master Mechanic, b, Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Gniy, C. F., Men's FurniBbing Goods, b. Tennessee, h. 1858 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Guild, Joseph C, Lawyer, b. Virginia, b. 1S06; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Greener, John G., Druggist, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Na.*^hville, Tenn. 
Gray, William S., Druggist, b. Kentucky, s. 18G0 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gardner, G. N., Livery Stable, b. Tenneaaec,'8. 1878; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gordon, It. H., Druggist, b. Tennessee, s. 18C5; p. o. add. Na.shville, Tenn. 
Groomes, It. H., Funeral Undertaker, b. Virginia, s. 1S30; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Gleaves, James T., Fanner and Miller, b. Tennessee, s. 18i;2 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Green, Frank W.. Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 183G; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
^ Groomes, K. H., Undertaker, b. Virginia, s. 1822; p. o. add. Nit-hville, Tenn. 
Goodlelt. M. C, Attoruey-at-Luw, b. Tennessee, s. 1819; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Griffin, Mrs. N. K., b. Tennessee, 9. 1843; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn, 
GipS(in, II. C, Blacksmith, b. Tennessoo,s. 1840; p. o.a<)d. Nashville, Tenn. 
Griswold, Thomas H., Marketer, b. South Carolina, s. 18C5 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Gee, L. J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. lSo7; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gordon, L. A., Laborer, b. Tennessee, s. 18G0; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gillam, T. M., Mechanic, b. Ohio, s. 183U; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Green, R. M., Kailroad Conductor, b. Tennessee, a. 1852 ; p. o. add. Baker's Sta- 
tion, Tenn. 
Goodlett, M. C, Lawyer, p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Gilbreth, Jno. A., Machinist, b. Alabama, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Grundy, Alice, b. Tennessee, s. 1837 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Grantland, H. W., Wholesale Grocer and Cotton Factory, b. Alabama, e. 187(1; 

p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Griggs, J. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1833; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gillem, L. P., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 18GG; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 
Goodlett, Alfonzo G., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 
Griggs, Richard D., Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1848; p. o. add. Nolensville, Tenn. 
Gowen, Mrs. Amanda M., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1819; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Gleves, James T., Sr., Farmer and Miller, b. Tennessee, s. 1822. 
Garner, B. M., Wagon Maker and Carpenter, b. Tennessee, b. 1814; p. o. add. 

GleuclifF, Tenn. 
Gray, Henry, Florist T. I. Asylum, b. England, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville 

Tenn. 
Garrett, W. K., Professor of Mathematics M. B. Academy, b. Virgiffia s. 1875- 

p. o. add. Njishville, Tenn. 
Gower, J. W., Pressman, b. Tennessee, 8. 1856; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Grinstead, A. P., Physician, b. Virginia, s. 1836; p. o. add. Oneyville, Tenn. 
Griggs, T. K., Farmer, b. Georgia, s. 1S22; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 
Goodwin, W. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1825 ; p. o.add. Paragon Milb, Tenn. 
Gaines, J. W., Physician and Farmer, b. Kentucky; p. o. add. Paragon Mills 

Tenn. * 

Gaines, T. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S54 ; p. o. add. Lime Kiln, Tenn. 
Goodrich, John, Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. o. add. Lime Kiln, Tenn. 
Griffin, Mi"S. N. K., b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gifford, Mrs. G. W., b. Tennessee, s. 1880; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Green, W. M., p. o. add. Nnshville, Tenn. 
Gordon, W.H., Retired Merchant, b. Tennessee, b. 1822; p. o. add. Nashville 

Tenn. ' 

. Gardner, Janies, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 
Gardner, M. M., Farmer and Stock Breeder, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. 

Niu-hville, Tetiu. 
Greer, Mrs. L. P., Farmer, b. Tenneasffe, s. 1821; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 
Greer, Jo. S., Farmer and Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1830; p. o. add. Bellevue 

Tenn. ' 

Greer, John T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 



Greer, Mrs. L. J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1867; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 
Gerrard, "W. II., Ex-Steamboat Captain, b. Nova Scotia, s. 1810; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Geri-ard, Mrs. S;ir;ih B. S., b. Tennessee, s. 1835; p, o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Graves, D. S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1829 ; p. o. add. Madison Station, Tenn. 
Garrett, W. H. and E. C, Farmers, b. Tennessee, s. 1853 and 1857; p. o. add. 

Gocdlettsville, Tenn. 
Graves, Nellie H., b. Tennessee, s. 1853 ; p. o. add. Madison Station, Tenn. 
Green, R. M., p. o. add. Baker's Station, Tenn. 
Grizziird, R. W., p. o. add. Edgefield Junction, Tenn. 
Galbreath, J. H., p. o. add. Goodletfciville, Tenn. 

Graves, Joseph E., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s 1844 ; p. o. add. Goodlettsville, Tenn. 
Green, F. M., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1861; p. o. add. White's Creek, Tenn. 
Green, Samiul, Constable, b. Tennessee, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Tennessee. 
Galahan, John, Farmer and Carpenter, b.KentucUy, s. 1823; p. o. add. Ashland 

Ciiy. Tenn. 
Gallagher, AV. I., Clerk, b. Georgia, s. 1862; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Green, Bedford, Clergyman, b. Tennessee, s 184G; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gowdy, C. C, Constable, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p, o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Gadscy, John E., Engineer, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
GoU, F., Boot and Shoe Manufacturer, s. 1S53; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Goodrich, C. W,, Carpenter and Contractor, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p.o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Gi'odlett, R. D., Merchant, b. Kentucky, s. 1840; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Guill, Gardner, Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hord, Ben M., Publisher Mural Sun. 
, Horton, J. W., Jr., Altoruey-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s.1858; p. o.add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hoyt, T. A., Pastor First Presbyterian Church, b. South Carolina, a. 1873; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hunt, George C, Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, a. 1876; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Harrison, Iloiace H., Attornoy-at-Law. b. Tennessee, s. 1829 ; p. o. add, Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Howell, Morton B., Attorney-at-Law, b. Virginia, 8. 1835 ; p. o. add, Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Harding, J. M., Physician, b. TennesseG, b. 1S3I ; p, o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hughes, James S.,Beal Estate, b. Tennessee, s. 18:^7; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harris, J. E., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Houston, Joseph D., Merchant, b. Louisiana, 8. 1856; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hurley, A. H., Produce and Commiasion, b. Tennessee, a. 1857; p. o.add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Haden, C. W., Book-Keeper Nashville Warehouse, b. Tennessee, s. 1860; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harman, Richard, Eugineer Cotton Compress Company, b. Tennessee, s. 1836; 

p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Haley, Mrs. T. W.,b. Tennessee, b. 1831 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Halley, Robert A., Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hood, Z. T., Policeman, b. Tennessee, b. 1848; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Horn, Josepli, Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1826; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 
Hobson, T. K., Policeman, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hailey, Robert H., Physician, b. Tennessee, a. 1841; p o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harrison, Samuel M., Local Inspector Steam Vessels, b. Ohio, a. 1839; p. o.add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Hawkins, J. M., Lumber Dealer, b. Virgini.i, s. 1830; p.o add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Heuser, J. J., Grocer and Wholesale Beer Dealer, b. Germany, b. 1861 ; p. o. add. 

Niishville, Tenn. 
Hedrick, P. L., Cai-penter and Builder, b. Ohio, a. 1869; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hess, John, Jr., Saloon, b. Ohio, a. 1855 ; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 
Hamilton, A., Capitalist, b. Ireland ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hollister, C. L., Saloon, b. New York, a. 1854 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hooper, George, Head Porter Maxwell House, b. Nashville, s. 1835; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Hill, J. D., Journaliat, b. Tennessee, s. 1834; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. . 
Harris, Hooper, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1853 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hailey, W. H., Pattern Maker, b. Virginia, s. 1828; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Honchina, A. J., Patent Roofing, b. Virginia, a. 1840: p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harrison, T. B., Steamboat Captain, b. Tennessee, s, 1816; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Haley, A. S., Farmer, b. Virginia, b. 1873 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hosse, A. F., Gunsmith, b. Prussia, s. 1859; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 
Hoffman, Paul, Clerk, b. Germany, s. 1861; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hyman, G. N., Box Maker, b. Virginia, s. 1872; p. o. add. Nashville, Tcnn. 
Hall, J. R., Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1872 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ilaynie, James, Contractor and Builder, b. Tennessee, s. 1818; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Ilight, George W., Clothier, b. Tennessee, a. 1852; p. o add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harman, Thomas M., Steamboat Captain and Pilot, b. Tennessee, a, 1833; p.o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hnile, M. V. B., Printer, b. Tennessee, s. 1825; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hewit, W. J., Merchant, b. Ohio, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harper, J. T., Caqienter, b. Tennessee, a. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hughes, David, Hardware Merchant, b. Tennessee, a. 1825 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Itogan, Alexander, Merchant, b. Tenn<ssee, a. 1860; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Horn, A. K., Painter, b. North Carolina, e. 1841 ; p. o. add.. Nashville, Tenn. 



NAMES OF PATRONS. 



491 



Hftwkins, Thomns J., Carpenter, b. Tonneasoo, r. 1814; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Harrison, Bob, Porter Maxwell Ilouse, b. Alalnina, a. 18C5; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Teun. 
HnniTii, C. C, Stone Cutter, b. Lonp; Island, s. 1855 : p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hayes, N. C, Salesman, b. Tennessee, 8. 1874; p. o. add. Niialiville, Tenn. 
Ilill, Edward. Cook, b. Alahama, 8. 1865; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Hogan, U. K., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1858; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Head, J. W., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1878; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hunter, John, Barber, b. Tennessee, s. 18G3; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Horsier, Henry, Hack Driver, b. Tennessee, s. 1835; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hogan, H. B., Coal and Wood Dealer, b. Tennessee, e. 1860; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
nughca, Wirt, Attorn ey-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hardcastle, G., Salesman, b. Tennessee, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Houston, Alexander, Cook, b. North Carolina, s. 1837; p. o. add. Ntishville, 

Tt-nn. 
Herstem, Jacob, Photographer, b. Germany, b. 1873; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hill, P. J , Carpenter, b. Alabama, a. 1870; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hurd, James, Grocer, b. Georgia, s. 1866; p. o. add. NashviUe, Tenn. 
Horn, \V. P., Blucksmitb, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Hogle, Charles, Locomotive Engineer, b. Ohio, s. 1862; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hartung, John, Showcase Maker, Picture Framer, and Fancy Wood Work, 

b.Gerniany, s. 18:3*1; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hughes, John, Boot and Slioe, b. Virginia, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Halley, James Harvey, Journalist, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hnbbell, W. B., Trunk Maker, b. Tennessee, b. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hill, W. J., Book-Keeper with Thomas Nolan, Lime Manufacturer, b. Alalama, 

s. 1860 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
House, Georgti W., Methodist Minister Tennessee Conference, b. Tennessee, 8. 

1S50; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 
Hodge, Thomas, Barber, b. Tennessee, b. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hooper, H. V., Wholesale Bookstore, b. Tennessee, s. 1857 ; p. o. aild. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hall, F. S., Physician and Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Holliiis, K. S., Sr., Wholesale Shoes, b. Virginia, s. 1836; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Uensley, Henry C, Pork Packer, b. Kentucky, s. 1842; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hillman, C. E., Wholesale Iron and Hardware, b. New Jersey, s. 1837 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Hoyte, J. W., Minister of the Gospel, b. New York, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Hoskins, W. E., R. R. N. C. & St. L , b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add, Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Holman, W. D., Carpenter and Builder, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville. Tenn. 
Heniker, H. J., Wholesale Confectioner, b. Illinois, b. 1866 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Heveriii, Hugh, Stone Cutter, b. Ireland, s. 1851; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Herrin, Thomas, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 181C ; p. o. add, Brentwood, Tenn. 
Hobson, George, Clerk, b. Tennessee, s. 1834 , p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Howell, R. H., Manufacturing Stationery, b. Tennessee, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Huntington, H. II., Clothing and Gents' Furnishing, b. Connecticut, s. 1862; 

|i. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hawkins, D. F., Drujrgist, b. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hosse, Charles, Saddle and Harness Manufacturer, b. Prussia, s. 1852 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Hickmari, James, Real Estate, b. Tennessee, s. 1864 ; p. o. add. Njisbville, Tenn, 
HendepBon, M., Plumlier, b. Scotland, s. 1852 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harding. W. P., Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1822; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hill, J. W., Minister of the Gospel, b. Tennessee, s. 1869 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Ualton, Mrs. S. K., State Librarian, b. Alabama, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Halloran, M., Grocery Merchant, b. Ireland, 8. 1851; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Hickman, Jno, P., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hanmer, H. H., Livery and Stock Dealer, b. New York, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Hadley, J. F., Sitk Nurse, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Uydinger, W. H., Butcher, h. Virginia, s. 1860; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hendershott, G. W., Proprietor Thornton's English Liver and Blood Purifier, 

b. Ohio, 8. 1846 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hughes, George D., Teucher, b. Tennessee, a. 1805 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harris, Temple 0., b. Virginia, s. 1832; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Hart, Mrs. E. Laura, b. Toimossec, s. 1874; p o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Horton, J. W., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1826 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Heiss, I. B., Cooper, b. Tennessee, s. 1863 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hopkins, Edward, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1S4U; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Holdin, James, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Ilord, A. L., Cabinet Maker, h. Tennessee, s. 1830; i>. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hopkins, John, Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, 8. 1854 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

6j: 



H>bb3, Jennie Hill, Teacher In Poword Seminary, b. Tennesece, s. 1859; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Henderson, J. H., Miller, b. Tonneasoo, 8. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. '^ 

Harding, Lucy, b. Tutinudsoe, s. 18")5 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Humphrey, L. M., Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Georgia, s. 18G J ; p. o. add. Na-shville, 

Tenn. 
Harsh, George, Hackman, b. Tennessee, s. 1855 ; p. o. a'ld. Niishville, Tot n. 5 

Harris, N. C., Shoe Salesman, b. TdunoHsoe, a. 1810; p. o. add. Nashville, T^im. * 

HolloweH, Frank, Physician, l». Tennessee, s. 1867; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hamilton, N. B., Real Estate Street Corner Cart, b. Tennessee, s. 1817 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Hutchinson, J. H., Brick Contractor, b. Tennessee, a. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, r 

Tenn. 
Harding, John, Farmer, b. Tonnes-iee, s. 1831, p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harris, Temple 0., Jr., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1341, p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hagar, Anderson, Farmer and Preacher, b. Tonncssee, a. 1826; p o. add. Don- ^ 

elson, Tenn. ' 

Hadley, R. L., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1839; p. o. add. Edgefield Junction, ^ 
Tenn. *^ 

Hadley, John L., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1819; p. o. add. Edgefield Junction, ) 
Tenn. ■ i 

Hofletter, Joseph, Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1835; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. , 

Hays, Anderson S., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 18 tl ; p. o. add. Donelson, Tonn. 
Hays, John, Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1845; p. o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 

Hagar, W. E., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1822; p.o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 
Hays, N. S., Farmer, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Edgefield Junction, Tenn. 
Harvvood, James A., Farmer and Fruit Grower, b. Tennessee, s, 1811; p. o. add. 

Rosedale, Tenn. , 

Harwood, Cephas, Farmer and Fruit Grower, b. Tennessee, s. 1307; p. o. add. 3 

Rosedale, Tenn. 
Harwood. Charles B., Farmer, b. Tennessee; p. o. ad J. Rtsedale, Tenn. 
Harwood, A. M., Farmer, b. Tennessee ; p. o. aid. E )3.vJale, Tonn. ^ , 

Hardy, T. G., Farmer and Mechanic, b. Virginia, s. 1823; p. o. add. Rosedale, - ' 

Tenn. 
Harris, T. F., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1849 ; p. o. add. R >aed ile, Tenn . " 

Hill, H. B., Physician and Farmer, b. Kentucky, a. 1865; p. o. add. Oneyvillo, ^ 
Tenn. '-IF 

Hamilton, A. J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. 0. add. Station A, Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Holt, Thomas I., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1861 ; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 
Hogan, Mrs. t;. W., Farmer, h. Tennessee, s. 1831 ; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. ^ 
Hadly, D. P., Furmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1825; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. ^ 

Hill, R. H., Farmer and Ju^itice of Peace, b. Tennessee, s. ISj.j ; p. 0. add. Par- 
agon Mills, Tenn. * 
Holt, W. T., Farmer and Stock Raiser, b. Tennessee, s. 1861. ° 
Harris, Mrs. Benjamin D., b. North Carolina, s. 1847 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. ^ ' 
Hamilton, James W., I\Ieichant and Fanner, b. Ohio, a. 1830; p. o. add. Na«h- "^ 

ville, Tenn. 
Hobson, N. F., Farmer, b. Tenneasee, b. 1852; p. 0. add. Glen Cliff, Tenn. q 

Horton, Joseph W., Merchant, b. Tennessee, 8. 1826; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. ^ 
Hogan, Louis P., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1839 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hart, E. Laura, b. Tennessee, a. 1874; p. 0. add. Na-shville, Tenn. 
Halbert, Mrs.C. W., b. Tennessee, s. 1835; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hayes, Henry M., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, a. 1832 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. ^ 

Harding, N. D., Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1850 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. ' J^ 

Hill, Alexander, Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1809; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hunt, H. D , Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1813; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. * ♦ 

Hunt, W. L., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hooberry, John \V., Clerk, b. Tcnnosaee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Na'-hville, Tenn. -* 

Hooper, C. S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1^44; p. o. add. Pond Creek, Tenn. 
Harding, George H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1848 ; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. u 
Hill, John B , Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1834; p. 0. add. Bellevue, Tenn. "^ 

Hooten, William R., Preacher, b. Virginia, s. 1836; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 
Hooper, James H., Physician and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. 

Bellevue, Tenn. 
Hoxvs, John, Fainier and Stock Grower, b. North Carolina, 8.1816; p.o. add,, 

Bellevue, Tenn. O 

Hows, Sterling M,, Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1849; p. 0. add. Newaom Station ' v 

Tenn. 
Hutton, William C, Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1875 ; p. o. add. Newsom Stat ion ' (, 
Tenn. ^ » 

Hutton, John H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1863; p.o. add. Newaom Station ". 

Tenn. 
Hutton, Mrs. M. L., Farmer, b. Tenneaaee, b. 1863; p. o. add. Newsom Station' y^ 

Tenn. ^, 

Hutton, Thomas F., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1877; p. 0. add. Newsom Station 

.Tunn. I 

Jfenin, .Thomas L., Menihant and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 183 2 ; p. o. add , 

Bellevue, Tenn. 
Hewgley, C. W., Farmer, b. Virginia, s. 1842; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. *( 

Hughs, L. F., Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1829; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. *)* 

Hurt, J. W., Market Gardener, b. Tennessee, 8. 1331 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn 
Hudson, W. B., Farmer and Stock Dealer, b. Kentucky, a. 1848; p.o. add. Madi' « 

son Station, Tenn. 
Hall, S. S. & E. E., Farmers and Stock Raisers, b. Tennessee, a. 1838, 1852 ; p. ( 1 

add. Madison Station, Tenn. j. 

Harris, Nannie T., Teacher, b. Tennessee ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. -'^^ 



492 



HISTOKY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Harrison, George V>\, rarmcr, b. Ohio, s. 1838; p. o. add. NaslivilJe, Tenn. 
Hobson, W. H., Farmer, b. Virginia, b. 1822; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hyde. W. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1830; p. o add. Wlute'a Creek, Tenn. 
Hamiltun, W. A., Physician, b. Tennessee, 8.1851 ; p. o. add.Eatwn Creek, Tenn. 
Hollingsworlh, L. B., Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1638; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek, 

Tenn. 
Holt, Isaac, Farmer, b. TeDnessce, s. 1836 ; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek, Tenn. 
Ja-Je, T. I., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hyde, F. H., Farmer, h. Tennesspe, s. 1829; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek, Tenn. 
Howington, J. W., Farmer, b. Tennesseo, s. 1830; p. o. add. Wliite's Bend, 

Tenn. 
Horn, AV. L., Book-Keeper, b. Tennessee, b. 1829 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hancock, E., New Era Mills, b. Tennessee, s. 1842; p. o. add. NuBhville, Tenn. 
Hyde, N. B., First National Bank, h. TenuesHeo; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun, 
-Humphrey, J. P., Farmer, b Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hurley, W. P., Produce Merchant, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harris, Peter, Jr., Clerk, b. England, 8. 1875 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hill, Henry, Carpenter, b. Virginia, s. 1817; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harris, Thomas, Farmer and Marketer, b. Tennessee, s. 1846 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Harris, T., Evangelist, h. Tennessee, b. 1846; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hide, John H., Book-Keeper Comptroller's Oflice, b, Tennessee, s. 18G0; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hightower, Thomas, Variety Store, b. Tennessee, s. IS-Sl ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hays, James E., Book-Keeper, b. Tennessee, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hays, C. B., Shipping and Receiving Clerk, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Hays, D. W., -Jlergyman, b. Tennessee, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 
Hays, Lewis, Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, s. 1829; p. o. odd. Nashville, Tenn. 
Harris, Charles, Birber, b. Tennessee, s. 1823; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Horton, Savana, h. Tennessee, s. 1830 ; p. o. ndil. Nashville, Tenn. 
• Hawkins, Albert, Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, e. 1841 ; p. o add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Hampton, B. G,, Physician, b. North Carolina, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Bite, J. C, Contractor and Builder, b. Tennessee, s. 1837 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Teun. 
Hudgo, Thomas G., Prescriptionist, b. Teonessee, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Hasslock, H. A., Journalist, b. Missonri, s. 18G0; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hodges, Charles, Journalist, b, Tennessee, 8. 1858 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Hicks, D. B., Fanner, Ice and Coal Dealer, b. North Carolina, s. 1823 ; p. o. add. 

Nashvillf, Tenn. 
Hoffman, A. J., Butcher, b. Tennessee, 8. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 
Henderson, George A., Book-Keeper; b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Jones, AV. P., Physician and Poatmaater at Nashville; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
■ Johnston, Daniel A., Watchmaker and Jeweler, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Jackson, W. C, Cotton Merchant, b. Missouri, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Jolly, J. \V., Jr., Carpenter, b. Kentucky, s. 1858; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Johnson, Joseph A., Switchman Louisville and Nashville Bailroad, b. Tennes- 
see, 8. 1850 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jones, E. C, Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Johnson, Bailey, Steamboat Captain and Pilot, b. Tennessee, a. 1S18; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Jennings, J. G., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1879 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. -^ 
Jones, R. L., Journalist, b. North Carolina, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 
Jennings, J. G., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1879; p. o. add. N;ishville, Tenn. 
Janiisuii, Monroe, Farmer and Stock Dealer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1876; p. o. add. 

Niwhville, TL'un. 
Jenkins, Mrs. M., b. Tennessee, s. 1861 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jenkins, Alfred, Trunkmaker, b. Tennessee, 8. 18G1 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Jackson, James A., Chorister of Christ Church, b. England, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Jenkins, J. S., Wholesale and Retail Druggist, b. Tennessee, a. 1855 ; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Jones, M. P., Clerk, b. Virginia, 8. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jones, Prj'or, Bookbinder, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jones, Edw. S., Hull Inspector of Steam Vessels, b. Pennsylvania, s. lyC5; p. o. 

add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Joseph, B. M., b, Tennessee, a. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jones, Edgar, Banker, b. Mississippi, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jackson, W, H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1868 ; p. o. add. Na-ihville, Tenn. 
JoneB, Y. B., Freight Agent North Carolina and St. Louie Railroad, b. Virginia, 

8. 1S3S ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jordan, J. N., Salesman, b. Tennessee, b. 1868; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Jennings, Robert W., Wholesale Hats, b. South Carolina, 3.1857; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Teun. 
Jones, J. P., Grocery, b. Tennessee, s. 1848; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Johnson, George William, Liquor Dealer, b. Ohio, a. 18ol ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Jackson, Andrew, Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1836 ; p. o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 



Jnngermann, J,, Merchant, b. Germany, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Johnson, A. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1836 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Johnson, D. R., Insurance, b. Ireland, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Johnson, J. W., Grocer, b. Ireland, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Jackson, Susan, Dressmaker, b. Kentucky, 8. 1861 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Jones, Henry P., Gardener, b. Tennessee, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 

Jones, J. H., Farmer, b. Virginia, s. 1835; p. o. add. Rosedale, Tenn. 

Juiinson, Tim.. Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1840. 

Jones, J. A., Bricklayer, b. Tennessee, s. 1861 ; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Juhnson, A. H., Farmer, h. Tennessee, 8.1836; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Johnson, D. R., Insunince, b. Ireland, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Jennett, H. P., Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1844 ; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn, 

Johnson, A. W , Retired Merchant, b. New Hampshire, s. 1802 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Johnson, W. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1824; p. o. add. Madison Station, Tenn. 

Johns, W. N., Equitiible Fire Insurance Company, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tetin. 

Jordan, J. H., Physician, b. Tennessee, 8. 1838; p. o. add. Eaton Creek, Tenn. 

Jones, B. B., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1823; p. o, add. Eaton Creek, Tenn. 

James, D. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1819; p. o. add, Eaton Creek, Tenn. 

Jamison, James M., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 18-^1 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Johnson, R. J., Huckster, h, Virginia, 8. 1863 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Johnson, G. W., Liquor Dealer, b. Ohio, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Jones, Thompson H., Dealer in Furniture and Agricultunil Implemeuts, b. 
Kentucky, s. 1866 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

James, Voluf-y, Merchant, b. Tennessee, 8. 1870; p. o. add. Nashvilli', Tenn. 

Joslii), A. A,, Surveyor and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1855 ; p. o. add. N-ishvillo, 
Teun. 

Johnson, C. G., Carpenter and Contractor, b. Virginia, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Kelsea, William, Stereotyper, b. Massachusetts, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Kuhn, Camper B., Book-Keeper, b.Qermauy,8. 1859 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kinnaird, Percy, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1857 ; p.o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kiild, W. A., Conductor Louisville and Nashville Railroad, b. Tennessee, a. 1858 ; 
p. o. add. Nashville, Tvnn. 

King, G. W, Nursery, b. New York City, s. 1869; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

King, John, Bricklayer, h. Tennessee, b. 1834; p. o. add. N:ishville, Tenn. 

King, Benjamin F., Cai*penter and Joiner, b. Tennessee, a. 185G; p.o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

King, J. B., Cai-penter and Joiner, b. Missi.-sippi, s. 1865: p. o. add. Nashville, 
Teun. 

Kelly, P. S., Veterinary Surgeon, b. Ireland, e. 1863; p.o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 
.Kennedy, Lawrence F., Real Estate, b. Ireland, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, 

tenn. 
■ Kinney, D. C, Pilot, b. Tennessee, b. 1830; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kirby, John L., Journalist and Printer, b. Tennessee, s. 1837; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Keeble,S. W., Magistrate, b. Tennessee, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Kile, James, Driver "Citizens' Gift" Fire Company, No 3, b. Tennessee, 8.1842; 
p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kleiser, Henry, Manufactuier Show Cases and Cabinet Maker, b. Baden, s. 1869; 
p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kennedy, John C, Clerk, b. Kentucky, a. 1860; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kirkmiin, John, Banker, b. Tennessee, a. 1813; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 

Keith, Samuel J., Banker, b. Tennessee, e. 1855 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kellogg, J. A., Hotel Proprietor, b. Ohio, s. 1863; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenu. 

Kline, W. D., Druggist, b. New York, s. 1863 ; p. o. add. Nuahville, Tenn. 

Keeton, T. J., Builder, b. Virginia, 8. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

King, William, Musician, b. Pliiladelphia, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Na>;liville, Tenn. 

Keesee, F. P., Book-Keeper N. L. Ice Company, b. Tennessee, a. 1852; p. o. add. 
Niishville, Tenn. 

Kennedy, D., Piiysician, b. Tennessee, s. 1866; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kemp, J. W., BlacksDiith, b. Alabama, 8. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kennedy, Willoughby, Barber, b. Louisiana, e. 1*^55; p. o. add. Nasliville.Tenn. 

Kinnie, George A., Fjirmer, h. Mississippi, a. 1843 ; p. o. add. Glencliff, Tenn. 

Kelley, Mrs. Kate, Family Groceries, b. Ireland, a. 1840; p. o. add. Glencliff, 
Tenn. 

King, Thomas S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s, 1873; p.o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Kennedy, G. L., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8.1856; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Kinney, G. W. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1820 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kirkpatrick, John C, Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1873; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Knock, Theodore, Fresco Painter, b. Bremen, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kockerell, M. B„ Miller, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1855 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Kennedy, John L., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 18G9; p. o. add. Niishvilie, Tenn. 

Kirtland, Mrs. E., b. Tennessee, a. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 

Lea, John M., Lawyer; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lawrence, John, Attoruey-at-Law, b. Ohio, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lindsley, A. V. S., Jr., Real Estate and Insurance, b. Tennesaee, a. 1847; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lillard, John B., Medical Books and Instruments, b. Kentucky, s. 1869; p.o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lusk, A. H., Attoruey-at-Luw, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lees, Robert B., Dentist, b. New York, s. ISG9 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lea, Rubert B., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenu. 

Lewis, John, Architect, b. Wales, s. 1863; p. o. luld. Nashville, Teuu. 



NAMES OF PATRONS. 



Le Roi, Churlea, Printer, 1). Canada, a. 1367; p. o. add. Nnshvillo, Tenn. 

Lawrence, Jeff, Stiuie Mason, b. Tennessee, s 184;); p, o. luld. Naslivillo, Tonn. 

Locke, J. M., Jr,, Tradei-, b. Kentucky, s. 18(59 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lawrence, P. F,, Carpenter and Builder, b. Tennessee, a. 1S^5; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tonn. 

Lewis, David, Barber, b. Tennessee, b. 1865 ; p. o. add. Naahvillo, Tonn. 

Lapsley, D. L., Attoruey-at-Law, b. Kentucky, a. 1S47; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Lester, W. D., Asaistaut Stowai'd Max House, b. Tennessee, s. 1873; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tonn. 

Langsford, Henry, Jr., S. E. Engineer, b. Tennessee, a. 1833; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Leckey, E. A. J., Baggage Master Louisville and Nashville Railroad, b. New 
York, a. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lee, Mrs. Annie, b. Ireland, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

LanitiT, George W., Tranarer, b. TennP8>iee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lovell, W. T., House Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1841 ; p. o. add., Nashville, Teuii. 

Lamb, Charles S., House Painter, h. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Teim. 

Lillard, Albert, Barber, b. Tennessee, s. 1875; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lewis, li. M., b. Wisconsin, s. 1862 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lanier, B., Merchant, b. Tennessee, a. 1830; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Litton, G. S., Clerk N. and C. Railroad, b. Tennessee, b. 1845; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Lipscomb, James F., Teacher Edgefield Male A.caderoy, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; 
p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Laurent, Eugene L , Druggist, b. Prussia, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Longhurst, C. D., Carriage Manufacturer, b. New York, s. 1849; p. o. add, 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Longwortb, William, Machinist, b. England, a. 1858 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lowry, A. E., Musician, b. Tennessee, s, 1800 ; p. o. add. NiLshville, Term. 
"Latimer, J. H., Conductor North Carolina Railroad, b. Tennessee, s. 1860; p. o. 
add. Nashville-, Tenn. 

Lipscomb, David, Editor, b. Tennessee, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Linck, H. C, Mercliant, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1SG5; p. o. add. Nashville, Ti^nn. 

Lanier, Chi., b. Sept. 22, 1806, North Carolina, a. 1808; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Landes, Charles, Porter at Capitol, b. Tenne.ssee, a. 1858; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Lanier, Jefferson, Porter at Capitol, b. Tennessee, s. 1824; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Lowry, Peter, President Manual Labor Institution, b. North Carolina, s. 1828 ; 
p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn 

Lewis, Richard, Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Lightfoot, J. H., Physician, b. "Virginia, a. 1SG5; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lanier, W. H., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lovell, Charles H., Prescriptionist, b. Tennessee, a. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Teun. 

Ijanier, E. A., Merchant, b. Tennessee, a. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lesueur, S. J., Plasterer and Ciatern Builder, b. Tennessee, s. 1848; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Livingston, William, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1848; p. o. add. Hermitage, Teun, 

Lawrence, John M., Physician and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1825. 

Lane, T. B., Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Oneyville, Tenn. 

Lane, J. K., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1872; p. o. add. Oneyville, Tenn. 

Lyie, William H. 

Lcttas, J. A., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1866 ; p. o. add. Nolensville, Tenn. 

Lester, James, Brick Mason and Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1833; p, o. add. Oney- 
ville, Tenn. 

Locken, Toney, Book Binder, b. Pliiladelphia, Pa., a, 1858; p. o, add, Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Lawrence, Mrs. William L. B., Merchant, b. Tennessee, a. 1836; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Lazenby, B., Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1S20; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lazenby, T. N., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1860; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Linton, J. Y., Farmer, b, Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Linton, William J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1822; j). o. aild. Bidlevue, Teun. 

Linton, Silas, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1871 ; p. o. adJ. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Linton, Sirs. Kate, Farmer, b. Tenne.ssee, a. 1871; p. o. add. Itellevue, Tenn. 

Linton, Johnson V., Fanner, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Lovell, William Harrison, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1810; p. o. add. Bellevue, 
Tenn. 

Lovell, Carrol M., Physician, b. Tennessee, a. 1850; p. o. add. Bellevue, Tenn. 

Love, B. E., Fanner, b. Alabama, s. 185U; p, o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lockart, Mrs. A.Witt, Farnu-r, b. Virginia, a 1856; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Littan, Isaac, b. Ireland, s. 1818; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lindsley, Frank, Farmer, b, Tennessee, e. 1856; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Laftin, I, G., Physician, b. Tenne-see, s. 1840; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Lanier, W. I., K^-eper Davidson County Asylum, b. Tennessee, s. 1831 ; p. o. add, 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Love, N. 0., Fanner and Stock Dealer, b. Virginia, s. 1838; p. o, add, Madison 
Station, Tenn. 

Looney, R. T., Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1846; p. o. add. Goodleltsville, Tenn. 

Lindsley, Mra. N. Lawrence; p. o. add. Lebanon, Tenn. 

Link, J. P., Farmer, b. Kentucky, s. 1855; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Lipscomb, D., Jr., Farmer, b, Tennessee, b, 1858; p, o.add. White's Bend, Tenn. 



Locke, Isaac, Physician, h. Tennessee, b. 1822; p. o, add, Naahville, Tonn. 
Luacher, Geoige, Dealer in Furniture, b. Switzerland, s. 1850; p. o. add, Naah- 
villo, Tonn. 
Leonhard, F. A., Inventor and Dealer iu Picture-Frames, b. Bavaria; p. o. add, 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Longinette, Edwin, Journalist, b. Tennessee, 8. 1859; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Morrison, Ambrose, Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McAllister, Jno. W., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1854 ; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McFerrin, J, B., Minister of the Gospel, Methodist Episcopal Church South, b. 

Tennessee, s. 1831 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Moi'gan, Henry W,, Dentist, h. Tennessee, s. 1853; p. o. ad<l. NiwhviUe, Tenn. 
McClain, Andrew, Attoruoy-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1871 ; p. o. add, Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Blalone, Thomas H., Lawyer, b. Alabama, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Merritt, Alfred G., Chancellor, b. Tennessee, s. 1832; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Manoy, George, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. aild. Nashville, Tenn. 
Malioney, Jeremiah, Merchant, h, Ireland, s, 1852; p. o. add, Nashville, Tonn. 
Mi-tz, H., Clothing Merchant, b. Germany, s. 1847; p. o. add. NashviUe^ Tenn. 
Mann, G. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1858; p. o. add. Nashvillo^Tenn. 
Martin, Jennie, b. Tennessee, a. 1860; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn, - 

Martin, Jo. D., Clerk, F. Moulton & Co., b. Kentucky, a. 1852; p. o, add. Naak- 

ville, Tenn, 
Mickle, J. D., Tobacconist, b. Virginia, s, 1876; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McCool, W, N.; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. , 

Bloore, H. C. Farmei-, b. Tennessee, s. 184G; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 
Martin, James F,, Lumber Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1848; p. o.add. Naahville, 

Tenn, 
Martin, J. T., Tobacco and Commission Merchant, b, Tennessee, a. 1852; p. o. 

add. N:isliville, Tenn. 
Martin, William L., Attorney -at- Law, b. Tennessee, a. 1858; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Massey, Jno., Policeman, b. Tennessee, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McFall, D. M., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1S72; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Megar, D. T., Stone Mason, b. Tennessee, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 
McMurray, W. J., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1872 ; p, o. add, Nashville, Tenn, 
Morris, Eli T., Attorney -at- Law, b. Tennessee, s, 1848; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
McAllister, M. E., Policeman, b. Virginia, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Matthews, ^\^ P., Produce Dealer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Menefee, A., Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, a. 1858; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Mackey, Albert, Stone Blason, b. Tennessee, s. 1870 ; p. o. add. Nfishville, Tenn. 
Matthews, J. H., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1846; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 
Milwain, John, Carpenter, b. New York, a, 1864; p. o. add, Naahville, Tenn. 
Myer=, John, Carpenter, b. New York, s. 1864 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 
Blartin, William, Pattern Maker, b. Ireland, s. 1856 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Maney, J. D. Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Monahan, James, Merchant, b. Ireland, s. 1S58; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Morris, H. B., Grocer, b Tennessee, a. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 
McCarthoy, WilUiam M., Merchant, b. Georgia, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
McCall, Martin, Book-Keeper, b. Tennessee, s. 1858 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Teun. 
McClaugherty, M. A., Merchant, b, Virginia, a. 185G; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
McCarthy, Tim, Fa-mer, b. Ireland, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McDongal, W. R., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1862 ; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 
McGuire, Carrol, Painter, b, Tennessee, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 
Moree, J. M., Carpenter, b. South Carolina, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Mangum, Wiley C, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1830; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
McNicholB, G. A, Painter, b. Kentucky, s, 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Mobs, Robert E.. Agent Singer Sewing Machine, b. Tennessee, s. 1843 ; p. o. 

add. Niishville, Tenn. 
ilcKinney, William, Farber, b. Tennessee, s. 1873; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Monroe, Benjanun, Paper Hanger, b. Tennessee, s. 1831 ; p. o. add, Nashville, 

Tenn. 
McCandlass, John, Market Gardener, b. Tennessee, a. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Morgan, W. H. T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8, 1831 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
JJIcKnight, W. G., Painter, b, Scotland, s. 1845; p. n. add. N;ishville, Tenn. 
Marshall, Gilbert, Nurseryman, b. Tennessee, s. 1864; p, o, add. Nashville, Tenn, 
Murphy, A. W., Sewing Machine Ageut, b. Georgia, s. 1865; p. o. add. Naah- 
ville, Tenn, 
Miller, Roberts. 
Mahoney, M. J., Lawyer. 
May, W. P., Farmer and Stock Raiser, b. Brentwood, Tenn., a. 1841 ; p. o. add. 

Brentwood, Tenn. 
Moore, Robert I., Farmer and Stock Rjiiser, b. Tennessee, a. 1841; p, o. add, 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Mah'in, W. S., Photographer, b. Tennessee, p, 1879 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McAlister, J, H,, Builder, b. North Carolina, s. 185G; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn, 
Miller, H. C, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, p. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Mooney. Thomas A., Stereotyper, b. Tennessee, 8. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Morrison, Robert A., b, Tennessee, a. 1872 ; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Mahan, James, Barber, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Mathias, W. J., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, a. 1844; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 



4&4 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Manly, W. M., Carpenter and Builder, b. Tenneesee, b. 1875; p. o. ad Q. Nash - 
Tille, Tenn. 

Marbury, Philip H., Jr., Clerk with George E. Cooper & Co., b. Tennessee, 8. 
1S74; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Manly, William M. ; p. o. add. Nai-hville, Tenn. 

Miller, Mrs. S. J., Boarding House Keeper, b. Tennessee, s. 1838 ; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Mitchell, W.H., Wholesale Boots and Shoes, b. Tennessee, s. 1842; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

M^-'ore, William, Wholesale Liquor Dealer, h, Tennessee, s. 1851; p. o. add. 
Nnshville, Tenn. 

McGavock, Johu J., Wholesale luiplemonts and Seeds, b. Tennessee, s. 1835; 
p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

McAlister, I. A., b. Tennessee, B. 1828 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

McKinney, John M., Farmer, h. Virginia, 8. 1836; p. o. add. Naphville, Tenn. 

Morrison, P., Contractor and Builder, b. Canada, a. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Marshal, R. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, e. 1813; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

McGavock, D. H., Fanner, b. Tennessee, 8. 1826; p. o. add. Njishville, Tenn. 

Moulton, Frank, Merchant, b. Tennessee, 8. 1867 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

McCi'.irry, J. C, b. Tennessee, s. 1832; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

MiUT, Tliomas S., Broker, b. Virginia, b. 1853; p. o. add. Na.shville, Tenn. 

Morrow, W., President T. C. and R. R. Co., b. Tennessee, 8. 1S70; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

McCann, J. R., County Court Clerk, b. Virginia, b. 1829; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

McCiure, James A., Music and Pianos, b. Virginia, s. 1850; p. u. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

McAlister, W. K,, Jr., City Attorney of Nashville, b. Tennessee, s. 1850 ; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Mitney, T. H., Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Maddin, Thomas L., Physician, s. 1855 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Maddin, John W., Physician, b. T<?nnessee, s. 18G6; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Mailing, R. H., Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Maney, F. C, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1867 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Mitchell, Charles, Jr., Bakery and Confectionery, b. Scotland, s. 1859 ; p. o. add. 
Na.shville, Tenn. 

Macey, Silas N., Hardware, b. Tennessee, s. 1842; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Maulovo, P. H., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1838 ; p. o. add. Nasltville, Tenn. 

Murrey, J. B., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1848 ; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Maulove, John H., Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s, 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

McNairy, A. D., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. Nnshville, Tenn. 

Mayo, William D., Druggist and Presciiplionist, b. Tennessee, b. 1850; p.o.add, 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Morton, A. B., Druggist, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Morgan, E. W., Salesman, b. Virginia, s. 1846 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Merrill, J., Tinner, b. TennesBce, s, 1876; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Maney, N. C, Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Moore, R. G,, Grocer, b. North Carolina, a. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Miller, Ed. H., Manufacturer of Mattresses and Spring-Beds, b. Tennessee, s. 
1842 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Mooney, T. J., Plumlier, b. Tenne.ssee, s. 1855; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Menees, J. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1828 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Merry, L. G., Clergyman, b. Kentucky, s.lS43; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Morrison, J. C, Dental Depot, b. Tennessee, s. 1851; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Morton, John W., Fruit and Vegetables, b. Tennessee, s. 1852 ; p. o, add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Moore, James Q. 

Morgan, Irhy, Jr., Dry Goods and Notions, b. Tennessee, s 1858; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Munroe, W. T., Carpenter, b. Virginia, s. 1838; p. u. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Mallory, Patrick H., Boiler Riveter, b. Massachusetts, s. 1843 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Moran, John, Grocer, h. Ireland, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Moffitt, A. C, Painter, b. Kentucky, s. 1843 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

MacPherson, John, Minister Central Presbyterian Church, b. Tennessee, e. 

1879; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Moores, Alexander, Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, h. 18G5; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Mulligiin, Burton, Expressman, b. Mississippi, s. 1SG4; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
McFall, Moses, Expressman, b. South Carolina, s. 1863; p.o.add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

McMunery, John H., Druggist, b. Tennessee, s. 1869; p. o. add. Nashville 

Tenn. 
Morrison, James, Book-Keeper, b. Ireland, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Morrison, Mra. Emily, b. Ohio, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Malone, Michael, Lawyer, h. Alabama, s. 1867; p. o. add. Na-hville, Tenn. 
Merrett, A.L. 

MoCleiulon, Dennis, Farmer and Preacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1827 ; p. o. add. Don- 
clson, Tenn. 

McMurry, M. W., Clerk, h. Tennessee, s. 1860; p. o. add. Dotulson, Tenn. 

Meadows, A. J., Farmer, b. Kentucky, a. 1870; p. o. add. Na^ihviHe, Tenn. 

Meadows, H. B., Farmer and Engineer, b. Kentucky, s. 1870: p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. . < ■ • - 



Meadows, Braxton C, Farmer and Mechanic, b. Kentucky, a. 1870; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
McGavock, David H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1826; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn, 
Martin, M. A., Merchant, b. Kentui ky, s. ISCO; p. o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 
Blorris, J. T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1838; p. o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 
Melvin, John W., Merchant, b. Tennei-see, s. I860; p. o. add. Heimitage, Tenn. 
Matlock, William S., Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Glen Cliff, 

Tenn. 
Morgan, Calvin, Miller ai d Faimer, h. Tennessee, s. 1S50 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Minton, John H., Farmer, h. Tennossej^, s. 1839; p. o. add. Oneyvillo, Tenn. 
Malone, Thomas L., Faimer, 1». Tennessee, b. 1831 ; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 
McFarlin, Mrs. Serena S., b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. ndd. I'aiagon Mills, Tenn. 
McKee, P. J., Merchant, b. Ireland; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McLean, C. A., Farmer, b. Tennessee, ,s. 1865: p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 
Miller, M.N., Engineer YanderLilt University, b. Ohio, 8.1869; p, o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
Murrey, T. P., Minister, b. Tennessee, s. 1879 : p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Mclntyre, Daniel, floriculturist, b. Scotland, a. 1866; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Moore, W. H., Tinner and Coi>persmith, b. North Carolina, s. 1803; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Moore, John H., Faimer, b. TennesBee, 8. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Moore, Mrs. Ellen, b. England, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McCall, Martin, p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

McCall, John S., Cluk, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p.o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
MePherson, Jnhn, p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

McCIanahan, W. B., Farmer, h. Tennessee, s. 1848; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 
McClanahan, Miss Nellie, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McCroy, ThonniB, Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1790; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 
Maytiold, George, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1838; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tenn. 
Mayfiehl, Mrs, M. E., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s, 1842; p. o. add, Brentwood, 

Tenn. 
Blorgan, George, .Farmer: p. o, add. Brentwood, Tenn. 
Morgan, Mra. J. W., Farmer, h. Tennessee, a. 1855; p. o. add. Brentwood, 

Tenn. 
Marlin, George E., Farmer, b, Tennessee, a. 1852 ; p, o. add, Beachville, Tenn. 
Marshall, James, Preacher, h. Tennessee, s. 1812; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McQueen, Alexander, Wagon Maker and Farmer, b. Scotland, s, 1859; p.o.add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Mcintosh, William, Farmer,b. North Carolina, a, 1843; p, o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Menier, F. S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1842; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Moore, T. E., Deputy Sheiiff, b, Tennessee, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Menees, Robert, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Madison Station, 

Tenn. 
Menees, J., p. o, add, Madison Station, Tenn, 
Mcintosh, F. M., Farmer, b, Kentucky, 8. 1829; p. o. add. Madison Station, 

Tenn. 
Mathes, A. R., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1859 ; p. o. add. Goodlettsville, Tenn. 
Moorman, C. W., Farmer, b. Virginia, s, 1824; p. o. add. Naahvillo, Tenn. 
Marshall, B. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1853. 
Manlove, C. H , Farmer, b. Virginia, s, 1S48, 
Mayo, J. M., p, o. add. White's Creek, Tenn. 

Miller, T. Charles, Farmer, b, Illinois, s. 18C4; p, o. add. White's Creek, Tenn. 
McCool, W. N., Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, 8.1838; p.o.add. Katon's 

Creek, Tenn. 
Morgan, W. N., Farmer, h. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek, Tenn. 
Manlove, B. F., Physician, b. Tennessee, a. 1841; p. o. add. White's Creek, 

Tenn. 
McGavock, Andrew, Grocer, b. Tennessee, s, 1833; p, o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Merry, N. L., Clergyman, b. Tennessee, s, 1826 ; p o. add. Nashville,Tenn, 
McGavock, Nelson, Clergyman, b. Tennessee, b, 1824; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Merritt, T. I., Wall Paper and Notions, b. Tennessee: p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Maney, Kit, Blacksmith, b. Georgia, s. 1835; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Martin, Crawford, Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Georgia, s, 1842 ; p,o.add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
McCaslin, Henry, Sheet Iron and Copper, b. Pennsylvania; p.o.add. Nashville, 

Teun. 
Miller, R, J. G., Journalist, b, Indiann, s. 1873; p. o. add, Nashvillo, Tenn. 
Murphy, S. M., Merchant. 
McCann, John J., Merchant Miller, b. Tennessee, s. 1834; p, o.add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Maddox, William, Stone and Marble Mason, b. Virginia, a. 1865 ; p, o.-add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 
McKimmin, A. J., Dealer in and Trainer of Trot ting-Stock, b. Ireland, s. 1832; 

J), o. add. Nashville,Tenn, 
McClelland, Edward, Painter, b, Tennessee, s. 1880; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 
McEwen, James, Farmer and Stock Raiser, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Franklin, 

Tenn. 
Miller. James, Stone Cutter, b. England, s. 1852; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Moor, A. J., Merchant, b. Tunni-ssee, s. 18G5; p. o. add. Nasliviile, Tenn. 
McPhail, J. H., Saddle and Harness Maker, b. Canada, s. 1870 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, T.-nn. 
HIcCIe(landj Johi^j Retjredj b. Pennsylvania^ a. 1845; p.o.add. Na-shville, Tenn. 



NAMES OF PATRONS. 



49'. 



\ 



:> 



Sumnor.Willinm.IIolel Proprielor, b. Tinncssoo, a. 1840; p. o. add. Nnshvillo, 
Tolin. 

Smitli, Jvlin L., Arcbittct, b. Kentucky, e. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Smitb, P. W., Carpenter and Builder, b. Tennessee, 8.1832; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Stratlon, Bladison, Merchant and Lumber Dealer, b. Virginia, 8.1820; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tern. 

Sweeney, Thomas G., Siiddler and Harness MaUer, b. Kentucky, s. 1824; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Smith, A., Intelligence Office, h. Tennessee, s. 1838 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Steiuhaner, A'., Baker and Confectioner, b. Germany, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Stranghon, J. J., Shoemaker, b. North Carolina, s. 1861 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Saltznian, H., Slaughterer of Animals for Israelites, b. Hungary, s. 1875 ; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Seay, WiUiiim Y., Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1867 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Sparkman, J. W., Printer, b. Tennessee, s. 18.58 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Stewell, W. H., Furniture Dealer, b. Virginia, 6. 1865. 
■Sax. J., Banker, b. Germany, s. 18G2; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Scott, Pingree, Tinner, b. Tennessee, s. 186U; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Stevens, Joe, Laborer, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1874; p. o. add. NasliviUe, Tenn. 

Stowers, W. S., Plasterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Smitb, J. K., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Shackley, William, Farmer, b. South Carolina, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
■Smallwood, Richard, Uarber, b. Virginia, s. 1868; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Sykes, T. A., United States Revenue Service, b. North Carolina, s. 1872; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Seabury, Jesse W., Water- Works, b. Tennessee, s. 185G; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Stickley, F. II., St; John Sewing-machine, b. Indiana, s. 1874; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Sadler, J. R., Manufacturer of Bank, Saioon, and Fine House Furniture, b. 
Tennessee, s. 1869; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Solan, Patrick, Horse Shoer, b. Ireland, s. 18611; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Scott, James W^., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Shaver, C. P., Salesman, b. Tennessee, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Seawel, J. Q., Manufacturer of Tobacco, b. Tennessee, s. 1878 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Seawel, James, Manufacturer of Tobacco, b. Tennessee, s. 1878 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Seawel, John L., Manufacturer of Tobacco, b. Tennessee, s. 1878 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Sumners, T. 0., Physician and Surgeon, b. South Carolina, s. 1856; p. o. add. 
Na.'^hville, Tenn. 

Sevier, T. F., b. Kentucky, s. 1856; p. o. add. Chattanooga, Tenn. 
• Sneed, William H., ex-Tiustee of Davidson County, b. Tennessee, 8. 1838; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Seay, Samuel, Book -Keeper, b. Tennessee, s. 184-1; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Stockell, George W., Wholesale Seeds and Implements, b. Tennessee, s. 1852; 
p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Btillman, C. E., Wholesale Iron and Hardware, b. New Jersey, b.1837; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Sperry, J. N., Distiller, b. Tennessee, s. 1868; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Swan, P., Dealer in Monuments, b. England, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Shut, p. L., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S65 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Slieetz, Harry L. B., Pianist and Book-Kceper (with McClure), b. Maryland, 
s. 1862 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Stevenson, J., Baggage Agent North Carolina and St. Louis Eailro.ad, b. Ken- 
tucky, s. 1872; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Stiep, B. H., Jeweler, b. Germany, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Shelton, P. A., Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1871; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Smith, J. M,, Commission Merchant, b. Kentucky, s. 1847; p.o.add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Sewell, E. O., Minister of the Gospel and Editor, b. Tennessee, s. 1869; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Sloss, James W., Barber, h. Alabama, s. 18G4; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Stout, Ira A., Coach Manufacturer, b. Tenne.ssee, s. 1817 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Stevenson, V. K., Capitalist, b. Tennessee, s. 1812; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Simmons, William, Contractor and Builder, b. Ireland, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

SheaTOD, S. B., Printer, b. Tennessee, s. 1839; p. 0. add. Na=liville, Tenn. 

■ Stothart, W. T., Retired Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1814; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Stahl, Frederick, b. Germany, e. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Stacey, J. E., Fruit and Vegetables, b. England, 8. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Spurr, M. A., Manufacturer, b. Kentucky, s. 1800; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

Sattewhite, Mrs. S. T., b. Tennessee, s. 1870; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Smith, A. Y., City Letter Carrier, b. Tennessee, s. 1851 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Swanson, Frederick, Minister and Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1862; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Schnell, Jacob, Grocer, b. France, s. 1858 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Scott, Miunio L., Teacher, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 



<i>. 



v 



singer, Chrensten, Bono Factory, b. Germany, s. 1857; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Smith, Thomas M., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Smith, .\lbort, Restaurant. 

Settle, I. W,, Merchant, b. Kentucky, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Smith, Edward P., Manufacturer, b. New York, 8. 1872 ; p. o. add. Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Sharp, D. L., Merchant, b. North Carolina, s. 1848 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Stratton, William 0., Salesman, b. Tennessee, 8. 1840; p. o. mid. Nasbvillo, 

Tenn. 
Smith, James B., b. Tennessee, 8. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Sharpe, Jobnivy M., President and Treasurer E. k N. Manufacturing Company', 

b. North Carolina, s. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Stanfiehl, William, Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1835; p. o. add. Donelson, 

Tenn. 
Stanfleld, G. S., Blacksmith, b, Tennessee, s. 1836; p. o. add, Donelson, Tenn. 
Stevenson, David, Gatekeeper and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1841 ; p. o. add. 

Donelson, Tenn. 
Stevenson, James, Stone Cutter, b. Scotland, 8.1820; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn, 
Seal, William H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1808; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Sloan, W. U,, State Deputy Independent Order Good Templars, b. TenneBSeo, 

S. 1852 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Seat, S. B., Blacksmilh, b. Tennessee, s. 1833; p. o. add. Conchviile, Tenn. 
Sander, A., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1833; p. o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 
Steward, W. B., Fanner, b. Tennessee, a. 1836; p. o. add. Steward's Ferry, Tenn. 
Shute, John A., Retired, b. Tennessee, s. 1804. 
Schimler, Mrs. -AI. A., Farmer, b. North Carolina, s. 1849 ; p. o. add. Rose Dale, 

Tenn. 
Scale, James, Farmer, b. Nortti Carolina, s. 1842 ; p. o. add. Rose Dale, Tain. 
Sharp, Thomas, Cua] Dealer, b. Pennsylvania, a. 1852. 
Shaw, J. S., Fanner and Stock Riiser, b. Mississippi, a. 1868. 
Smith, A., Section Foreman Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, b. Ligland, 

8. 1841 ; p. o. add. Oneyville, Tenn. 
Spain. J. S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1844; p. o. add. Rose Dale, Tenn. 
Spotswood, G. W,, Miller, li. Tennes-'^ce, s. 1852; p. o. add. GlenclifT, Tenn. 
Stephens, William M., Farmer and Justice of the Peace, b. Tennessee, s. 1833 : 

p. n. add. Rose Dale, Tenn. 
Shacklett, John S., Farmer, b. Virginia, 8. 182G ; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 
Stewart, Ellen G., b. Georgia; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Smith, Pleasant A., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1841. 
Shute, W. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1856. 
Shaver, C. P. 

Saunders, J. E. ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. ■ 
Safford, James M.; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 
Sponce, Mrs. M. J., b. Virginia, s. 1875 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Stanley, W. M., Bricklayer, b. Tennessee, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Simpson, Henry A.; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Sullivan, L. I., Wagon Maker and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 184G; p. o. add. 

Nashville, Tenn. 
Stevens, John C, Local Preacher Methodist Episcopal Church South and 

Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Stringfellow, W. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1859 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Sullivan, W. C Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p, o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Sullivan, W. J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. ' 

Sweeney, William G., Collar Maker, Farmer, and Gatekeeper, b. Kentucky, s. A*^ 

1824; p. 0. add. Bellevue, Tenn. ' , 

Seaborn, J. W., Farmer, b. TeniiRssee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Steward's Ferry, Tenn. « 
Shivers, Nathaniel, Gunsmith and Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1834 ; p. o. add. » j 

Goodlettsvilie, Tenn. .• 

Scruggs, A. P., Fanner and Buildci-, b. Tennessee, s. 1828; p. o. add. HaJison •_ 

Station, Tenn. ". 

Shivers, W. 0., Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1850 ; p. o. add. Goodlettsvilie, Tenn. <^ 
Shivers, J. M., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1828; p. o. add. Goodlettsvilie, Tenn. ^~ 

Sinipkins, James, Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1S2C; p.o.add. Ashland City, Tenn ' 
Simpkins, W. D., Farmer, b. Ti-nncsaee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek, Tenn . 
Simpkins, J. M., Farmer and Justice of the Peace, b. Tennesaee, s. 1820; p. o • 

add. Eaton's Creek, Tenn. Ji 

Sadler, William, Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, a. 1850; p. o. add. White's Creek V' 

v* 
Tenn. i 

Shute, John W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1842; p. o. add. White's Creek, Tenn ^^ 
- Simpkins, James M., Farmer and Lumberman, b. Tennessee, s 1834; p. o. add » ^ 

White's Bend, Tenn. ° 

Stretch, Aaron, Dniggist, b. New Jersey, a. 1845 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
Shaub, William, Rocking-Cliair Manufacturer, b. North Carolina, s. 1864 ; p. o^^^ 

add. Nashville, Tenn. O 

Shaw, W. R., Carpenter, b. Virginia; p. o. aild. Nashville, Tenn. 
Shaffer, G. H., Clergyman, b. Ohio, a. 1844; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. l - 

Strong, John, Hackman, b. Tennesaee, 8. 1845; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. , * 
Sharp, A. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1868; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. > 

Sudekum, II , Bak.-r, b. Pennsylvania, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. n 

Sherwood, John W., Carriage Maker, b. Indiana, a. 1864; p. o. add HaalivlUi (jV' 

Tenn. ^ ^ 

Taylor, Lyttou, Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, a. 1857 ; p. o. add. NasbTilli , 

Tenn. ~ 

Thrualon, G. P., Attorney-at-Law, b. Ohio, a. 1SG5 ; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tesn , 
Tucker, N. G., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1873; p. o. add. Na-hville, Tenn. 
Tamble, P. M., Altorney-at-Law, b. Ohio, 8. 1860 ; p. o. add. Nashvijle, Tuna. , N»* 



li 



% 



1: 



i98 



HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. 



Thoma, William A., Attorn ey-at-Law, b. Tennessee,s. ISO ; p.o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Turner, Robert W., Real Estate, b. Tennessee, 3. 1851; p. 0. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Trimble, John, Lawyer, b. North Carolina, s. 1813; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tot ten, J. J., Wholesale Grocer, b. New York, 8. 1861 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Taylor, J., Blacksmith, b. Kentucky, s. 1864; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Turner, J. F., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1847 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Taylor, N. W., Contractor, b. Tennessee, s. 1832; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tliwort, John E., Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1819 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tanksley, A. E., Grocer, b. Tennessee, a. 1859 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tremier, John, Hackman, b. Georgia, s. 18G0; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Toombs, C. D., Street-Car Driver, b. Tennessee, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Tucker, W. B., Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1841 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tanksley, B. F., Plasterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1827 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tinnou, John, Huck Driver, b. Tennessee, b. 183:i; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tanksley, John, Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1837 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Taikington, John L., Farmer and Stock Rairter, b. North Carolina, s. 1S3S ; p.o. 
add. Duck River P. 0., Hickman Co., Tenn. 

Turner, W. P, H., Merchant, I). Tennessee; p.o. add. LawrenceburgP. 0., Law- 
renceburg.Co., Tenn. 

Temple, Frank, Lawyer and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1843 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Tucker, Hugh, Trunk Maker, b. Tennessee, b. 1862; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Treinor, J. 0., Assistant Secretary Equitable Fire Insumnco Company, b. Ire- 
land, s. 1853; p. o. add. Nashville, Tt-nn. 

Tavd, A. B., Manufacturing Stationery, b. Switzerland, 8.1843; p.o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn, 

Thoaas, J- W., Railroad Superintendent, b. Tennessee, s. 1830 ; p. o.add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Turne', R. J., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1878; p. 0. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Tuoktr, A. C, County Officer, b. Virginia, e.l826; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Thumpson; C. A. R., Merchant, b. Tennessee, b. 1836; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Tiionipsun, R. K., Manufacturer, b. Ireland, s. 1849; p. o. add. Naahville, 
Tenn. 

Turner, E. P, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 184;j; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tenidon, A. M., Merchant, b. Tennessee, h. 185G; i). o. add. Nashville, Teua. 

Tappai), Burton. Eyangelist, b. Tennessee, a. 1862; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Trimble, James, Attorney, U. Tennessee; a. 1845; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tilliust, D. K., Plasterer, b, Tennessee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

T .-usJale, Mrs. J. A., b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Gallatin, Tenn. 
'fferty, G. W., Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, s. Ib7i); p. o. add. Naahville, 

^ Teiin. . -_ 

' Toney, Thomas, Clergyman, b. Kentucky, s. 1SG5; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
j Thompson, Hugh C, Architect and Builder, h. Ttrnnesaee, s. 1829; p. o. add. 
I . Nashville, T'^nn. 

i Terret, John II., Lawyer, b. Virginia, b. 1873; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 
;[ Todd, S. B., Clerk for W. D. Lesueur & Bruthei-, b. Tennessee, a. 1862; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Throne, R. G., Merchant, b. Ireland, s. 1853 ; p. o. add. N)i*hville, Tenn. 

Thompson, A. D., Farmer, b. Kentucky, s. 1877 ; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Thompson, J. N., Farmer, b. Kentucky, a. 1877; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Turner, 11. A., Farmer, b. Tennessee, b. 1843; p. 0. add. Edgefield Junction, 
Tenn. 

Thompson, F. J., Merchant, b. Kentucky ; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Travis, R. T., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. o. add. Lime Kilu, Tenn. 

Turbeville, W. E., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1851; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, 
— Tenn. 

Tlionipson, J. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1856; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Teiiison, A. M., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tnrbville, W. C, Foreman Tennessee Penitentiary, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Trun. 

Tucker, A. C, County Oihcer, b. Virginia, s. 182G ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Trabue, Mi-s. C. M. C, b. Kentucky, a. 18U5; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Truett, W. H. H., Nureeryman, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Trotter, William, Farmer and Stock Riiiser, b. Tennessee, s. 1827; p o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Tumble, P., Farmer, b. Germany ; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn. 

Treppard, F. A., Fanner and Stone Dealer, b. Tennessee, a. 1823; p. o, add. 
Nashville, Tunn. 

Thompson, S., Blacksmith, b. Tennessee, s. 1834; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Townes, E. N., Collector Wheeler & Wilson Sewing-Machine Company, b. Ten- 
nessee, 8. 1S60; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Taylor, E., Furniture Manufacturer, b. Mwssachusetts, e. 1878; p. o. add. Naah- 
ville, Tenn. 

TuUty, John M.. Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 18GS; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tucker, A. K., Canvassing Agent, b. New York, s. 1878 ; p. 0. add. Nashrillo, 
Tenn. 

Thorn, John, Painter, b. Tennessee, s. 1880; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

tanksley, L. S., Plasterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S5G; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

/niett, John, Painter, b. Tennessee, a 1880; p.o. add. Nashville, Tetin. 

Tyler, A., Wholesale Grocer, b. England, 3. 1839 ; p. o. add. Naslnille, Tenn. 

Underwood, W. E., Farmer and Toll-Gato Keeper, b. Teunes-iee, s. 1873; p. o. 
add. GoodlLttsville, Tenn. ■ 

Utley, Prince, Butcher, b. Teunesseo, s. 1865 ; p. 0. add. Goodie ttsville, Tenn. 



Vickery, A. J., Dyer, b. Tennessee, s. 1859; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Vas3ar, Simon, B;irber, b. Alabama, a. 1846; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Vandavell, R. B., Cl-rgyman, b. Tennessee, s. 1SJ3; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Vertrus, W. M., Physician, b. Kentucky. 8. 1872; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Vaught, S. M., Toll-Gate Keeper and Shoemiker, b. Tennessee, s. 1870; p. o. 
add. Nishville, Tenn. 

Vaughan. J. P., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 3. 1865 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Van Valkenburgh, G. S., Sawmill aud Lumber, b. New York, s. 1867 ; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Vaughn, Hiram, Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1827 ; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Vaughan, Jno. A., Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1870; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Vester, Wm. P., Farmer, b. Virginia, s. 1829; p. o. add. White's Creek, Tenn. 

Vaughn, A., Grocer and Wood Dealer, b. Mississippi, a. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Venoble, J. R., Merchant, b. Kentucky, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn . 

Woodcock, N, M., U. S. Revenue Collector. 

Webber, Jno. H., Dentist, b. Tennessee, s. 1841; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn . 

Wills, A. W., Attorney and Agent, b. Pennsylvania, e. 1862; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Weakley, R. W., County Superintendent Schools, b. Tennessee, 8. 1841; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Watte, Jjtmes L., Attorney, b. Tennessee, s. 1876; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wilkin, D. F., Attorney-at-Law, b. New York, s. 1848; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Whitman, A. F., Attorney-at-Law, b. Alabama, s. 1871 ; p. o. add. Nashville , 
Tenn. 

White, J. B., Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1846; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Weaver, Thomas S., Attorney-at-Law, b.Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o.add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Watson, Samuel, Attorney-at-Law, b. Tennessee, s. 1870; p. o. add, Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Watkins, Samuel, President Gas Company, b. Virginia, s. 1800; p. o.add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Wheless, James, Cotton Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. 0. add. Nashville , 
Tenn. 

Wilson, Mrs. Eliza A., Florist, b. Tennessee, a. 1828; p.o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Wilson, W. L., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1833; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Woodward, William, Inventor and Builder, b. Tennessee, a. 1824; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Wooilfin, Bi'tUe, b. Tennessee, a. 1860 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wood, W. II.» Carpenter, b. New York, s. 1863; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Wilson, James U., Lawyer, b. Tennessee, a. 1840 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wyatt, Janirs, Snpi-rinlendent Water Works, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; p. 0. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Wood, W. 11., Grocer, b. Illinois, s. 1861 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wellington, E. S., Professor of Natural Sciences, Normal College, b. Vermont , 
B. 1878 ; p. o. add. Nashvillf, Tenn. 

Wright, Jiicob O., Carpenter aud Contractor, b. New York, s. 1841; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Wray, Samuid, Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, a. 1859 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

WessL-1, G. H., Wholesale and Retail Confectionery, b. Hanover, a. 1844; p. 0, 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wood, B. G-, Foundry, Boiler, and Pipe Shop, b. Kentucky, s. 1851 ; p. 0. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

White, G. W., Clergyman, b. Tennessee, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

AVaters, Martin, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Winsted, J. M., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wells, George H., Superintendent Gas Works, b. Tennessee, s. 1837; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Watson, R. K., Liveryman, b. Tennessee, s. l.'^44; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wesley, G. Christ, Stone Cutter, b. Germany, s. 1876 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Walpolo, David, Tinner, b. Tennessee, s. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Weue, S. 31., b. Ohio, s. 1868 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Walton, W. B., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Williamson, P. J., Architect, b. Holland, a. 1863 ; p. o. add. Nsisbville, Tenn. 

Woodward, G. H., Veterinary Surgeon, b. Virginia, s. 1842 ; p. 0. add. Naahville, 
Tenn. 

Wright, Hollis, Railroad Fireman, b. Ohio, s, 1865 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

AVal.Ier, B. L., Liveryman, b. Virginia, a. 1840; p. o. add, Naahville, Tenn. 

White. Hari-y F., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, a, 1860; p. 0, add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Winfrey, Clint, Mercantile Agent, b. Tennessee, s. 1878; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn, 

Wiuburn, Isaac, Chiropodist, b. Kentucky, s. 1828 ; p. o. add Nashville, Tenn. 

Wallace, James D., Phyaician, b. Ohio, a. 1878; p. o.add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wilson, S. F,, Lawyer, Member State Senate, b. Tennessee, s. 1845; p. o. add. 
Gallatin, Tenn. 

Whiteman, Frank S., Bookbinder, b. Tennessee, a. 1858; p. 0. add. Nashville, 
Tenn, 

Wright, W. Briggs, Bookbinder, b. Tennessee, s, 1855; p. 0. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Weilaud, R. K., Cabinet Maker, a. 1858 ; p. 0. add, Nashville, Tenn, 

Withers, James II., Merchant, b. Virginia, s. 1847; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Woods, Joseph, Carpenter, b. Tennessee, a. 1865 ; p. 0. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Winter, Louis, Egg and Produce Dealer, b. Tennessee, a. 1865; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Williams, Albert S., Clerk Criminal Court, b. Tennessee, s. 1849 ; p. o. add, Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 



NAMES OF PATRONS. 



499 



Wiiinmck, W. W. 

^V^lO(^art^, John, Wholesale Liquor Dciilor, b. TL-nnosseo, 8. 1877 ; {>. o. add. Nixah- 
ville, Tenn. 

WouUviiie, Williiim D., Wholesale Confoctioncr, h. Virginia, s. 1873; p. o. add. 
Nnshvillc, Teiin. 

Weakley, T. T., Keal Estate, 1-. Tcnnosseo, s. ISSU; p. o. add. Nashville, TiMiii. 

Wubl", Saimicl G., Book-Kecper, b. Teimessoe, s. ISril; p. o. add. Naahvillo, 
Teiiii. 

Williamson, James, Gonsial'lo, b. Virginia, 8. 1650; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Whci'loi-k, G. B., iVIerchant, b. New York, s. 1S60 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Ward, J. A., Mi-Tchant, b. Michii;an, s. 1879; p.o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Whorley, John, Tobacco Merchant, b. Tennessee, s, 1S4S; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Whfless, John T., Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1S47; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Weakley, J. L,, Kannfactnrer and Merchant, b. Tennessee, s. 1837; p. o. add. 
Niishville, Tenn. 

Winstead, \Y. 0., b. Tennessee, s. 18G0; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

M''ari'en, J. M., Blercliant, b. Tennessee, s. 1855 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Williiims, Loui-*, Mf-rchant, b. Tennessee, s. ISGi; p. o. add. Na.'>hville, Tenn. 

Williams, N. C, Sewing-Machine Agent, b. Tennessee, s. ISGG; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Whai'ton, J. C, Druggist, b. Mississippi, s. 1840; p. o, add. Niishville, Tonn. 

Winham Travis, Pjactical Printer, b.^Tennessce, s. 1819; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

AVallacc, W. J., Lumber Dealer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S4G; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Washington, G. A., Farmer, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Williams. J. M., Wholesale Merchant, b. Tennessee, a. 1854; p.o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenri. 

Waggoner, T. J., Hotel, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wheless. Joseph, Real Estate and Collecting Agent, b. Tennessee, s. 1S30 ; p. o. 
add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wadkins, Daniel, Editor and rubllslter, h. Tennessee, s. 1834-; p. o. add. NeisIi- 
ville, Tenn. 

Wright, Pitkin C, Division Superintendent Insnrance Company, b. Connecti- 
cut, 3. 1S7G ; p. o. add. N;ishville, Tenn. 

Ward, W. E., Ward's Seminary for Young Ladies, b. Alabiima, s. 1847 ; p. o. add. 
Nashville, Tenn. 

Wheeler, A. J., Merchant, b. Ohio, s. 1862; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

"Wln-eler, J. D., Merchant, b. Oliio; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

White, J. B., Groceries and Drugs, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Wendell, Alfred, Governor's Torter, b. Tennessee, s. 1S27; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Wells, Koderick, Saloon, b. Tennessee, s. 1838; p. o. aild. Na.shville, Tenu. 

Woodmance, W, W., Concrete Manufacturer, b. Ohio, s. 1865; p. O; add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Walker, S. K., Letter Carrier, b. Kentucky, s. ISGo ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Warner, S. H., Butcher, b. Tennessee, s. 1877; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Warren, A. M., Mechanic, b. Tennessee, s. 1878; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Work, John W., Porter, b. Keutuiky, s. 1S43 ; p. o. add. Nughville, Tenn. 

Waters, Richard, Janitor Howard School, b. Virginia, s. 1856; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Williams, B. 11., Laborer, b. Tennessee, s. 1850 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Walhvoik, \V. H.. Painter, b. England, a. 1851; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenu. 

Wickroll, B. W., Painter, b. Alabama, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Winter, C. A., Merchant, b. Georgia, s. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Walden, Charles C, Lawyer, b. Tennessee, s. 185C; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Williams, .1. H., Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 1865; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Ti-nn. 

Williams, E., Carpenter, b. Tennessee, s. 1828 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Watson, R. H., Boot and Shoe Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 1834; p.o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Williamson, George E., Physician, b. North Carolina, s. 1839; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Waters-, James, Baptist Minister, b. Tennessee, s. 1836; p.o. add, Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Winter, Alexander V., Grocer, b. Tennessee, s. 1879 ; p.o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Weakley, Olin, Physician and Farmer,, b. Tennessee, a. 1848 ; p. o. add. Don- 
elson, Tenn. 

Williamson, C. C , Fanner, b. Tennessee, s. 1850; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Whitworth. E. D., Farmer, b. Alabama, s. 1829 ; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Whitworth, W. E., Physician, b. Tennessee, s. 1852 ; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Whitwortb, Isaac, Farmer, b. Tennes'^ee, s. 1834; p. o. add. Lavergne, Tenn. 

Whitworth, Milton J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 18G9 ; p. o. add. Lavergne, 
Tenn. 

Wade, Will J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1863. 

Weaver, Wash, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 18i8; p. o. add. Edgciield Junction, 
Tenn. 

Wright, Johu S., Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 18-37; p. o. add. Hermitage, Tenn. 

Weaver, Thomas, Lawyer, b. Tennessee; p. o. add. Niishville, Tenn, 

63 



Williamson, Caphiin J. Logan, Farmer, b. Tennessee, a. 1874; p. o, add. Glon- 
cliff, Tonn, 

Whitman, A. F., Lawyer; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wheeler, Brother, Books and Stationery ; p. o. add, Na.shville, Tenu. 

Wbittenioi-c, A, C, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1825 ; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tonn. 

Watson, W. F., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1839; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Whittemore, C. M., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. add. Onoyville, Tenn. 

Williams, Chattip, b. Tennessee, s. 1857 ; p. o. add. Paragon Mills, Tenn. 

Williams, Turner, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 179G; p. o. add. Brentwood, Tonn. 

White, J. B., Druggist, b. Tennessee, s. 1879; p. o. add. Nainhvillo, Tenn. 

■Williams, J. W., Jr., Farmer, b. Tennessee, 8. 1854; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

AVashington, T. L., Farmer, b. Tennesgoe, s. 1840 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Woodall, F. M., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s, 1S5S; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

M'illiams, Willonghby, Farmer, b. North Carolina, s. 1818; p. o. add, Nash- 
ville, Tenn, 

Williams, John*H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1825 ; p. o. add, Nashville, Tenu. 

Watkiufi, W. E,, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1842; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wade, Willis W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1855; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn, 

Woodward, B. F., Superintendent Mount Olivet Cemetery, b, Tennessee, s. 
182G; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Woodward, R. L. ; p. o. add. Nasliville, Tonn. 

Wright, J. T., Teacher, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Steward's Ferry, Tenn. 

Williams, William, Physician and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1819; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. ,^'' ? 

Woodruff, W. H., General Store and Postmaster, b. Ttfunessee, s. 1846; p.o. 
add. Sladrson Station, Tenn. j^^ 

Walker, M. G,, Frnit-Grower, b. Tennessee, s. 185o;'"I>k^o. add. Madison Station, 
Tenn. ^ 

Walton, W. B., p. o. add. Madison Station, Tenn. 

Williamson, Tiiomas N., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. ISIG; p. o. add, Goodlettsville, 
Tenn. 

Woodruff, T, C, Agent and Operator, b. Tennessee, s. 1845 ; p. o. add. Baker's 
Station, Tenn. 

Welister, John, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s, ISG3; p. o. add. Edgefield Junction, 
Tenn. 

Waterfield, James E,, Faroier, b. Tennessee, s. 1850 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wilkinson, H. H., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1849; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Wilkinson, Mrs. M. C, Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1863; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Webber, J. W., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1834; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Winters,Wm., Farnier, b. South Carolina, s. 1861 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Warmack, W. W. ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Waggoner. B. F., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1S28; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenu. 

Watson, W. S., Farmei-, b. Tennessee, s. 1841 ; p. o, add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Watkins, S. J., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1832 ; p. o. add. Wliite's Bend, Tenu, 

Wreuue, Tlionias W., Lawyer, b. Virginia, s. 1859; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Whitfield, Oscar, Physician, b. Tennessee ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

White, Elijah, Shoemaker, b. Tennessee, s, 1S40; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn, 

Woods, A., Engineer, b. Tennessee, s. 1851; p, o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Ward, Henry, Barber, b, Tennessee, s. 18G0 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Warner, William, Butcher, b. Tennessee, s. 1843; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Warner, Charles C, Butcher, b. Kentucky, s. 1835; p. o. add. Nashville, Tonn. 

Whitworth, G. K., County Trustee, b. Tennessee, a. 1850; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Wright, J. C., Farnier and Wagon Maker, b. Tennessee, s. 1832 ; p. o. add, Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Williams, D. C, Farnier, b, Tennessee ; p, o. add, Nolensville, Tenn. 

Wood, James J., Bookbinder, b. New Tork, s. 18G8 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Tarbrongh.J. H., Real Estate and Collection Agent, b. Tennessee, s. 1844; 
p. o. add. Nasliville, Tenn. 

Young, James II., Sr., Blacksmith, b. Pennsylvania, a. 1821 ; p. o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

\''oung, John S., b, Indiana, s. 1374; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Yarbrough, Alvin, Plasterer, b. Tennessee, s. 1837; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Young, Robert A., Minister of Gospel, b. Tennessee, s. 18i6; p, o. add. Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

Youree, A. R.. Wood Dealer, b. IMissourl, s. 1880; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Youree, (ineen, b. Tennessee, s. ISSU; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Y'oung, John H., Sr., p. o. add, Nashville, Tenn. 

Young, John S., p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Young, Daniel, Merchant, s. 1849 ; p. o. add. Eaton's Creek, Tenu. 

Young, E. D., Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1840; p. o. add. White's Bend, Tenn. 

Young, Adam, Painter and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1838; p. o. add. Nashville, 
Tenn. 

Zollicofter, E. A., Lawyer, b. Texas, s. 1859 ; p. o. add. Bellbucldc, Bedford Co., 
Tenn. 

Zanove, Joseph, Confectioner, b. Tennessee, s. 1S41 ; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenn. 

Zaehary, J. J., Carpenter, b. Virginia, a. 1830; p. o. add. Nashville, Tenu. 

Zuccarello, S., Farmer, b. Virginia, s. 1854; p. o. add. Donelson, Tenn. 

Zuccarello, E. R, Market Gardener and Farmer, b. Tennessee, s. 1858 p.o. 
add. Donelson, Tenn. 



E K R A T A. 



Page 78, second column, 1st line, for " Tcni-!i Lnke" read Tensas 
Lake. 

Page 79, second column, llth line from top. for ''Hull's brigade" 
read Hall s brigade. 

Page S2, second column, 9th line from top, for " Fort Barrancos" 
read Fort Barrancas. 

Page S6, first column, 12th line from top, for " Col. Gadsen" read 
Col. Gadden. 

Page 87, first column, 10th line from bottom, for "short" read 
sharp. 

Ou page 9S, first column, I7th line from bottom, for "John C. 
Grant" read John C. Gaut. 

Pago 170, first column, 13th line from bottom, after the name of 
Gen. W. G. Harding, read ''and Washington Barrow were on the 
military and financial board.*' 



Page 170, second column, 12th line from beginning of chapter, for 
" Capt. J. M. Fulchcr*' read Capt. J. S. Fulcher. 

Page 174, first column, 12th line from bottom, for "Barron Guards" 
read Barrow Guards. 

Also on page 174, second column, 13th line from bottom, for "W. 
L. Harris" read AV. L. Horn. 

On page 170, second column, 14th line from top, for '' Lieut. Fal- 
connel" read Lieut. Falconnet. 

On page 212, first column, 16th line from bottom, for "Stockwell" 
read Stockell. 

On page 3S7, first column, 16th line from top, for "Her grand- 
mother" read His grandmother. 

Note. — In the name of Oliver B. Hays, the compiler has followed 
the old spelling — Hays. His name is spelled in the data furnished 
for his biography Hayes, — which is probably a more modern spelling. 



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